A 31-year-old man has choked and died while eating an airline meal on a Jetstar flight, reports said today.

Robert Rippingale had been eating a beef dinner while watching a movie when his girlfriend noticed him shaking, the New Zealand Herald reports.

"I thought he was laughing very hard, then I looked at his face and his eyes were rolling and he couldn't talk," Vanessa Preechakul, 27, said. "His lips were turning purple.

"One minute we were sitting next to each other kissing, holding hands and the next minute he was choking."

He was pronounced dead 90 minutes into the 11-hour flight from Singapore to Auckland.

Jetstar spokesman Andrew McGinnes said the cause of death was unknown and an inquest would be held.