Delta Air Lines plans to offer Shake Shack cheeseburgers as a pre-order meal option in domestic first class. This will begin out of Boston on December 1, and expand to other markets “throughout 2025.”
Credit: Delta
Shake Shack makes a pretty good fast food burger on the ground, with a potato bun (which is the correct choice). They will offer tomato, lettuce and ShackSauce on the side and chips, Caesar salad, and dark chocolate brownie will accompany the burger. They’re not attempting fries, which is both disappointing and wise, since that’s hard to do.
Delta offers pre-order between 24 hours and 7 days prior to departure, and meals on flights that are over 900 miles. The airline trumpets this as a “first-of-its-kind partnership” but that’s a massive exaggeration, as I’ll explain. Here’s what their Managing Director of Onboard Service has to say,
A delicious cheeseburger is an iconic comfort food – our customers know that which is why burgers are one of the top ordered menu items we offer, and we’re thrilled to elevate the offering with Shake Shack.
However, our partnership with Shake Shack goes beyond the burger. Shake Shack’s people-first culture and commitment to enriching their neighborhoods are spot on with our own brand values of service excellence and helping the communities we serve.
Whether this turns out to be any good is something we’ll see in a couple of weeks! I found United’s first class burger to be actually disgusting.
United first served a cheeseburger in first class back in 2001, shortly before 9/11. It was controversial then, even though it was genuinely a gourmet burger with high quality meat. It was still such a downgrade from the standard of first class fare at the time. I will never forget my very first upgrade on United. I had almond dusted shrimp as an appetizer followed by steak and dessert. Shake Shack isn’t that.
This isn’t the first branded burger being offered, either. That’s United and McDonald’s.
And it isn’t even the first time that Delta has served Shake Shack. They did that back in 2016.
A great burger starts with quality beef. It should have processed cheese that melts well. And it should ideally be inside of a potato bun that’s big enough to contain it but not so large that it overwhelms the contents. Everything you put on the burger needs to fit inside so it doesn’t fall apart when you eat it. You want to balance the flavors inside, getting a combination of everything with each bite.
You need to start with a good piece of meat and you need to cook it properly, ideally grilling it. You should get a nice char on the outside, while leaving the meat rare-to-medium rare on the inside.
It’s hard to do a good burger, reheated in an airplane galley. So I’m really interested to see the execution here. If it’s good, that’s fantastic. If it isn’t, it’s only a pre-order item and no one has to preorder it. I applaud the attempt, regardless! I just wish Delta didn’t have to oversell, overpromise, and overpromote everything. Just lead with quality, instead of telling everyone that’s what you’re doing (whether you do it or not).
This a premium game-changer, no doubt.
Make it a Double SmokeShack, and I’m in.
But, but.. McDonalds is the new regime’s preferred burger on airplanes. At least Delta serves Coca-Cola products; unlike the blasphemers over at jetBlue, who serve Pepsi…eww.
Want some E. coli with that?
Although it isn’t one of the reasons why I stick with JetBlue when flying domestic, it is always nice to have Pepsi on their flights.
THIS IS IT! This will cause the remaining 7.89 billion people who haven’t flown the world’s #1 PREMIUM airline to come over and finally put every single other airline out of business!
Nothing says PREMIUM and LUXURY on a $4,000 Delta One ticket or $1,700 domestic first-class ticket than a fast-food burger. If tiny Air Baltic and [now-defunct] Czech Airlines can offer up extensive pre-order selections equivalent to a brasserie, so can Delta.
I would not be surprised if it isn’t even real Shake Shack. Delta and Delta’s catering contractor(s) are probably just licensing the Shake Shack name and will serve a burger that looks like what Shake Shack serves but isn’t necessarily coming directly from Shake Shack. You see this all the time when Delta touts a local chef. It’s always described as “inspired by chef [name]’s restaurant.”
I don’t see how rewarming a Shack Shack burger will be worthy of a first class meal; let alone be a gamechanger. Yes, Shake Shack burgers are very good. Not the very best, but up there. However, that’s when you’re getting your food right off the grill They’re not going to be doing that on an airliner. So, I’m not optimistic as to how this will translate.
My guess is that the best it will be is just ok. It won’t compare with Shack burgers that you buy at one of their outlets.
Phenomenal breakdown of what makes a good burger. I’m now hungry 😉
Why should a burger have processed cheese?
ditto dwondermeant
the burger must be NO PINK and thoroughly cooked to 165 degrees before it’s plated and that can’t be done on the plane
medium rare?
how many hours between the kitchen and serving?
at least 2 hours, maybe as many as 4 or 5 hours probable
@ Gary — If they could make fresh milk shakes on baord, THAT would be a game changer. The burger is likely to be an above-average airline burger, which is great for those who like airline burgers.
Not a fan…a plane with dozens ordering that crap will smell like burnt meat.
We used to serve ‘The Great American Hamburger’ many moons ago in F/C. Most people loved it. Now we serve sliders as one of our mid-flight meal choices on our Oceania flights. Again, most people love them but not all. They need to use the steam setting to heat up, otherwise the buns get rock hard.
Doesn’t matter what the brand or cook or restaurant. If the hamburger is reheated and not fresh off the grill/griddle, it’s not going to be that great.
I read that most restaurants cannot sell hamburgers rare or medium rare due to safety concerns and often enforced by health officials. Most require that hamburgers are well done. That is the reason I like my own homemade medium rare hamburgers. In that sense, you are not going to get that version of a hamburger on an airplane. However, if the hamburgers are in a disassembled form and assembled on the airplane after heating components separately, a reasonably good hamburger could be made.
Yuck!
These burgers aren’t a favorite of mine by a long shot – not even at the price of a coach ticket much less a first/business class ticket price.
Ugh, keep falling. Does ANYONE remember when a seat up front featured app service, salad cart with dressing choice, nice meals with sides and then dessert service?? On domestic. Come on.
Paging Tim. Paging Tim Dunn….
I like Delta, but come on, this is pathetic.
@Flyer1….Those American burgers were the best. Last time I had one was as an FE on the DC-10, like 36 years ago. Always thought AA should bring ‘em back.
Next up. 7-11 partners. Galley will be turned into a mini store. Anyone can access a variety of premium foods and be served on demand. Now if we can hurry up an AI robotic FA travel life will be good.
YUCK! Don’t get me wrong. . .Love Shake Shack when I am at Shake Shack but even driving one home 10 minutes, they are a soggy mess. I can’t imagine how awful they will be 10 hours later and reheated. DL’s decline continues.
Still waiting on Tim Dum to explain how premium an airline this is to serve fast food in first class.
delta should partner with ninja and have them do ninjafoodi airfryer/ovens in their galleys. Then you can properly have reheated food including french fries.
@FNT Delta Diamond
While you enjoy your reheated hamburger in first class domestic, I will be flying from Malta to Helsinki in biz class, where they serve the full German roast goose, spaetzle and red cabbage for the month of December. But hey, if it’s burgers you want, go for it. Delta= premium? I doubt it.
I’d try it. Would I like a meal like a French bistro (in France that is)? Yes, but that isn’t happening. So, a decent (if it is) burger beats the heck out ofbthat pasta dish you’re offering.
“Hamburger” and “First Class” in the same sentence? Only in America