The Best Airline Food in the World (2026 Ranking)

Turkish Airlines has the best airline food in the world for 2026. It won the Skytrax award for the World’s Best Business Class Onboard Catering for the 10th time and placed fourth for economy catering, the strongest combined result of any airline.

Singapore Airlines is a whisker behind. It won the economy catering award outright, which matters more to most travelers, since that is the meal most of us actually eat.

This ranking blends the two Skytrax World Airline Awards 2026 catering lists, economy and business, into one score. It covers the 10 airlines that came out on top as of November 2026, what each one serves, and how to get the best meal on board.

1. Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines takes the top spot because it is one of only two airlines in the top four on both lists, and the only one of the two to win either. It was first for business class catering and fourth for economy, and it also won the Skytrax award for the best economy class onboard catering in Europe.

The business class win was its 10th. Skytrax chief executive Edward Plaisted credited the result to the airline’s partnership with Turkish DO&CO, its catering joint venture, which he said “continues to set industry benchmarks.”

Why it beats Singapore: Singapore’s business class finished fifth, while Turkish led it outright. On a long-haul ticket to Istanbul, the meal is a reason to choose the airline, not something to put up with.

2. Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines won the World’s Best Economy Class Onboard Catering award for 2026, placed fifth in business, and was third for first class catering. It also took the Skytrax title for the best airline in the world for the sixth time.

Its best-known food feature is Book the Cook, which lets you reserve your main course from a larger menu. It runs on flights over 1.5 hours, and for travel from December 1, 2025 you can order from six weeks up to 24 hours before departure.

3. Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific is the most consistent airline on the board: third for economy catering, third for business and fourth for first class. It ties Singapore on points and loses only on the economy tiebreak.

Cathay builds its economy menus around Hong Kong flavors, including Cantonese classics developed with Michelin-starred restaurants and the city’s famous egg tarts. In first and business on long-haul and regional routes, you can preselect from 10 days up to 24 hours before departure, including Cathay Signatures dishes such as braised abalone with pomelo pith.

4. Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways was second for business class catering, fifth for economy and 10th for first class. It also won the overall World’s Best Business Class award, and its Qsuite was named the best business class seat.

Its business class food is served on a “dine on demand” basis. You order from an a la carte menu when you want to eat, rather than when the crew runs the meal cart, which is a bigger deal on a 14-hour flight than any single dish.

Qatar’s economy food is solid but not its strongest card. Within the Middle East, the Skytrax economy catering prize went to Emirates, not Qatar.

5. Hainan Airlines

Hainan Airlines is the surprise entry for most Western readers. It placed fourth for business class catering and sixth for economy, and it won the Skytrax economy catering award for China.

Hainan’s business class runs a “Hai Chef” program, which a 2018 airline-sponsored feature described as a private catering service delivered by cabin crew to long-distance business passengers. In 2019 the airline extended meal pre-ordering, already offered in business, to economy on several routes, bookable from 10 days to 24 hours before departure.

6. EVA Air

EVA Air placed second in the world for economy catering, behind only Singapore. It misses the business class top 10, which is the only thing keeping it out of the top five.

At a July 2026 tasting for UK travel agents, EVA’s London caterer DO & CO served economy dishes such as General Tso chicken and a beef patty with peppercorn sauce. DO & CO said each EVA menu takes three to five months to develop and uses chefs with Taiwanese backgrounds.

7. STARLUX Airlines

STARLUX, one of Taiwan’s youngest airlines, placed sixth for business catering and eighth for economy. That puts it ahead of far older carriers such as Air France and Japan Airlines in business.

Its food strategy is restaurant partnerships. A wagyu sukiyaki kaiseki set from Tokyo’s Ningyocho Imahan, a restaurant founded in 1895, debuted in first and business between Tokyo and Taipei in July 2024 and drew pre-selection rates above 90% by the end of that year.

From January 2026 STARLUX added long-haul first and business menus from Yuan Ji, a Taiwanese restaurant with a Michelin star in 2024 and 2025. It includes a lighter “pre-sleep” set in first class for passengers who want to eat and then sleep.

8. ANA

ANA placed seventh for economy catering, eighth for business and eighth for first class. Its menus come from a chef panel it calls The Connoisseurs.

The panel includes Toru Okuda of Ginza Okuda, who earned three Michelin stars at the age of 37, and Yoshihiro Takahashi, 15th-generation head of Kyoto’s Hyotei. If you want a proper Japanese meal at altitude, ANA and JAL are the two to book.

9. Air France

Air France was seventh for business catering and 10th for economy. Its real strength is higher up: it was named the World’s Best First Class Airline for 2026 and placed second for first class catering.

In October 2026 it announced new menus for long-haul flights from Paris. Mathieu Viannay of the two-Michelin-starred La Mère Brazier in Lyon created more than 20 business class dishes, and three-star chef Arnaud Lallement created more than 30 for La Première.

Those business dishes are being introduced over the coming months, so a flight this winter may not carry the full new menu yet. Business class passengers can pre-select their meal, which Air France says cuts food waste.

10. Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines was ninth for economy catering and sixth for first class catering, but it missed the business class top 10. That leaves it in 10th, ahead of Emirates on the economy tiebreak.

From March 2026, JAL premium economy and economy passengers get menus from chefs recognized in RED U-35, a Japanese competition for young chefs. They run on routes from Japan to North America (except Hawaii and Guam), Europe, Australia and South and Southeast Asia.

Up front, Natsuko Shoji, owner-chef of Tokyo’s été, now oversees the second meal in first and business on routes from Tokyo to Europe, the Americas and Doha. You can see how the cabins themselves compare in our ranking of the best economy class airlines.

Best First Class Food: Lufthansa

First class has its own Skytrax catering list, and in 2026 Lufthansa won it. Air France was second, Singapore third, Cathay fourth and Emirates fifth.

Lufthansa developed its first class menu with two-Michelin-starred chef Christoph Kunz and its caterer gategourmet. Since March 2026, flights departing Germany have served a new fine-dining concept with a wider choice of dishes.

Lufthansa does not make our main ranking because it is not in either the economy or the business catering top 10. For the full first class picture, see our ranking of the best first class airlines.

Near Misses: Emirates, Iberia and Air Canada

Emirates scored 2 points, the same as JAL, from ninth place in business catering. It also won the economy catering award for the Middle East and was fifth for first class catering.

Iberia took the last business class spot, in 10th. Air Canada won the Skytrax award for the best economy catering in North America, and its Signature Suite at Toronto Pearson was named the world’s best business class lounge dining.

How to Get the Best Meal on Any Airline

Pre-order when you can. Singapore, Cathay, Air France and Hainan all let you choose your main course in advance, so you are not left with whatever remains when the cart reaches your row.

Order the airline’s home cuisine. The winners above are built around Turkish, Cantonese, Taiwanese, Japanese and French food, and those are the dishes their caterers spend months developing.

Keep your expectations in proportion to the setting. Food is cooked on the ground hours before departure, as our look at how airplane food is made explains.