American Airlines is overhauling its buy on board food for sale program in economy, starting May 1 with a new lineup of snacks and meals for passengers on longer flights. The refresh replaces the Tray Table Tables box and adds a $10 Inflight Bites option that can also be bought for 1,000 miles.
The Inflight Bites box includes Gochujang beef jerky, Wheat Thins, lemon rosemary green olives, a chocolate cherry granola bar, Oreo cookies, honey roasted cashews and smoked Gouda cheese spread. American Airlines is also selling NUTS ON CLARK Roasted Salted Mixed Nuts for $11 or 1,100 miles, BOOMCHICKAPOP Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn for $5 or 500 miles and a cheese plate for $13 or 1,300 miles.
The cheese plate comes with Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar, Tillamook Smoked Black Pepper Cheddar, blueberry artigiano cheese, fresh fruit, dried apricots, dried black figs, walnuts, gourmet crackers, Bonne Maman honey and Toblerone chocolate. On June 1, the carrier will add a roasted turkey sandwich with Havarti on avocado bread, spinach, sweet red pepper and caramelized onion-mustard spread, served with barbecue chips and a sweet treat.
The new items are part of a broader economy food refresh, but the network still has limits. Food for sale is available only on flights of 1,100 miles or more on domestic and short-haul international routes, and it is currently offered only on mainline flights. That means some shorter trips, including a 900-mile flight, still do not qualify.
Gary Leff, who tracks airline loyalty and onboard service, said the restrictions make less sense when the food is sold rather than handed out. He argued that American should make paid food available on 900-mile flights, or at least 1,000 miles, saying that on a delayed 5 p.m. Charlotte-Austin flight he wants something available. He also said he did not understand the restriction if the meal is paid for and suggested it should be available for preorder to reduce payment friction.
The update echoes a different era in American’s cabins. In 2012, the airline offered Marcus Samuelsson sandwiches and a spiced nut mix onboard, a reminder that the carrier has tried before to make its economy food feel more deliberate. Today’s refresh is narrower and more practical, but it still shows the company is willing to spend on paid snacks where passengers are trapped for several hours.
That matters because the change is happening alongside a broader push to keep travelers engaged on routes where a meal is more than a convenience. A 1,032-mile flight can last about three hours, and on that kind of trip a paid snack box or sandwich is often the difference between waiting hungry and buying something on board. The question now is whether American keeps the program limited to longer routes or eventually opens it up to flights closer to 900 miles, where the need may be just as obvious.