In spite of the many complexities of aerial cooking, Menge agrees with Braun that on-board chefs can still add value to the in-flight customer experience.

CNN: Flying chefs serve up fine dining in sky

"We realized we had a premium customer sitting in economy class who would appreciate and purchase an on board culinary experience, " notes Russ Brown, U.S. Airways' director of product planning and development.

CNN: Economy class goes gourmet

SYNC's new suite of services allows customers the ability to integrate with off-board services and provide a personalized infotainment experience to the driver by utilizing the customer's own phone.

ENGADGET: Sync adds turn-by-turn, traffic reports for some 2010 Fords