The worst institutional food short of Sloppy Joes at a junior high school cafeteria has long been found flying through the air. Inflight fare hasn't been the butt of jokes for no reason — food service has become a casualty of hard economic times that airlines have faced over the recent years.

And today, in fact, the real airline innovators don't feed you at all.

BusinessWeek [1] report that to whet passengers' appetites — and entice their loyalty — carriers like American, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Lufthansa, and Midwest are actually improving onboard fare, highlighted by pay-as-you-go menu choices.

Still, imagine! Good airline food!

Yes, I know — I have to re-read what I just wrote. The words "airline" and "good food" in the same sentence? My stomach won't quite believe what my eyes are telling me.

How about you?

Airline Futurist * Miami * www.amadeus.com