EATS menu now available only on flights 2 hours/900 miles or longer
 

FYI. Title says it all. The EATS menu - snack boxes, etc. - is now available only on flights 2 hours/900 miles or longer, whereas previously it was available on flights 600 miles or longer.

As long as there is still booze !!

It's been this way for at least a month. Pretty much eliminates all of my flights (out of TUL). I guess DL figures it is not profitable on short routes.

Thanks for the update.

Another "improvement" in services and a possible issue for someone with two relatively "short" flights and tight connection, or a connection that got tighter than it should have been.

Bob H

EATS menu now available only on flights 2 hours/900 miles or longer
 

Flew ATL to SFO at 9:50 pm a couple of weeks ago and NOTHING for sale then either.

The race to the bottom continues...

This will hurt people flying 2 segments with no time in between to grab a meal. But it was probably not profitable for Delta to carry these on short flights. C'est la vie.

How so? We're talking about food for sale. Undoubtedly, DL profits from its selection of $10 sandwiches, salads and wraps; thus, if there was demand for it, DL wouldn't be removing the option.

The restrictions typically apply only to the "fresh" selections. The snack boxes are usually available on all mainline flights, regardless of duration. I do not know if this is a derivative on accumulated unsold snack boxes (from flights meeting duration requirements) or if it's because they're catered to have a supply at all times to ultimately reduce catering costs.

Per the EATS guide, they're offered on flights with departure times until 8:00PM. Again, I suspect if there was demand at later times, they'd be offered. Then again I've flown the 7:30-7:55PM DTW-LAX departure numerous times this year, and there have been a few flights in which fresh food wasn't catered. Which is surprising given that they frequently run out.

The snack boxes, Pringles, etc. are now only available on flights >900 miles, up from 600. I don't remember what the fresh food minimums are, but I thought they have always been 1400 miles.

It makes Delta Flight Attendants jobs easier not having to deal with snacks and other food items under 900 miles now..gives them more time to catch up on People Magazine or Facebook with WIFI connected flights. :eek:

I miss the additional snack options and the little pretzel turkey sandwiches - I must have been the only one buying on the short routes ;) I fly from CVG, so almost everything is sub 900 miles except the rare occasions when they have a west coast flight that's at a business friendly time.

Like I said, I do not know how DL caters its aircraft & flights, but the non-perishable snack items are generally available on most mainline flights, regardless of stated durations. DL sent me a ton of coupons good for a non-perishable snack items (after I complained about my ATL/HNL Y flights being sold with meal service) that expired at the end of last year ... so in the final weeks of the year, I redeemed them on flights from DTW to places like BWI and GRR. I still have a couple in my pantry.

I can't imagine any FF desiring to purchases these boxes on a regular basis. The "TAPAS" box was just bad IMO and the "TREATS" box consisted of items you'd put in your child's lunch over the course of the week. And at $9, they're not exactly a great value. Even the $3 can of Pringles can be purchased for $1 at CVS everyday, even in high priced markets like Los Angeles.

To me, the non-perishable snack items would seem to appeal toward the casual flyer ... not the FF.

They want $9 for a snack box now? Wow... totally missed that part. Guess that explains why they're no longer included on HOOUs.

$8.99 -- up from $5 at the time of the merger. I use to frequently buy the NW snack boxes and munch on them over the course of a few days, but the DL ones might as well be called "DOG TREATS."

The fresh EATS menu use to be a good deal (unless you brought your food or ate at home) but not so much. We redeemed FlexPerk tickets, so we bought the Signature Turkey Sliders each way on our recent trip... $10 and not exactly shareable -- the bag of chips was 0.5 ounce (70 calories)! And they were prepared & presented differently, with the sandwich on the return containing a piece of Sanders candy.

I flew the 77L LAX-ATL last year and purchased a sandwich that the EATS menu said came with a bag of chips, which turned out to be a bag of Better Made, so I suspect the sandwiches are made at various Delta kitchens.

No this isn't true. Snack boxes used to only be available on flights over 600 miles. I'm keenly aware of this because as a non-drinker I never was able to use my HOOUs on my weekly ATL/DTW flight for a snack box, which is 595 miles. If I happened to fly ATL/FNT instead (644 miles) I could get a snack box.

Looking at Delta's website it appears now snack boxes are only going to be available on flights over 900 miles, as OP stated.

Edit to add link: http://www.delta.com/content/dam/del.../eats-menu.pdf, under the section for Snack Boxes it states they are available for flights over 2 hours of actual flight time or 900 miles.