Airline food shows a growing divide between premium and coach class

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Singapore Airline Food 17

Hollis Johnson

A meal for a Singapore Airlines flight.

Airplane food is often disgusting. After paying hundreds (or thousands) of dollars for a flight, passengers are served sad trays of rubbery chicken, powdered mashed potatoes, and tiny iceberg salads with ranch dressing.

Now there's a growing movement from US airlines to do better - for first class and business passengers, at least.

When American Airlines recently launched a 15-hour direct flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia, it also debuted a new menu. Flight attendants offer first-class passengers complimentary glasses of 2010 Penfolds Grange Shiraz (normally $850 per bottle) and roasted sirloin steak with red wine sauce.

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Travelers in the economy cabin are still only treated to peanuts (They will, however, get complimentary spirits or wraps and chips on coast-to-coast flights starting May 1).

The improvements in first and business class have more to do with the economics of the airline industry than they do with a desire to provide better service, Richard Foss, culinary historian and author of "Food in the Air and Space: The Surprising History of Food and Drink in the Skies," tells Business Insider.

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Foss has studied the history of airline food for over a decade, from the glory days in the '70s when airlines served lobster to today's inflight tuna sandwiches. Here's a look at that history, and how airlines are trying to bring back the golden age of airline dining for high-paying passengers.