Here’s a topic that I’ve never covered, which I figured would be interesting — which airlines publish their full inflight menus and/or drink lists for a particular flight in advance? I imagine I’m not the only person who likes...

Here’s a topic that I’ve never covered, which I figured would be interesting — which airlines publish their full inflight menus and/or drink lists for a particular flight in advance? I imagine I’m not the only person who likes to look this up prior to traveling, so let me first discuss why it might matter, and then I’ll share my list of airlines offering this.

Why it’s nice to see your inflight menu in advance

Admittedly there’s huge variance in terms of the quality of inflight food. In economy, you’re lucky if food is better than something in the freezer section of your local supermarket, while in premium cabins, some airlines actually serve decent food that one would be happy to pay for in a restaurant.

For those of us who look forward to flying, particularly in premium cabins, it can be fun to know in advance what food and drinks will be served on your flight:

It can be nice to get a sense of the general service flow on the flight, how many meal options there are, etc., so that you can plan if you should eat before the flight or not If you’re flying in a premium cabin on an airline with a great alcohol selection, maybe you want to research some of the wine or liquor options in advance, so that you can make a game plan If you have dietary restrictions, it can be useful to see if the standard menu contains any options that work for you, or if you should in fact order a special meal

I know I always enjoy previewing a menu before a flight if it’s something an airline makes available, so I’m curious if I’m the only one…

It’s nice to get a sense of the meal service in advance

Airlines that make menus available in advance

With the above out of the way, which airlines publish their inflight menus in advance? I’ll share the airlines that I know of, and then please share other airlines that I’m missing, because I’m sure I didn’t get them all.

Before I share the list, a few things to note:

I’m talking specifically about airlines that publish menus and/or drink lists in advance, and this is separate from airlines that let you pre-order specific parts of meals; for example, American, Delta, and United, all let you pre-order main courses when traveling in premium cabins, but they don’t publish their entire menu in advance, so wouldn’t make the list I’m talking about airlines publishing the standard menus of meals that are included, so that excludes airlines publishing their food and drinks for purchase menu; it also excludes airlines that just publish sample menus, or airlines that just publish what main courses will be available I’m going to include airlines that make these menus available to the public, though I know there are some airlines that let you view menus exclusively when you’re managing your own reservation (I know that’s the case for EVA Air, and maybe some other airlines?)

Below are the airlines I know of that publish full menus in advance, along with the cabins for which it’s offered, how far in advance you can view menus, etc. Please let me know which airlines I’m missing.

Air Canada

Air Canada lets you see the menus for all flights in advance:

You can see the menu for all flights for the next seven days Menus are available for business class, premium economy, and economy, assuming there’s a complimentary meal service on the flight; however, you can’t see the drink list You can view business class menus at this link, view premium economy menus at this link, and view economy menus at this link Air Canada business class meal

All Nippon Airways

All Nippon Airways (ANA) lets you see the menus for all flights in advance at this link:

Menus rotate every three months, so you can see what’s part of the current rotation Menus are available for first class, business class, premium economy, and economy ANA shows a PDF with both the full menu and drink list All Nippon Airways first class meal

Delta Air Lines

Delta lets you see the menus for all flights in advance at this link, with some restrictions:

The menu shown is only the current menu, which may only be valid for a few more days Menus are available for first class, business class, and premium economy, but not for economy While the drink list will be shown, it typically won’t include a detailed listing of the wine options Delta first class meal

Emirates

Emirates lets you see the menus for all flights in advance at this link:

You can see the menu for as far out as the schedule goes, so for roughly 11 months, though of course menu items (and especially the drink list) are subject to change Menus are available for first class, business class, premium economy, and economy When you enter your flight number and select the cabin class, you’ll see a section for both dining and drinks Emirates first class meal

Finnair

Finnair lets you see the menus for flights in advance at this link:

Menus are published for the current cycle, which is typically for travel within a month or so Only menus for long haul business class are published, and not short haul business class or economy You can see a full PDF of both the menu and drink list Finnair business class meal

Iberia

Iberia lets you see the menus for all flights in advance at this link:

You can see the menu for roughly the next two weeks Menus are available for business class, premium economy, and economy You can see not only the food selection, but also the full drink list Iberia business class meal

Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines (JAL) lets you see the menus for all flights in advance at this link:

You can see the menu for the current month, plus the next three months Menus are available for first class, business class, premium economy, and economy JAL shows a PDF with both the full menu and drink list Japan Airlines business class meal

JetBlue

JetBlue lets you see the menus for all flights in advance at this link:

There’s no need to even enter your flight info, as you can view the menus and drink lists for all flights that have meal services Menus are available for both Mint business class and economy on transatlantic flights Menus are available for whatever the current meal “cycle” is JetBlue Mint business class meal

Lufthansa

Lufthansa lets you see the menus for all flights in advance at this link:

You can see the menu for the current month, plus the next three months, by entering the flight number and selecting the cabin class Menus are available for first class, business class, premium economy, and economy Lufthansa shows both the full menu and drink list Lufthansa first class meal

Philippine Airlines

Philippine Airlines lets you see the menus for all flights in advance at this link:

You can see the menu for the current month, plus the next two months, by entering the flight number and selecting the cabin class Menus are available for business class, premium economy, and economy Philippine Airlines shows just the menu, and not the drink list Philippine Airlines business class meal

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines lets you see the menus for all flights in advance at this link:

You can see the menu for flights for roughly the next week by entering the flight number and date Menus are available for Suites Class, first class, business class, premium economy, and economy Singapore Airlines shows both the menu and drink list Singapore Airlines also offers the Book the Cook program, where you can order from a larger selection of meals in advance Singapore Airlines business class meal

Bottom line

It’s nice how some airlines publish their full menus in advance, so that you can know what you can expect once onboard. While not that many airlines offer this, it’s more than in the past, and it’s a trend that I hope we continue to see.

Anyone else appreciate when airlines publish menus and drink lists in advance? Any airlines I missed?

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