Demand for vegan meals on aircraft is rising, Norwegian Air reports.
New data from the low-cost, long-haul carrier shows vegan meals are increasingly popular, particularly on its busiest U.S. route. In 2018, Norwegian served more than 23,000 vegan meals on flights to and from London (LHR).
The top route for vegan meal requests was Los Angeles (LAX)–London, where demand ran about 55 percent higher than the airline’s overall average. Conversely, Buenos Aires ranked as the least popular destination for vegan passengers, with 25 percent fewer vegan meals ordered than average.
Passengers traveling in economy can pre-order meals, while premium tickets always include catering. Norwegian offers a variety of options to accommodate dietary needs, including vegetarian, lactose-free, and gluten-free choices.
The airline also attributes part of the increase in vegan orders to the influence of U.K.-based charity Veganuary, which encourages people to try a vegan lifestyle.
“We offer a delicious range of meals that meet all our customers’ dietary requirements and this analysis clearly shows that being vegan is just as easy at 35,000 feet as it is on the ground,” said Matthew Wood, senior vice president of commercial at Norwegian.
Norwegian’s onboard vegan offerings include gnocchi in a Mediterranean vegetable and tomato sauce with black olives, and a chickpea stew with roasted baby aubergine and broccoli in a harissa sauce.