Alaska Starts Contactless Payment for Onboard Food

A few months back, Alaska Airlines announced a plan to introduce contactless payment for onboard food and beverage service. That day has finally arrived, sort of. Alaska has updated its app, and main cabin customers can pre-order a Signature Fruit & Cheese platter before their flight.

No Credit Cards Accepted Onboard

This popular item has been available on Alaska’s planes for a couple of months already, but only to customers in First Class. Of course, First Class customers don’t pay for their onboard food and beverage, while those in the main cabin do. And that’s key to understanding why you can’t get a glass of wine in the back of the plane.

During the pandemic, airlines have mostly removed credit card readers and eliminated paid food and beverage onboard. It’s a matter of safety, as the industry has tried to reduce contact points between flight crews and passengers. Free beverage service had also been reduced, for the same reason, but has been slowly making a comeback.

Contactless Payment to the Rescue

With contactless payment, Alaska’s main cabin passengers finally have a food option. Customers can pre-order and pay for the Signature Fruit & Cheese platter on the Alaska Airlines app, or at alaskaair.com, anytime from 2 weeks to 20 hours before their scheduled flight. It’s available on flights of 1,100 miles or more, departing between 5AM and 8PM.

No Alcohol, Yet

Alaska has NOT introduced contactless payment for alcohol purchases, nor are they offering any other pre-paid food options. Except for those seated in Premium Class, where beer and wine are complimentary, alcoholic beverages remain unavailable in the main cabin.

But I’d expect the exclusion of beer and wine to be temporary. Alaska has been re-introducing food and beverage services gradually, so this first step feels like a test. They are starting slowly, with just the Signature Fruit & Cheese plate, and will likely expand gradually. In fact, when the airline first announced contactless payment, they specifically included beverages in their press release. It’s only a matter of time.

Final Thoughts

Alaska has introduced contactless payment for pre-paid food purchases, starting with their popular Signature Fruit & Cheese platter. Main cabin passengers can finally get a bite to eat on their flight, so long as they plan in advance.

That’s a nice improvement, but still not ideal. Travel is unpredictable, and it can be difficult to plan for your hunger. You might plan to eat at the airport between flights, and instead make a mad dash to your connecting flight when your first flight is running late. It’s also worth noting that if your flight changes, your food reservation will not follow the change. And you might go hungry.

So it would be nice if Alaska allowed passengers to purchase food during their flight, directly from the app. I suspect that’s an enhancement we can look forward to. Likewise, I imagine the airline will introduce a purchase option for alcoholic beverages at about the same time.

For now, this is a good step in the right direction. And even after the coronavirus is just a bad memory, contactless payment is almost certainly here to stay.