Pegasus Airlines, SAS and KLM have been rated as the best airlines in Europe for on-board food in Skyscanner’s annual European Airline Food Awards.

Over 550 European travellers and bloggers took part as food critics in flight comparison site Skyscanner’s second annual study of the quality of on-board culinary offerings.

In the low-cost airline category, Turkish airline Pegasus, which operates flights from London to many destinations in Turkey, took the number one position.

British airlines dominated the leader board, with Flybe in second place, Monarch in third, and Easyjet in fourth place. Spanish airline Vueling also scored highly, taking thenumber five spot.

In the short-haul category it was Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) that triumphed. Germany’s Lufthansa came in second place and last year’s winner Turkish Airlines took third place ahead of British Airways, while Russia’s Aeroflot also ranked well, coming in fifth place.

In the long-haul dining category, Dutch airline KLM claimed the number one position, followed by Aeroflot, SAS, Air France and BA. Overall, SAS, Aeroflot and British Airways performed well, each appearing in the top five for both their long and short haul meals.

A Skyscanner survey of more than 1,500 international travellers also revealed that 54 per cent of air travellers believe the overall quality of airline food is currently good, while three-quarters think that it is improving compared with previous years.

In fact, airline food now appears to be so good that 43 per cent admitted to being envious of their neighbour’s choice of meal.

Skyscanner European Airline Food Awards

Top 5 low-cost airline food
1. Pegasus
2. Flybe
3. Monarch
4. easyJet
5. Vueling

Top 5 short-haul airline food
1. SAS
2. Lufthansa
3. Turkish Airlines
4. British Airways
5. Aeroflot

Top 5 long-haul airline food
1. KLM
2. Aeroflot
3. SAS
4. Air France
5. British Airways