First class food 'more sophisticated'

Holidaymakers who choose to fly first class are now seeing a higher quality of inflight food service than before.

More airlines are looking to attract customers by offering gourmet menus created by well-known celebrity chefs, the Canadian Press reports.

Passengers flying first class with United Airlines to certain destinations can enjoy dishes such as sauteed prawns and crispy short rib wontons, together with organic Thai barbecue sauce and chilled sweet-and-sour cucumber relish.

Meanwhile, carriers are also upping their game when it comes to inflight drinks, with Delta offering a service that sees cocktails shaken up in the aisle in front of the passenger.

"Everything has been upgraded. Just as the customer in a restaurant has become more sophisticated, refined and demanding in terms of their food, that demand has filtered to the airlines," commented Stephan Pyles, a famous American restaurateur.

Last year's World Airline Awards saw Gulf Air win the accolade of best first class catering, with Austrian Airlines and Etihad taking away the equivalent prizes for business class and economy class food respectively.

• Flybe 'the UK's leading domestic airline'
• KLM tops UK punctuality ratings
• British Airways to launch extra flights to Istanbul, Warsaw
• Catch flights to Edinburgh for a feast of culture
• World class golf course opened in Muscat
• Bmi to increase capacity on UK flights
• Bristol Airport launches development project
• Qantas to increase A380 flight frequency
• Emirates reaches landmark on Newcastle to Dubai flights
• New attractions opened at Melbourne museum