I used to marvel and appreciate any sort of meal offered in flight because, let's be honest, some people struggle to get a simple dinner on the table from their high-spec kitchens at home, let alone feeding more than 300 passengers a hot meal mid-air.
But, lately, I've been disappointed. With the variety of fares on offer, it's as though they don't want to highlight the difference between the haves and the have-nots so everyone suffers as the standard of meals declines steadily.
Recently, on board a transtasman flight, when the meals came around, I enquired what the options were, only to be informed that I was on a "seat + bag" only fare.
"There must be some mistake," I spluttered but, when I glared at my boarding pass, here it was, emblazoned across the top: "seat + bag only". Oh dear.
But, when the foil was lifted off my neighbours' meals I, somewhat surprisingly, was devoid of all Pavlovian response. The stew looked insipid and the ultimate insult, the stiff bread roll served chilled (go figure), held no appeal.
