Emirates is embracing the heightened demand for plant-based cuisine with a multimillion-dollar investment into new vegan choices onboard as World Vegan Day on November 1 approaches.

A curated menu of gourmet vegan dishes has been introduced into First and Business Class, while Economy Class menus will also get a new selection of plant-based produce.

Increasing Demand for Vegan Cuisine

Emirates has been serving vegan options onboard since the 1990’s. Initially, vegan requirements were focused on specific routes where vegan meals are required for cultural reasons.

However vegan dishes are now rapidly gaining general popularity on US, Australian, some European and UK routes, with Emirates noting a sizeable increase in interest in vegan dishes over the last decade. Currently, Emirates offers more than 180 plant-based recipes catering to vegan customers.

Subscribe to the Airlineratings.com newsletter to get the relevant news first

We fly to Bora Bora

Easyjet brings back Fearless Flyer course

Menu Development

Emirates has invested in developing a new vegan menu with the vegan menu in First and Business Class being a year in development in Emirates Flight Catering.

This expansive facility based at Dubai International airport is home to 11,000 employees and serves up to 225,000 meals daily. It is the largest flight catering facility in the world and home to international chefs of 69 different nationalities.

In Economy Class, the vegan menus are also refreshed every month, and the vegan meals in Economy Class are available to pre-order.

Sustainably Sourced Vegan options onboard Emirates are nutrient-dense and rich in greens, fruits, and vegetables, sourced from several UAE-based suppliers including fresh locally grown kale, heirloom cherry tomatoes, salad leafs and herbs from Bustanica. Bustanica is the world’s largest hydroponic vertical farm, a US$40 million joint venture investment through Emirates Flight Catering.

The Bustanica farm is driven by powerful technology – machine learning, artificial intelligence, and advanced methods – and a specialised in-house team that includes agronomy experts, engineers, horticulturists, and plant scientists. A continuous production cycle ensures the produce is perfectly fresh and clean, and grown without pesticides, herbicides, or chemicals.

About AirlineRatings.com

Airlineratings.com was developed to provide everyone in the world a one-stop shop for everything related to airlines, formed by a team of aviation editors, who have forensically researched nearly every airline in the world.

Our rating system is rated from one to seven stars on safety – with seven being the highest ranking. Within each airline, you will find the country of origin, airline code, booking URL and seat map information. The rating system takes into account a number of different factors related to audits from aviation’s governing bodies, lead associations, as well as the airlines, own safety data. Every airline has a safety rating breakdown so you can see exactly how they rate.

Over 230 of the airlines on the site that carry 99 per cent of the world’s passengers have a product rating. Given that low-cost, regional and full-service carriers are so different we have constructed a different rating system for each which can be found within each airline.