Traveller shares ‘sad’ vegetarian meal they received during 12-hour flight

‘Even the cucumber looks unhappy’

A traveller has shared the “sad” vegetarian meal they received while on a 12-hour flight.

In a recent post shared to Reddit, a plane passenger shared a photo of the meal that his partner reportedly received while on their trip. “On a 12 hour flight and this was my gf’s veggie sandwich, around eight hours in,” the Reddit user wrote.

The post went on to showcase the two slices of white bread pulled apart. However, there were only a few ingredients inside the sandwich: two slices of cucumber and two slices of tomatoes. The meal was also documented on a passenger’s tray table, next to a sudoku puzzle.

The snap of the inflight meal has quickly gone viral on Reddit, with more than 30,000 upvotes, as of 27 March. In the comments, people expressed how disappointing the meal appeared to be, while mocking the sandwich.

“Now that’s just sad,” one commented, while another joked: “Even the cucumber looks unhappy.”

A third quipped: “What’s the deal with airplane food, am I right?”

On a 12 hour flight and this was my gf’s veggie sandwich around 8hrs in.
byu/pestopopcorn inmildlyinfuriating

Many people argued the meal didn’t look like a vegetable sandwich, while poking fun at some other foods that could be added to the dish.

“That sandwich looks like the legal department made it. It’s a sandwich and it has vegetables,” one joked.

“Yeah that’s not a sandwich, that bread is just having a relaxing spa day,” a second added, while a third wrote: “Throw some ham in there and you’d have a decent sandwich.”

Others noted that they’re not fans of the food on planes in general, while explaining how they come prepared for long flights.

“I always fly with food. Protein bars (three to four) and beef jerky. Been screwed too many times,” one wrote.

“Yeah, flying sucks if you have any sort of dietary restriction,” another wrote. “I’m a celiac and just bring my own food now, because my options on long flights are usually either ‘eat absolutely nothing for 12 hours,’ or ‘trust the supposedly ‘gluten free’ airline food that is definitely not safe.’ I’m not risking violent diarrhoea on an overnight trans-Atlantic flight, man.”

This isn’t the first time that a traveller has mocked the vegetarian options they’ve received on a flight. In May 2023, vegan traveller Juanita Headley criticised an airline after claiming she was given fruit and nuts as a hot meal on a six-hour flight.

Before she started travelling from Accra, Ghana to London Heathrow, the motivational speaker had already opted for a hot meal on board as part of the complimentary service. However, once on board the six-hour connection, she said she was given pineapple pieces, a tangerine and a handful of nuts.

She also claimed that a few hours later, the crew gave her a cold vegan wrap, a banana and an additional bowl of nuts. “I’m sorry, it doesn’t feed a hungry passenger on an international flight,” she said. “Thank God I don’t have a nut allergy or I would have been on fruit rations.”

Headley went on to criticise airlines that don’t offer vegan or vegetarian friendly meals, especially during such long flights.

“In this day and age where veganism isn’t a new phenomena it is unacceptable that a six-hour long haul flight doesn’t carry a few extra meals for situations like this,” she continued at the time. “Or at a minimum make sure the vegetarian meal is also vegan. That would make life very simple for crew and passengers.”