Famed economist Milton Friedman once said “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
However, for decades, airlines provided passengers with free lunch, dinner, breakfast and snacks until doing away with the practice several years ago. The combination of rising costs and the ability to charge for ancillary fees as a new revenue model led to the decision.
Now, low fuel prices the last three years have triggered a huge profit increase for the airlines, and they are considering returning some of that goodwill to its customers.
Case in point: Delta Air Lines has been quietly considering the return of free meals on flights.
The Atlanta-based carrier revealed Wednesday that it has been testing complimentary meals in the Main Cabin on trans-continental flights between New York’s John F. Kennedy International and Los Angeles International Airport and San Francisco International Airport.
The testing period began Nov. 1 and ends Dec. 15 as part of the airline’s focus to explore other avenues to enhance the customer experience. Delta said it would make a decision about the full resumption of free meals after analyzing the results.
“We are constantly actively listening to our customers and employees, gathering their feedback and testing new products on board to continuously improve the overall experience,” Allison Ausband, Delta’s Senior Vice President of In-Flight Service, said in a statement. “Testing meals on Transcon flights is part of our commitment to be thoughtful about our offerings and make decisions based on customers’ needs.”