With the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays approaching, have you noticed that when booking your flights, in addition to the usual complimentary in-flight meals, you can also choose to purchase a meal to better suit your taste? In the past two years, many domestic airlines have focused on developing paid customized in-flight meals, with dishes like claypot rice, steak, Sichuan-style hot pot, and caviar platters gradually appearing in the air. When traveling, would you be willing to pay extra for a delicious meal in the air?

On social media platforms, many netizens shared photos of their "flight feasts." Claypot rice, steak, smoked salmon, and various local snacks have shattered the public's preconceived notions of traditional airplane meals. In the past, airplane meals were often associated with "you eat whatever you're given," offering limited choices and bland flavors. In recent years, airlines such as Air China, China Eastern, and China Southern have significantly increased their investment in paid in-flight meals. From affordable light snacks costing a dozen yuan and home-style set meals costing forty or fifty yuan, to high-end caviar feasts costing hundreds of yuan, in-flight dining has moved beyond the era of "one flavor on every plane."

Passenger: I think this is a great thing, especially since we often fly around and sometimes don't have time to order food, so providing this kind of service is really good for us.

The Business Strategies of Airline In-Flight Meals

In the past, paying for in-flight meals was typically a practice of low-cost carriers, while full-service airlines offered free meals to economy class passengers as long as the flight distance met certain requirements. Now, with fierce competition in the domestic civil aviation market, the fares of full-service airlines on some routes are even approaching the levels of low-cost carriers. Coupled with high fuel prices, full-service airlines are beginning to seek a new path of more refined management.

In recent years, with the steady growth of passenger traffic, although the cost of in-flight catering accounts for less than 5% of the overall operating costs of airlines, the total expenditure has been rising continuously. Taking the three major airlines as an example, the total expenditure on in-flight catering reached 8.6 billion yuan in 2023, increased to 12.8 billion yuan in 2024, and exceeded 14 billion yuan in 2025, with a cumulative increase of more than 60% in two years.

At the same time, the cost of a single in-flight meal is also increasing. The cost of a free full meal on a long-haul domestic economy class flight is about 25 to 30 yuan per meal, and even a simple meal on a short-haul flight costs around 10 yuan.

Zhong Shan, chief economist at the Aviation Transportation Research Institute of the China Academy of Space Technology, stated: "Under the traditional indiscriminate catering model, many passengers either don't eat or only eat a small amount, resulting in the ineffective consumption of costs for ingredients, cold chain logistics, and labor. For airlines, this leads to a serious imbalance between cost investment and passenger experience."

Experts say that the paid meal model emerged against this backdrop. Passengers pre-order paid meals online, allowing airlines to simultaneously cancel corresponding complimentary meal packages, thereby reducing ineffective meal preparation and food waste, and improving the return on investment for meal resources. It also allows passengers to receive more refined services.

Zhong Shan, Chief Economist of the Aviation Transportation Research Institute of the China Academy of Aeronautical Sciences: We can use passenger consumption preferences to inform the development of in-flight catering. By analyzing data on pre-selection behavior, we can accurately analyze the taste preferences of passengers on different routes and at different times, and develop regionally specific meal options to further strengthen the loyalty of frequent flyer programs and enhance their sense of benefits.

Could the free airplane meals be a case of "hidden discounts"?

In response to the rise of paid in-flight meals, the China Air Transport Association has long stated that free in-flight meals will not be discontinued. However, given the trend of consumer segmentation, can the quality standards of free in-flight meals be maintained?

During the interviews, reporters found that most passengers were quite accepting of the option to pay for in-flight meals, but some passengers expressed concerns about whether the quality of free in-flight meals would decline.

Passenger: Providing an additional option on top of the existing services is acceptable, but the original services must be guaranteed.

Passenger: Downgrading is generally unacceptable to most people. Therefore, if airlines want to avoid this kind of trouble for passengers, they need to ensure transparency in information disclosure.

Legal experts have also stated that if airlines lower the standards of previously free in-flight meals or force passengers to purchase paid meals while offering paid in-flight meals, it constitutes an infringement on consumers' legitimate rights and interests.

Chen Yinjiang, Deputy Secretary-General of the Consumer Rights Protection Law Research Association of the China Law Society, stated: "This will infringe upon consumers' right to know. Consumers may not be aware that the standard has been lowered; for example, what used to be hot food may now be ordinary cold food. Another situation is that it may be a disguised form of coercion to purchase, which could infringe upon consumers' right to fair trade."

Chen Yinjiang believes that airlines should provide passengers with more choices by adding to existing options rather than reducing them, allowing passengers to make their own choices with full knowledge.

Chen Yinjiang, Deputy Secretary-General of the Consumer Rights Protection Law Research Association of the China Law Society, stated: First, airlines must provide meals of guaranteed quality, ensuring the quality matches the price-performance ratio. Second, when selling tickets, airlines must effectively inform consumers of relevant pricing standards and meal contents in advance. Furthermore, from the consumer's perspective, they should carefully review all relevant information when purchasing tickets. (Source: CCTV News)