In-Flight Snacks Marked up By as Much as 4,400 Percent

Airlines certainly know that they have a captive audience on-board—flyers can’t exactly run out for snacks at 30,000 feet. It seems that the airlines are pricing their in-flight snacks accordingly, and marking them up by as much as 4,400 percent reveals a new study by Travel Supermarket .

The researchers compared prices of in-flight snack items to supermarket costs, and found that the price tags for on-board munchies were wildly inflated. The biggest mark-up was on a cup of coffee, which sold for 2.50 GBP on Norwegian (approximately $3.84 according to xe.com). Travel Supermarket calculated that it would cost flyers about 15 cents to make a similar cup at home, meaning that the hot drink costs 4,400 percent more in the air.

Travel blog Gadling ran the numbers on some U.S. airlines, and found similar price differences. Here’s a list of the cost comparison, done by Gadling:

• Blueberry muffin on easyJet: $3.83. In store: $2.25.
• Chex Mix on US Airways: $3.49. In store: $2.19.
• Clif Bar on American Airlines: $2.89. In store: $1.50.
• Kit Kat Bar on Aer Lingus: $2. In store: $0.79.
• Peanut M&Ms on Delta Air Lines: $3.00. In Store: $0.79.
• Starbursts on United Airlines: $2.99. In store: $0.79.
• Water bottle on RyanAir: $4. In store: $1.49.

Remember to stock up on snacks for your carry-on before you fly to avoid getting gouged on-board!

Do you buy food on-board planes? Tell us why or why not in the comments.

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