Worst in-flight meal you've received?

[Mattg]

We all know that economy meals are usually pretty bad. But this one I received for dinner on a long-haul United flight a few days ago is the worst I can remember getting for quite a while. It was described as "some chicken thing with rice and cheese" and was as oily, bland and inedible as it looks.



What's the worst economy meal you've been served?

 

[Denali]

United use to be Continental, didnt it? I remember Cairns to Guam and being handed a aluminium foil hockey puck wrapped thing that exposed a microwaved bacon and egg roll. Smelled worse than my hubbys 4yr old wet Volleys that were banned from the house.

No photo but Silk Air Manado Ind to SIN. It literally put me off any Silk Air menu for about 4yrs, I wouldnt even accept a tray from them (politely).

 

[TomVexille]

No photos, but it was AF ORD-CDG return 14 years ago. The only edible thing on the tray was the bread roll. And even that was rock hard.

 

[Gremlin]

Similarly no photos...

I flew PEK to XIY a few years back on China Eastern. The flight attendant passed out this... thing... to eat. It was in a sealed plastic bag. For freshness, I guess. Or maybe to stop it escaping and rampaging through the plane leading to the untimely deaths of us all. It was about the size of an iPhone, maybe twice as thick. It was grey in colour but with lumps that were a different shade of grey throughout. It was strangely both rock hard and yet gelatinous at the same time. I couldn't tell by looking at it if it came from an animal, plant or was completely made in a factory.

This very helpful Chinese man sitting next to me then frantically grabbed my arm and started vigorously shaking his head and pointing at the... thing..., indicating I was not, under any circumstances, to eat it. I looked around the cabin and saw no one else had taken the item from the flight attendant. That was enough for me. I politely handed the... thing... back and the flight attendant who looked at my seat mate knowingly and shrugged.

 

[Pushka]

On Jetstar DPS - SIN. Purchased a meal. It was some kind of curry. As soon as I opened the foil it stank and my stomach heaved. I wrapped it up again.

 

[MickC32]

Same, no photos. This was 2011. Air Asia, PER-KUL 6am departure. I pre ordered the "Western" meal option. Got roast lamb and vegies, well that's what they told me it was couldn't really tell and I was not game enough to try a second bite. Truly awful!

 

[harvyk]

BA flight from ORD to LHR, breakfast was a cold rock hard multi-grain croissant, plus pretty much undrinkable coffee served by the crabbiest FA I've ever met (who initially forgot to get myself and the pax next to us our drinks).

 

[Ewing]

I don't really fly Y on flights long enough to eat on, so nothing comes to mind.

This one however is easily the worst dish I've ever had onboard in any cabin (QF HKG-SYD in J). It was sent back after one bite.


And this one on Delta came close. Some "cheesy-chickeny thing" - I ate the snow peas, salad and the brownie.

 

[Pushka]

I don't really fly Y on flights long enough to eat on, so nothing comes to mind.

This one however is easily the worst dish I've ever had onboard in any cabin (QF HKG-SYD in J). It was sent back after one bite.
View attachment 157835

And this one on Delta came close. Some "cheesy-chickeny thing" - I ate the snow peas, salad and the brownie.
View attachment 157837

What on earth is that in the top photo?

 

[get me outta here]

I had one thing that could have been jam or it could have been ham. And I only came to that conclusion cos the stuff was a browny red colour.

 

[kelvedon]

Aeroflot domestic in the 80's, a mushily soft green apple and a boiled chicken leg.

 

[Ewing]

What on earth is that in the top photo?

It was allegedly some chilli beef dish. I guess sad old stale capsicum is technically part of the same family.

The bit that was apparently beef didn't taste like anything.

The wonton soup that I swapped it with was much nicer. I didn't even have to tell the crew how bad it was - the FA proactively offered something else when she noticed I hadn't touched it.

 

[OZDUCK]

Back about 1997 between Singapore and Penang on Singapore Airlines. We got a snack of a grey rubbery mass, which I think was meant to be tofu, three small rubber prawns and packet of chilli sauce - which was the only edible part.

 

[love_the_life]

The worst I can remember was a 'refreshment' on QF from CBR to somewhere (I forget). It was labelled as a fig scone. but was so hard it was inedible, couldn't even break it into pieces.

 

[JohnK]

I don't remember anything really bad but there are times when I have not finished a meal as it wasn't something I wanted to eat.

Some of the dinner time salads on Qantas domestic can be very ordinary.

 

[MickC32]

I don't remember anything really bad but there are times when I have not finished a meal as it wasn't something I wanted to eat.

Some of the dinner time salads on Qantas domestic can be very ordinary.

I love the salads!! You appear to fly way more than I do so perhaps I've just been lucky!

 

[Lynda2475]

No photo but worst meal ever on an international flight was on AA from DFW to SJO (Costa Rica) in Y, one option only which was chicken salad consisting solely of wilted slimy lettuce, with a few canned black beans, still frozen cubed chicken pieces (looked like chicken loaf i.e. manufactured meat not chicken breast or thigh) and oily ranch dressing + small snack size packet of crisps. No complimentary alcohol offered only soda even though an international flight. Needless to say I only ate the chips and drank my coke (no sparkling water either).

Worst domestic meal, was a recent Qantas mid arvo flight MEL-SYD where only offering was carrot and celery sticks with hummus which I decline, give me pretzels or a cookie never celery.

 

[Matt_01]

Firstly this is reused content from a trip report earlier this year QF SYD-PVG, the photos have been re uploaded:

As for the food and as much as I would like to write something nice is just not possible and generally I am not critical of airline food as it is just that plane food. The QF food service on this flight managed to take bad to a whole new level.

The small plate was the soup that tasted like it was watered down to make extra serves.

The chicken biriyani well judge that for yourself

At least the ice cream was edible, the only thing that was not Neil Perry inspired

When it cam for the dinner service, all three of us ordered the three cup chicken and surprisingly or not all three did not eat the meal. The chicken was barley edible as for the rice I did not think it was possible to take something that is so simple and create something so bad.

I struggled to eat the chicken

MissM just would not eat it

And MrsM ate some but gave up.


What was not in the trip report but you can see from the above photos not even the salad was eaten.

 

[DC3]

What on earth is that in the top photo?

It was allegedly some chilli beef dish. I guess sad old stale capsicum is technically part of the same family. The bit that was apparently beef didn't taste like anything ...

Looks very much like the Mystery Meat offered to me on a flight in the USA some time back. I hope that this one didn't smell as bad. At least you sent it back.

Edit: Edited for spelling

 

[Matt_01]

Looks very much like the Mystery Meat offered to me on a flight in the USA some time back.

I like terms like 'Mystery Meat', when I was in the defence force sometimes we used to have items on the menu listed as 'Chicken Surprise' or 'Beef Surprise', we were just surprised if these items contained any chicken or beef.