Ask for Another Free in-Flight Meal If You’re Really Hungry on a Long Flight
If you’re still hungry after your flight, you can ask the flight attendant to order another one for free.
Travel & Leisure notes that most airlines will happily provide you with extra meals, if any. Availability will, of course, vary from flight to flight, and you might not make the first choice between chicken and pasta, but if your stomach is still rumble after eating, chances are you will have seconds.
It is generally best to ask as soon as possible, as the number of additional meals (if any) may be limited.
The flight attendants are unlikely to feed you two meals at the same time, but they will likely heed your request and let you know if there is food left after they finish servicing the entire plane.
I actually did this last year on a 14 hour flight from San Francisco to Italy. I am allergic to shellfish, which I noted when booking, resulting in a ‘food allergy’ meal on board. While everyone around me was eating the omelettes, I was given a weird “allergy food” breakfast, which I thought was food that could satisfy any allergy I might have. It was three slices of tomato.
I slept over dinner the night before and was very hungry. The flight attendants served the rest of the plane, but brought me an omelette as soon as they knew there was enough for the flight.
After all, you’re still eating airplane food, which, even if it’s good airplane food, isn’t usually the tastiest lunch option. But it’s definitely better than nothing or spending money on a can of overpriced Pringles on board.
If you know you will be very hungry on board, it is always a good idea to bring high protein snacks with you to get through it. I always fly with a trail mix bag, which is used not only for in-flight snacks, but also when I need to eat at my hotel at my destination.
And if you have enough time before boarding, you can always grab a bite to eat at the airport to take on board and then ask the flight attendants to save in-flight meals for you until you get hungry later in the flight.