Your chances of starving to death on an American Airlines (AAL) flight – however minuscule they ever were – just got smaller. That's because American, in a move to elevate its customer service reputation, just announced it is bringing back complimentary snacks on domestic flights for passengers in economy class.

The free food rollout starts in February on select transcontinental routes and will expand to all domestic flights by April of this year.

In the feed-a-passenger stakes, major carrier division, American joins United Airlines, which also just reinstituted free snacks, and Delta Air Lines, which never did away with them in the first place.

According to American Airlines, passengers on flights that depart before 9:45 a.m. will receive complimentary Biscoff® cookies. Those who take to the air after that time can choose between the cookies or a packet of pretzels.

American's full complement of Food for Sale items will continue to be available for purchase on all flights – just in case you grow weary of the free cookie/pretzel rotation.

But wait, there's more. Beginning in May complimentary meals will be offered in the Main Cabin on all flights between Hawaii and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).

American already offers free Main Cabin meal service on all flights to and from Europe and Asia. Meals are also complimentary on flights to Latin American destinations that depart during normal mealtime windows.

In addition to the return of free snacks and hot meals to and from Hawaii, American is also expanding its complimentary entertainment package on appropriately equipped domestic flights.

Whiling away your time in the low-tech activity of looking out the window and counting clouds can soon be replaced by the ability to watch up to 40 movies and 60 television shows, and listen to as many as 300 music albums (also free).

American already offers live television broadcasts on specially equipped international flights. The company boasts that it is the first U.S. airline to offer free international live TV.

This is great news for Main Cabin (coach) occupants, but what about passengers in First and Business Class? Have they been left out of American's customer service upgrade? Hardly.

Starting in March, First and Business Class passengers on long-haul international and transcontinental flights will receive new, designer-label amenity kits with a variety of all-American products and toiletries.

In addition, International First and Business Class customers flying certain transpacific flights will also receive brand-new, pure cotton pajamas to relax or snooze in.

American says the snacks and more move is all part of a plan to improve customer satisfaction and increase ridership. We want customers to choose American every time they fly, said Fernand Fernandez, American's vice president of global marketing.

According to "USA Today," the wave of airline consolidations that left the U.S. with only four major carriers also resulted in record profits, following a decade of near catastrophic losses. So perhaps the airlines have decided to use at least some of those profits to boost passengers' flying experiences, and generate a little goodwill in the process. (See American Airlines Group Posts Record Net Profit (AAL) and How American Airlines Makes Money (AAL, DAL).

Free food: It's not the worst idea in the world. But will it really improve an airline's business, or even its image? When ranking the domestic carriers, Airfarewatchdog.com considers five areas: number of canceled flights, on-time arrivals, mishandled bags, denied boardings and customer satisfaction. Nothing on the list speaks specifically to snacks. (In 2015, the site ranked American #8; Delta was #3 and United #9 for overall performance among all domestic airlines. Alaska Airlines came in #1.) To see Wall Street's opinion, check out American Airlines P/E Ratio: A Quick Analysis (AAL,DAL).

American Airlines' recent upgrades in amenities is a nice gesture. When planning a flight, however, the availability of complimentary cookies or pretzels will likely not be at the top of your list – especially when the sudden backwards tilt of the seat ahead of you gives you such a jolt, you end up swallowing that free Biscoff® whole.