The Soaring Cost of Airport Food

It's estimated that there are almost 1.5 million people that fly every day in the US. Wow. That's a lot of people and a whole heck of a lot more bags of peanuts being consumed each day. Now I know just from what I've said so far that you might have some ideas as to where I'm heading with this post but let me assure you that I'm in fact not going to be discussing the things you think I might be. No, I'm not going to be discussing TSA's new security policies in which you get to choose from either being filmed naked or aggressively groped. And no, I will not be discussing the outrageous fees that most airlines now charge just to bring your luggage onboard, although I'll admit how ridiculous and infuriating these policies are. No, instead I wish to discuss the price of airport food and how out of control it has become.

Seriously, what's up with the cost of food inside the airports across our country? It's worse than trying to buy silver jewelry on a Mexican beach. At least the pan handlers on the beach are willing to barter and you can usually get them down to a price considered normal. I remember once while flying I had a little time between flights so I decided to grab a bite to eat. I proceeded to what I thought was a decent little burger joint inside the airport and ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and a drink. When I went to pay for it, I found out that it was going to cost me $12. Yea, $12 for a burger, fries, and drink which didn't even fill me up.

How can these places charge such outrageous prices? I'm really having a hard time understanding why. It's not that I don't understand the economic concepts of supply and demand, but the cost of airport food is so far past this reasonable theory that it has found its way into the world of ridiculous. Do the people selling the food inside the airport think it's a different country and that they can just charge whatever they want? Do they not understand that we were just groped by some TSA worker right after paying an arm and a leg to get our luggage shipped? Maybe I'm just being too hard on such places and in reality 50% of these peoples profits go to some charitable organization such as "Feed the Children." I'll bet that is what it is and so maybe I'm getting mad over nothing.

I've often thought about opening a chain of restaurants that would be found exclusively inside airports across the US but here's the kicker, what would set my restaurant apart from the rest is I would charge completely normal prices for the food. That's right, you'd be able to get food inside the airport for the exact same cost as outside the airport. What a novel idea, I know. People would flock to my restaurants I'm sure.

I'm a little apprehensive about doing it though because for all I know the food industry and therefore food prices inside the airport could be run by the Mafia. If this is the case and I came in with lower prices I can only imagine what might happen if the father of the Mafia came inside my restaurant to talk to me. "Look, Jared, I welcomed you and your restaurant into the airport. I took you in and treated you like family and even helped you get your feet under you. Yet, you still insist on selling a burger, fries, and soda at six dollars. I'm sorry Jared but I have to put my foot down. Go ahead boys, trash the place."

Street Value

So I'm curious...when a doctor is prescribing you pain medicine and gives you some options to choose from, depending on the level of pain you are experiencing...is it kosher to ask him what the "street value" is of his listed pain medicine?

I did that once after my appendectomy a few years ago, only as a joke mind you, and surprisingly enough the doctor didn't find it funny. He almost seemed perturbed about it. (I really love the word perturbed, the way it sounds, its meaning, everything. It's such a strong word in my opinion...a real anchor to a sentence.)

In fact his reaction was similar to a time when a buddy of mine and I were standing in the security line at the airport before a flight. As we were loading our bags onto the conveyer belt to be scanned, my buddy turned to me and said loud enough for everyone to hear, "you did make sure to pack the guns, right?" He and I, being 17, thought it was funny...security, however, did not. Let's just say that it was a good thing we had arrived super early for our flight because we had a nice long visit with some very stern looking men in a back room of the airport, and this was over 15 years ago before September 11 even happened.

So back to my earlier question, I guess I didn't see what the big deal was. I just wanted to know the real "street value" for the pain medicine I would be taking. Is that wrong? I mean, there's only one sure way to know whether I'm getting the good stuff...rely on capitalism at its finest and the experts on the street.