Buttery joy on a plane.
On one of my last Delta flights, I was greeted with one of my favorite things, Walkers shortbread cookies! It’s such a small thing, but it’s a huge improvement over the less expensive, and in this writer’s opinion, inferior Biscoff cookies that have been the Delta staple up until now.
Clearly, individual tastes vary, but I’ve never found the Biscoff cookies worth eating. Their consistency is like compressed sand, and I often choke on them if I happen to inhale while chewing one. On the other hand, Walkers shortbread is rich and buttery. Given the choice between the two, I’d go for Walkers every time. As someone trying to maintain somewhat healthy eating habits, I can think of better things than Biscoff cookies to spend the 120 calories on; like the roughly 80* calories of the Walkers shortbread round, letting me save the rest.
A cursory browse of frequent flyer forums verified that this change has happened in the first class cabins of many Delta flights. Reports from other Delta customers seem to indicate that Biscoff is still being served in the economy cabins and in Delta Sky Clubs.
That same investigation showed that Biscoff does have its supporters. There is a vocal group of Biscoff lovers on some of the forums I’ve visited. The student of human behavior in me wonders if those Biscoff supporters are suffering from peer pressures, irrational brand loyalties, or the simple human resistance to change similar to what killed off New Coke back in the 80s**. In the New Coke scenario, blind taste tests showed that even some of the people clamoring for the return of the original formula actually preferred the new product.
Biscoff 2-packs retail fo $0.14. A single Walker’s shortbread round has an estimated retail price of $0.42***. At three times the price, this demonstrates a refreshing investment in customer satisfaction.
In related news, Sun Chips have been replaced with Goldfish crackers in the first class snack baskets. I won’t offer an opinion on that change as I don’t particularly care for either item.
According to Delta’s First Class Dining webpage, both Walkers and Biscoff are listed as available on flights of an hour or more. Sun Chips aren’t mentioned at all.
Do you have an opinion on either of these changes? Please share in the comments.
* The calorie count for the shortbread round single pack served by Delta was extrapolated from the Walkers retail 2-pack.
** See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Coke for further information.
*** Prices listed in US Dollars and taken from the respective manufacturers’ websites on October 31, 2011. The estimated Walkers single pack price represented above is one-half the price of a retail 2-pack.