Et Tu, Delta?

Food For Thought

You may have heard that Delta will no longer be serving snacks and beverages on short flights- 350 miles or less. Apparently they want to be the new crappy, barebones airlines that the now defunct Spirit used to be.

At first I was like, “it’s really not a big deal.” But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I want my snackies. As well as the tomato juice/no ice that I’ve been getting my entire adult life.

I feel like, even though the snack choices have gone downhill, it’s still something. Pretzels, cookies, imitation Popcorners, and the like should be a basic right of air travel. We aren’t asking for tablecloths, real silverware, and steak- we just want something to tide us over until we reach our destination.

Yes, I realize we can pack snacks from home. Or purchase them in the airport. But that’s not the point. We are paying a lot of money to fly- even more now with the surge in jet fuel prices due to the Iran war. They are already charging us for “even more space” and extra bags. We shouldn’t have to shell out another penny. Not one additional cent.

I thought that perhaps I was the only one who felt this way but apparently a lot of other people agree with me. This is a bridge too far.

We want to be inconvenienced by those carts in the aisle. We want to be interrupted from whatever we are doing in our narrow little seat to select a little nosh. After all, it’s tradition.

Perhaps if enough of us raise our voices at this final indignity perpetrated by the airline industry, they will listen. Flying has become less fun and scarier. Lately, every day on the news there’s a story about a near miss, or some other alarming incident. Yesterday a plane clipped a truck at one of the New York airports when it was landing. If something bad is going to happen, is it too much to want a chocolate chip cookie in my tummy before it does? I think not.

No, I don’t need any more empty calories. But travel/vacation calories don’t count. Everyone knows that.

According to The New York Times, Delta said that “the change is intended to ‘create a more consistent experience across our network.’” I reread that sentence three times and I still have no idea what it means. I think they are saying, “You play by our rules.”

Of course if you fly first-class they will still feed you. But that will cost you thousands of dollars or a gazillion air miles.

In the scheme of the country falling apart, I know I should focus on more important things. But I just want Delta to know that we are not happy with them. In the end, Spirit’s cost cutting measures didn’t help them stay afloat.

All this talk of food has made me hungry so I think I’m going to go get something to eat.

Back to politics tomorrow.