On some flights, the airline's chef made an appearance to serve food to fliers, who were allowed to eat off china plates with metal knives and forks — which you certainly wouldn't be given on a flight today, unless you were in a private jet.

Funny, I had silverware and "real" plates (but probably just porcelain) around the time the article was written, and it was only business, not first class.

Anyhow, there's no way they'd allow staff to walk around the aisle with such a knife in flight today. Risk of accidentally stabbing a passenger during sudden turbulence...

[–] 31ank@ani.social 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Had a long flight this year (~10h) and got "real" silverware in a economy seat (but no real plates). The knife wasn't really sharp but it did it's job (edit: just checked my photos, it was a butter knife, can share the photo if requested)

[–] elgordino@fedia.io 7 points 2 days ago

International business class still comes with metal silverware and proper plates today. First class might have a mother of pearl spoon to go with your caviar, if it’s fancy enough.

No one is rolling around a ham to carve next to your seat but international first class can still be plenty fancy on the few airlines that still do it.