After the economic recession, the much requested airplane food begins to make a comeback. Some airlines offer free meals in the cheap seats. Currently, Delta airlines offer free food for passengers flying between New York's JFK to LAX and SFO, such as the Mesquite-Smoked Turkey Combo shown above.
Other participants in the oligopoly are also discussing the possibility of adding their own complementary meals in the economy class to match consumer expectations. For example, United and American both offer complementary food for international flights to Asia, Europe, South America, etc. Furthermore, free meals are offered on flights to Hawaii, such as the "ginger chicken with green peas, carrots, corn, and steamed white rice" and a cookie. Although generally people don't travel to Hawaii to get airplane food, it is still a minor positive outcome next to diving, fishing, beautiful beaches, resorts, and good weather that can be put in the cost and benefit analysis whenever families make a decision for their summer vacation.
A complementary meal is a good thing because when the big companies are trying to improve their flight experience to appeal to more people, consumers are the ones who benefit from the competition. With complementary food and beverages, people may find it easier to enjoy their time on the airplane as they await for the greatness that they will experience after landing, whether it be going home and seeing their families, traveling to an exotic destination, or conducting business.
Questions:
1. Is it worth paying for a meal / beverage on an airplane?
2. What is the impact of free meals in a flight experience?
3. Should airlines offer better meals (similar to business / first class meals) for a price or offer free meals that differentiate for different seat rankings?
In my experience, airplane food is very gross. I would not pay for food while on a plane, and I often make the mistake of eating the free food too. I got sick from eating it one time and just reading this article made me feel sick from my bad memories. Free food is not that much of a benefit. It is deceiving.
ReplyDeleteI would not pay for food on an airplane because it is not good. I think people like the free food because it is free and they eat it because why not. I think they should offer better meals.
ReplyDeleteI do not think it is worth paying for a meal on an airplane because they are not very good. I think having free meals on flights will cause people to eat it because it is free and they do not have to pay for it. I think that they should offer better meals that people will want to eat.
ReplyDeleteI hate to be so negative, but I agree with the above comments. Airplane food is very low quality, which matches its low cost (free in most cases). Pretzels and peanuts are okay, but "turkey combos" and "ginger chicken"? Not so much. I think airlines should offer better meals in general, no matter the seat ranking. Airplane-food equality for all!
ReplyDeleteI hate to be so negative, but I agree with the above comments. Airplane food is very low quality, which matches its low cost (free in most cases). Pretzels and peanuts are okay, but "turkey combos" and "ginger chicken"? Not so much. I think airlines should offer better meals in general, no matter the seat ranking. Airplane-food equality for all!
ReplyDeleteI think it is worth paying for food on an airplane if you are traveling very far. A free meal will make people happier that they are being served food. Airlines should sell higher quality food for all people.
ReplyDeleteAirplane food is not worth the money because not only does it taste terrible, but they give small amounts of food as well. Free meals would be nice, since you already paid for a ticket on the plane and it would feel like part of a package. If they want people to actually buy their food, they need to step up their game and provide better quality.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ryan that paying for a meal is worth it is the plane ride is very face. A free meal would be more favorable for all as well.
ReplyDeleteI think that since airplane tickets are so expensive, it is not worth it to also have to be charged for meals.
ReplyDeleteIf flights provide free meals, they will attract more customers. It's obvious that customers will choose a flight with a free meal rather than a flight with a paid meal, especially a long flight. Providing free meals would be a good investment for airlines companies in the long run.
ReplyDeleteIf you are hungry on a plane ride I think it is alright to purchase some food. However, a free meal on flights would guaranteed make everyone's experience better and result in better reviews.
ReplyDeleteI believe if meals were provided it would most likely be worth purchasing if you are in desperate need of food. Personally I would try and bring my food when flying because you not only get to choose exactly what you would want, but it would also be a lower cost than what you would buy on the plane.
ReplyDeleteI believe that meals and beverage on the plane should be included in the price of the ticket. They give you some drinks but no food to come with it. The price of the ticket for the airplane ride is getting more expensive and the airline are not including the food in the ticket price. First Class riders are only people whose food is included in the plane ticket. I think that that is fair but also it should be included for other passenger maybe even for those who have some kind of status with the airline. I believe for the class the airline should prepare better meals but for other passengers they should also prepare a meal but maybe not as good as they one they will prepare for the first class.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's worth it to pay for food on the airplane because the quality of the food does not measure up to the price of the food. If free meals were included in the flight service, I think a lot of people would have a different outlook on the food and the entire experience itself. I think the airlines should offer better meals overall because then more people would be willing to eat those foods if they are better quality.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason why airplane food get such a bag rep is because in higher altitude, food doesn't taste as good, we lose our sense of taste and smell the higher we get. Airplane food needs our help. It is sad to see people throw away such a large amount of food. Think of how they feel. Unwanted and tasteless. Let's include them in the price of ticket. Let's help fight for their place in our tummy. Let's digest.
ReplyDeleteIt is not worth paying for a meal or beverage on an airplane, it's cheaper and tastes better to bring your own food and buy a drink in the airport. Free meals would obviously improve the flight experience. Meals can be different for different seats, after all, those in first class paid more money.
ReplyDeleteI think it is not worth it to buy airplane food. Although I do purchase the food, I know it will not be as good as the $8 I just spent on 4 crackers and packaged salami. However, I think the price of the food should be included in the cost of your flight seeing as some flights can get very expensive. I don't think airplane food should necessarily be free, because then people would have no limit, but optional to purchase for a discounted price while purchasing your ticket.
ReplyDeleteI think that airlines should limit their inflight food services to flights of a minimum duration. I wouldn't want to pay more more my plane ticket from San Francisco to LA just so that I could squeeze a random meal into that one hour flight. To keep the airline and customers' expenses down, they should not provide meals every flight.
ReplyDeleteI do no think that it is worth paying for food on flights because the quality of the food. Airlines should offer free food that is differentiated for different seat rankings, but people should still have the option to purchase better food. It should also depend on how long the flight is because I do not think it is necessary to spend extra money to provide food on a short flight.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that it is worth paying extra money for food on flights as (not from experience) but i have heard that the quality is not great. I think that all of the quality of the food should go up ( maybe prepared that day, not so prepackaged and gross), and it shouldnt necessarily come with a seat, many people know it is not good food and dont want to eat it and it would save waste, it should be an option to purchase it
ReplyDeleteI feel like if you were really hungry it would be okay to pay for the airplane food and complimentary meals would only be good for really long flights. The meals that come with short flights are wasteful for the food since people won't eat it and the quality should be better.
ReplyDeleteNo, it is not worth to buy food on an airplane because with higher elevation, food doesn't taste as great. The free meals will impact the restaurants in the terminal due to the lack of not feeling hungry. Free meals all around the airplane would be the best for the airline.
ReplyDeleteFrom experience I think it is best to eat before and or after a flight because airline food is 1.) pricey and 2.) . unappetizing. If airlines offer free food with a seat although I think its a cool idea I don't think this would benefit the airline in the sense of profit because not everyone's needs and wants are satisfied by the products they have to offer. Therefore, I could see a lot of the food going to waste which is a complete misuse of resources.
ReplyDeleteIt is not worth eating on the airplane but if that's the only food you have then yes. Rather buy your own food & take it on the plane but they dont allow that sometimes. The free food makes the plane ride better and a quality ride. Offer better meals for a better price if your going to have a long flight rather have great a meal.
ReplyDeleteIt is not worth to buy food on the airplane since you've paid for the ticket already; it should be free for all passengers. The free food gives passengers something to look forward to, which is good. Every airplane should offer free food, they will gain good reviews, so it's a win/win situation for both parties.
ReplyDeleteI personally don't think it's worth paying for airplane food unless the quality changes. I think that there should be an option for people to pay for higher quality food, however the airlines should still provide free food as well.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's worth paying airplane food, so I think it's a good idea to make it free. I think getting a free meal is a good idea because people will enjoy their flight experience and will feel like the company apperiates them.
ReplyDeletePaying for airplane food is not really worth it because it is just a small little snack. If the airline wants to give for free then that is on them, but it would of course be a courtesy and the customers will feel welcomed or appreciated in a way. I believe that giving out a free snack is on them.
ReplyDeletethe airplane food is not worth paying for. I feel like food is way too over priced and the quality of the food is not the best.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it is worth paying for airplane food cause most of it tastes like death. They should have it for free and have the option to pay for better quality food
ReplyDeleteNo it is not because you already pay a big amount of money to go on the planes. Free meals should be a commodity. I think they should offer the passengers to choose a bigger variety of meals for a low price.
ReplyDeleteIt is not worth paying for airplane food. As Cem said, you're already paying a lot just to be on the plane, so paying for the food is unnecessary
ReplyDeleteI think people should get what you pay for. If you want better food you should have to pay more. Planes are expensive for many other reasons other than what the people know of. If some planes want to make their food cheaper and better they will just attract more customers
ReplyDeleteIts worth paying for airplane food if its actually good and quality food. No one wants to pay for crappy food, but perhaps they should enhance the food quality and make it worth paying for if they want to also get a boost in reputation as well.
ReplyDeleteIt should come with the ticket like just add to the total of the ticket. It will make more competition between airlines. They should offer meals on any class your in because its just fair for all.
ReplyDeleteI think that free food on an airplane would have a pretty big impact on the passengers because they don't have to pay for food on the plane plus the ticket.
ReplyDeleteI believe that if free food was offer on the airplanes, then it would not only make people favor that airline more (depending on quality and quantity) compared to others. I believe that if you wish to have food on the flight you should pay additional fees for the extra service.
ReplyDeleteAs a result of in flight food being provided by the airlines, it will result in flyers to not bring on their own selection of food and just rely on the airline. With this, in the future airlines can eventually add additional charges for other variations of food or a larger quantity of food, which will make them more money rather than loose money on wasted food that isn't consumed because of the flyers whom bring their own food.
ReplyDeleteI think the price of flight food is too high for such low quality. I think airlines should work on distributing better foods. They should also decrease the price for the food, since we have no other choice to eat it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the price of flight food is too high for the bad and low quality that the food is. If you want good food you could pay for it.
ReplyDeleteI think that the quality of airline food is very poor, so I do not think the airline companies should charge for the food unless they improve the quality. This would also deter customers since the tickets are already pricey for air travel, so an additional cost for food would be more of a bother. As Julianna said, they also shouldn't try to cram meals into short flights.
ReplyDeleteDue to the bad quality of food on many airplanes, I believe that certain foods and beverages should be free. Passengers have already paid a good portion of money for the plane ticket, and $15 for a sandwich may seem a bit excessive. This may hurt airlines, but they could soften the blow possibly by adding the price of an average meal to plane tickets.
ReplyDeleteAirline foods do not have the best quality of food. If certain food and beverages that are free would be a great relief for the people in the plane because they would not have to worry about expenses within the airline.
ReplyDeleteI don't think its worth it to pay for food because you're already paying so much money for the ticket alone. Serving free food makes the people on the plane happier instead of stressed because they still have to pay for food.
ReplyDeleteI think that meals should not be specific to seating, you should be able to get a good meal if you pay slightly more. I think it is very important to have free meals on airplanes though that way you can ensure that everyone has the ability to be healthy and happy. If planes charged for meals then less wealthy people would likely choose to not eat so they can save money and when you are flying in the air with no access to any medical help I think it would be a bad idea to encourage people to not eat.
ReplyDeleteYes, I feel as though airplane meals should be free. If there was free food on the plane then people wouldn't have to pay so much more after they buy there ticket. Airlines should allow people to have more of a better offer if they were to allow it be bought in the air and I feel like food should just be better up there since its a long flight.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion planes should just give free meals because people already waste a lot on the tickets, the trip and more. So why pay for airplane food.
ReplyDelete