I reached for the snack menu on a recent flight. This was not my usual behavior. I am a slow eater so I rarely eat on short flights. It feels like the moment I remove the wrapper, the trash is being wheeled in and we are preparing to descend. As the flight attendants passed by, I grabbed three different snacks. The first was too dry, the second I liked, and the third I sealed up, so I could give it to my little cousin, who always asks me for something from the “big plane!” When I was packing the snack in my bag, it made me wonder: Who decides what we eat when flying domestically?
United Airlines The teams that work on food and beverage, customer experience and snack selections are all working together. Customers’ feedback is a major factor in choosing the snack options, but teams also take into account popularity and dietary preferences. United Airlines flight attendant Tiffanie Johnson Usually, the flight crew gets to sample the potential snacks first. However, it is ultimately up to the company to decide which ones they will introduce to their customers.
United’s Takeoff snacks boxes are among its most popular products, but the stroopwafel is a particular favorite. Johnson also noted a shift in the snacking preferences of customers based on their age. She says that older customers tend to prefer salty snacks like pretzels. “The younger crowd prefers the sweet snacks, such as stroopwafels.”
The following are some of the ways to get in touch with each other Delta Air LinesThe onboard team of selects all snacks. In order to achieve this balance, the team also looks at customer feedback. It’s why you might see Biscoff cookies alongside a snack blend.
In addition to taste and preference, the sheer volume of snacks available is also a major factor in choosing them. Vendors need to have an infrastructure that can support large numbers of customers (in Delta’s case, over 200 million each year) and the logistics to deliver the snacks required annually. Vendor operations can prevent a snack from being included in the rotation, even if it is well liked and frequently requested.
I spoke to four different airlines in total about their onboard food. One thing was consistent: the customer’s feedback is much more important than people think, especially when you consider what you get to eat during flight. Johnson says that the feedback makes a big difference because it stops customers from getting snacks they dislike. She says that in her 10 years of working for the company she has yet to witness a collective dislike towards a snack. “I have seen more passengers become upset when we stop serving a particular snack that they loved.”
Bottom line? Do not delete the email you receive after your flight if you wish to have a say on what you are served. Your request may appear in the next round of snacks. Each airline claims to regularly review and update its snack offerings throughout the year.
