At the beginning of the year, we saw a very cool airline themed dinner concept in Portland (PDX), which was available for two nights only. OMAAT readers who went enjoyed it greatly, with one person commenting “holy cow that dinner was so much fun! Well executed and a real treat!”
Well, there’s some good news — it’s making a comeback, this time in Seattle (SEA), and only for one night! In case there’s any doubt, let me just be very clear that I don’t make any money if you buy a ticket, I just love the concept, and want to support it however I can.
“Greatest Airline Meals of the 20th Century” dinner returns
On Saturday, November, 14, 2026, we’re going to see the “Greatest Airline Meals of the 20th Century” at the Museum of Flight, near Boeing Field. This is a Bill Oakley Culinary Event presented by Alaska Airlines. I’ll let the description of the dinner speak for itself:
For one night only, we’re bringing back the glamour of the Jet Set era, when airline food was extravagant, ambitious, and sometimes completely unhinged!
The Greatest Airline Meals of the 20th Century is a seven-course seated dinner that takes you back in time, through food, from the earliest passenger flights of 1919 to the final Concorde service in 2003. Each course is drawn from real vintage airline menus, prepared with modern technique but grounded in original recipes, photographs and menu archives.
From the rickety, unpressurized passenger planes of the Depression era to the glamorous 747s of the 1960s, when Pan Am and TWA competed for jet-set travelers, food (the fancier the better) was a critical way to win business. At this event, you’ll step back in time and taste it for yourself.
We’ll be dining in the glamorous Great Gallery of The Museum of Flight, surrounded by legendary aircraft, with every course brought back to life by the fantastic chefs of McCormick & Schmick’s.
Yes, lobster and caviar will be served (among other delights).
Yes, there will be cocktails and vintage airline uniforms (and many other surprises).
Elegant and/or vintage dress encouraged!
Both the dinner and the setting sound incredible. I’m really tempted to go, and if this were any closer, I’d definitely be in… I’m still contemplating it… gah, what do I tell my family?! “I wanna fly away for two days so I can eat airplane meals in Seattle?” Okay, they’ve heard crazier.
How much do tickets to this special dinner cost?
As you can see above, this event takes place on just one night, and tickets can be purchased at this link. There are two types of tickets:
- A dinner ticket costs $220, and includes a seven-course Greatest Airline Meals dinner in The Museum of Flight’s Great Gallery, two hosted drinks of your choice (beer, wine, or cocktails), and Bill Oakley’s slideshow presentation
- A dinner & after party ticket costs $270, and includes everything in the dinner ticket, plus the afterparty in the Red Barn, Boeing’s original factory building, from 10PM to 12:30AM, with two more hosted drinks of your choice
Obviously this is a very expensive dinner, but it can’t be cheap to host this, factoring in the food, venue, etc.
Bottom line
If you’re an aviation geek, and have the time and money, there’s a very special event taking place at Seattle’s Museum of Flight on Saturday, November 14, 2026, hosted by Bill Oakley and presented by Alaska Airlines. Specifically, there will be a seven-course dinner intended to showcase the “Greatest Airline Meals of the 20th Century.”
I really, really, really want to attend this dinner, and would do it in a heartbeat if I lived closer.
Anyone plan on attending this cool dinner in Seattle?
Ben, You should go, and you should buy your ticket right now. I did this last year at PDX and it was great. Food and drink were good, Bill the host is super engaging. It’s a fun evening. It sold out almost immediately.
This is cool. If anyone in the Community goes, please consider submitting a Reader Story.
I mean, Bill Oakley's website has this to offer about the airline dinner followed by a Get in Touch button - now that you are going for Alaska status, just feels like an OMAAT x Alaska x Bill Oakley east coast dinner is in the cards!
"The Greatest Airline Meals of the 20th Century. Want to bring this dinner to your city? A Bill Oakley culinary event unlike any other. Presented in partnership with Alaska...
I mean, Bill Oakley's website has this to offer about the airline dinner followed by a Get in Touch button - now that you are going for Alaska status, just feels like an OMAAT x Alaska x Bill Oakley east coast dinner is in the cards!
"The Greatest Airline Meals of the 20th Century. Want to bring this dinner to your city? A Bill Oakley culinary event unlike any other. Presented in partnership with Alaska Airlines, this dinner takes guests on a journey through the golden age of in-flight dining — when airlines competed on the quality of their food and the glamour of the experience. Recreated dishes, period details, and the kind of food history that sounds made-up until you see the evidence."
Missed opportunity for AS to provide some kind of benefit to Summit card holders.
I went to this last year at PDX. Bill does an amazing job taking you back in history to the "golden age of flying". If you are an Avgeek, you need to go to this event.
If it ain't premium, I ain't going.
See you in Atlanta.