Millions of passengers won’t get a hot meal on a long-haul flight anymore – here’s why
A major US airline has canceled hot meals for economy passengers flying to Europe.
JetBlue has quietly eliminated hot meals on its transatlantic flights, except for its business and first class customers.
The move comes as the popular airline tries to cut costs after reporting 82 percent lower profits than the same period last year.
The airline’s transatlantic menus, which are published online, now state: “All items served chilled.”
There are now only two main meal options for statesmen crossing over to pesto pasta salad or mushrooms and lentils if traveling from the West, and chicken grain bowl or ginger garlic tofu for those traveling from the East.
JetBlue has quietly axed hot meals for economy passengers on its transatlantic flights
It’s the latest cost-cutting move from the budget airline, which also reduced the number of flight attendants on transatlantic flights earlier this year, the Live and Let’s Fly blog reported.
Travelers in JetBlue’s Mint business class will still have hot food options, including pizza and roasted chicken.
“Following a trial run this summer on our seasonal flights to Dublin and Edinburgh, we are expanding a new core menu on our six transatlantic daily flights this winter,” the company said in a statement.
‘The menu, put together in collaboration with DIG, meets the standard we set for high-quality meals.
“This change is part of our efforts to ensure we continue to provide a great experience on these routes at JetBlue’s competitive fares.”
Other low-cost competitors have also had to make changes as they suffer lower profits.
For example, Southwest Airlines dropped its free open seating policy earlier this year.
JetBlue is looking to cut costs after a dramatic decline in profits from the same period last year
Spirit Airlines also followed suit and wanted to make more money with seating options. It introduced a premium seating service.
It comes as the struggling airline aims to boost revenue under pressure from bigger rivals who are increasingly cashing in on premium offerings.
JetBlue is still in the black, reporting a profit of $25 million in the second quarter of the year.
However, this was a decrease of 82 percent compared to the same period last year.