Flight Attendant Friday: Yes, Flight Attendants Eat!

After a brief hiatus, Flight Attendant Friday is back with a question from Justin, who wants to know. . . .

Q.  Do Flight Attendants usually eat their own meal from home or do they eat the food on the plane?

A.  Most airlines no longer provide a meal for on duty Flight Attendants.  That’s right, we can be working away for a full day, no breaks or ability to get off the plane, and we have no food provided for us.

How do we eat on the road?  There are a couple of options.

• Some airlines provide a snack of some kind for the crew.  This can range for a protein bar or a bag of carrots, to processed packaged meat or chips.  These snacks rarely are sufficient to get through an entire work day, but if you’re starving, you’ll grab at almost anything.
• Some airlines allow the crew to consume any left over meals.  This generally is only for perishable items, so if the food can be sold on the next leg, it’s going to be off limits.  But, if it’s something that would otherwise be thrown away, Flight Attendants may be allowed to eat it.
• We grab something at the airport.  Just like you, we stand in long lines at the airport to purchase relatively over-priced, unappetizing food.  Food service is changing in many airports, and it’s a treat when you are stranded somewhere that you can find good food.
• We pack food from home.  This is generally a good option, however we need to pack food for more than just one flight.  We’re often on the road for several days at a time, with no chance to shop while traveling.  Bringing food from home means packing food that can be kept at a proper temperature during the day, doesn’t require overnight refrigeration, and can be heated on the plane.  (We love hotel rooms with microwaves and refrigerators!) International flying can make this impossible as immigration regulations may prevent bringing food into the country.
• We eat in restaurants on the road, and order enough to have left overs for the following day.  This is variation of the bringing from home option, but doesn’t require quite as much packing.

It’s not easy to eat healthy when traveling, especially when your job requires you to live much of your life on the road.  Still, just like everyone else, Flight Attendants do the best that we can.