Types of Meals on Emirates Airline

Consistently ranked among the best airlines in the world by Travel Truth and the World Airlines Awards, Emirates lives up to its reputation by offering a wealth of meal options based on age, dietary restrictions, preference and religious observance. Special meals must be ordered at least 24 hours before the flight, so be sure to select your meal preference when booking online, or call your travel agent or Emirates agent to switch meals after booking. Emirates flies to more than 100 locations covering six different continents.

All Emirates flights have at least one meal service time. Passengers are given a menu with two or three options for each meal at the beginning of the flight. The menu usually contains a Western-style meal menu along with a Middle Eastern or Asian-style meal menu, depending on where the flight is departing from and arriving to. Emirates aims to serve meals that give passengers a taste of home or an introduction to the place to which they are traveling.

Passengers with special dietary restrictions and food allergies are carefully catered to aboard Emirates flights, with a wealth of options for many dietary restrictions and preferences. Order the strict vegetarian (vegan) or lacto-ovo vegetarian meal if you do not eat meat. Lactose-free and gluten-free meals are available to those with an intolerance for dairy or wheat, respectively. For weight-loss dieters, low-calorie, low-sodium, low-fat and fruit-only meals are all options. Bland meals for those with digestive problems and diabetic-appropriate meals for those sensitive to sugars are also available. A raw-foods diet can be accommodated with a raw meal.

Meals specially prepared for Hindu and Jain vegetarians are also served aboard Emirates. These meals are served in accordance with specific practices in each community. Halal-prepared Muslim meals are available for flights on code-sharing partner airlines. All meals served aboard Emirates are Halal, so this meal type need not be ordered as a special meal on Emirates-operated flights.

Both vegetarian and meat-eating children have special meal options available to them on Emirates as well. Parents can order kids' meals for 2- to 12-year-old children. Flight attendants also keep a healthy supply of baby food for infants traveling onboard.

Lacto-ovo vegetarians can order an Asian vegetarian dish, filled with the spicy flavors of the Indian subcontinent, instead of the standard Western vegetarian meal. Strict vegetarians have the options of ordering an Oriental vegetarian meal, prepared in Chinese or east Asian style. Vegetarians who eat fish may also wish to order the seafood meal, which incorporates fish or shellfish but no other meat.

Birthday cakes and champagne meals to celebrate special occasions onboard must be ordered in advance but can be accommodated by Emirates staff. Alert the airline of your special request when you book your flight.