Iberia has expanded its pre-order meal program with new menu items available from 45 days to 18 hours before departure on flights up to 4.5 hours.
New additions include oven-roasted chicken with chickpea ragout, vegan gnocchi with tomato ragout, and ricotta mezzelune with spinach.
The airline retained its award-winning creamy rice with cuttlefish and prawns, which won Best Onboard Meal at the 2025 Onboard Hospitality Awards.
The extended booking window positions meals as trip planning essentials rather than impulse purchases, while giving catering teams advance notice for better inventory management.
Route-specific offerings
Early morning flights from Madrid now offer Mallorcan ensaimada with yogurt, recognising different passenger meal timing needs for overnight connections.
Long-haul passengers can add Celebration Packs featuring vanilla lemon cake with cava, extending the pre-order concept into premium experience territory.
Industry implications
The 45-day booking window shows airlines are confident passengers will plan meals well ahead of travel. Most carriers traditionally offered much shorter booking periods.
Buy-on-board programs are becoming serious revenue operations rather than basic convenience services.
Airlines now invest in menu development and operational systems rather than just offering basic sandwiches.
Iberia’s approach – keeping popular items while testing new ones – suggests carriers are using actual sales data to make menu decisions instead of completely changing offerings every few months.
Images courtesy of Iberia
Nik founded Inflight Feed in 2012, blending his passion for inflight dining with over a decade of experience in the airline industry. For the past 13 years, he has travelled the world, exploring and reviewing airline meals across countless carriers.
CNN Travel, The New York Times, and BBC World News have featured Nikโs expertise. When heโs not on the ground, youโll find him at 35,000 feet, camera in hand, capturing the unique flavours of air travel. Follow his inflight meal adventures on Instagram: @InflightFeed.
