Amid an airline industry in crisis, Delta Air Lines found an unexpected way to cut corners: nixing its snack and drink service on flights under 350 miles long.
Delta is doing away with its “Express Service” tier of in-flight food and drink, which previously offered basic amenities including water, tea, coffee, and two snack options to passengers on flights between 250 and 500 miles in length. Instead, all flights longer than 350 miles will get Delta’s full beverage and snack service—while all flights shorter than 350 miles will get no food or drink offerings at all.
The news of Delta’s new policy comes just days after Spirit Airlines announced its near-immediate closure, while the ongoing war in the Middle East continues to drive up fuel prices and ticket costs are skyrocketing, up 24% between January and April of 2026. It all paints a picture of an industry struggling to stay afloat, though there may be more to Delta’s decision than cost-cutting.
In a statement to Fast Company, a Delta representative said the move is intended to “create a more consistent experience across our network.”
“Even on the small number of flights without beverage service, our crew will continue to be visible, available, and focused on caring for our customers, like they do on every flight,” the statement continues.
Which flights are affected?
Delta’s new policy goes into effect on May 19, when approximately 450 daily Delta flights will go from Express Service to no service. Only flights between 250 and 350 miles in length will be affected by the change, with flights under 250 miles already having had no food or drink service offered.
Delta emphasizes that all flights now receiving no service spend less than an hour in the air, and that they make up only 9% of all daily flights.
Still, the move puts Delta’s service threshold higher than other major U.S. legacy carriers: On United Airlines, service begins at 300 miles, and on American Airlines, it starts at 250 miles.
While many Delta flights are receiving a downgrade in service, many others are getting a bonus. Flights between 350 and 500 miles are being upgraded from Express Service to Full Service, meaning 14% of flights each day are getting more in-flight offerings.
First-class Delta passengers will still receive food and drink service on every flight, regardless of length.
Why make this change?
Though on paper the move may seem like an effort to cut costs, there’s also an operational precedent for the change. With 350-mile flights typically only being an hour long, there’s a very small window—often only 15 minutes—for flight attendants to actually provide service to every passenger. Cutting snack and drink service from those flights frees up attendants to focus on safety and responding to passenger requests.
Social media is split on Delta’s decision. Many reasoned that when a flight is less than an hour long, snacks and drinks are unnecessary anyway.
“In flight service is annoying. I don’t need cookies or apple juice. We’re all adults. Just get us there and we’re all good,” one X user wrote in response to the news.
“As long as everyone knows the policy and can hydrate at the terminal this is fine,” argued another.
But others said the move came across as cheap and unfair to passengers. “Y’all can’t even throw a snack machine up in that thang?” asked one user.
“Delta can afford to pay their CEO $27 million,” reads another response. “But a complimentary water bottle is where they draw the line.”
“Crashing planes, raising prices, and you don’t even get a drink and a lil snack,” wrote a third user. “It’s time to revolt.”