“What’s the deal with airplane food?”
American stand-up comedian and actor Jerry Seinfeld hosted the television show Saturday Night Live on April 18, 1992, and a sketch involved him hosting the game show “Stand-Up and Win” with three comedian contestants. From the SNL transcript:
Bobby Wheat: [ runs onstage ] Hey! How’s everybody doin’? Welcome to “Stand-Up & Win”, where stand-ups compete for big money! Contestants – thanks for makin’ it! Are you ready to play? [ the three stand-up contestants sound their eagerness ] Okay! Hands on buzzers, here’s our opening question: “What’s the Deal with Airplane Food?” [ Billy buzzes in ] Billy!
Billy: I know! Could this stuff taste any worse? It’s, like, ‘Thanks, but no thanks. I’m still stuffed from that huge bag of smoked almonds!’
“What’s the deal with airplane food?” (or “What’s the deal with airline food?”) became a stand-up comedy meme and a Seinfeld meme. Airplane food—as most everyone can relate—is usually awful. “What’s the deal with airplane peanuts?” was asked on the television show Seinfeld on May 15, 1997. “What’s the deal with airline food? I mean, is this stuff bad or what?” was asked by a stand-up comedian on the animated television sitcom Family Guy on September 25, 2005.
Wikipedia: Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen Seinfeld (/ˈsaɪnfɛld/ SYNE-feld; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, and director. He is known for playing himself in the sitcom Seinfeld, which he created and wrote with Larry David. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy; in 2005, Comedy Central named Seinfeld the “12th Greatest Stand-up Comedian of All Time.”
IMDb
Saturday Night Live (1975– )
Jerry Seinfeld/Annie Lennox
TV-14 | 1h 30min | Comedy, Music | Episode aired 18 April 1992
Selected sketches and segments from the 1992 episode hosted by sitcom star Jerry Seinfeld. Selected sketches include popular game show parody “Stand Up And Win,” “Passover Seder”, “Permanent Body Positions,” and “The Lenny Wise Show”.
Saturday Night Live
Stand-Up and Win
CLIPv04/18/92
SNL Transcripts
SNL Transcripts: Jerry Seinfeld: 04/18/92: Stand-Up & Win
October 8, 2018
Announcer: Hi! Get ready for big money and big prizes on “Stand-Up & Win!” And now, it’s time to bring out our host – make him feel welcome – Bobby Wheat!
Bobby Wheat: [ runs onstage ] Hey! How’s everybody doin’? Welcome to “Stand-Up & Win”, where stand-ups compete for big money! Contestants – thanks for makin’ it! Are you ready to play? [ the three stand-up contestants sound their eagerness ] Okay! Hands on buzzers, here’s our opening question: “What’s the Deal with Airplane Food?” [ Billy buzzes in ] Billy!
Billy: I know! Could this stuff taste any worse? It’s, like, “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m still stuffed from that huge bag of smoked almonds!”
Bobby Wheat: That’s correct, Billy! That’s worth $100!
Google Books
The Ladies’ Home Journal
Volume 109
September 1992
86 WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH JERRY SEINFELD?
TV’s hippest comedian talks about work, women—and his favorite shoes
By Jill Rachlin
24 April 1997, The Daily Herald (Provo, UT), “Anti-motivational speaker to redefine success in Provo,” pg. B7, col. 5:
(Richard—ed.) Stockton employs self-realizational humor to communicate his message instead of the stereotypical “What’s the deal with airline food?” rhetoric.
24 July 2001, Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN),“‘Downer’ is an upper when it comes to taste” by Justin Neal, pg. 1E:
The quick jokes and easy targets often lead to flat results, which leaves you feeling like you just endured a lazy Jerry Seinfeld wannabe (“What is the deal with airline food?”).
Yarn
What’s the deal with airline food? I mean, is this stuff bad or what?
Family Guy - Jungle Love [S04E13] (September 25, 2005—ed.)
Mental Floss
What’s the Deal With “What’s the Deal With…”?
BY NICK GREENE SEPTEMBER 26, 2014
The phrase, “What’s the deal with…” is so synonymous with a specific brand of ‘90s observational comedy, I bet you just read those words in Jerry Seinfeld’s voice. Ask someone to do a impersonation of the comedian (don’t actually do this), and they’ll assuredly whine, “What’s the deal with…” before either trailing off or mentioning some quotidian subject of scorn.
(...)
3. “The Summer of George,” Season 8, Episode 22 (May 15, 1997—ed.)
George pitches a joke to Jerry for use at the Tony Awards—“What’s the deal with those guys down in the pit?”—which Jerry rejects: “They’re musicians. That’s not a joke.” Later, when deciding between playing frisbee golf and going to see Jerry, George imagines Seinfeld delivering the stale gag, “What’s the deal with airplane peanuts?”
YouTube
What is the Deal with Airplane Food?
VinnytotheK
Published on Mar 24, 2015
What is the deal, yo?
Reddit—NoStupidQuestions
Posted by u/BeardedForHerPleasur September 17, 2015
Did Jerry Seinfeld ever actually say, “What’s the deal with airline food?”
Or is this just an example of his comedy style?
RuleNine
“What’s the deal with airplane food?” is the opening question on Stand-Up and Win, the stand-up game show where Jerry played the host when he hosted Saturday Night Live.
Bobby Wheat (Jerry Seinfeld): Hey! How’s everybody doin’? Welcome to Stand-Up and Win, where stand-ups compete for big money! Contestants, thanks for makin’ it! Are you ready to play? [The contestants are enthusiastic.] Okay! Hands on buzzers. Here’s our opening question: “What’s the deal with airplane food?” [Billy buzzes in.] Billy!
Billy (Rob Schneider): I know! Could this stuff taste any worse? It’s like, “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m still stuffed from that huge bag of smoked almonds!”
Bobby Wheat: That’s correct, Billy! That’s worth a hundred bucks and control of our board!
Google Books
Cleared for Takeoff:
The Ultimate Book of Flight
By Rowland White
San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books
2016
Pg. 58:
“So, what’s the deal with airline food?” Jerry Seinfeld once asked on Saturday Night Live, in a knowing reference to a line held to be the last refuge of the bad stand-up comedian: a clichéd observation about something so universally and completely reviled that it can’t fail to connect with a restless audience.
OCLC WorldCat record
Whats the deal with airline food
Author: Nathan Martella
Publisher: [Mt Lawley, WA] : Grain and Filth, [2016].
Series: GAF zine, 4
Edition/Format: Print book : English
YouTube
Adam Ruins Everything - What’s the Deal with Airplane Food? (Everyday Ruins) | truTV
truTV
Published on May 22, 2018
Inside a pressurized cabin at 35,000 feet, your taste buds get weaker.