Six inaugural honors spotlight the best in inflight food, drink, amenities, and tableware, the products and ideas passengers actually taste and touch, unveiled at IFSA Global EXPO in Dallas.
DALLAS, TEXAS (10 September 2026) – Think of everything that arrives at your seat on a flight: the meal, the snack you buy onboard, the drink in your hand, the amenity kit, and the way it is all presented. For the first time, the International Flight Services Association (IFSA) has honored the very best of it with its newly expanded Awards program. IFSA today announced the inaugural winners, recognizing achievement across six categories spanning inflight food and beverage, onboard amenities, and tableware.
The winners were revealed at the IFSA Closing Reception and Awards Ceremony at the IFSA Global EXPO, the industry’s leading annual event, where the association celebrated this year’s finalists and the products and programs demonstrating creativity, collaboration, and excellence across the onboard experience.
The expanded program arrives as onboard dining and comfort are evolving quickly. Airlines are partnering with celebrated chefs and beloved brands, bringing a sense of place to the menu, and extending premium touches into the main cabin. By broadening the Awards, IFSA is shining a brighter light on the people and ideas raising the bar for what the passenger experience can deliver.
“The inflight experience reflects a complex network of decisions, from what is served onboard to how it is delivered and presented,” said Lauren Costello, IFSA Executive Director. “By expanding the IFSA Awards, we are creating greater visibility for the people and ideas advancing these areas and setting new benchmarks for what the onboard experience can deliver.”
The 2026 IFSA Awards winners include:
- Best Food & Beverage – Meal Service: American Airlines (the standout complimentary or premium meal onboard)
- Best Food & Beverage – Buy Onboard: LOT Polish Airlines (the best for-purchase food or snack)
- Best Food & Beverage – Beverage Program: Aeromexico (the most compelling onboard drink offering)
- Best Onboard Amenity – Business Class: Etihad Airways (the finest business-class amenity or kit)
- Best Onboard Amenity – Specialty: Etihad Airways (a standout specialty or collectible amenity)
- Best Tableware Presentation: Aeromexico (the most striking onboard tableware and presentation)
Together, the six categories capture the full arc of the onboard experience, from the first bite to the final detail on the tray. By recognizing them, IFSA gives the industry a platform to celebrate fresh ideas and to inspire what comes next. IFSA also thanks the media judges who brought their industry expertise to the selection process and helped determine this year’s winners: Stephanie Taylor, APEX; Steve Cosgrove, Airways Magazine; Nik Loukas, Inflight Feed; Beverley Fearis, Onboard Hospitality; Jane Hobson, PAX International; and Joshua Hirschheimer, Porsche Consulting.
IFSA Global EXPO also marked the launch of the 20th anniversary season of the Crystal Cabin Award, the global award recognizing innovation in aircraft interiors and passenger experience. The 2026–2027 season celebrates two decades of advancing cabin innovation, from groundbreaking products entering service to concepts advancing the future of air travel.
“The Crystal Cabin Awards represent the highest global standard for aircraft cabin innovation, and launching their 20th anniversary here in Dallas gives our industry a powerful reason to celebrate how far we have come and how boldly we can still advance,” APEX Group CEO Dr. Joe Leader shared at the conclusion of the awards ceremony in Dallas to point towards Hamburg. “For two decades, the Crystal Cabin Awards have honored the ideas that redefine what passengers experience in the air, while giving visionary designers, engineers, airlines, and manufacturers the recognition their breakthroughs deserve. We are profoundly proud to stand alongside the Crystal Cabin Awards as they begin their next twenty years of inspiring aviation to imagine better, design better, and fly better.”
For more information about the IFSA Awards program, please visit ifsa.aero or follow IFSA on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
###
About the International Flight Services Association (IFSA)
The International Flight Services Association (IFSA) is a global professional association serving the needs and interests of airline and railway personnel, caterers and suppliers who provide onboard services on regularly scheduled travel routes. Under the umbrella of APEX (Airline Passenger Experience Association) serving every major airline in the world, IFSA is dedicated to the advancement of the art and science of the multi- billion dollar inflight and railway onboard service industry.
