View From The Wing argues that it may be time for airlines to retire hot mixed nuts in first class. Respectfully Gary, hands off my (mixed) nuts!
Hands Off My Mixed Nuts: First Class Needs More Warm Nuts, Not Fewer
View From The Wing argues that hot mixed nuts in first class feel stale and that airlines should replace them with something more creative. Mini antipasto skewers, spiced seeds, crackers with spreads, small canapés, chocolates, savory shortbread, and other more “interesting” options are floated as possibilities.
I’m going the other way.
Hands off my mixed nuts.
I love mixed nuts. I eat them constantly at home. Our monthly mixed nut budget is embarrassingly high, easily hundreds of dollars, and I am not talking about sad little peanut-heavy blends either. I like the Trader Joe’s premium nut mix, though the Aldi mix is not terrible. Pecans, pistachios, cashews, almonds, and macadamias are exactly the sort of snack I want, both on the ground and in the air…nuts are part of my daily diet.
They are filling, delicious, have healthy fat, pair beautifully with a drink, and feel premium when served warm in a ramekin. That last part matters. Dumping a bag of almonds on a tray is not the same thing as a warm mixed nut service with a proper glass of sparkling water with ice and lime.
That is one of my favorite little onboard rituals. I settle in, the flight attendant brings a drink, the nuts arrive warm, and I find myself smiling.
Why would we want to get rid of that?
Mixed Nuts Are Not Boring, They Are Classic!
I understand the point that mixed nuts have become predictable. No one is going to write a breathless press release announcing a revolutionary new ramekin of almonds. But not everything in first class has to be reinvented.
Some things work because they are simple. A hot towel works, as does a properly poured drink. Warm mixed nuts work too. They are not stale to me, they are classic.
As I see it, the problem is not that airlines serve nuts but that they do not serve them often enough, and when they do, the quality varies too much.
I would love to see warm mixed nuts become a first class staple on all flights, even those without meal service. On a short flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco, a meal would be great, but this isn’t Europe or Asia. But a drink and a small ramekin of warm mixed nuts? That would be lovely and something that could really separate one carrier from another.
It would also feel far more premium than the usual snack basket roulette, where the choices often include a tiny bag of chips, a packaged cookie, a banana, or a highly-processed protein stick full of nitrates.
Keep the snack basket for people who want it, but add warm mixed nuts as an option. That would be a real improvement.
American And Delta Have The Better Nut Mix
United has added some savory spices to its nut mix this year. I do not mind it, actually preferring it to the standard cashew/almond mix.
American and Delta have the better nut mix, in my view, because they typically include pecans and pistachios. That makes a difference. A nut mix dominated by almonds and cashews can still be fine, but pecans and pistachios are not only more “premium” but are two of my favorites nuts.
American also offers olives with mixed nuts in first class, and I like that. KLM offers cheese or nuts. Virgin Atlantic has served potato chips. Alaska Airlines also has a savory mix with pretzel twists. Air France has cheese biscuits. These are all good options in their own way, and I am not opposed to variety.
But if given a choice, I am choosing the nuts.
The suggested alternatives do not sound terrible. I would happily try an antipasto skewer or savory shortbread bite…Aer Lingus did a great job with is savory biscuits and chutney. A small canapé can be great if it is done well. Cheese and crackers can also work. But all of those options introduce more complexity and therefore more chances for disappointment.
Mixed nuts are hard to mess up, relatively shelf-stable, easy to serve, and satisfying….it’s why they are a staple onboard.
CONCLUSION
View From The Wing thinks hot mixed nuts in first class may be stale. I think they are one of the better little rituals left in domestic premium cabins.
They are healthy, filling, delicious, easy to serve, and genuinely premium when warmed and presented properly. I would like to see more of them, not fewer, including on shorter first class flights that currently rely on mediocre snack baskets.
By all means, offer cheese, olives, chips, or other options too. But the warm mixed nuts should stay.
Hands off my nuts!
Matthew, I guess you have no regard for he over 85% of people who suffer from some sort of severe nut allergy in the United States. While yes, I agree that a bowl full of warm nuts do go well with a complimentary drink from the bar.. Those nuts are a death sentence to those who suffer from tree nut allergies. Please, it is 2026, lets think about the welfare of the group rather than the individual. God bless you and god bless the USA…
Do you personally have a nut allergy? How do you handle it when you fly?
85%??? What bullsheet. Death sentence? Again more BS.
Hundreds of Millions fly annually on flights with some nuts on them and how many have died?
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Which you have none of.
What type of idiot would get on a plane if they knew someone eating a bag of peanuts would kill them?
Yeah, if 85% of people have severe nut allergies, people would be dropping like flies on airplanes and at airports.
Yeah, your attempt at parody here didn’t quite take. I would have guessed the 85% claim would have signaled your were either insane or kidding.
It is reported that around 1.1% to 3% of Americans have a peanut allergy, while about 0.5% to 1% are allergic to tree nuts. Overall, roughly 2% of US children and 1.5% of adults have a peanut allergy.
I get your point and you are correct, they are a classy way to start a meal, but if the airlines are too cheap to offer warmed mixed nuts and also offer a good meal, than by all means, cut the nuts.
Paying the in-flight catering company to put the nuts into ramekins and then load the ramekins into tin foil containers costs money, washing the ramekins after the flight costs money, money that could be put into higher quality meals.
DL does not serve nuts in domestic First Class and that is fine by me as DL still offers better, higher meals in First Class than both AA and for sure UA.
Years ago, I had a conversation with folks at Continental Airlines about why they don’t offer warmed mixed nuts and the answer was exactly that, they are given a limited budget, to offer a higher quality tasty meal, something has to give, in CO’s case it was warmed mixed nuts.
They said that a bag of almonds is cheaper as it does not require the ramekin, thus saving on loading and cleaning costs, it also saves oven space, allowing CO to load meals in tin foil containers and then have the FA plate it onboard leading to a far better product.
All valid observations that I echo (I fondly recall the soup, salad, main course dinners on CO). The bagged nuts on CO were better than nothing!
its not the airlines that are cheap, its the FA unions who want premium contracts for no work
look how much airlines invest into the hard product, being the seat, internet etc, and even premium drinks
while the service is sorely lacking
Warmed mixed nuts as a starter in F are the airlines’ equivalent of Jesu God of Man’s Desiring at a wedding.
Both are a highly regular feature, repeated to the point that but stay around because they both get their job done a full standard deviation better than the next best alternative.
And I devour them (and tree nut butters) too, partly on oncologist orders and also because the fat, fiber, and protein are a quite sating when I toggle off and on keto.
100% agree.
(And a violin ensemble played Jesu God of Man’s Desiring at my wedding!)
Holy Bob Crandall and cutting olives out of the salad!
40 ounces of fancy mixed nuts go for $18.49 chez Costco. https://www.costco.com/all-costco-grocery.html. Putting less than a dollar’s worth of nuts in front of passengers shuts them up like a coloring book shuts a three year old up at TGIFridays – surely helping with a FA’s sanity.
Labor and other aspects of execution make in flight catered meals are expensive for what you get. Warmed nuts are a relative bargain.
My problem with the Costco nuts, which I have brought several times but no longer do, is the Brazil Nuts. I just throw them away…total waste. No one in my family likes them.
Ha! That’s how I feel these days but in the my old film days it was the more the better.
Oh, wait different nuts, lol.
How about some olive crackers? I find those pretty tasty compared to nuts or cheese
I like them, but not as a replacement to nuts.
Mixed nuts are simply irreplaceable!
Matt, did Boarding Area force you and Gary to write about nuts? Feels like a hostage situation. Blink twice if you guys need an extraction.
You can’t beat the Gavottes on Air France – also sold in much bigger boxes in E. LeClerc.
Greetings to the tasty AF Gavottes! Big Gavottes boxes are sold in the Biscuits, Cookies, or Local Products aisle at all E.Leclerc stores in France. You can find oversized vintage tins and large value packs in the “Gourmet” or “Brittany/Regional” sections, often near the specialty Gavottes crepes.
That packaged lime powder in the Alaska Airlines photo is a non-starter.
Downside is Delta got rid of mixed nuts on their standard domestic first flights, as well as the side salad, which made their dishes look bare. At least it was my experience on a recent SAN-ATL flight.
I’d be fine without mixed nuts personally, if they are replaced with something similar, like popcorn or chips, served on a ramikin.
I too am pro on both the mixed nuts and warm towel front of the plane amenity. However, I do have a couple of caveats where it can go wrong. FA’s that try to save time by putting the tray in to heat too early or too hot, because once the come out and cool they instantly have a stale taste even when they are fresh.
The second is the towels. Someone needs to quality screen these for some airlines (looking at you, UA!). Often, they are thin, ragged and over-washed and should be thrown out. Kind of defeats the ‘luxury’ attempt. SQ is the best in class for this IMHO.
as someone who is allergic to peanuts, cashews, and pistachios, I’d rather have the option to have something other than mixed nuts. I always have to skip that part of the meal
Only allergic if I actually ingest the nuts, so if others want nuts, have at it. Just give me another choice, even if it is as simply as another heated roll
not to go off topic but those Maui Monk pretzels on WN… you can refill my ramekin with those any day. I don’t need caviar
A doctor’s humble opinion → Regularly eating a small handful (30 grams) of mixed nuts daily is a great way to improve your cardiovascular, brain, and gut health. Nuts are incredible antioxidants and are packed with protein, fiber, and good/healthy fats that give you quick energy while keeping you full. Choose raw or dry-roasted nuts and avoid varieties coated in salt, sugar, or oil. You can also toss some chopped nuts into your morning yogurt, morning oatmeal, or a salad.
I’m with you on this. Though I’d say QR has the best nuts. They’re salted differently. They’re delicious. Copa also has surprisingly fantastic nuts.