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Meals to Carry On
March 2003
With limited food service on board, more passengers are carrying on their own meals.
By Nancy Branka
Flying these days requires a combination of fact-finding and soul-searching when it comes to meals: Will the flight have food? If so, how much? If it's called a snack, will it be two packages of pretzels or a sandwich with all the trimmings? No food? How can I get something manageable in the few minutes I have in the airport? Should I wait until my connection airport to buy food? (What if my flight's late and there's no time?)
It used to be you could count on airlines to provide food—unless you specifically chose a "low cost" carrier like Southwest, which created a reputation on peanuts. But all that has changed. Since 9/11, airlines have been tinkering with their food policies as they too try to contain costs. The trouble is, it's a changing environment: The meal you were served on a flight yesterday may not be served today. Which has left plenty of travelers caught off-guard, hungry and irritable.
America West made headlines in January when it announced its "Buy on Board" service, selling food on some routes. The airline ran the test for three weeks on a select number of routes that would not have otherwise offered food service, such as certain flights between Phoenix and Seattle, Portland, Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Tampa. (The airline eliminated food service entirely after 9/11, but has brought it back on a limited number of routes since then.) The meals were for sale to coach passengers—first class passengers received the same meals at no cost.
The airline stressed that the quality of the meals was higher than typical fare because passengers had indicated they would be willing to pay for better quality food. A typical snack included cheese, crackers, nuts, teriyaki beef jerky and cookies. A typical meal included a beef tenderloin patty melt or steak Caesar salad. Prices ranged from $3 to $10 per selection. When we went to press, the test was in its final week.
Northwest Airlines also jumped into the arena with a test program in January, claiming its for-sale food was tastier with bigger portions than its traditional fare. Northwest's food service provider, LSG Sky Chefs, began working on "In-flight Café" after a survey found that 73 percent of air travelers wanted an option to buy inflight meals if one wasn't included on the flight. Passengers responding to the survey said they would spend up to $13 for an on-board gourmet meal.
As they watch the airlines struggle with food service, some airport restaurants have seized an opportunity to meet hungry, time-strapped travelers' needs. Anton Airport Food, Inc. has been selling "Meals Made to Fly" since 2002 at ten airport restaurant sites nationwide. The company boasts that special packaging has been designed to accommodate multiple bottled beverages or fountain drinks, and reinforced bags have a special handle for passenger convenience.
Carry-on Cuisine has taken the concept a step further, with online ordering. The company launched services at Washington Reagan National Airport in January. Travelers can go online (www.carryoncuisine.com) to order a meal from a "real" menu of a real restaurant-in this case, T.G.I. Friday's. You can even include any special instructions for the food preparation, such as holding the salt.
At rollout, the company offered five sandwich baskets ranging from $7 to $9, and did not include drinks. However, a larger entrée selection is expected to be available as more airport restaurants come on board. (The Web site has an area where you can check airport availability.)
When placing the order, the traveler indicates when he or she will pick it up at the pickup window of the airport restaurant. There's a $1.50 surcharge for each order, which can be refunded if the order is cancelled. The company plans to expand next to Providence, Newark and JFK airports, then eventually
to all major east-coast airports. Company executives reported the Web site is initially averaging 50 hits daily.
The growth in fast food franchises at airports is an indication that more people are carrying food on board, or are eating quickly betweenconnections. Passengers looking for carry-on fare that's healthier (or at least seemingly so) than Burger King or McDonalds have many more options than they used to. Upscale purveyors like Starbucks—now with locations in most larger airports-are offering packaged sandwiches. Food On the Run in Seattle-Tacoma's main terminal is open 24 hours and offers healthy sandwiches, fruit and easy-to-carry breakfast items. Other non-food concessionaires are also taking advantage of the opportunity, realizing that many hurried travelers want one-stop shopping—a place they can pick up a light meal, a cup of gourmet coffee, a newspaper, and travel sundries in one spot.
While airlines may be in flux with their food service, the good news is that passengers have many more options. The choice is no longer limited to "chicken or beef" as the flight attendant wheels the cart down the aisle. Eating well at 30,000 feet just takes a little planning.
Spare Change
Airlines' spending on food in the first nine months of 2002 compared with the same period in 2001.
American
Food cost: $510 million
Reduction: 3%
United
Food cost: $387 million
Reduction: 21%
Delta
Food cost: $245 million
Reduction: 22%
Northwest
Food cost: $173 million
Reduction: 20%
Continental
Food cost: $152 million
Reduction: 13%
Source: USA Today
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