Pallavi Kumar: Come on, you have to!
JA: It’s Delta. It’s a nice surprise, sometimes, when you find you want to eat everything on your plate on an economy flight.
MB: Yeah, I’m a Delta girl.
PK: I will say that the Middle Eastern airlines are really good with economy food, they have a lot of Emirati dishes and it’s quite fresh. Lots of fresh veggies.
MS: Fresh vegetables in the sky?
JA: Fresh vegetables and fish are the really challenging things.
MS: You’re eating fish?
JA: I have eaten fish.
Scott Bay: I don’t think I’ve ever eaten fish on a plane.
CH: Sorry–what type of fish?
JA: White fish.
PK: I’ve definitely had a creamy white fish on a flight.
MS: In economy, where you peel the plastic off?
PK: Oh, no, in business.
JA: My fish was in business, too.
SB: Business has to be considered separately.
MB: I’ve only flown in business once, when I went to Dubai earlier this year, and, yes, the food was delicious. But it didn’t hit the spot for me, because it wasn’t airplane food. It was a very nice meal.
SB: There wasn’t enough plastic for you?
MS: It’s kind of like when you’re on a road trip, and you have an excuse to eat a lot of junk food because that’s what is available.
JA: I don’t know if this conversation extends to food you get in the airport that you can bring on the plane, but everyone has stuff that they look forward to getting in certain airports. I just flew out of New Orleans, and that airport is a joy for the guilty pleasures on offer.
MB: It’s definitely a guilty pleasure sort of thing.
SB: That’s how I feel about it, as well. There’s something about being able to plan out my entire flight because it’s the only time that I’m in control. I know the food will come and I’ll eat it.
MS: You’re in this time and space that is a closed loop; very few things are supposed to happen when you’re on that plane. The food is one little treat that you get, this warm dish brought to you amidst this warm expanse of entertaining yourself.
SB: When breakfast comes on the red-eye, it can be really beautiful. I like when they do breakfast from whatever destination you’re heading to—I remember when I went to Korea and they served us a Korean breakfast.
MB: That special treat that really kicks off the trip.
JA: When we flew [redacted] to Korea, it had some of the worst airplane food I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. I will say, I’m sure you all have these rituals, and I always order tomato juice.
MS: No vodka?
JA: No, and it pisses me off when they only have Bloody Mary mix. Tomato juice should be on every plane.