Have you ever been given a free snack on an airline and then wondered where you could find it for yourself? Airline snacks are not all created equal, but there are some that can leave you wanting more after your flight.
Some airlines serve snacks from popular brands that can be easily purchased at a grocery store or online, but other products are harder to find.
Here’s where you can find the free snacks on major North American airlines. Note that this guide mostly focuses on widely available economy class snacks, as some airlines serve different items in their premium cabins.
Alaska Airlines
Alaska’s complimentary snacks currently include pretzel sticks, Biscoff cookies, chocolate-covered almonds, and mini chocolate bars.
The pretzels are made by Stellar Snacks in Carson City, Nevada. The company bakes its pretzels daily using hand-picked seasonings and sustainably harvested flours. You can buy their products in stores across the United States or purchase them by the case on the company’s website.
Lotus Biscoff cookies are perhaps the most widespread and most popular airline snack in the country. The crunchy treat with a unique caramelized taste is bound to be familiar to any frequent flyer. These cookies can be easily found in grocery stores throughout North American (their sandwich cookies are also fantastic). This is a product that will make multiple appearances in this guide.
Alaska also serves chocolate-covered almonds from SkinnyDipped a Seattle-based mother/daughter business. If you’re looking for them on the ground, you can buy them online and in stores.
Finally, Alaska has mini chocolate bars produced by Seattle Chocolate, another company based in the airline’s hometown. The airline serves the company’s premium brand, jcoco. Their products can be found online and in stores throughout the United States.
Air Canada
If you’re flying Economy Class with Air Canada, you’ll be treated to the recently introduced Buttery Herb and Garlic craft pretzels from TWIGZ Pretzels. The family-owned company’s products can be found in over 7000 retailers across Canada and on their website.
Air Canada is also an airline that serves Lotus Biscoff cookies. Note that the cookies served in the two-pack on board planes are generally larger than the ones that you will find at grocery stores.
American Airlines
American’s snack roster has long consisted of two items: Lotus Biscoff cookies and mini pretzels. The pretzels are branded with American packaging so it’s unclear if you can find the exact product at home.
Delta Airlines
The Atlanta-based airline has served many snacks over the years and exact offerings can vary between flights, but here are some of the current options available on board Delta.
Firstly, Delta has branded Lotus Biscoff cookies with the company’s name and logo printed on the cookies and the packaging.
The airline also serves Sun Chips Minis, the smaller version of the ubiquitous snack from food and beverage behemoth PepsiCo. Sun Chips can be found in stores and vending machines across North America and are probably one of the easiest items to find on this entire list.
You may also be offered almonds from Nuts.com. Originally founded in 1929, the company was started as the Newark Nut Company. Their products are available through their website.
Delta’s lineup also includes white chocolate macadamia granola bars from Kate’s Real Food. The Wyoming company sells their snacks online and in stores.
JetBlue
JetBlue’s complimentary economy class snack lineup currently consists of three items.
Like Alaska Airlines, they serve Stellar Snacks’ pretzel twists.
The airline also serves sea salt potato chips from popchips. These products can be found in stores and online.
One of the more unique snacks on this list is the plantain chips from snack maker Chifles. The company was founded in 1963, inspired by the vibrant street vendors of Havana, Cuba. Chifles has an online store as well as a big presence in retail stores across the United States.
Southwest Airlines
The famous Southwest snack mix is made by a company called King Nut. It includes mini pretzels, cheddar cheese squares, and ranch bagel chips. You can buy the exact product served on Southwest Airlines flight, in the airline’s packaging, from the King Nut website.
Southwest also serves two other snacks on select flights. The airline recently introduced Remy’s Graham cinnamon cookies, but they seem hard to find on the ground or online.
On flights over 1520 miles, Southwest also has Sheila G's Brownie Brittle as a free snack. These sweet treats can be found on the company’s website.
United Airlines
The snack roster on United currently consists of three snacks: a savory snack mix, dark chocolate crisps, and fruit bars.
If you fly on both Southwest and United, you might notice that their snack mixes are similar. That’s because they are produced by the same company and include similar components. United’s savory snack mix is also produced by King Nut and includes rye bagel chips, garlic bread bites and mini pretzel twists. Like the Southwest snack mix, it is available in its onboard packaging on the King Nut website.
The dark chocolate sea salt sacks are made by Undercover Snacks, which specializes in chocolate-covered quinoa crisps. Undercover Snacks products can be found in retail stores and on their website.
United’s fruit bars are made by That’s It. The product only has two ingredients: apple and mango. They are sweet and tasty and can be found online (in both regular and mini sizes) and in stores across Canada and the United States.
WestJet
Canada’s second largest airline has long offered passengers the choice of a sweet or savory snack, but the options have changed over the years.
The sweet option is currently a Leclerc Celebration milk chocolate cookie. The product is a butter biscuit topped with chocolate. You can’t find them easily on your own, as the company appears to mostly sell their products directly to food service providers.
WestJet’s savory option right now is a pack of Krispy Kernel’s pretzels. The company sells the product in retail stores across Canada and on Amazon.
Traveler Takeaways
If you’ve ever been given a complimentary snack in the air and wish you could also have it at home, you may be in luck. Many airline snacks are available in stores or online.
What’s your favorite free airline snack?