While the masses in economy tuck into another metallic container of disappointing curry and rice, airlines are investing in higher quality in-flight meals for premium customers – upgrading the presentation as well as the content, to improve the mile-high dining experience.

Nobody enjoys in-flight food, with science suggesting that factors like altitude, dry airspace and the level of noise on a plane are all part of the problem. Cathay Pacific has taken all these factors into account to create Betsy Beer – a craft beer brewed to taste good at 30,000 feet.

When it comes to food, it’s all about flavour – right? Canvas8 spoke to Charles Spence, the psychologist behind ‘gastrophysics’, to discover how all senses impact on how we taste and to find out how brands are using packaging, colour and sound to radically alter our flavour experiences.

In 2013, over 3 billion passengers took to the skies. As airlines aim to make flying as simple as taking the train, could everything people would normally associate with air travel – endless queues, bad food, cramped, uncomfortable seats – be about to change for the better?