As we read more press releases about airlines offering exciting and nutritious meals vegans in their premium cabins you would assume that now is the time to turn left when boarding as vegan. We decided to document our experience on a series flights in the premium cabins of a selection airlines. Below you will find our honest review from a series of recent business class flights with Etihad Airways including what they got right, and where there was room for improvement with our *VGML meals.
*VGML is the universal airline special meal code for a vegan meal, and should therefore be free of all animal derived ingredients.
Singapore to Abu Dhabi Business Class
On our first flight to Abu Dhabi from Singapore, we were offered a salad consisting of sweet potato, chickpeas and tomato as an appetizer. The salad was dry, and lacked flavour. This was served with a small fruit dish and bread without butter, which was a non-issue as the bread was hard, cold, and inedible. On request, the flight manager offered an alternative salad that included sweet potato, beetroot and mixed leaves. This salad, which came with mini-pitta breads, a lemon vinaigrette, and mixed leaves was superior to the VGML choice that we were given.
The main dish was a vegetable dish topped with nuts. Was it dukkah, perhaps? The cabin crew did not know what the dish was. This is common with special meals. Without a name or description, it’s left to guesswork. The meal was quite tasty, with carrots, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, and cauliflower. There was no dessert so we got fruit. Why would you offer a vegan dessert but not include one? Other passengers could choose between desserts as well as mini Haagen Dazs Ice Cream Pots. No dishes or snacks were offered to us on the flight that were suitable for vegans.
Etihad Business Lounge at Zayed International Airport
The lounge manager helped us get through the struggle. The stunning new lounge had a wide variety of food, all clearly labeled. However, there was nothing that was hot and vegan. There were plenty of salads and grains, as well as hummus and other dips. But we wanted a hot meal. We asked the lounge manager for help after being offered pumpkin soup that contained dairy.
She spoke to the kitchen and within minutes we were enjoying three curries with rice. All curries were delicious and exactly what we wanted. But why not offer one or two on the buffet? Also available were potato chips, nut packets and date bars, all of which were vegan. The date bars were delicious, so we took some for our next trip.
Business Class from Abu Dhabi to London Heathrow
We slept the entire flight from Abu Dhabi London due to the timings. However, we were woken for breakfast on request. We were served with a mixed bean, avocado, tomato salsa and rocket wrap. Breakfast included orange juice, tea with peppermint, fruit and a warm, vegan-butter-filled bread roll. We were happy to have an alternative spread on this leg, and our breakfast overall was satisfactory but not great.
Etihad Business Lounge Heathrow Airport in London
Our recent trip was highlighted by the Etihad Business Lounge, located at Heathrow Airport. Oat milk lattes, freshly squeezed orange juice, coconut milk chia puddings with mixed berries, and a ‘full English’ breakfast complete with vegan sausages and toast with vegan butter.
For those who wanted a Middle Eastern-inspired breakfast, there were also salads, hummus and stuffed vine leaves, as well as foul medames. This was the perfect plant-based breakfast, thanks to the excellent labelling and variety of options. Very impressive.
Business Class from London Heathrow Airport to Abu Dhabi
The vegan meal we had on our London Heathrow-Abu Dhabi flight was so close, yet so far. Lunch started with a healthy lentil and roasted veggie salad, another salad with balsamic sauce and a vegan butter-filled bread roll. The next dish we had was skewers filled with tofu and peppers, basmati rice and a lightly-spiced tomato sauce. We were unable to fault this dish, and eagerly awaited dessert, which, if good, could have ended a memorable meal.
We were offered fruit. Fruit is not dessert, it’s fruit. Don’t get me wrong, we love fruits but they are a poor substitute for the warm chocolate fondants or pavlovas other passengers were enjoying. The crew agreed it was not inspiring and went to find a refreshing citrus-flavored sorbet. This was better than the fruit, but it wasn’t as good as a warm chocolate fondant or pavlova.
Etihad Business Lounge at Zayed International Airport
It seems that there are no warm options at the Zayed International Airport flagship lounge. Wouldn’t it make sense to offer at least one vegan choice? We made our own mezze plate from the great selection available. It was delicious. We had no dessert option, so we enjoyed some vegan date bars to satisfy our sweet tooth before our next flight.
Business Class: Abu Dhabi to Singapore
While we waited to hear which VGML option was selected for our flight from Abu Dhabi to Singapore in Business Class, we browsed the menu. It was our fourth flight in a row with Etihad, and the menu onboard had not yet included anything that could be vegan. It was a pleasant surprise to see a vegan laksa in the starters. Of course, we ordered it. It’s a bit strange that after having had varying success in the lounges and aboard with our Vegan Food Quest that on our last flight there was a vegetarian option on the menu? The crew described my vegan meal as follows: “For starters you have some chickpeas. For the main, tomato pasta, and for dessert, fruit”. This is a very disappointing, uninspiring meal. The vegan laksa tasted good, but lacked vegetables or tofu as a source of protein. It was a tasty broth with vermicelli noodles, bean sprouts and a very enjoyable meal. The crew created a vegan platter with fattoush, beetroot and hummus. We didn’t go without food, but we would have liked a dessert.
We would describe the overall dining experience as a contrast, with well-planned, nutritionally balanced dishes that were delicious, and missed chances due to forgotten items and unclear labelling, or thinking fruit was acceptable for dessert. The catering at Etihad was excellent. The food was delicious and we could tell that the menus were carefully thought out. We felt as vegans that we were treated as an afterthought, and we missed out on the business class experience. The final word goes to the staff at the lounge and the crew of each flight. They did all they could to improve our vegan dining experiences and were genuine in their apologies for the lack of items and sometimes uninspiring food choices.
