Delta Brings Back Kids Meals to its In-Flight Menu

Delta Air Lines will reintroduce kids’ meals to its inflight menu from the beginning of next month. Starting on April 1, little ones flying with Delta can enjoy breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals prepared just for them.

The Atlanta-based carrier previously offered kids meals on certain flights, but like many other airlines, it was forced to cut it from its onboard menus and other services during the COVID-19 pandemic to cut costs. But following Delta’s restoration of its much-loved dessert cart for Delta One passengers in January, the carrier has now announced it is bringing back kids’ meals.

Photo: Courtesy of Delta Air Lines

The airline notes that meals will be available on all long-haul, international Delta flights and select domestic flights for First Class travelers. Orders must be placed as early as March 23 for flights departing after April 1.

According to Delta, the ordering process will be identical to how vegetarians or those with special food conditions reserve their inflight meals. Passengers must pre-book meals for their children online at least 24 hours before departure, which can be done during the booking process or via Delta’s MyTrips service.

A team of Delta chefs created the new menu with children and parents in mind. The chefs researched restaurant menus and traditional kids’ meals across the country to determine what children want while ensuring the meals are healthy and nutritious enough to keep parents happy. According to Delta, the meals will include a “variety of fruits, vegetables, colors, and texture.”

Photo: Courtesy of Delta Air Lines

For breakfast, kids can get French toast with syrup, scrambled eggs, a variety of fruit, and a blueberry muffin. Meanwhile, the lunch and dinner menu consists of cheese tortellini with a marinara sauce and parmesan cheese, carrots and broccoli with ranch dressing, and an assortment of fruit and graham cookies for dessert.

“Your onboard meal and beverage should be no different than your go-to restaurant at home, and that’s why we’re constantly reinventing our onboard service at Delta,” said Kristen Manion Taylor, Senior Vice President of In-Flight Service at Delta. “We always want to surprise and delight our customers with seasonal, fresh, and fun menu options.”

The return of kids’ meals is one of many changes to Delta’s onboard menu. Other updates include traditional afternoon tea and tapas on flights to select destinations and seasonal comfort meals from popular restaurants nationwide.

Photo: Courtesy of Delta Air Lines

While the reintroduction of kids’ meals can be seen as an attempt from Delta to appeal more to families, the carrier is still yet to update its family seating policy to allow children under the age of 13 to be seated with their accompanying adult for no extra charge, according to the U.S. Department of Transport’s (USDOT) new family seating dashboard, as of March 14.

However, Delta says on its website that it “strives to seat family members together upon request” and that customers should contact them directly should they not be able to find adjacent seats on their flight.