WASHINGTON -- We've all had one of those days. There wasn't a moment to spare before my flight. I had underestimated the rush-hour traffic, the snarling line at the security checkpoint, the time it would take the Transportation Security Administration to do that mysterious test on my laptop for traces of explosives -- and how hungry I would get after skimping on lunch.

With T-minus 10 minutes to the closing of the cabin door, I was careening through the terminal in wildly impractical shoes, barely hanging onto my suitcase. The restaurants along my path were a neon blur. Time to grab a sandwich or hit the ATM? Forget about it.

As I limped toward my window seat, my stomach was already growling. The reality of the five-hour flight to Los Angeles yawned before me. With no cash, my best bet was going to be hanging around the back galley begging the flight attendants for extra pretzels.

As we all are learning -- often the hard way -- complimentary food on most airlines in economy class is a distant memory.

pThe airline meals of recent years were hardly the gourmet endeavors of the 1950s, when airlines such as Pan Am and TWA made high-class meals standard fare for their passengers, but they did help satisfy passengers on long flights. And as late as the 1970s, when airlines still were regulated, first-class airline offerings sometimes included duck and chateaubriand served on crystal and china, and even coach-class passengers got simple but balanced meals during the breakfast, lunch and dinner hours.

However, infrastructure needed to store, reheat and serve the food consumed space and fuel, making it expensive. So in 2001, when major carriers began cruising toward bankruptcy -- largely as a result of intense price competition with low-cost airlines such as Southwest and JetBlue, the pre-Sept. 11th recession and the nervousness of frequent fliers after the Sept. 11th attacks -- many airlines eliminated meals.

The savings from cutting the service was immediate.

In 2000, airlines were spending about $2.9 billion a year to feed passengers. By eliminating meals in coach on most flights and by selling food items, a carrier such as American Airlines -- one of the few that would disclose cost-savings -- saved nearly $30 million last year. Across the industry in the third quarter of 2005, U.S. airlines spent 11 percent less on food and beverage than in the same period the year before, according to an analysis by the Air Transport Association.

John Heimlich, chief economist at the ATA, a trade organization representing of the major airlines, says the transition to purchase on board "doesn't appear to have had any material impact on our business.

"A lot of people say what we're offering to buy now is better than what we were serving for free," he said. "The passengers were sending a very clear signal ... 'I'd rather have the lowest fare possible and have the option to buy something.' "

With the exception of a few carriers such as Continental Airlines, which still offers free hot and cold sandwiches on long flights, nearly all of the major airlines are peddling snack packs on flights over three hours and sometimes a salad or sandwich option on longer flights.

Some travelers might find them satisfying, but to me the snack packs resemble a midnight raid on a vending machine, and I'm just not going to pay $5 dollars for tasteless iceberg lettuce or a chicken sandwich smothered in cream cheese.

In the tens of thousands of miles I've flown over the past year from Washington, D.C., where I work, to L.A., where my boyfriend lives, I've decided that the solution to putting some class and comfort back into air travel is preparing my own in-flight meals the night before travel.

I was looking for options that were more healthful and lower in sodium than the airport offerings -- a meal that was energizing, but light enough to avoid the Buddha-belly feeling that comes from eating too much and being trapped in a seat belt for five hours.

After some mishaps with forgotten forks and soggy sandwiches, I settled on lavash wraps, a type of flatbread, which allow you to get creative with ingredients and also hold up well several hours into a flight, even with the rough and tumble of airport security.

I tried recipes that I could work into my dinner routines the night before. If I was cooking on the stove, I would simultaneously prepare the Thai chicken lettuce wrap mixture adapted from Rachael Ray's 30-minute meal collection. If grilling, I'd throw on some pineapple and shrimp skewers brushed with teriyaki sauce. In both cases, I'd refrigerate them overnight and wrap the next morning. When time was at a premium, I'd opt for a quick Mediterranean vegetable wrap with avocado, roasted red peppers, hummus and feta cheese.

On sides, I took my inspiration from modern versions of traditional Japanese bento boxes -- lunchboxes that encourage you to create a balanced meal with their separate compartments. I actually tried traveling with the elegant black and red lacquered bento box that the Golden Door Spa uses to serve lunch, but it didn't pass the leak-free test.

I found a more portable insulated version at www.lunchboxes.com with mini sealed compartments -- but Tupperware or even Ziplocs work well also.

pThese days I'm the envy of my seatmates. When the stewardess passes through the aisle with cocktails and those high-sodium pretzels, I feel positively spa-like munching my own mix of raw almonds, dried cherries and semisweet chocolate chips.

pAs we fly through the clouds high above those twinkling city lights, I'll eat my main course, which I wrap tightly in wax paper so I can tear away the paper at the top and peel down an inch with each bite -- a method that makes the whole endeavor drip-free.

pThen somewhere over the Midwest just as I'm getting sleepy, I'll eat my dessert -- strawberries and a few squares of dark chocolate -- a combination that is easy but seems positively decadent.

pSit back, relax and enjoy your flight? With a bit of planning and preparation, we can all do just that.