Flying in economy? Here's what in-flight food to expect
Sunday, May 21, 2006
By Maeve Reston, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
American Airlines
- No free meals
- Beverages & pretzel service on most flights; biscotti on morning flights
- $4 Snack boxes on most flights over 3 hours
- $5 sandwiches & wraps on transcontinental, Alaska and Hawaii flights
- Credit cards accepted on most American flights, but not American Eagle and AmericanConnection
More information
Continental Airlines
- Free snacks and meals on flights over an hour after 10 a.m.
- Flights between two and three and half hours: deli sandwich, carrots, chips
- Flights over three and half hours: hot sandwich snack basket
More information
Delta
- One free snack like pretzels on flights less than 1.5 hours
- Between 1.5 and 3.5 hours: a choice from a snack basket like Ruffles potato chips, granola bar or cookies
- More than 3.5 hours: a choice from snack basket and a more substantial snack pack with items like crostini and cheese spread, raisins and shortbread
More information
Jet Blue
- No free meals
- Choice of unlimited snacks on all flights, which range from Terra Blue chips to Pistachio Biscotti
- Free snack boxes on some flights more than four hours in length with items like raisins, cheese and crackers.
More information
Northwest
- No free meals
- $1 snack mix: 3 oz of raisins, almonds, and cashews: available to buy on most flights over an hour with beverage service
- On flights over 2 hours, passengers can purchase $3 snack boxes available with boxed items such as granola bar, dried fruit, crackers and cheese spread
- Sandwiches available for $5 on flights to and from Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico and the Caribbean: but pre-ordering up to 13 hours before flight is required
More information
Southwest
- No free meals
- Beverages and pretzels or peanuts on most flights
- Non-stops longer than 2 hours, passengers get a snack box with items such as crackers and peanut butter, graham crackers and shortbread
More information
United
- No Free Meals, but cocktail snacks complimentary
- Flights longer than 3.5 hours: Choice of four $5 snackboxes with items ranging from hickory smoked beef jerky to crackers and lemon and pepper tuna medley (Snackboxes are available on Ted flights longer than 2.5 hours)
- Flights over 5 hours: $5 sandwich like a chicken fajita wrap or oriental chicken salad available
- Cash only
More information
US Airways
- No Free meals, free snacks eliminated
- $5 snack boxes available on flights over 2 hours with items like bagel chips, dried fruit, fruit bar, crackers and cheese in the morning; lunch/dinner snack box includes chips and salsa, fruit bowl, breadsticks and cheese
- $7 meals available on flight to/from Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco and Seattle with breakfast sandwich and breakfast cake in the morning; Deli-style panini sandwich, chips and cookie for lunch
- Cash only
Pan Am passengers in Clipper Class got special amenities such as meals with champagne in the late 1970s.
|
First published on May 21, 2006 at 12:00 am