This is no way for a traveler to eat. But I'll bet you've done it too, or something equally ignominious. Many flyers complain about the low quality of inflight food service in the economy cabin, and things just seem to be getting worse. It seems that both portion size and tastiness have declined over

	Ordering Special Meals – Who Offers what? When calling ahead to reserve a   special meal, be sure to always   check with the airline as to exactly   what they mean by "low fat,"   "gluten free," or "low cholesterol."   Travelers sometimes comment that   they didn't get what they expected   when they requested a special meal,   so know what the guidelines are   before you put in your order. A   few airlines publish them on the   Web – see our Chart – but in most   cases, you'll have to ask when   you reserve.

the last few years – remember the old Woody Allen line about a bad restaurant? "Their food is awful! And such small portions." But many of us don't bother to take advantage of special meals that can be ordered ahead, that can often be fresher, healthier and better tasting than the standard fare. Airlines offer special meals to fulfill medical and religious needs, but many flyers often just plain prefer them.

Special Meals
Depending on the airline, you can request vegetarian, kosher, Hindu, lacto-vegetarian, low cholesterol, and low salt meals, just to name a few possibilities. The special request "bland" meals for travelers who have problems digesting overly spicy food probably won't give you much of a taste treat, but many frequent flyers particularly like fruit plates, seafood offerings, and some vegetarian choices.

At Northwest Airlines, passengers order about 1.4 million special meals per year, or about 4% of overall meal service. That hasn't changed much over the past ten years, but what has changed is the type of meals they're ordering. "Ten years ago, the most popular special meal was kosher," says Tracy Kurschner, a Northwest spokesperson. "Today, by far the most popular is vegetarian." She attributes that shift to a rise in health consciousness among travelers as well as the changing demographics of Northwest's passenger base, which includes more and more travelers to the Far East and India. "They take advantage of our Asian vegetarian and Indian vegetarian options," she says.

American Airlines caters about 2.1 million special meals every year. "What's been going up significantly are the religious or cultural meals – Hindu, kosher and Moslem meals," says Mark Slitt, an American spokesperson. "I don't know why, but there have been big increases in these orders in the last year and a half."

One caveat: many frequent travelers report that they've had difficulty getting last-minute, at-the-gate upgrades from economy to business or first class when they've requested a special meal. Apparently concerned that they won't deliver the special meal properly, the airlines often prefer to hand out last-minute upgrades to those with no special meal instructions. And remember, if you change your schedule (voluntarily or involuntarily), your special request meal vanishes – you'll have to make a new request, if that's possible within your travel time window.

Culinary Upgrades
Many airlines are also trying to improve their general culinary offerings – not just in first class and business, but often in economy as well. Within the last 18 months, American has redesigned 90% of its meal service, Northwest initiated a $23 million food service upgrade (though much of that focused on first and business class), and US Airways doubled the size of its meal portions. In a bid for snazzier fare, some carriers have added celebrity chefs – United's lineup includes Martin Yan ("Yan Can Cook"), Jacques Pépin, and Silver Palate author Sheila Lukins, while Continental boasts Hawaiian chef Roy Yamaguchi.

You'll recognize more than just the names of the chefs on some flights. Last year, American added three Weight Watchers entrees to its nonstop transcontinental flights. Some of United's name-brand offerings now include Starbucks Coffee and Starbucks Frappuccino®, Montego Bay Gourmet Iced Tea, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Mrs. Field's cookies, and Eli's cheesecake. If you're flying out of Memphis with Northwest, you might get to chow down on Corky's Bar-B-Q.

And I never worry about what's for dinner when I fly with Midwest Express. The "best care in the air" airline consistently wins raves for its meal service, which includes treats like omelets and complimentary mimosas on breakfast flights and the ever-popular hot, fresh, baked-on-board chocolate chip cookies on lunchtime jaunts. (That's why ME's lunches are cold plates – they need the ovens to bake the cookies!) They lead the major airlines in what they spend on food at $10.05 per passenger, according to a Consumer Reports review published in March. In case you were wondering, next in line is American, at $8.00 per traveler, followed by United, at $7.53.