Emirates reveals new focus on plant-based meals in the air

Emirates has unveiled a new food concept that focuses on "real, whole, and farm-to-fork plant foods".

The airline says global consumers increasingly focus on nutrition, health and wellbeing.

"‘Our focus now is on legumes, grains, nuts, seeds, and seasonal vegetables as the heroes of the plate," says Emirates vice president of food and beverage design Doxis Bekris.

"These ingredients offer natural depth of flavour, texture, and nutrition without relying on ultra-processed alternatives.

"Instead of replicating meat, we want to draw from cuisines that have always been plant-forward like Mediterranean mezze, Levantine grain salads, Asian noodle bowls, and African stews.

"In our view this approach feels genuine and culturally rich. Although there are many commendable lab-based alternatives available, real food aligns with our sustainability goals and guest expectations for health-conscious choices.

"It’s about transparency for our customers who want to know what they’re eating, as well as have confidence that it’s good for them and the planet. We want to shift from substitutes to a celebration of plants, where it’s not about what’s missing - but instead what is gained in authenticity, flavour, and creativity."

Emirates currently serves half a million vegan meals each year. It has 488 vegan recipes in rotation across 140 destinations, representing a 60% increase in total recipes from 2024.

Vegan meal consumption grows in line with passenger volume increases, and last year - the top destinations with customers ordering vegan meals were London in first place, followed by Sydney, Bangkok, Melbourne, Frankfurt, Manchester, Mumbai, Bali and Singapore.

Vegan options are available to order and pre-order onboard, as well as in Emirates Lounges.

Customers can request vegan meals on all Emirates flights and across all classes of travel up to 24 hours before departure. On high-demand routes, plant-based meals are also provided as part of the main menu options.

New dishes are set to be onboard for customers in 2027.

Image: Beetroot tartare

Flyers are more into Vegan food than ever before

People wanting Vegan dishes used to be seen as quirky, sometimes as a nuisance.

Now plant-based menus are mainstream with an increasing number of people shunning meat.

Emirates Airlines said it has noted an annual surge of 40% in customer demand for plant-based meals.

To meet this demand in 2024, Emirates will introduce an array of new Vegan dishes onboard and in lounges, adding even more dishes to its ‘vegan vault’ of more than 300 curated plant-based recipes.

In 2023, Emirates had more than 300 vegan recipes in rotation across 140 destinations, up from 180 recipes in 2022.

The airline says Vegan meal consumption has grown 40% year on year in line with passenger volumes, but in some regions, consumption has exceeded passenger volume growth - such as Africa with an additional 4% increase,

South-east Asia had an additional 5% increase, with the Middle East showing a significant additional increase of 34%.

The airline said the biggest increase in consumption of vegan meals occurred in economy class and particularly on Emirates routes to China, Japan and Philippines.

Emirates has been serving Vegan meals since the 1990s, initially focusing on specific routes such as Addis Ababa, where Vegan meals are required during certain times of the year by those practising the Ethiopian Orthodox faith, or across regions where multiple faiths encourage a plant-based diet.

Over recent years however, Vegan dishes have been rapidly gaining popularity on US, Australian, some European and Asian routes.

Image: Business class Vegan kebabs