Food in the Air and Space

by Richard Foss

  9. Per dryiceinfo.com, an industry website.

  10. GG, 8.

  11. United Airlines did not answer repeated e-mails requesting clarification on this and other questions. There was no mention of it in High Horizons, which is generally regarded as the best history of the airline.

  12. Inflight Catering Management, 27.

  13. HH, 111–12.

  14. From the Food Timeline website, http://foodtimeline.org/restaurants.html#inflight. No author name provided in original article.

  15. Menu dated March 16, 1940, New York Public Library collection, online at menus.nypl.org.

  16. Program of May 8, 1940. The Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin, described the program as follows: “Why it takes six minutes to boil a three minute egg when you’re 10,000 feet in the air and other problems of cookery in the clouds will be discussed when Fred Allen interviews Donald F. Magarell of United Air Lines . . . ”

  17. Salt Lake Tribune, January 21, 1961 (p. 16).

  18. It can’t have been Marriott, because they didn’t begin operations there until 1946, so it was probably an independent company.

  19. Grace Turner, “Picking a Meal Out of the Air,” Los Angeles Times, November 13, 1938 (p. J15).

  20. Daniel Rust, Flying Across America (University of Oklahoma Press, 2009), 164.

  21. Polina Kurovskaya, Aeroflot historian, e-mail message to author, December 30, 2013.

  22. Rob Mulder and Gunther Ott, “Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor with Danish Air Lines in War and Peace,” in Focke-Wulf Condor with Danish Airlines in War and Peace (European Airlines Publishing, 2013), 52–55.

  23. Several books have stated that no land-based aircraft of this era had a galley significantly more sophisticated than the DC-3. They are wrong; the 307 Stratoliner at the Smithsonian Institute’s Udvar-Hazy Air Museum has been restored by Boeing to factory specifications and has multiple electric hot plates. (Dr. Bob Van Der Linden, curator, e-mail message to author, February 22, 2014.)

  Chapter 8

  1. Eugene Dunning, ed., Voices of My Peers (Clipper Press, 1996), 93. Hereafter cited as VOMP.

  2. Toaramina, 18.

  3. GG, 27.

  4. E-mail from Peter Elliott, December 16, 2013.

  5. AAF Manual No. 49-1, dated December 30, 1944.

  6. Andrew F. Smith, Eating History (Columbia University Press, 2013), 169.

  7. Captain Thomas M. Davis, USAF liaison officer, “Food and Ration Problems of the U.S. Air Force,” in Activities Report of the Quartermaster Food and Container Institute for the Armed Forces, 1949, 270–71.

  8. HH, 117.

  9. DeltaMuseum.org website, history/aircraft-by-type page.

  10. FITS, 174.

  11. R. Dixon Speas, Airline Operations (American Aviation Publications, 1948), 88.

  12. “The Log of Logan Airport,” Christian Science Monitor, September 8, 1948, 2.

  13. Audrey McCool, Inflight Catering Management (Wiley, 1995), 32–37.

  14. Mary Dixon Lebeau, “At 50, The TV Dinner Is Still Cookin,’ Christian Science Monitor, November 10, 2004, viewed in online archive at http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1110/p11s01-lifo.html.

  15. Sir Hudson Fysh, Wings of the World: Story of Qantas (Angus & Robertson, 1965), 63.

  16. TWA’s operations were disrupted by a strike in 1946, and by an internal management conflict that paralyzed decision making for some time.

  17. Frozen food evaluation and letters provided by David Crotty, archivist of Qantas Heritage Collection, October 2013.

  18. GG, 34.

  19. Despite repeated requests, Air India did not respond to requests for information about catering history. This information is from GG.

  20. FC, 12.

  21. GG, 28.

  22. Article by former purser Harry Proia in VOMP, 227.

  23. Article by Yvonne Oliver in VOMP, 184.

  Chapter 9

  1. FC, 3.

  2. Unattributed, “Commercial Flight in the 1930’s,” Century of Flight, http://www.century-of-flight.net/new%20site/commercial/Flight%20in%20the%201930s.htm.

  3. Daniel Michaels, “Test Flight: Lufthansa Searches for Savor in the Sky,” Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2010, http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748703294904575384954227906006.

  4. Guillaume de Syon, “Is It Really Better to Travel than Arrive?” in Food for Thought: Essays on Eating and Culture, ed. Lawrence Rubin (McFarland, 2008), 204.

  5. Ibid.

  6. “Airlines Early Woes with Food Described,” New York Times, April 26, 1939 (p. 48).

  7. Some airlines made peanuts a symbol of cheap tickets; Continental advertised that passengers could “fly for peanuts!” on their commuter flights that served only that legume. Concern about peanut allergies caused most airlines to stop serving them in 2010.

  8. Scott McCartney, “The Fight against Bland Airline Food,” Wall Street Journal, November 14, 2013, http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303789604579195823006518910.

  9. CNN Interview with Lauren Said-Moorhouse, September 20, 2012, http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/19/world/airlines-wine/.

  10. Jad Mouawad, “Can Airline Food Be Tasty?” New York Times, March 10, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/business/airlines-studying-the-science-of-better-in-flight-meals.html?_r=1&.

  11. Same reference as 8.

  12. Woods et al., “Effect of Background Noise on Food Perception,” Journal of Food Quality and Preference 22 (2011). Abstract at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329310001217.

  Chapter 10

  1. Martin P. Staniland, Government Birds (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003), 124.

  2. Toaramina, 57–58.

  3. FC, 5.

  4. VOMP, 121–2.

  5. Unattributed Regulation news article, Flight Magazine, December 28, 1951, 817.

  6. Ibid.

  7. From http://www.klmhouses.com/houses-history.html.

  8. From http://thestewardist.blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html.

  9. Air France historian Marc Branchu on http://corporate.airfrance.com/airfrancelasaga/dossiers/premiere-a-history-of-first-class-travel/.

  10. GG, 12.

  11. AP News story, noted in the Calgary Herald, May 7, 1958.

  12. For more on this, see Rigas Doganis, Flying Off Course: The Economics of International Airlines (Routledge UK, 2010).

  13. Interview with Hillary Clinton, Pressan, Reykjavik, May 18, 2011.

  14. Memoir of Malaysian Airways Captain Roland Thomas, menu pictured at rolandabrahamthomas@blogspot.com.

  15. Philippine Airlines Inc. History, www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/philippine-airlines-inc-history/.

  16. David Lewis, Airline Executives and Federal Regulation: Case Studies in American Enterprise (Ohio University Press, 2000), 134.

  17. We would now call what they served “méthode Champenoise sparkling wine,” because it was made in California, but labeling standards were more lax then. Most airlines inside the United States didn’t start serving real French Champagne until the 1970s, and even then only in first class.

  18. FITS, 236.

  19. “Tight Planning Will Be Needed for Serving Meals on Supersonic Flights,” Chronicle-Telegram (Elyria, OH), April 24, 1965 (p. 16).

  20. Beating the Odds: A History of Western Airlines, company publication, unattributed, 1976. The hunt caps were misidentified as derbies in this article.

  21. Ann Billingsley Kerr, Fujiyama Trays and Oshibori Towels (Lady Skywriter Publications, 2008), 61. See recommended reading list.

  22. Ibid., 64

  23. “Tasty Meals Served High in the Sky Await Travelers,” unattributed, Memphis Commercial Appeal, October 1, 1950 (p. 8).

  24. Daniel Rust, Flying Across America (University of Oklah
oma Press, 2009), 163.

  Chapter 11

  1. “Easy Chair” article from 1952, as quoted in “Flying Across America” by Daniel Rust (University of Oklahoma Press, 2009), 165.

  2. Seen on www.edsullivan.com/alan-king-on-the-ed-sullivan-show.

  3. From the original score—lyrics provided by Laura Frankos, author of the Broadway Musical Quiz Book (Limelight NYC, 2010).

  4. Quoted in How to Walk in High Heels: The Girl’s Guide to Everything by Hamilla Morton (Hachette, 2009). Ebook, no page number.

  5. Obituary in The Economist, back page, June 12, 2010.

  6. YouTube video entitled “Ellen DeGeneres on Flight Attendants, Peanuts, and Airline Food,” uploaded January 24, 2010.

  Chapter 12

  1. “Tight Planning Will Be Needed for Serving Meals on Supersonic Flights,” Chronicle-Telegram (Elyria, OH), April 24, 1965 (p. 16).

  2. Dobbs is given credit for first use in FC, but the exact date is not given. Marriott’s historian stated via e-mail that the company developed this technology first. The successor company to Dobbs did not respond to requests for information.

  3. FC, 8.

  4. United Airlines Form #12i90, revised 2/64.

  5. HH, 211.

  6. HH, 186.

  7. Ad in author’s collection.

  8. Audrey McCool, Inflight Catering Management (John Wiley & Sons, 1995), 36.

  9. “National Adds Gourmet Touch to Flight Meal,” unattributed, Palm Beach Daily News, April 27, 1963 (p. 6).

  10. Northwest Airlines Employee Newsletter, no page number, January–February 1959.

  11. Ibid.

  12. “Boeing 707 Launch Commercial” on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnSIZ2ljCzY.

  13. VOMP, 225.

  14. Jerry Hulse, “Travelines: Airline Cuisine? Plane and Fancy,” Los Angeles Times, January 21, 1962 (p. G11).

  15. Guillaume de Syon, “Is It Better to Travel Than Arrive?” in Food For Thought: Essays in Eating and Culture, ed. Lawrence J. Rubin (McFarland, 2005), which is worth reading in its entirety.

  16. GG, 14.

  17. GG, 29.

  18. E-mail from Polina Kurovskaya, Aeroflot historian, January 2014.

  19. “Aboard the First Flights,” unattributed, Life Magazine, July 26, 1968 (p. 22).

  Chapter 13

  1. US Patent #2336735A.

  2. Sgt. Georg N. Meyers, “What’s Cooking?” Yank Magazine 4, no. 3 (July 1945): 11.

  3. One source says this first happened in 1945, but this was probably a military flight rather than a commercial trip.

  4. Advertisement in the Montreal Gazette, January 17, 1968, 5.

  5. Southwest Museum of Engineering website at http://smecc.org/microwave_oven.htm, accessed March 22, 2014.

  6. Hagberg and Graff, “Airborne Microwave Oven Development,” in NASA publication #SP-202, “Aerospace Food Technology,” undated.

  7. The Register (London), online edition, dated September 30, 2008, www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/21/exploding_curry/.

  8. “Cabin Comforts,” unattributed, Flight Magazine, September 13, 1995, http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/cabin-comforts-24234/.

  Chapter 14

  1. Toaramina, 99.

  2. Jay Koren, The Company We Kept (Paladwr Press, 2000), 202.

  3. GG, 63.

  4. Quoted in GG, 16.

  5. Menu in author’s collection.

  6. GG, 83.

  7. GG, 51–52.

  8. E-mail to the author from retired SAA crew site, January 30, 2014.

  9. Much more information and photos at http://www.danairremembered.com/on-board-dan-air.html.

  10. Market analysis of Singapore Airlines by Martin Roll dated March 2014 at www.martinroll.com/resources/articles/asia/singapore-airlines-an-excellent-asian-brand/.

  11. Double-page ad in author’s collection, publication unknown. Run date established by reference to new 707s, which the airline received in 1970.

  12. History tab at http://www.psa-history.org/about_psa/aircraft/tristar.

  13. Menu provided to the author by Delta Airlines Museum, Atlanta, GA.

  14. FC, 69.

  15. David Asper Johnson, Snoopin’ Around column, Argonaut, August 10, 1972.

  16. FITS, 218.

  17. FC, 7.

  18. Author’s collection, undated.

  19. Air France official historian Marc Branchu on airfrancelesaga.com website, article dated December 3, 2013, http://corporate.airfrance.com/airfrancelasaga/dossiers/premiere-a-history-of-first-class-travel/.

  Chapter 15

  1. Per “Timeline of Kosher” on OK.org, website of the kosher food industry in the United States, http://www.ok.org/about/our-ongoing-story/a-timeline-of-kosher. Siegel’s is listed as the first in some references, which are incorrect.

  2. Angela Waller, Before There Were Trolley Dollies (Dales Books, 2011).

  3. “Can the Tarnished Age of Flight Be Restored to Gold?” interview for blog.apex.aero, http://blog.apex.aero/inflight-services-2/tarnished-age-flight-restored-gold/.

  4. Robert Dallos, “Everything’s Kosher Up Above,” Pittsburgh Press, January 12, 1974 (p. E-1).

  5. Ibid.

  6. Ibid.

  7. E-mail of March 11, 2014.

  8. “Food Kosher?” Canberra Times, August 7, 1982 (p. 4).

  9. http://www.peaceinislam.com/shane2k/131/.

  10. Emirates.com website, Dietary Requirements tab, http://www.emirates.com/english/plan_book/essential_information/dietary_requirements.aspx.

  11. FC, 82–83.

  12. Christopher Lofting, “Focus on Travel” article “Restricted Diets No Longer a Problem for Air Travelers,” Charleston News and Courier, February 22, 1981, 10.

  13. David Learmount, “Airline Management by Wire,” Flight Magazine, October 26, 1985.

  14. United Times, Corporate Communications 6, no. 7, 4 (August 1993).

  Chapter 16

  1. Information about the history of Laker Airways from “Sir Freddie Laker: The Man Who Gave Us Skytrain” by Bob Blufeld in Airliner Classics Magazine, November 2009, 81–83.

  2. Frank Barrett, “In Memory of Laker Airways and Skytrain, the Birth of Budget Travel,” Daily Mail, February 10, 2012, http://travelblog.dailymail.co.uk/2012/02/in-memory-of-laker-airways-and-skytrain-the-birth-of-budget-travel.html.

  3. “Freddie Laker’s Skytrain: A Good Deal?” unattributed article, The Hour (Norwalk, CT), March 9, 1978 (p. 34).

  4. John Pringle, “Painful Progress in the Air,” Sydney Morning Herald, February 27, 1978 (p. 7).

  5. Richard Turen, “A Simple Explanation of Business Class,” Travel Weekly, February 24, 2014. Available online at http://www.travelweekly.com/Richard-Turen/A-simple-explanation-of-business-class/. This “historian of commercial aviation” recommends that you read it.

  6. Elizabeth Bailey, “The Cloud over Laker Air,” New York Times, October 25, 1981, http://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/25/business/the-cloud-over-laker-air.html.

  7. From Tourism in India: An Overview, Vol. 1 (Gyan Press, 2005), 135.

  8. Airliners.net thread #2595075 about Continental’s Pub flights, http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/2588992/.

  9. Continental Airlines ad from May 1981, publication unknown.

  10. Quoted in Beating the Odds: The First Sixty Years of Western Airlines (Company publication, 1976), 22.

  11. There are plenty of books on this topic—a good one is Rapid Descent: Deregulation and the Shakeout in the Airlines by Barbara Sturken Peterson (Simon & Schuster, 1994).

  12. Menu in author’s collection, provided by Delta Airlines Museum.

  13. Jeff Schapiro, “Prayer Cards to Be Removed from Alaska Airlines Flights,” Ch
ristian Post, January 26, 2012, http://www.christianpost.com/news/prayer-cards-to-be-removed-from-alaska-airlines-flights-68031/.

  14. Claudia Deutsch, “ . . . And to Penny-Pinching Wizardry,” New York Times, May 6, 2001, http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/06/business/and-to-penny-pinching-wizardry.html.

  15. And not just to me; other people have asked, including prestigious business publications, and they neither confirm nor deny.

  16. Alan G. Robinson and Sam Stern, Corporate Creativity (Berret-Koehler, 1998), 107.

  17. Ibid.

  18. Matt Goulding, “The Fare Up There,” Roads And Kingdoms, September 13, 2013, seen online at http://roadsandkingdoms.com/2013/the-fare-up-there/.

  19. FC, 7.

  20. Kyle Schlacter, “Can Packaging from Beer World Work with Wine Too?” Palate Press Online Wine Magazine, December 7, 2011, http://palatepress.com/2011/12/wine/can-packaging-from-beer-world-work-with-wine-too/.

  21. “Homer’s Barbershop Quartet,” The Simpsons, season 5, episode 1.

  22. FITS, 213.

  Chapter 17

  1. GG, 34.

  2. Connie Coning, “O’Hare’s Flight Caterers,” Chicago Tribune, March 27, 1977 (p. C3).

  3. “Plane Food,” undated article seen online at www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/articles/plane-food.

  Chapter 18

  1. E-mail from Polina Krovskaya, Aeroflot historian.

  2. Paul Makisma, “Ryanair Moves ahead with Pay Toilet Plan,” Boston Globe, April 7, 2010, http://www.boston.com/travel/blog/2010/04/ryanair_moves_a.html.

  3. GG, 36.

  4. London Times 100 Business Case Studies, http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/virgin-atlantic/building-an-airline-through-brand-values/customer-service.html#axzz37kTL3rq8.

  5. Seen in Columbia Daily Spectator (Columbia, SC), April 25, 1988 (p. 4).

  6. Martyn Gregory, Dirty Tricks, British Airways’ Secret War against Virgin Atlantic (Random House, 2010), 38.

  7. List of awards in Peter Doyle and Susan Bridgewater, Innovation in Marketing (Routledge, 2012), 53.

  8. Judy Anderson, “Gulf War Is Having Bad Effect on Tourism in London,” Baltimore Sun, February 3, 1991, http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1991-02-03/features/1991034148_1_gulf-war-london-ticket-office.

  9. Alan Friedman, “Competitors Decry EU Approval of $3.7 Billion Subsidy: Air France Bailout Heads for Court,” New York Times, July 28, 1994, http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/28/news/28iht-af_1.html.