Why you crave for tomato juice on flights

Mick Jagger. Photograph by Agustin Maunier/Flickr

We have it on good authority that the one thing that Mick Jagger requested for on all his British Airways flights was a can of tomato juice. Didn’t expect that from the hell raising Rolling Stones rocker did you? He’s among many who prefer to drink it while flying.

There’s a reason why tomato juice is the most popular drink on an airplane: The dry cabin air and the noise levels inside a flight changes the taste of food. Dishes lose their sweetness and the savoury flavours are enhanced. This increases the umami flavour of tomato juice making it more palatable 30,000 feet in the air than on land, according to a study conducted by Cornell University taste physiologist, Robin Dando.

Photograph by Pedro Fernandes/Flickr

But is drinking tomato juice on a flight actually good for you? If you can make sure that the juice contains no preservatives or additives and is low on sodium levels, drinking tomato juice on a flight is the best way to stay hydrated. Rich in Vitamin A and Vitamin C, tomato juice is a fantastic immune booster. Tomatoes also contain a fat soluble antioxidant called lycopene that is known to fight cancer. If you’re the kind who likes champagne, wine or coffee on a flight, you should know that alcohol and caffeine dehydrates your system, whereas tomato juice will not only stop you from eating junk on board as it fills you up, but is also an excellent hydrating drink.

Lufthansa airlines commissioned a research project in 2010 that investigated the science of airline food. The airlines serves 1.7 million litres of tomato juice every year,