Why do airlines often serve a small dry snack shortly before a larger meal?

On long flights, I'm often given a very small bag of some kind of dried snack shortly (10-15 minutes) before a main meal is served - e.g. on a flight I was on yesterday, passengers were given a 10g bag of pretzels.

I'm wondering if this has some purpose beyond nutrition - e.g. to get people's digestion working and make the meal more comfortable / reduce competition for the facilities immediately after the meal?

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How long does a flight have to be for them to serve you food?

Meal service is determined by time of day, flying time and mileage, but in general, food is served on flights of approximately four hours or more than 1,750 miles. Meals and snacks are available for purchase on domestic flights longer than 3 1/2 hours or 1,550 miles.

Do airlines no longer serve food?

Most airlines are offering complimentary snacks and drinks again on many flights, while many are even offering food for purchases in economy and full meals in premium cabins. Most airlines that went dry have also resumed alcohol service \u2014 some even in coach.

Why did they stop serving food on planes?

Most airlines began cutting back or eliminating food and beverage sales on planes and closing airport lounges in March 2020 to help slow the spread of the virus. Some airlines limited the onboard service to boxed meals for long-haul and international flights.

What are the disadvantages of in-flight meals?

Flying on a plane may ruin your diet, even when you are hardly tempted by the in-flight food. The meals served are laden with calories, not to mention being in the air tempts you to eat more, says a new book Gastrophysics: The New Science Of Eating.

SNACKS FOR THE AIRPLANE // TSA APPROVED snacks + HOW TO PACK THEM

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