Middle Eastern airline Emirates has announced it will be rolling out more vegan recipes in 2024 in response to rising demand.
The carrier says vegan meal consumption has grown by 40% YOY, in line with passenger volumes. However, the increase on some routes has exceeded this figure, with particularly significant increases noted on routes to China, Japan, and the Philippines. The airline says it served 450,000 vegan meals in 2023, compared to 280,000 in 2022.
Emirates already has a “vault” of 300 vegan recipes, which are in rotation across its 140 destinations. This figure is up from 180 recipes in 2022, and will be expanded even further in 2024. New dishes will include vegan pizza and chocolate pecan cake.
Vegan meals can be requested on all Emirates flights and across all classes of travel up to 24 hours before departure. In First Class and Emirates Lounges, the meals can be ordered directly.
“Explore new flavors”
Emirates previously reported a 154% increase in vegan meal orders in January of last year. It came after the airline announced new gourmet vegan meals for premium passengers in the wake of a $2 billion investment to enhance its inflight customer experience.
Other carriers now offering a range of vegan options include Alaska Airlines, China Airlines, and ANA.
“Explore new flavors with our selection of inventive vegan dishes, whether it’s a full three-course meal or a movie snack. Enjoy dishes like our zucchini tart, jackfruit biryani, or vegan mapo tofu. And you can look forward to delectable vegan desserts like our chocolate truffle cake with roasted hazelnuts. Look out for the vegan icon on our menus,” says Emirates on its website.
