by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:50 AM ET, Tue May 5, 2026
Beginning May 19, Delta Air Lines will strip away complimentary snacks and beverages from 450 daily short-haul flights that are shorter than 350 miles in a new shift in how the airline determines which flights receive snack and beverage service.
According to WCNC, a local news station in Charlotte, North Carolina, the airline is replacing a three-tiered distance-based system with a two-tiered model, where flights up to 349 miles in distance length will no longer receive in-flight service, excepting First Class passengers.
Main Cabin and Delta Comfort+ passengers will have to forgo the customary cookie or beverage of their choice on their next short-haul flight.
The change will impact around 450 daily flights on popular routes like Los Angeles and San Francisco, New York JFK to Boston and Atlanta to Charlotte.
Yet while these flights will see cuts to a service that feels standard for many American air travelers, about 600 other daily flights that previously received Delta’s limited Express Beverage Service, which supplied only water, coffee and tea, now qualify for full snack and beverage service.
Delta did not cite cost-cutting as the main reason for the change, but consistency, and noted that while 6% of its flights have now cut snack and beverage service, 14% have gained full snack and beverage service due to the change.
“Delta is adjusting onboard beverage service to create a more consistent experience across our network," a Delta spokesperson told TravelPulse. "Customers traveling in Delta Comfort and Delta Main on flights 350 miles and above will now receive full beverage and snack service, while shorter flights will no longer offer food and beverage service—with the exception of Delta First which always receives full service. 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.”
Delta’s new distance-based snack and beverage policy is now one of the strictest in the United States. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines provide snacks and beverage service on flights over 250 miles, while United Airlines offers service for flights over 300 miles.
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