Delta & Shake Shack Partner To Serve Burgers Onboard

In late 2024, Delta Air Lines announced a new collaboration for its first class dining. This was initially available out of just one airport, but there’s now a significant update, as this has been expanded to an additional four airports. I’m sure some people will like this, but it’s not for me…

Details of the Delta & Shake Shack partnership

As of December 1, 2024, Delta and Shake Shack launched a first-of-its-kind partnership, whereby Delta has been serving Shake Shack cheeseburgers in first class on domestic flights. This was initially only available on flights out of Boston (BOS).

However, this program has now been expanded — as of March 4, 2025, Delta is also offering Shake Shack burgers on flights departing Atlanta (ATL), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (LGA), and Seattle (SEA). So this massively increases the number of passengers who can order these, since those are big stations for the airline.

Customers seated in first class on eligible flights of over 900 miles are able to pre-select a cheeseburger as their meal option, between 24 hours and seven days of departure.

Here’s how Stephanie Laster, Delta’s Managing Director of Onboard Service, describes this:

“Customers are raving about the Shake Shack experience onboard our flights after serving more than 10,000 burgers out of Boston since launching in December. This is part of our work to partner with brands our customers already know and love while continuing to raise the bar for the in-flight experience – whether that’s making your favorite cheeseburger available at 35,000 feet, or ensuring you have a variety of fresh meals to choose from that fuel you on your adventure.”

The airline highlights how the Shake Shack cheeseburger features 100% Angus beef patties, topped with cheese and served on a toasted potato bun. Burgers can also be customized to create the signature ShackBurger, with toppings like tomato, lettuce, and ShackSauce, all served on the side.

The meal also features chips, a caesar salad, and a dark chocolate brownie, reminiscent of Shack Attack flavors from some of the brand’s dessert offerings.

My take on the Delta & Shake Shack collaboration

Delta is hardly the first airline to serve burgers in first class, so the concept is nothing new. For that matter, Delta has even served burgers in first class in the past. However, collaborating with a popular burger brand on this is a unique approach we haven’t seen from most other airlines.

I know many people enjoy ordering burgers on planes, so if you’re one of those people, I’m sure this is appealing. Hopefully the quality somewhat reflects the partnership, and these burgers are better than those served by some other airlines.

Personally I won’t be ordering one of these, unless it’s just to give it a try for review purposes. I’m not a big burger person to begin with, but if I am going to eat a burger, I want it to at least be freshly made.

I’ve written in the past about my approach to ordering airplane food. In domestic first class, I generally prefer either cold dishes, or dishes that reheat well. After all, this food isn’t freshly prepared, but hot dishes are reheated prior to being served.

The closer a dish is to something you might find in the freezer section of Trader Joe’s, the better the odds it could be decent. Indian food? It reheats really well. Burgers? Not so much, in my opinion. But that’s just my take…

Bottom line

Delta is partnering with Shake Shack to serve the brand’s popular cheeseburgers in first class. These burgers are available for pre-order on flights of 900+ miles in select markets. While this was initially only available out of Boston, the collaboration has now been expanded to Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle, so that means a lot more passengers will see this as a pre-order option.

What do you make of Delta serving Shake Shack cheeseburgers? Would you order this in first class?