The caviar and smoked salmon were superb, the chilled champagne flowed freely and the service was impeccable as Jake and Linda Richter gazed at each other across a table covered with white linen and set with fine china.

The only thing missing was the candlelight, but an open flame wouldn't have been encouraged in this dining room cruising at 550 miles per hour somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.

Sitting in first class on a recent Cathay Pacific flight from San Francisco, California, to Hong Kong, China, the Richters were dining in style.

The menu included stir-fried prawns and scallops accented with tangerine peel and jasmine rice; double-boiled ginseng and lean pork soup; and an extensive wine list.

"It was as if being in a restaurant," recalled Jake Richter, a U.S. businessman who lives on the Caribbean island of Bonaire. "They worked very hard on presentation. Everything was individually plated. ... It was fantastic."

CNN Travel has the FULL STORY

Previously - Wherein we mourn the passing of coach-class meals