Love them or hate them , airline meals are a big part of every traveller 's flight , and they have changed dramatically since their introduction in 1919 . The mile-high meals have seen highs and lows , from the first hot meals being served on United Airlines in 1936 and tablecloths and silver service in the 1950s to low-cost carriers slicing food budgets in the 1970s . KLM , the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands , has offered an insight into their airline cuisine in 1965 . Passengers are served beverages by a flight attendant - with plenty of legroom - on a KLM flight in 1965 . In 1965 , food was prepared on the ground , like today , by chefs , including many who had won awards . How the food was served . The 1950s and '60s were considered the golden age of travel , with the glory days of Pan Am , and the Concorde breaking records in the skies . From their promotional video in 1958 Pan Am unveiled the new developments on board their new 707 jet service . Meals were described as being prepared in four simultaneously operating galleys , with dishes being cooked in five-minute ovens . In short - they aimed to take the 'travail out of travel . ' The Civil Service for Aircraft Catering Provisioning was responsible for supplying food and beverage to KLM in 1965 . By this time there were no chefs on board the flights , and thousands of meals were prepared on the ground every day . The provisioning came in the three categories . The fixed provisioning was the supplying of blankets , cutlery and glassware for guests . Meals and perishable goods were included in the variable provisioning , which depended on the number of passengers . Finally special provisioning was granted for specific dietary requirements and baby food . Passengers would specify their preferences before at the time of booking , and these would be relayed to the kitchen . The catering company for KLM and 20 other airlines cleaned 50,000 pieces of cutlery every day . What food was served ? The Civil Service for Aircraft Catering Provisioning provided for around twenty other airlines , as well as KLM . In 1965 , they would prepare tens of thousands of meals every day for flying passengers , which included pastries , roasted chicken and boiled eggs . There were kosher dishes served for those who required them , and a staggering 15,000 items of crockery to be cleaned daily . 3,000 cold dishes , fully composed . 250 chickens , roasted and deboned . 500 kilograms of meat , roasted or stewed . 3,000 eggs , boiled and shelled . 2,000 pastries . 250 kosher dishes . 10,000 trays , fully laid out . 15,000 cups , saucers and plates cleaned . 50,000 knives , forks and spoons cleaned . Concorde debuted in 1969 , and flights on the British Airways and Air France dazzled guests with caviar , champagne , foie gras , lobster and truffles . Guided tours . Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has been KLM ’ s home base since the airline ’ s founding in 1919 . The airport had kitchens for preparing flight meals , with many of the cooks having won international culinary awards . A highlight of the Schiphol tour would feature the cooking location , to see where the thousands of airborne meals were created . The big clean-up . According to old copies of KLM 's staff magazine , Wolkenridder , the airline had 1.6million passengers during the fiscal year of 1964-65 . Although this is not a lot compared to the 25.8million customers it carried in 2012 , no disposable tableware existed in those early years , until 1969 . Crews in 1965 would use a mechanised dishwashing system to clean all items , which had demineralised water , ensuring a no-streak finish . None of the plates , cups or cutlery were disposable on KLM 's 1965 flights . What happened next ? In the 1970s ticket prices fell dramatically with airline deregulation , and this had an impact on the budget for food and service . This sparked the creation of the world 's first low-cost carrier , Southwest Airlines , in 1971 . In 1973 , French airline Union de Transports Aériens recruited professional advice from Raymond Oliver , in redesigning their menus . Airlines begin to favour salty , rich and spicy food which is better for reheating and retains its flavour at 30,000ft . In 2001 , after the September 11 tragedy , plastic cutlery was preferred by airlines . Another bomb scare in 2006 led to even stricter regulations with all liquids greater than 100ml banned from flights . This led to passengers being forced to buy drinks from the airport or expensive ones on the plane , unless they were complimentary . A report from TravelSupermarket reveals that airlines charge up to 2,600 per cent more than supermarkets for in-flight food and drink . In 2011 more airlines began to seek the help of celebrity and Michelin star chefs to raise the standard of in-flight meals . These included Heston Blumenthal , of Fat Duck fame , for British Airways , and Singapore Airlines sign-up Carlo Cracco , a two-star Michelin chef in Milan .
Rare photos reveal in-flight meals in the 1960s before disposable dishes . Airline airline 's pictures show the glamour of the 'golden age ' of flying . KLM has grown from 1.6million passengers in the 1960s to 25.8million .