As much as most travelers value cheap fares, be they cheap airplane tickets or cheap vacation packages, many yearn for the days when they could expect free food in the sky.
Today most airlines offer some variation of snack boxes for $7 or more. The following are airlines that continue to offer free food on flights, some of which appeal to even picky eaters:
Hawaiian Airlines offers a variety of free food options in additional to meals for purchase. Morning flights from the continental U.S. and Canada to Hawaii offer complimentary Mai Tai drinks and breakfast boxes which include Hawaiian bread, guava jelly, dried tropical fruits, and a macadamia-nut cookie. Complimentary lunch and dinner choices include teriyaki chicken, salad, mango cake, as well as a glass of wine.
JetBlue provides enough snacks that a passenger can try to make a meal out of them, if so inclined. Blue-potato chips, nut mixes, chocolate chip cookies, and other crunchy snacks are available. Snacks are passed out during the drink service, but remain available in the gallery while flying.
Porter Airlines is Canadian based and offers almonds, vegetable chips, and cookies as standard complementary options. During meal times, snack boxes are provided that come with pastries, fruit, and yogurt for breakfast and sandwiches, salads, and chocolates for lunch and dinner. Porters three airport lounges (in Newark, Ottawa, and Toronto) are free for departing passengers and stocked with snacks such as chocolate chip shortbread cookies and espresso drinks.
Alaska Airlines still offers limited complimentary snacks. On morning flights its passengers are given a snack mix of honey-sesame sticks and dried fruit. Afternoon flights distribute a mix that includes pretzels, soy nuts, and honey-sesame sticks. Flights to Hawaii come with a snack mix that includes dried pineapple, macadamia nuts, and honey-sesame sticks.
Delta continues offering Biscoff caramel flavored cookies on flights of 250 miles or more that depart between 5 am and 9:45 am. Later travelers can still enjoy free pretzels.
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