Why do some people enjoy airport food even when it is expensive?
Sometimes people are not buying food. They are buying a feeling.
Airport food is often expensive.
Many travelers complain about it.
Yet millions of people happily buy it anyway.
The hidden mechanism is emotional context. Airports are places of anticipation, reunions, adventures, and uncertainty.
A sandwich eaten before an important trip carries emotional weight that the same sandwich at home might never have.
People often think taste belongs to ingredients.
But some flavors come from the excitement of leaving familiar places behind.
