Once upon a time, when you flew anywhere of reasonable distance, you’d be served a meal onboard. And while this wasn’t always the best food (see: stand-up comedy bits from the 80s and 90s), it was included with your ticket. Of course, those days are long gone — unless, of course, you’re flying in first class. Now, Delta is trying something different by bringing a popular fast-casual brand into its premium cabin.
Delta (my domestic airline of choice) has announced a new partnership with Shake Shack that will see the chain’s iconic burgers being served on board. This new offering will kick off on December 1st for flights departing Boston’s Logan International Airport, but it will expand to other routes throughout 2025.
As you can imagine, in addition to being limited to first class, these will also only be served on routes of 900 miles or more. The airline also says that guests will be able to pre-select a Shake Shack Cheeseburger as their meal option, which would seem to suggest that this won’t be available as one of the main picks should you wait until you’re in the air to choose your food. Pre-selections can be made up to seven days in advance and can be altered up to 24 hours before departure.
If I may, one of the most exciting aspects of this offering for me is how the burger itself is served. As Delta notes, the Shake Shack Cheeseburger includes an Angus beef patty and cheese served on a toasted potato bun. In other words, it’s perfectly plain — just the way I like it! But, if you’re not as picky an eater as I am, fret not as all the fixings (such as lettuce, tomato, and ShackSauce) will be served on the side.
Speaking of sides, rather than being accompanied by some fries or a titular shake, the Shake Shack burger option will come with chips, a Caesar salad, and a dark chocolate brownie. If you’re sitting next to me on a flight, feel free to take my salad — but the rest of this looks and sounds delicious!
Okay, so there are some big reasons why it’s pretty damn silly for me to be excited about this addition. Namely, it’s only available in first class, which means I probably won’t be seeing it any time soon. Moreover, even if I did luck out and get upgraded, I still wouldn’t be able to get my burger since it needs to be pre-selected. Lastly, while I do appreciate the way Delta will be serving these Shake Shack burgers, in all likelihood, it won’t be nearly as good as getting it fresh while on the ground.
So, while this Delta-Shake Shack team-up probably won’t affect me now, I do hope that they manage to expand this partnership over time. After all, if I were flying home after a week or two in a foreign country, having an American cheeseburger on the flight home (in economy!) could be pretty amazing. But, until that happens, I guess I’ll just need to continue to dream delicious burger dreams.