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Can a cheeseburger on an airplane ever be as good as a cheeseburger on the ground? Or would it just be “too good for something on a plane”?

Although inflight meals have largely disappeared from domestic coach, they remain a fixture in first class (at least, on longer flights). While the menu has changed over the years, there are a few frequent standbys, including a surprising one: Includes the humble hamburger.

While you might think the burger will be soggy or gross, it actually works quite well on the plane, as long as you don’t expect it to be medium-rare.

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Most of the preparation and cooking for inflight meals is done on the ground, while dishes are heated on the plane in special convection ovens before being served. It’s easy to reheat a burger patty in the oven, and even if it’s a little more well-done than you’d prefer on the ground, a well-done burger does a better job than an overcooked steak.

That’s especially true for “smash burger”-style burgers like Shake Shacks, in which the patty is pressed onto a very hot griddle, while making the burger thin and juicy inside.

That’s probably what Delta Air Lines was thinking about when it decided to offer Shake Shack’s famous burger as an on-board meal option. In what the airline has dubbed a “first-of-its-kind” collaboration, the airline began offering Shake Shack-branded entrees in first class this month on more than 900 miles of flights departing from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS). It plans to expand the partnership to other airports during 2025.

As TPG’s resident “beef in the sky” beat reporter (seriously – that’s my thing) based in Boston, I was tasked with hopping on a flight to see if Delta and Shake Shack could really pull this off, or what. The marketing push is all filler with no meat.

I booked a one-way ticket to Denver International Airport (DEN) via Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP), as I had to go to the United hub for a different assignment. I made sure the flight was long enough to provide full meal service in first class — BOS-MSP comes in at 1,124 miles, Great Circle Mapper – Late enough in the day that I can be sure that lunch will be offered instead of breakfast.

If you’re hoping to get a Shake Shack burger on your next flight, there’s one crucial detail to keep in mind: it’s only available if you order it in advance. This was a detail I had seen in the press release but had forgotten. I was checking my reservation in the Delta app when I saw the option to order my meal and decided to do it, but I didn’t get a notification or reminder that I could do it. It’s possible that if I hadn’t gone and selected the food myself, I would have been notified later.

So: I had a flight, and I ordered my burger. Will it be worth the trip? Here’s how it went.

Delta Shake Shack Burger presentation and sides

In domestic first class, Delta offers drink service immediately after takeoff, and flight attendants offer passengers a selection from a snack basket while the meal warms up.

First-class meals on Delta are served on a tray, with all the courses together. The burger is served on a ceramic plate on a branded Shake Shack paper liner.

You’ll find lettuce, tomatoes, onions and pickles on a small plate, along with a small plastic dish with the restaurant’s signature shake sauce. There are also packets of ketchup and mustard that he likes.

Shake Shack’s fries are famously delicious, but you won’t find them next to your burger. Instead, the main meal is served with potato chips and Caesar salad (with dressing on the side).

I’m actually okay with missing the fries — burgers are one thing, but it’s hard to make french fries edible on a plane any better than straight from the fryer at a restaurant.

You’ll have to wait until you land to satisfy your milkshake cravings too; Instead, Delta serves Shake Shack brownies for dessert.

The burger, meanwhile, is served with melted American cheese on a toasted potato bun, just like the restaurant. When the flight attendant put it on my tray table, it looked great (apart from a couple of scattered drops of cheese), in some ways better than the restaurant, because from there, it’s wrapped in foil. I couldn’t smell it in the galley while it was being heated, but it was definitely a faint aroma when it came out.

How was the Delta Shake Shack Burger?

I don’t know how they did it, but somehow, Delta and Shake Shack nailed it.

The burger tasted exactly as it did on the ground, as if I’d had it at any of the chain’s locations in cities across the country — or at MSP, DEN and New York’s John F. Have been to an airport like Kennedy International Airport (JFK). .

The bun is lightly toasted on the inside while the outside remains warm, light and fluffy. The cheese was melted as if it were on a hot grill (except for the extra little bits you can see in the photo), and the patty was piping hot with the same flavor and texture you’d find on the ground. . It’s almost creepy.

Setting the toppings aside serves a dual purpose: it keeps them from getting soggy, and it allows passengers to assemble their burgers with what they want and leave out what they don’t.

I piled all the fixings on my burger – lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle – and used the knife from my cutlery to spread the shake sauce on the inside of the top bun. The vegetables were all fresh, crisp and flavorful, and the sauce was on point.

As for the patty itself, it tastes like a Shake Shack patty. Seared on the outside, it’s cooked perfectly in a smash burger style, and is juicy and delicious. You really can’t ask for more.

Everything else was delicious, even with the sandwich as the main star. Miss Vicky’s chips are nice and salty and everything in the salad looks fresh and delicious.

Finally, the brownie was delicious, even if it reminded me of — and craved — a decadent shake.

The bottom line

Somehow, Delta and Shake Shack managed to make an airplane burger that tastes exactly like a burger cooked fresh at one of the chain’s locations on the ground. Easily the best burger I’ve eaten on a plane.

I remember when Shake Shack first started getting big in the 2000s. Although it has begun to expand in and out of New York City, getting one of the burgers can be difficult, thanks to long lines driven by a lot of (understandable) hype. Even when it opened locations in New York’s Grand Central Terminal, JFK and Citi Field, long waits were inevitable.

It makes it even wilder that now, you can get one of the famous burgers at your seat on your next flight.

Some may scoff at the idea of ​​getting excited for a fast-casual dish in first class – what happened to the fine dining of yesteryear? — It is worth noting that this is appropriate for the first class that exists today. There is less chance of enjoying a fine meal and more chance of being served any food. So it might be an entry you will enjoy. And if you’re a burger or Shake Shack fan, it’s safe to say you’ll enjoy this one.

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