Flight Attendant Reveals How Airlines Pick the In-flight Snacks-and How You Can Weigh In

"On a recent domestic flight, I found myself uncharacteristically reaching for the snack menu. I'm a slow eater, so I rarely snack on short flights; it feels like, no sooner than I've torn the wrapper from the food, the trash cart is already being wheeled through and we're preparing for final descent. But that day, as the flight attendants came around, I nabbed three different snacks."

"United Airlines tells me its food and beverage and customer experience teams work together to choose the snack options. Many options rely heavily on customer feedback, but the teams also consider popularity and dietary needs. United Airlines flight attendant Tiffanie Johnson says the flight crew usually gets to try the prospective snacks first, but ultimately, the company decides which ones to actually introduce to customers."

Airlines use dedicated teams to choose onboard snacks, combining food-and-beverage expertise with customer-experience considerations. Selections draw on customer feedback, popularity metrics, dietary needs, and flight crew sampling, with final choices made by the carrier. Snack offerings aim to balance sweet and savory options to serve varied tastes and age groups, with older passengers often preferring salty snacks and younger ones gravitating toward sweet items. Popular packaged options and branded boxes are emphasized. Vendors must possess sufficient production and distribution infrastructure to support the large-scale demand of airline snack programs.

Read at Travel + Leisure