A New Zealander has choked and died eating an airline meal on a Jetstar flight, newspaper reports say.

According to New Zealand Herald, 31-year-old Robert Rippingale was on a flight from Singapore to Auckland eating his beef dinner when his girlfriend Vanessa Preechakul noticed him shaking.

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

He was moved to a curtained off crew rest area for most of the 11-hour flight last Monday.

"One minute we were sitting next to each other kissing, holding hands and the next minute he was choking," she said at his funeral on Saturday.

A doctor on board pronounced him dead 90 minutes after take-off after he and two nurses were unable to save him.

Rippingale and Preechakul reportedly met in Singapore three years ago and were on their way to Auckland to celebrate his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary.

A Jetstar spokesman told NZ Herald that the cause of death was unknown and an inquest would be held.