Food · IN60SECONDS

Why does food taste different on a plane?

Low cabin pressure, dry air and engine noise dull your senses. In tests in a simulated cabin, saltiness dropped up to 30% and sweetness about 20%, while savory flavors held up.

Quick Answer

Airline cabins are pressurized, but only to the equivalent of up to 8,000 feet, and the air is very dry. Together, those dull your sense of smell and some of your taste. In tests in a simulated aircraft cabin at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics, done for Lufthansa, people’s perception of saltiness fell by up to 30% and sweetness by about 20% at cruising cabin pressure. Noise matters too. In a 2015 Cornell University study, people listening to airplane cabin noise at 85 decibels found sweet tastes weaker, while savory umami flavors tasted stronger. The researchers suggested that may be why tomato juice is so popular on planes. It’s also why food that tastes fine on the ground can seem bland in the air.

By the Numbers

8,000 ftHighest cabin altitude U.S. rules allow in normal flight

–30%Drop in perceived saltiness in a simulated cabin

–20%Drop in perceived sweetness

85 dBCabin-noise level that dulled sweetness in a Cornell study

Key Facts

Cabin pressure: Like being up to 8,000 feet high
Saltiness: Perceived up to 30% weaker in a simulated cabin
Sweetness: Perceived about 20% weaker
Umami: Holds up, and loud noise may even strengthen it

How flying changes flavors

	At 35,000 feet	Why
Salty	Weaker	Low pressure and dry air
Sweet	Weaker	Low pressure, dry air and noise
Umami (savory)	Holds up or stronger	Loud noise may boost it
Smell	Weaker	Dry air and low pressure

Findings from a Fraunhofer simulated-cabin study and a 2015 Cornell noise study.

Thin, dry air

U.S. rules require airliner cabins to stay at a pressure no lower than you’d feel at 8,000 feet. At that pressure, in very dry air, your nose works less well, and much of what we call taste is really smell. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics tested this in a real aircraft fuselage inside a low-pressure chamber.

Loud engines, weaker sweets

In 2015, Cornell University food scientists Robin Dando and Kimberly Yan had people taste sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami solutions while hearing silence or airplane cabin noise at 85 decibels. With the noise, sweet tasted weaker and umami stronger, while bitter didn’t change.

The tomato juice mystery

Umami is the savory taste in foods like tomatoes. Because it holds up in noisy cabins, the Cornell researchers suggested that may explain why tomato juice is so popular on flights.

Myth vs. Fact

MythAirline food is bland because it’s cheap.

FactEven good food tastes weaker in a pressurized, dry and noisy cabin.

MythEvery flavor fades in the air.

FactSalty and sweet fade most. Savory umami holds up, and sour and bitter change less.

The Bottom Line

Food tastes different on a plane because dry, low-pressure air and loud engine noise dull salty and sweet flavors. Savory umami holds up, which may be why tomato juice is a favorite at 35,000 feet.