What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of airline burgers? Probably something along the lines of “meh”, right?
I’ll be honest, I actually had no idea that there were airlines still offering burgers until pretty recently. It sounded like a meal served aboard a flight from the 1970’s. I certainly was not expecting airlines to be serving burgers, let alone ones that are actually good.
We’ve tried some of the best burgers around New York City and the rest of the world. But when it comes to airplanes and their offerings, we tend to envision a sad looking burger wedged between a deflated bun, arriving inedible on a coach cabin. Frankly it sounds like a lowlight of a trip.
But I was surprised to learn that there were some airline burgers that have actually developed a cult following. These airline served these burgers not only business, but in first class!
How could this be? I mean, you can’t actually “cook” on an airplane. We always assume that food (and burgers) are simply reheated meals. It sounds like a recipe for a dry burger.
But if you can get a decent burger mid air, this would be a trend that I could certainly get on board with. There is something special about getting comfort food when you travel. Especially 30,000 feet above ground. If it could be done right, I reckoned, an airline burger would instantly shoot up my travel bucket list.
I knew I needed to find all the airlines that serve burgers and plan my upcoming flights accordingly.
If you are in the same boat, then this will surely get you excited. Here are all the airlines that currently offer a good burger mid flight.
This airline offers their burger as part of their on demand “cravings” menu, which is available on request throughout the flight. The beef burger comes heaped with cheddar cheese, bacon, pickled onions and courgette on a toasted brioche bun.
It actually looks pretty delicious upon arrival. We would indulge in this “snack” offering as declared by Cathay over most burgers that we’ve had on the ground any day.
Offering a signature burger to first class passengers in the air and in their flagship lounge, American Airlines takes their burger seriously. So seriously, in fact, that they have entered this burger into the New York City Wine & Food Festival and are confident that it tastes like a winner.
The specialty burger is a sirloin patty topped with aged cheddar, red onions, arugula, beefsteak tomatoes and a bacon marmalade, all between a fresh brioche bun. While this airline burger has developed a cult following, it is unfortunately on the way out of domestic first class flights when American sets to retire it in 2020.
British Airways has been serving a gourmet burger on it’s first class bistro menu since 2014. Dubbed the “Flying Burger”, it is made up of 100% British beef, Monterey Jack cheese, gherkins, tomato relish and a brioche bun.
British Airways also serves a burger in their signature Concorde lounge, providing a taste of their in air offering.
Offered as a long haul “snack”, Eva Airs deluxe burger is a tasty, no frills classic. Passengers have raved about the simplicity of this airline burger.
But that’s not all – just as special as the burger itself are the fries that accompany it. These fries are insanely crispy, which is saying a lot for mid air food offerings! While you can’t pre-order this burger, you are able to select it as your main course with flight attendants who are almost always accommodating.
Known for consistently being one of the best airlines in the world, the Singapore Airlines burger is opulent and truly something special. As part of its “Book the Cook” offering (which we were lucky enough to try!), Singapore Airlines allows passengers to select from a large number of meals in advance.
The angus beef burger is served with portobello mushroom, onion jam, cheese and tomatoes. Knowing how much the airline invests in their food, this burger looks to be no different in level of quality.
United Airlines has dabbled and changed up their burger offering a number of times. The most recent announcement is a way back to the classics. They’ve gotten rid of their everything bun burger, one of the truly more unique mid-air offerings. United’s airline burgers are now served with fontina cheese, Sir Kensington’s ketchup, mustard and a chipotle mayo on brioche bread. While the company has caught flack before for serving a paper bag burger in economy class, many recent traveler’s have reported that the burger is actually not half bad, and makes for a pretty enjoyable snack.
Knowing that there are multiple airlines aiming to serve up the perfect burger mid-air continues to give me hope that the best is yet to come. When the next class of delicious airline burgers debut, we’ll be on the lookout.