I Tried The Delta First Class Shake Shack Burger, To See What Everyone Else Is Talking About

Airlines love launching branded collaborations, because, well… people care about brands. In 2024, we saw Delta and Shake Shack launch a partnership for first class catering, which has perhaps been one of the most talked about airline collaborations we’ve seen.

I can’t say I’m a huge burger fan, but I finally figured I had to give this a try for myself, given all the hype, and I’d like to report back…

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The Shake Shack cheeseburger in Delta first class

Delta’s Shake Shack cheeseburger is available exclusively for pre-order in first class on select domestic lunch and dinner flights. Over the weekend I was flying Delta from Boston (BOS) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL), and this was a pre-order option, so I figured I had to order it.

Here’s how it’s described:

Shake Shack Cheeseburger

Angus beef, cheese, toasted potato bun with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, and ShakeSauce on the side. Served with crinkle cut potato chips and a brownie.

Below is how it was presented. As you can see, the burger is served open-faced in a casserole-style dish, then the toppings are in a bowl to the side, and then there were packaged chips and a brownie.

I don’t actually like burgers, but this was well executed

Okay, real talk, I’m probably not the person to judge a burger, because I don’t particularly care for burgers (minor detail, eh?). I’m not a huge meat eater, and when it comes to indulgences, a burger just doesn’t rank up there on the list of things that appeal to me.

Here’s what I will say, though — I appreciate the thought that went into how this is presented and prepared, given the unique constraints of airplane food:

• It makes sense to serve it open-faced and to have all the toppings on the side, so that it doesn’t get too soggy
• As much as it would be nice to have fries, those simply can’t be served with decent quality on a plane, so chips are a better alternative

I can’t help but contrast this to the (unbranded) sliders & fries that American is serving in first class, also available by pre-order. As much as I’m a fan of pretzel buns and french fries, the execution simply isn’t as good. The whole thing is just sort of a soggy mess.

That’s not to say it won’t be satisfying to some people who eat it, but it’s definitely less in line with what you’d hope for on the ground.

Bottom line

Delta’s first class pre-order Shake Shack cheeseburger is perhaps the most talked about airplane meal out there. It’s a brilliant collaboration, and while I’m not a big burger fan, I appreciated the thought that went into the execution, like not serving it with fries, presenting it open-faced, etc.

If you’ve tried the Delta Shake Shack burger, what was your take?