Which Airlines Provide Free Meals?

Airlines like Delta, American, United, JetBlue, Alaska, Spirit and Southwest offer free meals or snacks on select routes or fare classes.

It is generally assumed that nothing is free in this world. Well, some airlines have proved this notion wrong by offering free in-flight meals for their passengers. However, this facility is not provided in every condition but is made available to them in specific circumstances. Which are those circumstances, and which airlines do offer them? The subsequent article will provide answers to these questions. Moreover, as a bonus, at the end of the article, you will be provided with tips to help you know about meals to consider before flying.   

List of Airlines That Offer Free In-Flight Meals

Though various airlines offer free in-flight meals to their passengers, they don't always provide them. Some may give them on long-haul flights, while others may offer them to upper-class passengers. However, the description of each flight and when they offer free in-flight meals can be understood as follows:

American Airlines

The airline offers in-flight meal options that include FreshBrew Coffeehouse Roast, LaCroix LimonCello Sparkling Water, Minute Maid Apple Juice, Minute Maid Cranberry Cocktail, Bigelow Tea, Minute Maid Orange Juice, Pretzels, FreshBrew Decaffeinated Coffeehouse Roast, Biscoff Cookies, Mr. & Mrs. T Bloody Mary Mix, Bottled water, and Mott’s Tomato Juice

► Features of in-flight meal services offered by American Airlines: 

• Business and first-class passengers on the airline will be provided with free in-flight and dining options.
• You must pay for the in-flight meal services offered on your specific flight while traveling in the airline's main cabin. 
• AAdvantage Executive Platinum and ConciergeKey members traveling in the airline’s main cabin class will receive complimentary drinks and snacks. 

Delta Air Lines

The airline offers in-flight meal options such as Delta snacks, premium beverages, and sandwiches. Moreover, the airline will provide you with different types of meal options based on your preferences, where you can see a variety of options, including Asian Vegetarian, Vegetarian (Vegan), Vegetarian (LACTO), Hindu, Halal, Kosher, Bland, Diabetic, Gluten intolerant, and Low fat/ low cholesterol/ low calorie/ low sodium. 

► Features of Delta Air Lines' in-flight meals:

• All Delta Air Lines passengers traveling on flights over 250 miles long will receive complimentary in-flight meals.  
• Water, tea, and coffee will be provided in all the cabins.
• Passengers flying in the Delta Main cabin can purchase alcohol onboard, except on the Express Beverage Service Flights 251-499 miles. 
• Delta First and Delta Comfort flyers would be provided complimentary liquor, beer, and wine services.
• On selected flights, the airline will offer complimentary juices, mixers, and Coca-Cola beverages in all the cabins. 
• You may even have hot food options on selected routes while traveling in Delta First Class. 
• Depending on your travel class, you may be offered different in-flight dining options for some international flights. 

Southwest Airlines

The in-flight menu offers an array of options, including Deja Blue Water, Sprite, Seagram’s Seltzer Water, Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Community Tea, Community Coffee, Minute Maid Apple Juice, Mr & Mrs T Bloody Mary Mix, Minute Maid Cranberry Cocktail, Minute Maid Orange Juice, Seagram’s Ginger Ale, Seagram’s Tonic Water, Aviation American Gin, Deep Eddy Lemon Vodka, Deep Eddy Vodka, Jack Daniel’s Whiskey, kula Toasted Coconut Rum, Bacardi Rum, Cazadores Tequila, Wild Turkey Bourbon Whiskey, and AHA Sparkling Water. 

► Features of the in-flight meals of Southwest Airlines:

• The airline will provide complimentary snacks and drinks to passengers while traveling over 250 miles. 
• A-list preferred members on selected Southwest Airlines flights traveling over 250 miles would receive two complimentary drinks per leg. 
• While traveling on a flight route between Hawaii and the US mainland, the airline will offer you alcoholic beverages, along with complimentary coffee, juice, and sodas. 
• You are required to be 21 or over to drink alcoholic beverages on Southwest Airlines. 

United Airlines

Offers in-flight menu of the airline includes Undercover Quinoa Crisp, Savoury Snack Mix, Daelmans Stroopwafel, Pringles, Unna Bakery Brown Butter Cookies, Nuts.com CB&J Mix, Albanese True Fruit Gummi Bears, Tapas Snackbox, Takeoff Snackbox, Recline SnackBox, Coca-Cola, Sprite, Seagram’s Ginger Ale, Seagram’s Seltzer Water, Seagram’s Tonic Water, AHA Sparkling Water, Minute Maid, The Pickle House Bloody Mary Mix, The Pickle House Tomato Juice, illy Dark Roast coffee, illy Cold Brew, Twining Hot Tea, DASANI Bottled Water, Michelob ULTRA, Stella Artois, White Claw Hard Seltzer-Black Cherry, Kona Big Wave Golden Ale, Bell’s Two Hearted IPA, Just Enough Cabernet Sauvignon, and many more. 

► Features of the in-flight meals of United Airlines:

• While flying over 1,190 miles, the airline allows you to purchase hot and cold meal options.
• The airline will provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner items at the designated times. 
• Some items are complimentary from the airline, and others can be bought through the airline by paying with dollars or miles. 
• You can buy snacks all day on United Airlines, provided that your flight lasts at least 500 miles, and the flight route is within the USA, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Canada.
• The airline will provide complimentary snacks to United Economy class passengers, provided their flight is over 300 miles long.
• You are not allowed to bring your alcohol onboard and are only allowed to drink the alcohol served onboard. 
• While traveling on an international flight that lasts over 12 hours, the airline will provide you with a free mid-flight sandwich and a pre-arrival meal. 
• The airline offers Prosecco on its domestic flights.
• Champagne is offered on United’s international flights. 

JetBlue Airways

The airline offers various in-flight meal options to its passengers, including Biscoff, Chifles Plantain Chips, Ginger Ale, Pepsi, Cranberry Juice, Apple Juice, Green Tea, Decaf Coffee, Archer Roose Malbec, Archer Roose Bubbly, Bud Light, Truly Hard Seltzer Wild Berry, Bombay Sapphire Gin, Jack Daniel’s Whiskey, Owen’s Classic Lemonade, Owen’s Sparkling Margarita Mix, Cooper’s Cheese Straws, Emmy’s Dark Cacao Coconut Cookies, Dried Cherries, M&M’s Fun Size Milk Chocolate, Ham and Cheddar Sandwich, and many other. 

► Features of the in-flight meals of JetBlue Airways:

• The airline provides free liquor, wine, and beer to all its transatlantic travelers who are 21 years old or older. 
• JetBlue Airways provides EatUp Boxes on its flights, some of which are inspired by protein-packed, Mediterranean, cheese, and fruit plates, and PartyUp snacks. 
• The airline will offer EatUp Boxes on flights of 2 hours or more. 
• You can have EatUp Cafe meals on your flight, provided it is over 3.5 hours and not an overnight flight. 
• You can make an order for your meal request at least 24 hours before the departure of your flight. 
• You may even find self-serve snack options on selected flights, where you can get any snacking item anytime. 

Alaska Airlines

In addition to all that, the airline also provides a Signature Fruit & Cheese Platter, the Jetsetter’s Jam Sandwich, Carnitas Breakfast Bowl, Protein Platter with Smoked Salmon Dip, Best Laid Plants grain bowl, Charge Up Protein Platter, Dacf Coffee, Stash Tea Premium Green Tea, Tito’s Vodka, Aviation Gin, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola, Orange Juice, Tonic Water, and many more. 

► Features of the in-flight meals of Alaska Airlines:

• In the Main Cabin Class of Alaska Airlines, the passengers can enjoy various ingredients, from snacks to meals, inspired by the West Coast. 
• You can pre-order your food on the airline between 2 weeks and 20 hours before your flight's departure. 
• The airline will provide you with options for vegan and vegetarian items onboard, but only if you have booked them via pre-order from the airline. 
• Not all the options above will be available to you on your flight. 
• The airline will provide complimentary meals and drink options based on your travel class. 

Spirit Airlines

Offer in-flight menu options include hot drinks, cold beverages, ramen, wine, cheese tray, delight snacks, M&M’s peanut share size, Quaker instant oatmeal maple & brown sugar, Otis spunkmeyer muffin,  twisted noodles veggie ramen, beer, Cheez-it classic snack mix, wine, and many more. 

► Features of the in-flight meals of Spirit Airlines:

• While purchasing the in-flight menu onboard, the airline doesn’t accept cash. Thus, you must buy it using Google Pay, Visa, Apple Pay, Mastercard, prepaid ReadyCARD, or American Express. 
• The airline will provide complimentary drinks and premium snack options for the Go Big class.
• In the Go Comfy class, you can purchase snacks and drinks in addition to the complimentary small snack and non-alcoholic drink options. 
• In the Go Savvy and Go class of Spirit Airlines, you can only buy snacks and drinks from the airline, whereas the complimentary snack options aren’t included in your fare class. 
• Though the airline doesn’t cater to special dietary requirements, many in-flight menu options are offered to its passengers, which already include most of the nutritional requirements. 

Note:

• Each airline's in-flight menus won’t be available in all its aircraft. Some aircraft have a specific menu, and others have another. 
• Not all the items mentioned above are provided as complimentary in-flight meals from the airline. Where some items are free, others can be purchased from the airline.
• Though some airlines may offer complimentary in-flight meal services to all classes, others may offer them only to the upper classes. 

How can you incorporate In-Flight meal options for your flight?

If you want to purchase other options for your meals that aren’t complimentary on your flight, the airlines provide various ways. Among them, some of the common ways can be seen as follows:

• Book your in-flight meal while booking a reservation for your flight. 
• Add an in-flight meal option for your flight anytime after the booking, through the manage trip section.
• Purchase instantly onboard. 

Note: You must pre-order your in-flight meal if you have special dietary requirements. Most airlines won’t provide you with your special requirements if you don’t inform them in time.  

Conclusion

After being aware of the conditions of the flights when they provide you with complimentary in-flight meal options and what they offer, you should know which airline you want to choose to fly in the future. Also, keep in mind the tips about having the perfect diet and other things to consider before flying. All these things help to create a memorable experience for you, even before you reach your desired destination.