The Sneaky Hack Flight Attendants Say Will Get You An In-Flight Meal Quicker

Travel can be relaxing, transformative, and exhilarating, but flying to those once-in-a-lifetime destinations? Not so much. Savvy travelers are always on the hunt for the latest hack to make flights more enjoyable. From trying to score an entire airplane row to yourself to just trying to keep your seatmate from invading your personal space, there are plenty of techniques to deal with how cramped flights can be. But what about airline food? When you're on a 14-hour flight watching the flight attendant's cart creep closer as you get hungrier and hungrier, you might find yourself wishing you'd sprung for a seat closer to the front. There is a better solution though: Order a special meal.

In general, if you booked a ticket that entitles you to an airline meal, you have the option of ordering a "special meal" that accommodates specific dietary restrictions, like vegetarian, kosher, or gluten-free, and according to flight attendant Caroline Kneitz (via Daily Mail), these meals come out before the regular meals. "If you're sticking to plane food and want your food served early, then all you need to do is order a special meal such as vegan or Kosher. This is because special meals, which have to be pre-ordered in advance, are always dished out first."

In-flight meals have been the butt of jokes for decades, so it's no surprise that people who fly often are always on the lookout for a better option. One tried and true strategy is pre-ordering special airline meals, not only because they come out first, but because many people believe they are tastier than the average in-flight meal. But is that actually true?

One issue with airplane food may be that the unique conditions in an airplane change how we perceive different flavors, especially salty and sweet. Something that might taste okay on the ground can seem nasty in the air, so to find an enjoyable airplane lunch, people might need to experiment. Most airline food is made by the same companies in the same massive facilities (like the in-flight meal behemoth Gate Gourmet). However, special meals like kosher options are typically prepared by a local catering company. 

The quality of these meals varies depending on how good that particular company is, but for many passengers, rolling the dice on a meal that is, if not better, at least different from the same airplane food standards is worth the risk. Since they are almost always served before regular meals, they should at least be hot.

What options are available for special meals depends on what airline you're flying on, but in general, you will probably be able to choose from meatless meals including vegetarian and vegan; meals that align with certain religious restrictions like Kosher, Hindu, and Halal; and health-related restrictions like gluten-free, low fat, and sugar-free. Ordering any of these meals should almost guarantee that your meal comes out before the standard in-flight meals, but which should you choose?

While our taste buds are dulled by the flight, spicy foods still tend to taste good to our confused tongues. If your flight offers them, you might want to opt for either an Asian vegetarian or Hindu meal, as these are typically spicier than the other options. Hindu, in particular, may be the best choice, since it often includes curries that are supposed to be slow-cooked, so there's less chance of you accidentally ending up with a dried-out, over-cooked meal. All you have to do is make sure you put your order in at least a day in advance, and you could be tucking into a steaming hot chicken curry with rice while everyone else waits for meal service to start.