Free Delta food

Spam from Delta today:

Delta recognizes that as airline travel has changed, so have our customers’ lifestyles and preferences when on the go. What hasn’t changed is your need to save time at the airport. That’s why we are pleased to announce that we will begin testing a new in-flight food program, offering restaurant-quality food to customers onboard select U.S. flights.

Riiight. If Delta really cared about helping me save time at the airport, there are lots of things they could do– starting with bringing back their redcoats– but this ain’t one of them.
What follows in their note is a description of their new pay-for-food program, brought to us by the Atlanta Bread Company (good) and Gate Gourmet, their current catering provider (not so good). They’ll also be pimping Fritos, Harry & David stuff, and various Nabisco products. Note that this doesn’t save me any time, since every airport in America has vending machines and newsstands that dispense the same fat-filled greasy partially dehydrogenated goodness. he best part is that PMs eat free, just like in the old days:

Prices for meals and snacks will range from $1 to $10 and will be complimentary for First Class passengers, unaccompanied minors and, as previously noted, Platinum Medallion members. To take advantage of this benefit, please show your Platinum Medallion card to the flight attendant during meal service. You may then select any entree and snack items valued up to $13 per flight segment as a one-time transaction.

So, when I drop back to Gold Medallion next year, no more free food. Guess I’ll have to keep flying Northwest. At least DL didn’t claim this particular change as an enhancement. (That’s an inside joke; over at FlyerTalk, the running gag is that every time DL takes something away or starts charging more, it’s an “enhancement” that Delta’s customers have asked for). The commentary on this “enhancement” is worth reading.
Bottom line: If this turns out to improve the quality of inflight food, I’m all for it. I don’t mind paying for good food, and I don’t feel entitled to food just because I buy a ticket.