The Atlanta-based airline will begin rolling out the service on flights from John F Kennedy airport to Los Angeles and San Francisco beginning March 1. It will expand to 10 additional markets beginning on April 24. The airline will also begin serving Delta Comfort passengers a pre-boarding snack with a glass of beer, wine, or spirit.
On morning flights passengers will have the option of choosing between a honey maple breakfast sandwich, a "Luvo Breakfast Medley," or fruit and cheese plate. On day flights, the airline will offer a mesquite-smoked turkey combo, Luvo Mediterranean whole grain veggie wrap, or fruit and cheese plate. During night flights, passengers will receive a breakfast bar before boarding the flight.
Delta's move to bring back free meals for coach passengers shouldn't come as a big surprise. The company began testing complimentary meals on select flights beginning in December and said at the time it was considering reinstating the free perk.
"We are all about making our Main Cabin experience the best it can be for our customers and offering free, high quality meals is a big part of that experience," said Allison Ausband, Delta's Senior Vice President of in-flight service, in a press release. "When we tested this concept, our customers loved it and appreciated it so we are implementing in our most strategic markets."
Delta is currently the only US-based airline that offers free meals for coach passengers. Like Delta, American Airlines and United Airline got rid of complimentary meals for main cabin passengers during the recession in an effort to save money.
Transcontinental flights from Seattle, New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. will all be included in the program.
Check out all of the markets where Delta plans to launch complimentary meals below.
BOS-SFO
BOS-LAX
BOS-SEA
DCA-LAX
JFK-LAX
JFK-SFO
JFK-PDX
JFK-SAN
JFK-SEA
SEA-FLL
SEA-MCO
SEA-RDU