While many fliers may mourn the death of surcharge-free baggage hauling, some passengers actually miss the trays of “food” that airlines once handed out on nearly all flights. For anyone nostalgic for that golden age of rubber chicken, mystery sauces and reheated frozen veggies, The New York Times has a message: Come to Turkey.

Ken Belson reports that, on a flight within Turkey:

[T]he flight attendants were not just rolling the drink cart down the aisle, but serving a full lunch that included a modest chicken sandwich, a small salad, a side dish with some kind of pickled vegetable and chocolate mousse for dessert. I washed it down with a glass of sour cherry juice.

The meal wasn’t served in some cardboard lunch box, but on a tray with silverware and a wet napkin. Though other aspects of the service on Turkish Airlines were lacking, the meal on the short flight more than won me over.

Belson points out that many European airlines continue to serve food on most flights, and that, according to airline catering companies, “the flying public in Europe have not been as compliant as in the United States, because food and food culture still plays an important role in Europe.”

Last time we checked, food still plays an important role in the U.S., as well. But we’d still gladly check an extra bag for free and skip the inflight meal if given a choice — though the sour cherry juice could just sway us.

A Trip Back to the Days of Airline Food – Bucks Blog [NYTimes.com]

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