Pizza is coming to economy airplane cabins and New York-style diehards are going to have a heart attack.
Next month, Chicago-based United Airlines will start selling deep dish pizza in its economy cabins, a stark contrast to the generally light and healthy fare that is typically sold onboard. The pizza will come from Uno Pizzeria & Grill, one of the biggest names in deep dish pizza in Chicago. It will be offered among other cold and warm items in the paid snack cart and, according to Travel Skills, will be a spinach and garlic deep dish served in a skillet. The airline is also planning to put together a "pizza and beer combo."
United's new menu items come amidst a bit of an arms race of sorts among U.S. carriers to provide the best catering across the entire air travel experience. On the premium end of that spectrum, the progress means better airport lounge food, exotic dishes in first class and even free meals in economy on some competitive transcontinental routes. The innovation isn't only limited to wealthy passengers though; airlines are also experimenting with new and unique menu items to bring to the economy cabin such as stroopwafel or -- in this case -- deep dish pizza.
For the airline, there's a strong incentive to bring this innovation to the table. Last year, Ideaworks, an airline consultancy, projected that the airline industry pulled in $67.4B of ancillary revenue from sources like checked bag fees, premium economy upgrades and onboard snack purchases -- an increase of 14% over 2015. With airfares at historic lows compared to inflation, profits from sources like in flight meal sales are going to play a bigger role in the industry's bottom line. And according to Skift, United appears to be leading its competitors in generating that income.
Whether the onboard pizza is more of a treat for passengers or for airline investors, one thing is certain: catering in the economy section continues to improve. According to a spokesman for the airline, the meals will be served on all flights within the U.S. over 3.5 hrs and on flights from the U.S. to Canada; Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
