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Best In-Flight Catering Ideas for Unexpected Guests

Updated: Nov 12, 2020

The aviation industry is slowly expanding by leaps and bounds. Also, private aviation is quite famous. People in business use private jets to travel across the world. In-flight catering is an essential part of the aviation industry. Long hours of transit with an empty stomach can prove to have severe consequences. In such a scenario, the flights must carry the required amount of food to cater to the passengers as there are times unexpected guests board the flight. It would be impolite to tell them that you cannot provide food because they came in unexpectedly. Hence, to find a solution to this problem, extra pantries need to be set up inside the aircraft.

The private aviation industry aims to provide premium quality food to the customers. However, the unexpected passengers who board the flight have a different story to tell at the last minute. Earlier, such passengers were served food quite frugally by the in-flight caterers. Hence, the authorities have come up with new ideas such that these problems do not occur in the future. In this article, we have discussed some catering ideas for unexpected passengers.

In-flight Catering ideas for unexpected passengers

It is of vital importance to discuss a few out-of-the-box catering ideas for unexpected passengers on flights.



1. Keep portion size in check- The pieces of chicken or steak should be sliced and spread out over the plate in a particular way. That way is known as fanning. Fanning is the best way to feed two passengers with one portion of protein. So, having excess passengers will not be a problem. Generally, the in-flight caterers serve generous portions of rice to the passengers. In the case of an extra passenger, you can reduce the quantity of rice from others. You can reduce the parts surreptitiously and can arrange these vegetables in a sensible way to hide the loss of proportion.

2. Less is more- Most of the passengers are concerned with the quality of food. On the other hand, presentation matters much more to them. A buffet-style meal can be set up in some instances to cover up the deficit in quantity. Generally, the passengers are so busy serving themselves that they do not notice their portion is significantly less. The arrangement of food should be appealing to the eye.

3. Cause a distraction- It is essential to cause a creative distraction to hide the “negative space.” For example, chocolate glaze or some puree will be a good idea. However, creative distraction should not overwhelm the dish. The flight authorities should keep their distraction in control.

4. Fruit platter-It is an excellent idea to have a fruit platter as a dessert on long flights. However, the person wielding the knife should be skilled to not cut into unwieldy shapes. A plate of food is nutritious and filling at the same time. So, people do not realize it is a planned cover-up.

5. Maintaining a well-stocked pantry- This condition may sound cliché to anybody but, a well-stocked pantry is of utmost importance. A pre-cooked packet of rice is a rich source of carbohydrates. A mixing and matching food item to create a new dish is also a good idea. Creativity is the core of any cuisine. Mix some sauces and make a dish.

You may add cheese to crackers to make them look substantial. Such streaks of creativity also come in handy if children board the flight. A can of soup may even be enough for a passenger who has suddenly boarded the flight.

6. Garnishing- Many chefs garnish an Oriental dessert with edible flowers. Cookbooks recommend that we use microgreens with some typical desserts. It is necessary to find out at the beginning whether the customers are allergic to something before the garnishing of food takes place. Edible garnishing leaves the passengers full, and they do not feel the deficiency of food. Creativity is necessary for garnishing too. The cabin crew needs to think calmly before decorating the food. For example -nuts are an essential element of the Middle-Eastern salad. You can add leftover Greek yogurt from breakfast to garnish a bowl of soup. It is a classic example of mix-and-match.


Private aviation is the right way of doing business. Many celebrities use this as their preferred mode of transport. Even stars believe that inflight catering is an art. A well-stocked pantry is proof of efficient private jet catering.

Professional in-flight catering has to be flawless and efficient. Hygiene standards are essential for private aviation. So, the authorities should be particular about not serving stale food. However, the pantry should have an ample supply of food. It is suitable for business to satisfy the pangs of hunger with good looking wholesome servings of food. It reduces wastage and keeps the in-flight catering ready for extra passengers. Well-presented small portions of food also leave the unexpected passengers with a feeling of a warm welcome.


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