5 Surprisingly Free In-Flight Foods

Hawaiian Airlines

As if going to Hawaii weren't reason enough to be happy, Hawaiian Airlines takes it to the next level with a variety of free food options (as well as meals you can buy). Passengers on morning flights from the continental U.S. and Canada to Hawaii can start their vacation early with a complimentary Koloa Breeze rum-punch cocktail (or passion-orange-guava juice) as well as sweet Maui onion potato chips, a fresh-fruit tray, cheese and crackers, or a macadamia-nut cookie. Free lunch and dinner options include cavatappi pasta with mushroom cream sauce, salad, and a Punalu’u shortbread cookie, plus a glass of wine.

JetBlue

Can you make a meal out of snacks? JetBlue is willing to let you try. During the drinks service, flight attendants also offer blue-potato chips, nut mixes, chocolate-chip cookies, and other crunchy snacks. And if flight attendants judge you at all for asking for two (or three) different items, they mask it well. Even better, the snacks remain available in the galley for the length of the flight.

Porter Airlines

The free-snack options on Porter will have you wishing the Canadian carrier served more U.S. cities. Almonds, vegetable chips, and cookies are standard complimentary options. During meal times, the airline offers snack boxes that include pastries, fruit, and yogurt for breakfast and sandwiches, salads, and chocolates for lunch and dinner. You don't have to wait until you're in the air for free treats, either: Porter's three airport lounges (in Toronto, Ottawa, and Newark) are free for departing passengers and stocked with snacks such as chocolate-chip shortbread cookies and espresso drinks.

Delta

Take an early morning flight on Delta and you'll get a taste of the golden age of travel, when Biscoff cookies were the industry standard for passengers who wanted to nibble something alongside their morning coffee. Delta continues to serve these jet-setting, caramel-flavored treats on flights of 250 miles or more that depart between 5 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. Miss the cutoff time and you'll get pretzels, which aren't quite as exciting, but are still free.

Southwest Airlines

Southwest's free snack offerings, like the airline itself, are no-frills. But in an age where you've got a higher chance of being strip-searched at the airport than getting free food from your airline, it's still an appreciated gesture. The carrier serves peanuts, pretzels, and, on some flights, Nabisco products. And low-cost carrier AirTran, like its parent company Southwest, also offers passengers modest nibbles with its in-flight beverage service.

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