Exclusive Preview Of Air India’s New In-Flight Menu: A Look Inside Air India’s Kitchen

Air India passengers are in for a fresh inflight dining experience as the airline is revamping the entire food menu. To match the varied preferences of the guests, Air India has expanded its food offerings to include international, modern Indian as well as regional Indian meals. The flight operator is set to regale its guests with a whole lot of gourmet meals, trendy appetisers and decadent desserts to choose from. Keeping up with the latest trend of healthy eating, the new menu will also feature a range of light meals that will not weigh down the fliers on the flight. Here are the details of the refreshed food options now available on all domestic and international Air India flights.  

Highlights of the new Air India inflight dining services: 

• The menu cycles change every other day to avoid monotony for regular fliers. 
• The set menu changes as per the time of the day. 
• The entire menu is reinvented after every six months. 
• Seasonal foods are added to the menu whenever applicable. 
• Menu cards mention the nutritional values of each of the dishes. 
• A comprehensive list of religious and dietary meal options, prescribed by IATA, is available on reservation systems. 
• New menus from London, Milan and Copenhagen have been launched, and more are coming up soon. 

Air India Domestic Inflight Dining: 

From October 1, 2022, Air India introduced new menus for all domestic flights, incorporating remastered regional specialities from all around the world to please the global palate. The meal choices now feature a mix of Asian, Continental and modern Indian dishes with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options for breakfast, lunch, refreshments and dinner. Items on the menu include: 

Indian Cuisine: Aloo Parantha, Medu Vada and Podi Idli for breakfast. Lunch and High Tea options include Fish Curry, Chicken Chettinad, Potato Podimas, Chicken 65, Vegetable Pulao, Dry Jeera Aloo Wedges and Mumbai Batata Wada. 

International Cuisine: Grilled Sliced Pesto Chicken Sandwich, Croissants, Sugar-free Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins, Cheese and Truffle Oil Scrambled Eggs with Chives, Cheese Mushroom Omelette, and Mustard Cream-coated Chicken Sausage, Vegetable Fried Noodles, Chilli Chicken and more. 

Air India International Inflight Dining (Exiting India): 

On April 1 2023, Air India launched new inflight food and beverage menus across cabins on all international flights (exiting India), based on guest feedback. The airline aims to present the very best of Indian cuisine to millions of travellers from India and around the world. The menu also includes a vast selection of international food options. 

Indian Cuisine: Mixed Vegetable Paratha, Achari Paneer, Murgh Rezala Kofta, Murgh Elaichi Korma, Chicken Chettinad Kathi Roll, Masala Dal and Brown Rice Khichdi with Sprouts, Classic Tomato and Coriander Shorba with Crisp Namakpara etc. 

International Cuisine: Mushroom Scrambled Egg, Turmeric Chilli Omelette, Emmenthal Sandwich in Multigrain Bread, Grilled Prawns in a Fennel Cream Sauce, Classic Chilli Chicken, Baked Fillet of Fish, Roast Tomato and Bocconcini Caprese with Kalamata Olives and Pesto, among others. 

Vegan Options: Subz Seekh Kebab, Thai Red Curry with Tofu and Vegetables, Broccoli and Millet Steak, Lemon Sevaiyan Upma, Medu Wada and Masala Uttapam. 

Desserts: Mango Passionfruit Delight, Quinoa Orange Kheer, Espresso Almond Crumble Mousse Cake, Khajur Tukda with Kesar Phirni, Single Origin Chocolate Slice, Chum-Chum Sandwich with Blueberry Sauce, and a seasonal fruit selection.  

Beverages: Mocktails menu includes Virgin Mary, California Orange and Apple Spritzer. Among hot beverages, options like a freshly brewed cup of coffee (Classic Coffee Blend and Cappuccino) or tea (Assam, Green, Earl Grey, and Masala) are available. 

Bar Menu (only on international flights): Air India’s bar menu now features a range of premium brands of spirits as well as a special wine list that includes fine French and Italian wines. 

The journey of food from flight kitchen to tray:  

In collaboration with the caterer, Ambassador’s Sky Chef, the food trail of Air India’s inflight dining starts at the receiving docks of the flight kitchen. Here, the raw ingredients are checked for freshness and quality. Then they are moved to the Process Wing, where the raw materials are brought for preparation while their nutritional values are recorded. Non-veg items are processed separately to avoid cross-contamination. The main kitchen is divided into sections: Hot Kitchen, Cold Kitchen, Bakery, Confectionery etc. Different dishes are cooked in these sections according to the cuisine. Next comes the Operations wing, where the food is apportioned and set in the trays with cutlery and crockery. 

^{Ambassador’s Sky Chef kitchen} 

The meal trays are loaded onto meal carts and dispatched to aircraft after rigorous checks by Air India’s Catering and Security teams. The entire process has to clear 12 Critical Control Points identified by the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). All these points are closely monitored by a team of microbiologists to check for any violations. The meal that finally reaches the guest on board is monitored at every stage for quality and random checks at the in-house NABL-approved Quality Assurance & Laboratory by a dedicated team.