Emirates' Inflight Menu Is About To Get Even Fancier

Since its modest founding in 1985 with a mere two aircrafts, per SuccessStory, Emirates has become an industry leader with a serious commitment to its inflight dining experience. By 2017, the Dubai-based airline was employing 1,200 chefs and treating inflight diners to 100 million meals per year on a catering budget of $1 billion dollars annually (via Emirates). It's not just the quantity, however, but the quality of food that distinguishes Emirates: from its monthly-changing menus and impressive wine list, per CNN, to its dedication to quality control. And that quality is about to become enhanced to an even greater degree now that Emirates has announced that it's funding over $2 billion dollars in additional upgrades to the already luxurious inflight experience.

"While others respond to industry pressures with cost cuts, Emirates is flying against the grain and investing to deliver ever better experiences to our customers,” noted Sir Tim Clark, Emirates president, in the press release. "Through the pandemic we've continued to launch new services and initiatives to ensure our customers travel with [assurance] and ease, including digital initiatives to improve customer experiences on the ground. Now we're rolling out a series of intensive programs to take Emirates' signature inflight experiences to the next level."

Emirates has ambitious plans to fancify the inflight dining experience further via its new investment, with some options available as early as this month. Not only is the airline retrofitting 120 aircraft with newly designed interiors so that customers can comfortably enjoy all 5,000 channels of the inflight entertainment system, it's also showcasing newly created menus across first-class, business class, and economy. The latter two classes will have their multi-course menus unveiled on September 1, but Emirates announced that first-class fliers can look forward to new entrées like roasted duck breast with orange thyme jus and pan-fried salmon trout with moqueca sauce. The decadent luxury travel purveyor has also decreed unlimited portions of Persian caviar and Dom Perignon Champagne for its first-class customers. Emirates remains the only airline to carry the iconic Champagne brand, thanks to an exclusive agreement.

The airline is also upgrading its supply chain via a partnership with Dubai-based Bustanica, the largest vertical farm on the planet. Per Emirates, new menus have also been curated especially for vegans, including plant-based meals featuring pan-roasted king oyster mushrooms and desserts such as chocolate truffle cake with hazelnut, pistachio, and gold leaf.