--- title: Food: Science Explains Why Airline Food Tastes Funky description: It has to do with the dry cabin air canonical: https://time.com/3893141/airline-food-airplane/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-24T12:00:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:08:06.692Z article:section: Health og:title: Science Explains Why Airline Food Tastes Not-So-Great og:description: It has to do with the dry cabin air og:url: https://time.com/3893141/airline-food-airplane/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9bde2526ae195d96/6988513ee20a87cb8ba8b77b/503706881-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=338&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 338 og:image:height: 190 og:image:alt: airline-meal og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Science Explains Why Airline Food Tastes Not-So-Great twitter:description: It has to do with the dry cabin air twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9bde2526ae195d96/6988513ee20a87cb8ba8b77b/503706881-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=338&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Scientific Reason Why Airplane Food Tastes Bad > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=bfff54e4-40ad-4d3c-89c3-acdc5899dd61&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Average U.S. Airline Ticket Tops $500. [Watch (HLS stream): Average U.S. Airline Ticket Tops $500.](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BLoBrsTD.m3u8) (2:01)  _Published 2014-08-05. Travelers, get ready to open your wallets. U.S. airfare is taking off at a rate that is reportedly outpacing inflation._ by [Barbara Stepko / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Barbara Stepko / Health.com Contributor May 24, 2015 12:00 PM UTC Travelers, get ready to open your wallets. U.S. airfare is taking off at a rate that is reportedly outpacing inflation. by [Barbara Stepko / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Barbara Stepko / Health.com Contributor May 24, 2015 12:00 PM UTC Why does airline food taste so lousy? A new study from Cornell University has come up with an answer, and it ain’t bad cookin’. Turns out, the noisy environment inside a claustrophobic airplane cabin may actually [change the way food tastes](http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2015/05/planes-savory-tomato-becomes-favored-flavor). In the study, 48 people were handed a variety of solutions that were spiked with the five basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami (basically, a Japanese word for the savory flavor found in foods like bacon, tomatoes, cheese, and soy sauce). First, the testers sipped in silence, then again, while wearing headsets that played about 85 decibels of noise, designed to mimic the hum of jet engines onboard a plane. What the researchers found: While there wasn’t that much of a change in how the salty, sour, and bitter stuff tasted, the noisy surroundings [dulled the sweet taste](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25775175), while intensifying the savory one—which might explain why a meal eaten on a plane will usually seem a little, well, off. “Our study confirmed that in an environment of loud noise, our sense of taste is compromised. Interestingly, this was specific to sweet and umami tastes, with sweet taste inhibited and umami taste significantly enhanced,” said [Robin Dando](http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2015/05/planes-savory-tomato-becomes-favored-flavor), assistant professor of food science. “The multisensory properties of the environment where we consume our food can alter our perception of the foods we eat.” This isn’t the first time airlines have tried to figure out the reason behind funky in-flight food. The Fraunhofer Institute, a research institute based in Germany, did a study on why a dish that would taste just fine on the ground would taste, “so dull in the air,” as Grant Mickles, the executive chef for culinary development of Lufthansa’s LSG Ski Chefs, put it to [_Conde Nast Traveler_](http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2014-04-03/why-airline-food-tastes-so-bad). German researchers tried taste tests at both sea level and in a pressurized condition. The tests revealed that the cabin atmosphere—pressurized at 8,000 feet—combined with cool, dry cabin air numbed the taste buds (kind of like when you’ve got a bad cold). In fact, the perception of saltiness and sweetness dropped by around 30% at high altitude. Multiplying the misery: The stagnant cabin dries out the mucus membranes in the nose, thus dulling the olfactory sensors that affect taste. All of which adds up to a less-than-fine dining experience. The good news: This research may help airlines find a way to make in-the-air meals [more palatable](http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2014-04-04/lufthansa-chefs-make-airplane-food-taste-better). (That is, for flights and airlines that still offer any food at all!) The key, according to Mickles, may be using ingredients or foods that contain a lot of umami to enhance the other flavors. He may be on to something: The folks at the Lufthansa have found that passengers guzzle as much [tomato juice](http://www.dw.de/lufthansa-investigates-the-science-of-airline-food/a-6114748) as beer (to the tune of about 425,000 gallons a year). Turns out, cabin pressure brings out the savory taste of the red stuff. Good to know. Now pass the earplugs—and bring on the Bloody Marys. [_This article originally appeared on Health.com._](http://news.health.com/2015/05/20/why-does-airplane-food-taste-bad-science-has-the-answer/) _More from Health.com:_ * [8 Essentials for Healthy Travel](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20686611,00.html?xid=time) * [The 10 Most Slimming Vacations](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20479499,00.html?xid=time) * [How to Sleep Better in Hotels](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20511467,00.html?xid=time) ## Transcript Travellers, get ready to open your wallets, US airfare is taking off at a rate that is reportedly outpacing inflation. The average cost of a round trip domestic flight reached $ 509. 15 in the first 6 months of this year. That is up about 14 dollars from the same point last year, which reflects a 2. 7 % increase. Meanwhile, the consumer price index has only gone up 2. 1 % in the last year. The questions of why, and who's to blame are a bit complicated. On one hand, we have the airlines, Delta, American, United and Southwest basically own the U. S. skies, controlling more than 80 % of domestic travel. This means the big four can charge almost whatever they want. And yes, that includes the low cost Southwest. Money reports the airline used to be known for driving down the cost of it's competitors. Now it isn't the guaranteed cheapest. And the Southwest in fact, has less of an impact. Other budget airlines, like Spirit, have been growing in popularity but they don't yet control enough travel to make a noticeable impact on your ticket prices. Speaking of spirit, airlines have been finding clever if annoying ways to nickel and dime passengers recently. And we're not just talking bag fees. Other amenities like early boarding and nicer seats with more leg room are costing travelers extra each flight. As is the Transportation Security Administration. Airlines argue TSA fees are to blame for the strain on your wallet. TSA was charging $ 5 per person for round- trip flights, but as of July 21st, Time reports the security fee has increased to $ 11. 20 per round- trip flight. Regardless of blame, you're still paying more. So, how can you beat the prices? Now CheapAir. com put some serious work into answering that question last year. In 2013, the best time to buy was between one month and three and a half months out from your trip. Data from flight aggregator site Kayak shows six months out flights were 20 % higher than their lowest fares. Also, Travel and Leisure says, whatever you do, don't wait until the last week, when prices shoot by about 25 %. Or Money suggests to avoid paying it altogether by signing up for a travel rewards credit card. Aside from the miles you can earn, some come with other travel perks that can cover the cost of the card's yearly fee. I'm Lauren Goris. 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