Bobster

It gets worse. On flights in between meal hours you don't get snacks, even over 1000 miles and two and a half hours. First class gets a banana and tiny snack bag.

Bagels

I redeemed my last coupon for a free non-perishable snack for the TREATS box on a DTW-ATL flight in late December. The aircraft was most definitely catered with a large supply of them.

Like I said, I have no idea how DL caters the non-perishable snacks. And perhaps the FA shouldn't have "sold" me a box, but I find it hard to believe that if an aircraft has excess snack boxes (perhaps left over from a previous flight meeting the criteria) that DL would refuse $9 for them.

3Cforme

'Meal time' windows are pretty generous even at the 900+ mile level although mid-afternoon departures may go without.

First Class complimentary meal times: flights of 900-1500 miles -- breakfast is served on flights departing between 5 am – 9:45 am; lunch is served on flights departing between 9:46 am – 1:30 pm; and dinner is served on flights departing between 4 pm – 8 pm.

Flights over 1500 miles: breakfast is served on flights departing between 5 am – 9:45 am; lunch is served on flights departing between 9:46 am – 3:59 pm; dinner is served on flights departing between 4 pm – 8 pm.

http://www.delta.com/traveling_check....../dining.jsp

DeltaWings

They were offering a hot sandwich "snack" on much later departures, but I've had quite a few 1500+ mile flights recently that have had no such option -- just the snack basket, if it is even presented at all.

relangford

I have noticed that few people buy the boxes even on the longer flights. I don't think DL is making a lot of money on them.

mudpuppy

Now I'm jealous, lol! I've asked for snack boxes on that flight at least 10 times and they always said they don't have them, so I gave up asking. I guess I should have been more persistent!

ellis01

Well, considering they never had enough on the flight for everyone that wanted to buy one, I'm not surprised they weren't selling enough. After being turned down about 5 times saying they were "sold out" I stopped even trying.

jtrue28

They weren't considered "chic" by any means, but when you have tight connections and you're starvng, those little snack boxes were fine by me.

Cheese, meat, crackers, cookies, fruit snacks...yeah, my 4yr old loves that menu as well, so maybe that's where I get it from.

Feather Man

There have been times when these snack boxes were my only shot at eating.

If it costs too much to cater the plane, why not sell them at the gate before boarding ? I guess this would only work at hubs and focus cities with enough flights to justify it. They could put together a little cart with all of the choices and position it near the gate before boarding.

KenfromDE

Great idea! Especially since it could be done by a minimum wage person, there would be no leftovers from an overstocked plane, etc. ^^

Bagels

DL would never sell enough to justify the cost of such program. It'd be expensive because in heavily banked hubs like DTW, MSP and ATL, it'd take an army of minimum wage-type employees to sell the boxes... with plenty of downtime in their shifts. And only a few boxes would sell at the gate... at $9, few people would be interested when a plethora of good, real food is available at similar (or less) pricing throughout the airports. Most people buy the snack boxes because they're hungry & captive and willing to pay $9 for what's available.

fsuj25

I wonder if most airports would even allow this since they already sell contracts to outside companies to run the food and beverage service at the airport.

AKABrownBear

Your solution doesn't solve the cost issue because in both cases Delta has to keep inventory of a food product which may or may not sell (although I think the boxes would have decent shelf life so not sure if they have high wasted goods expenses.) If anything you are adding expense because those minimum-wage workers are new employees Delta has to hire as opposed to using existing employees, FAs, to sell their products.

But you are potentially on the right track - what Delta should do is sell certificates to use on flights for drinks / snacks online. If they implemented the solution correctly they could accurately assess the demand for those items before each flight and stock accordingly as well as save time during service as the FAs no longer have to furiously swipe credit cards.

Really I don't see the incentive to discontinue the food boxes unless they have a big issue with having to throw stuff out. Those things are priced so high I'd be amazed if they didn't have killer margins on them...

Feather Man

You might have a point. But really, you are only competing with WH Smith and the like. This does not compete with a real restaurant.

If I have the time, of course I'm going for real food. But if I am running to make a connection, real food is not a choice.

Feather Man

I can't imagine they have high spoilage on the "Tasty Treats"box. That crap will last at least 6 months. And don't discount the fuel cost to carry those boxes on the plane. It may offset the new employee cost, but then again, it might not. I just don't know.