The death of the airline meal

How to fly and eat today

Today's domestic flights still carry food, typically for sale, but it differs by carrier and flight. (See the table below and check your route before you go. Your itinerary should specify meal service as well.)

Airport Web siteslist food kiosks by terminal. Transportation Security Administration rules prohibit drinks but not food from home, and you're welcome to bring aboard anything purchased past security.

Or take a cue from these frequent fliers:

Kerry Neville, a registered dietitian, packs the inexpensive, indestructible and inevitably superfilling peanut-butter sandwich. "There's nothing that can really turn on peanut butter," she said.

Plus, protein and fat -- think also cheese sticks, nuts and beef jerky -- have staying power. Sugar, the mainstay of many granola bars and airline snacks, can make you jumpy and leave you hungry within an hour.

That said, Neville also tucks away "just a couple squares" of Ghirardelli chocolate. A little treat to combat stress never hurts.

Candy Wallace, a personal chef, packs as if on a light picnic: a nice salad, hard cheeses, grapes, nuts and perhaps a little meat in a separate bag. And these days the airport shops can satisfy even her strict taste for healthful fare.

"I haven't eaten airline food in years," said Wallace, despite flying business class, where hot meals are still served. "It was never particularly good."

A snack pack distributed to passengers on a recent flight was so full of junk it made Wallace laugh (and pass).

"Yeah, let's get people all jumpy from chocolate and sugar and then tell them they can't get up," she said. "If people would just think to make a sandwich and bring an apple or banana and a bottle of water, they'd be a lot happier."

Bob Cowen, a travel guru and the founder of Internet Travel Tips, carries granola bars and water on every trip, even quick Detroit-to-Chicago hops. Flights can get diverted or delayed. "They might serve water on the plane, but next week they might not," he said. (Spirit Airlines has started charging for water.)

"It's a pretty Darwinian world out there," Cowen said. "And Pizza Hut doesn't deliver."

Dean Headley, a co-author of the Airline Quality Rating Web site, says to bring water, plenty of food for your kids (please!) and nothing too stinky. It's about your cabin mates. "For two hours those are going to be 150 of your closest friends," Headley said. "You have to be cognizant of the new community that you just became a part of."

So, understand the demise of the airline meal but still in the mood to complain? Well just wait a while. If U.S. airlines follow the European discounters, those leather seats, TV screens and extra-bag allowances will go next. And in their place: on-board advertising. Now there's something to groan about.

What to expect when you're flying coach:

Airline	Short flight	Cost	Long flight	Cost
AirTran Airways	Snack	Free	Snack	Free
Alaska Airlines	1.5 to 3 hours: picnic pack	$5	3-plus hours: hot meal or box lunch	$5
American Airlines	2-plus hours: snack pack	$3	3-plus hours: sandwich	$5
ATA Airlines	Trail mix	$4.45	Trail mix	$4.45
	Potato chips	$2.95	Potato chips	$2.95
Continental Airlines	Muffin	Free	1.5 to 2-plus hours: meal basket	Free
Delta Air Lines	Snack	Free to $3	3.5-plus hours: meal	$3 to $9
Frontier Airlines	Snacks	Free	Alaska a.m.: sandwich	Free
JetBlue Airways	Snacks	Free	Snacks	Free
Midwest Airlines	Cookies	Free	Meal	$6, $8, $11
			Cookies	Free
Northwest Airlines	Potato chips	$2	Snack box	$5
	Snack mix	$2	Sandwich	$5
Southwest Airlines	Peanuts, pretzels	Free	Snack box	Free
Spirit Airlines	Beverages	$2	Beverages	$2
	Snacks	$2 to $4	Snacks	$2 to $4
United Airlines	2-plus hours: snack	Free	Snack box or meal	$5
US Airways	2.5-plus hours: Snack box	$5	Snack box	$5
			Meal	$7

Published Feb. 22, 2008

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