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Home » Airline Meals » A History of Airline Meals
Airline MealsContinental AirlinesDelta Airlines

A History of Airline Meals

Matthew Klint Posted onMay 21, 2010 Leave a Comment

Check out this audio clip from NPR on the history of in-flight airline food.

I particularly like the perspective at the end:

But there’s a paradox the airlines ignore. Is that when we get on board, we come to expect those silly peanuts or pretzels and that tomato juice. It’s a way to pass the time, quite literally. And so the fact of not having access to this at all, that actually is a trying thing for any passenger.

Of course, the trade-off is cheap airfares. Today, a round-trip ticket from D.C. to San Francisco costs about 300 bucks. Back in 1938, the same ticket also cost about 300 bucks. You got a free meal, but for that money you could’ve also bought a car.

I’ll take the cheap airfare and BOB…

One correction:

It’s almost Memorial Day, the official start of the summer travel season. And it may be the last summer to enjoy a free meal in coach class on domestic airline flights. Only one U.S. carrier still offers that freebie, Continental. But the airline recently announced it’ll soon join the no-food-for-you club on most domestic flights this fall…

That’s not quite accurate. Continental will still offer free meals in Y (at least until the merger occurs) on domestic flights longer than six hours. Delta also offers complimentary meals in Economy on nonstop Hawaiian flights to/from Atlanta and Minneapolis. Hawaiian Airlines also offer complimentary meals in domestic Coach, although you can also choose to purchase upgraded meals for $10. 

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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