American Airlines has a plan for first class meals. They are going to be smaller, with fewer items heated. And expect the bread to be served room temperature, though I’m not sure how they expect you to spread butter on rolls that haven’t been warmed. That’s according to explanations that were given to employees at question and answer sessions held last week by airline President Robert Isom, recordings of which were reviewed by View From The Wing.
Jodi Spicer, American’s Managing Director of Onboard Dining and Service explained that “for the longer term…let’s not just bring back everything that we had prior. This is a unique opportunity for us to look at what do our customers value, and what’s easiest for [flight attendants]?”
Here are some more of the explanations she offered around what to expect for first class meals going forward,
- “The team is looking at ways where we can introduce a cold service on shorter flights with maybe only one hot component and other options that bread that maybe doesn’t need to be warmed.”
- “We were thinking about during the pandemic, how can we come up with something that our customers value but that [flight attendants who want to limit contact with customers] feel comfortable serving? This is our fresh bites if you haven’t flown a 2200 mile flight, that’s where these are flying now, and later this summer we’ll be expanding to other mileage bands…we have 16 versions of these boxes.”
- “The idea here is: easy to serve, value, quality maybe not as much quantity. Making it look a little bit different in our delivery methods.”
- “Our customers’ expectations have just changed entirely…you’re gonna see in the fall..it might be a little lighter fare and only at those longer distances will you see those traditional stay setup meals. Doesn’t mean that we’re going to go on the cheap side, but just change the look make it more valuable and quality versus quantity…hopefully later this year.”
Credit: JoeyE
Vice President of Flight Service Brady Byrnes explained their focus has been to “greatly reduce our customer touch points inflight, some of our major competitors continued beverage services even in main cabin, we didn’t think that was right for our colleagues or our customers.” He also offered that “when we re-introduce elements of our service moving forward, will it be different? Yes. Should it be different? Absolutely.”
Talking to pilots about crew meals – and crew meals generally track first class passenger meals – they noted that “later this summer…some other things on the docket that will come forward for some shorter flights in the 900 mile range.”
The head of inflight service head at the time, who made the decision to eliminate inflight meals in the first place, stated that the airline wouldn’t ever bring back the old first class meals and instead would offer something that still “has a premium feel but is different and more modern.” We’re now getting of an inkling of how that works out in practice.
They seem to think that customers want less interaction with crew and that translates as reduced meal service. However,
- Cold food doesn’t mean less contact with passengers than hot food. Ovens haven’t been shown to be a vector of spread for Covid-19.
- Less food means more contact, not less, for customers. That’s because passengers still need to eat, they just have to forage in the crowded airport instead of having it brought to them on board.
Ultimately for passengers and crew who are vaccinated there’s limited concern about the pandemic. And quality hot meals don’t involve more contact than delivering better meals on a single tray. When the person delivering the message about the plan for future meals has to proactively offer that this isn’t about being “on the cheap side” you know that this is about being on the cheap side.
United Airlines just announced that they’re bringing some meals back to domestic flight class, focusing on flights over 1500 miles and flights between the airline’s hubs that are 800 miles or more. These comments from American Airlines about inflight meals were made right as United was making their announcement on Wednesday. I have to think American will respond competitively, albeit with a little less, at a minimum they need to match meals on routes where both United and American offer non-stop service.
Absolutely pathetic. If AA doesn’t offer hot meals, and a similar or better product to United, I will gladly switch all of my business to United since they are more convenient where I live anyway. I have been a multi-year Executive Platinum flyer on American because they offered a superior mileage program, soft-product (on certain planes), and better meals…but if AA continues its race to the bottom, there is absolutely NO reason for me to stick with them.
I don’t know who would fly AA in their right mind if at all given the choice. They demonstrate it’s time and time again.
Just another reason after 7y of Exec Plat I don’t fly AA anymore
Has anyone flown J or F class on an international AA flight recently? This article refers to premium *domestic* meal service but what is going on with *international* service?
Just another reason not to fly American anymore. Many years ago my dad was an executive and I have flown more miles on American than any other. Now I will avoid American and United for tgat matter. I prefer Delta and support their moves coming out of the pandemic.
Looks just fine to this EXP. The fresh boxes pictured looked far better than the slop AA was serving in standard domestic F pre-pandemic. They are right – I don’t want that slop coming back.
Didn’t fly AA for the food pre-COVID….
AA excels at only making Orwell relevant. This makes the former NWA super.
I can never forget my last FC flight on AA: SAN-ORD. First, AA gamed the clock, calling a 2:55pm departure from SAN “lunch’ when it was obviously a dinner flight. But the garbage served was pathetic–a Vietnamese salad with nothing to eat but strands of something green. As I told the FA, “this crap was not ever served in Vietnam; if it was, the VC would have spent more time searching for toilet paper.
Ironically, Amtrak shares the same race to the bottom with AA re F&B services. Amtrak spent almost $4M for new dining cars, only to strip out their new, unused galleys in order to serve frozen bowls of food to simply heat-up. Perhaps if such a critical component of on-board services to enhance the customer experience was not so deliberately neglected, Amtrak would require more sleeping cars to meet travel demand.
Unlike Amtrak, AA must deal with the competitive world it flies within, which is why I would fly DL in FC from ORD-LAX via SLC just to avoid AA; or to rely upon LH ORD-FRA-MAD in BC to avoid AA and its partner, IB.
It’s not the Soviet Union yet; we still have choices.
” Doesn’t mean that we’re going to go on the cheap side”
Oh, really…. ?
But ya know… I don’t fly for the food.
Here’s the deal. I am an EXP and fly some crazy competitive “short” routes for business. More often than not, I have had to board without having eaten much all day.
The full hot meal that AA served on the BOS-ORD-BOS route was my only meal of the day at times over the past five years. I will absolutely consider UA on this route (same pricing and frequency as AA) if they bring back hot meals.
I know I am just one person but there’s many more like me who will pay more for full service. No brainer.
What a joke – only this time Delta is even worse. Why are we trying to make things ‘easier’ for flight attendants. And why as a passenger do I care about touch points. We all have ready access to vaccines. The market will speak – it’s not what AA thinks – and AA will be forced listen.
What a short sighted low ball move.
How about modernizing to the standard of its OneWorld partner BA for short haul flights. Their FAs have no problem with that ‘easy’ service.
Last time I flew in Asia (pre-pandemic): 90 minute flight sitting in coach in a completely full widebody jet. With a hot meal. Lord, I wish they would open up US skies to more foreign airlines.
I’m good with the change, if, and a big if, they run with what they are showing in the pic above. Outside of international long haul I could give two shits about airline food. Booze is far more important than the slop that was served in the past. I’d rather eat a corn beef hash MRE.
Sounds like they are in tune with customers wants now as much as they were when they determined customers didn’t want IFE.
Not sure how they conduct research but it’s certainly not using any academically accepted method.
Definitely an attempt to lower costs. But honestly they will change this by the summer when more people start flying and things get back to normal. It’s delusional to hold onto a pandemic mindset when we’ve got it under control now and people want services again.
The AA Cheeseburger might have been the worst food ever served in the air or on the ground. No one will miss that.
This is as much about labor relations as anything. Flight attendants have been vehemently against any resumption of service.
I’ll let you figure out why.
The domestic midcon hot meals were garbage. I welcome the refreshed lighter fare. Pre COVID, the cold charcuterie platter was the best meal in domestic first.
I would be fine with cold sandwiches and cold salads. Just let me choose my own condiments.
Just adopt Jet Blue style and quality cold box. All happy.
Looks fine to me. This is just domestic flying almost people refuse to get vaccinated putting everyone at risk.
It’s the selfishness in Americans that makes everything worse than it suppose to be.
On international flights vaccination and test are going to be required and hence easier to serve hot and bigger Meals.
I fly just to get from point A to B . The meal is not Important. I can get a meal at the lounges at the airport . Eating on flights make you bloated because the aircraft and the pressurized cabin makes your body expand
AA fails yet again. Trash airline with trash service. I swore them off years ago when an FA couldn’t be bothered to get me a Coke Zero when I asked because she was too busy on her phone. She eventually brought me a room temperature can about 10-15 minutes later and didn’t even set it on the tray so it fell off and rolled across the the aisle. She didn’t even look down or at me, literally turned back immediately around and into the galley to her phone. This is how they treat their first class customers — note no customer should be treated in such a manner regardless class of service. F_ck AA and especially their management.
AA sucks and so do their worthless flight attendants.
United used to offer a deli plate 15 years ago and honestly it was the best meal they ever served.
Onion bun, cold cuts, lettuce, pickle, tomato and chips.
Never disappointed.
Butter pats not frozen rock hard would be an exciting innovation they could look into…
“This is a unique opportunity for us to look at what do our customers value, and what’s easiest for [flight attendants]?”
What the customers value and what’s easiest for the flight attendants are almost always the exact opposite. How can they try to sell such an obvious lie? Truly pathetic.
Hot food is better. Zap the coronavirus or bacteria.
Less handling, like handing out full cans would be good. Also food that doesn’t have to be assembled or handled very much by the flight attendants.
Executive Platinum here and I do not believe a word of the AA “bulls**t”
AA claims they wNt to listen and deliver what the customer wants…more “bulls**t” if the serve cold processed food in first class I will stop flying AA. Truth is AA FA are by and large lazy. They treat first class customers very poorly. I have witnessed it over and over. All the spin AA attempts to put on their obvious desire to cut costs and raise prices while still using pre covid post covid BS excuses is getting so old!! AA you suck so bad for trying to put a spin on this atrocious even asinine policy!!
American Airlines is pure Dog Shit!! Period.
I don’t understand why they wouldn’t just go back to serving the Zoe’s charcuterie plate. It was crazy popular and looks better than the boxed crap in that photo. I can’t imagine the Zoe’s plate was particularly expensive or hard for the FAs to serve.
Come on, I think you can figure it out. You put the butter packet into your pocket while eating the rest of the meal and once it is warmed up, you spread the softened butter on the cold roll. Us economy passengers have been doing this for years already.
Hot airline meals pretty much suck across the board. I’d rather have a good sandwich, salad, or other simple meal or snack. America West used to serve a bag lunch consisting of a fresh sandwich and a banana. The operative word is “fresh.” Most hot airline meals taste like they’ve been in storage for six months. Airlines exist primarily to provide transportation, not entertainment or meals.
I actually had one of those pictured boxes on a recent CLT-SEA flight. The plastic boxes inside are the same as those given in Admirals club so the salad was tiny and it was worse than the one I had in the club. There was nothing coming to “good quality”. Then there is a tiny cold sandwich. It is actually OK if you warm it up in a panini maker next morning. Overall, the box is nothing to be excited about. It is marginally better than what Garuda gives you on the Lombok-Denpasar flight in coach (76 miles and clocked at 45 min). I am not sure how the new AA food in the domestic F/J is better than shelf-stable sandwiches they have offered just after the merger. Those were quite remarkable products – you can keep them for a month at room temperature without visible changes in color and texture!
Cold food is bad for COVID. COVID virus can linger in cold environment and stay active for days. Heating up the food actually would eliminate the virus.
If AA is serious about reducing touch points, stop serving drinks. Hand out individual bottles of drinks instead!
However, I think the passengers are not missing much, given how terrible first class food is on AA pre-pandemic. The hardest and worst ice cream I have ever had in my life was the strawberry sundae in AA first class.
@Lu
Hard icecream in First Class? No problem, @Johosofot (see above) recommends you put any cold/frozen items in your pocket until they soften!
It’s what they do in Economy he assures me.
@Greg – Have you flown BA short-haul business class (Club Europe) any time in the past 5 or 10 years? Not sure how you concluded that’s the standard AA should seek to emulate.
Probably one of the most insufferable articles and comment sections I can recall in recent memory. If you’re on a plane so often this is a travesty you can’t overcome, it’s kind of hard to believe you’ve never encountered soft butter you can spread on a cold roll. I truly hope you can find the strength to overcome these life altering problems like having to eat a salad.
AA seems to forget that many of it’s first class passengers on domestic flights connected from international flights. After doing the immigration and connecting thing, there is often little time to have a full meal. I guess I could grab a Big Mac on the way through. mmm.
Mark .. How is Delta’s food and beverage been? I think the only words are Non-existent.
“Pathetic” is one description for AA’s plan; “cheap” is another! And no one is mentioning how much MORE plastic we are putting into landfills, oceans, etc. with all this pre-packaged food.
I flew J LHRORD a few days ago on UA. Everything delivered on one tray. Hot plate beside the ice cream beside the salad and roll etc. And a plastic cup for beverages. No tablecloth.
AA has nothing to worry about as far as competition is concerned.
Do none of y’all have tastebuds!? It’s not like you can’t eat a proper meal before and/or after your flight. I never thought I would see people so upset over the 50c crappy meal being taken away
Kevin is blaming the unvaccinated for the crappy food because as he says unvaccinated put everyone at risk. Explain that to me how an unvaccinated person puts a vaccinated person at risk unless you believe vaccines don’t work.
I contend it’s ignorance displayed by people like Kevin that keeps us all from resuming normalcy not the unvaccinated
I agree this is pathetic! UA is becoming the premium airline of the big 3! They have a far better app, much more flexible same day change policy, and it appears they are poised to lead in catering services. AA instead of going for great, is tyring to lead the industry in the race to the bottom. What customers told them they wanted a subpar or no meal?
Well, that’s one way to not extract a revenue premium.
Because nothing says “quality” and “premium feel” like eating your meal out of a cardboard box.
As a former flight attendant for Piedmont Airlines at that time meals were served very nicely especially in the 60s so it’s just a cheap way of putting food to people who are hungry they are getting cheaper and cheaper but the prices of the ticket for getting higher and higher let’s bring back the real meals but then the flight attendants would have to work and they would rather just give you a box lunch and smile and it’s all not because the covid. They use this excuse all the time when they want to go around serving the public. I do know that the public is different than it was in the 70s and late 60. But then I wore a structured suit I looked professional so did all the others PanAm American Airlines but things change I do understand but our look was Dynamite
If we don’t like the product, we will choose the competition. Simple, really.
The doublespeak rationalizations must amuse the PR team. Fools, as guests/passengers/customers/team members/union staff can see through them.
Watch this pendulum swing, folks, especially if the premium cabins a fly empty, now that we have discovered the charms of Zoom, Microsoft Teams and WebEx, accompanied by a hot home made café latte, and the delights of the nearby full kitchen!
I’ve flown AA multiple times in F since Sept 2020 and was lucky enough to get the “try me” boxed meal CLT-SLC. While not bad I would have preferred a pre-covid meal. I suggested to the FA the box meal would be acceptable now and in the future on ATL-DFW or CLT-BOS type routes but hot meals should return based on the previous pre-covid plan. I somewhat expected (ok maybe wishful thinking) that AA would include a survey or reach out to me for the box meal impressions. Never happened.
Regarding adult beverages in F, the FA’s tried to minimize contact. I was always offered 2 minis, an unopened can and a cup of ice.
I did get the opportunity to fly F on DL back in Nov and AA beat them hands down on the service and offerings upfront.
Flight attendants have nothing to do anymore except make an announcement which can be prerecorded
Please seek an electrical outlet to receive that refreshing jolt. Seriously, people need a shock to think clearly and stay off the social media shit!
Easy there Boston. UA and premium don’t belong in the same sentence
Given the ridiculous upcharge for first class, they really must be smoking dope to think that anyone is going to pay big bucks for a better seat!
@Richard – and it’s not even a better seat anymore. As aircraft get OASIS’ed pitch is reducing and the seat is less comfortable.
Further evidence of AA’s continued spiral to the bottom and cheapness! Its management continues to reflect no shame for lousy service and absence of comfort! If I book first class travel, I desire first class service along with other airline amenities including delicious and sufficient food! Fortunately, I evade flying AA!
I just flew Flag Ship First from Miami to LAX last night – it was awful!!!
Champaign served in plastic cups – food just thrown at you on a single tray. Flight Attendants that disappeared for the entire flight.
For what is Americans most premium experience – the airline should just give up and just join the low cost airline ranks or fire “Jodi Spicer, American’s Managing Director of Onboard Dining and Service”
No wonder. I just flew business class from MIA-LAX and for breakfast they served me a delicious omelet, fruits, cheese and a small bagel. The bagel was cold (not even room temperature), so hard to separate and chewy of course. Who in the world eats “cold bagels”? Nonsense.
“ Our customers’ expectations have just changed entirely” is true for me but not in a way that AA is likely to enjoy. Service across industries has plummeted so why bother upgrading? I hadn’t flown main cabin in years before the pandemic but have found myself doing basic economy during the scourge. Why pay more if it’s going to be a horrible time either way?
The discontinuation of hot meals on domestic flights, a pared down food and beverage experience, and missing flight attendants is NOT a premium first or business class experience.
If the meals resemble anything like the picture above, count me out. I’ll simply buy a premium-economy flight seat and bring my own food…and save a bundle.
There is a reason flyers pay a premium for first class or business is the amenities, service and food. This isn’t it…fly another airline.
I am so saddened by what AA has become. As a flight attendant for many years and during the BEST years of the career, we used to care about our passengers and try our best to make being on one of our flights the best in customer service!! This included good meals and drinks served with ambiance!!! Is it too late to save the airline I was loyal to and loved??
What is the best way to provide feedback to AA that will actually get logged and for which there is a slight chance the correct person might actually look at?
This looks absolutely disgusting.
Domestic airlines have perfected the art of providing us less and less and continue to get away with it. First Class service and meals are now a complete joke and I seriously doubt we’ll see a return to what was offered pre Covid ever again…
Get over expecting gourmet meals on a four hour flight ✈️.
Good gravy, Marie. Every major airport has dozens of different restaurants. This isn’t about being hungry. This is absolutely about wanting someone to wait on you and cater to your little whims.
Get over it. Yes I WOULD pay more for a more comfortable seat and I have. I can go 4 hours on a granola bar. My idea of luxury now is getting a real Coke!
It’s not about the food. It’s about me, me, meeeeeee.
I’m in first class. I’m special.
I’d be special too, in that comfy seat and plenty of overhead storage. Shut up and much on those Pringles.
AA is correct……The pandemic has changed my thinking entirely. No longer will I be loyal to an airline that takes every opportunity to lessen the experience and cheapen my spend. My first trip in 17 months will be in July. I am taking a non stop with Spirit and a non stop back with Frontier. Upgraded to the big seat in the front, saved significant money and avoided over 10 additional hours of time traveling. I will take my own food and call it a day. In the past 20 years, 99% of my flights were on AA. I am a million miler (close to 2M) and EP. What does that tell you? I am done with the race to the bottom, I will just fly a known bottom tier airliner and pocket the difference.
Given the fact that covid is airborne, “reducing touch points” is just another excuse for encouraging bad service.
I’ve served these cold box meals. My input was this was a snack, not a meal. The paxs were still hungry. Due to ‘chillers’ on the Airbus- the olive oil balsamic dressing was solidified. There is a choice of meat option vs. vegetarian. Basically the same box but one has a few slices of salami. A lot of little containers containing not much in substance to fill you up. I gave this a thumbs down in the survey. It is nice to serve something new but this isn’t it.
If I’m paying for first class, I will expect first class food and service; especially as I’m travelling from England to Arizona! AA – get your act together, and soon!
AA might as well be a LCC now.
I used to fly AA to several destinations south of Miami weekly and always enjoyed the experience including the meals (the nuts were awesome!!). What a huge difference a few years make. Really sad to see how far AA has sunk. They want to collect a premium for the product, but the reality is that they offer little above a bottom-of-the-line product of Spirit or Frontier. Really not much reason to pay for the higher price of first class when nothing more is offered thank cattle. At this point I’ll fly them for schedule alone as the product is not worth paying for. This picture shows a very non-premium offering.
Pretty soon AA (and eventually all the airlines) will expect you to supply the airplane itself!
Poor little spoiled brats, most flying on company’s dollar. I Really have a difficult time sleeping while worrying about your punishment. Try some MRE’s or fly government military charters to the killing grounds.
Ovens are what’s next to go to the scrAAp heAAp!
Basically, AA is serving coach meals in First Class and then justifying it by implying it is for our and the crew’s safety. For those of us who want First Class, we will be booking elsewhere. The good news is, as we deplete our AA miles, there should be plenty of seats available in Frist Class. Perhaps Jodi can get a job with Southwest.
Will the first class fared be reduced? Time to fly other airlines
May as well pass out the “box lunches” in the gate area and instruct the passengers to remove their own damn trash after each flight and deposit in a trash can in the jetway. MOST AA F/A’s would sooner avoid all contact with the great unwashed lepers.
I am not surprised. AA has been on a purposeful, continuous downgrading of service, downgrading of seats, downgrading of food offerings (what food offerings …), downgrading of reliability (when was the last time you were on an AA flight that departed and arrived on time), etc.
When international travel resumes, and I again travel every 6-8 weeks internationally on either Business or First Class, AA will not need to worry about “downgrading” me. I will have already voluntarily taken myself out of their picture.
As a long, longtime AA frequent flyer (6+ million miles, EP for more than 20 years), I have already resumed flying in the U.S. And almost none of flights are on AA. I want a better product when I purchase a first class seat.
EdSparks58
What bothers me most is all the plastic that will go into the landfills.
All this does is set a precedent for the other airlines to follow. Could they dumb it down and cheapen it even more ? Pretty soon we’ll all be flying Spirit without even knowing it.
I don’t fly for the food. Plenty of good choices at the airport, which would be more than sufficient to hold you over, especially when traveling domestically. On long haul international flights, would be nice to have a nice meal. This is more about paying for service you think you are entitled to. Airlines are finding more and more reasons not to provide service you are paying for. The only reason to pay for first class nowadays is for a more comfortable seat, and to keep yourself separated from all the regular minions. Champagne in a plastic glass, what’s the world coming too. The only time I would consider first or business class would be on a long haul flight.
Two years ago my husband and I traveled DC TO O’Hare laying out over one million AA Air miles between us for 2 First class seats to NARITA-BEIJING-SHANGHAI-LA-JFK. We were held in O’Hare for over 11/2,days . AA lied and said they were not working on the “Dreamliners” engine but with both of us pilots we could see where they were working on so late in the following day we boarded had lost our First Class seats and were not offered any compensation nothing! Food to Japan not edible!
That was last timer we flew AA AND I was a Million Miler+ Plus.
As this is they way AA goes, they’d be better by totally removing their “first class” cabin, that stopped being first class many, many years ago. Seat are not much better that other classes, food service was already bad, and with this change it’ll be even worst. What’s left??? Just an overpriced ticket.
The USAir-ification of American continues. This is bad enough but the availability in the Admirals Club is pathetic. At LAX last week: No Flagship lounge (American seems to have discontinued them) and coffee/tea/minimal breakfast items dispensed to a long line of passengers by a single employee. The meal in Business to/from JFK wasnt bad but it wasnt good.
On the other hand, as has been the pattern in recent years, United is making an effort. In their lounge in San Francisco last week there were limited hot items and a fair amount of choice + you could still get Prosecco at the bar.
I have always avoided AA on long haul flights ✈️, tried it once 12 years ago and the business class menu was no better than the average high Street cafe menu. I always fly Qatar Airways they take care of all its passengers, be it in business or economy. You never arrive at your destination hungry.
AA is correct. I now unfortunately have different expectations as a frequent flyer.
Pre pandemic I flew 235K miles a year on my own dime. 95% of the time I got complimentary upgrades to First Class. The food and service were great.
Two weeks ago I flew for the first time in 14 months. Trans con flights. As always the Flight Attendants provided great service but the food wasn’t worth the box in which it came. It would have been more enjoyable had I eaten the box and thrown away the food.
Now that I know better I’ll stay home until the food is as hot and delicious as it always was.
Continental used to be my favorite airline, then United gobbled them up. Service went down, prices went up, FAs and GAs became a little less friendly.
I switched to US Air and had good flights, friendly people, but it required some imagination when planning a trip to Houston. The system wanted me to route through either Miami or DFW to get to IAH. I was smarter, I routed through CLT. Then American bought USAir. Service went down, prices went up, FAs and GAs became a little less friendly.
Say what you want, but JetBlue has been reliably good with upgraded (purchased) seats, friendly FAs and GAs when I travel to PRs SJU. Nice flights.
My hands down favorite airline was the flight from MCO (Orlando) to MAN (Manchester, UK) on Virgin Atlantic 747 in April 2019 for vacation in the UK and Scotland. In coach we were treated better than 1st Class in AA, UA, Delta. Choice of one of three entrees for dinner, appetizer, dessert. Most friendly FAs since Northwest and Continental days. Would gladly fly VA anywhere.
Those were the days. Comfortable seats, friendly GAs and FAs – not over worked and over stressed – and good food. Heck, I remember when meals were delivered hot from the galley, no carts in the aisles, being able to get out of my window seat without anyone else having to rise, just put up the tray table, and actually looking forward to a flight.
As the Statler Brothers said – Ah, do you remember these?
With tight connections, rushing to the airport from meetings and no chance to get food in airports I ABSOLUTELY count on a meal on a longer flight. I also was liking the healthier choices in lounges and in air of salads – not just sugary/fatty choices. Lower carb options as well.
These junk food boxes are awful! It’s like they are TRYING to kill off their customers
I am continually disappointed with American. It feels like they are purposely destroying this airlines. I also feel if you are in first class, you should be able to expect more. You are paying for it so why not provide it to your passengers. I am transitioning away from American even though I have a lot of frequent flyer miles. I am exploring other airlines to become my go to airlines. If American doesn’t start providing better customer service and less grumpy staff, they will be heading toward destruction if not already!
Yes, this once-great airline is dying by a thousand cuts.
First class domestic has become a joke, I flew them across the country earlier this month (I’m a lifetime Platinum, former EP for many years) and the service in First wasn’t much. To be honest, I was happy to get anything at all – I wasn’t sure if they’d resumed food service on board – but the boxed snack, masquerading as a meal, wasn’t impressive.
To those who say “you can just eat in the airport” – it seems obvious that you’ve never been a busy business traveler. There is rarely time to eat in the airport, and if you have to connect in someplace like Dallas, you spend most of the connection time just getting between terminals and gates. It’s a nice luxury to arrive at the airport early enough for a leisurely meal, but it is usually just not possible.
AA is not the only airline in town. I wish I could fly Delta more, I think they have the best product of the major domestic carriers these days, but they don’t have much service from my city. I suppose it’s back to United, never thought I’d willingly do that, but they are better than AA these days.
FacsRfriendly A A – The difference between eating MRE’s or a brown bag meal on a C-130/C-5, C-17/KC-135 aircraft and eating salisbury steak on an Airbus A330 is that on the military flights we VOLUNTEERED for it (prior enlisted). As a civilian now, when paying top-dollar for an upgrade to my flight I expect and demand quality–pretty sure folks who have never served would agree.
We’ve been loyal AAL members since the early ’80’s and accumulated millions of miles over the years.
AA just continues to downgrade service, comfort and now even the meager meals. It’s like staying in an abusive marriage. Time to leave.
We’ve been loyal AAL members since the early ’80’s and accumulated millions of miles over the years.
AA just continues to downgrade service, comfort and now even the meager meals. It’s like staying in an abusive marriage. Time to leave.
We were totally disappointed in our recent flight on AA – the first leg had no working screen and the second 7 hour leg consisted of bring your own entertainment device and a lovely non-edible COMPLETELY frozen block! It was supposed to be a steak salad but was totally frozen – the looks on everyones face was unbelievable!!!! So much for firs class! Of course no compensation – unreal for a long flight!
I am a long term AAdvantage member, 2 million+ (real) miles and remember the heyday years of real Premium, First Class Service on Pan Am, Singapore, Emirates, and yes, even American in the better years. I remember when American strove to be the airline that provided exceptional, over-and-above service to attract those who were flying frequently around the world. There are very few airlines around the world who continue to strive for the “exceptional” status for their premium customers but they are acknowledged and chosen by those of us who actually choose an airline (or hardware store, grocery store etc) because they are above the norm, not just the cheapest.
American should strive to differentiate itself, in the premium category, by providing exceptional, not acceptable, service and product. I can tell you from experience that those choosing by price are witnessing the exceptional service for those in First Class as they pass by and witness the amenities (or lack thereof) and then make a decision as to whether they wish to enjoy this or not. If there is no substantial difference, other than a different physical seat, the decision is easier.
I have lived in, worked in, relaxed in, , , 157 different countries so far in this life and actually helped form an airline that American bought and turned into American Eagle, and I see the same type of mentality in this current market strategy that has stemmed from pure economic analysis rather than true Marketing Intuition and Experience, and it has been proven over and over through the years to be a faulty basis from which to make decisions.
It’s sad to me to see where American is allowing itself to go, yet I, and thousands like me, will make our future purchasing decisions on the path that American chooses to follow.
And yes, , , I am an old fart who has experienced a whole lot of this wonderful world.
There will come a time when Flight Attendants will actually have to do something to enhance the customer experience, other than poking me while sleeping telling me to cover my nose. Trying to save time and money at the expense of your best customers only means laying off, or just not hiring more attendants. It is a death spiral. And they complain about customer attitude? I have never been more willing to spend the money for a different choice of airline.
AA forgets that we the consumer have a choice! I hate to hear they are going cheap. Cabin crew are now super lazy, service is no existent. I am Executive Platinum with them and I am super disappointed in the slide of service, quality and passenger comfort. I also have status on two other carriers and I will definitely fly the one most catering to their customers! I will be choosing a different carrier in the future. If I wanted CHEAPO air I would book Spirit! Get your airline back on track and stop being cheap American!
It amazes me that airlines continue to “assume”. Very time I have ever received some kind of survey, it’s always about the “customer service experience”. I would love to see them get “down and dirty” and ask exactly what passengers really want from an airline.
1. First Class service in FIRST CLASS cabin this translates to: No glorified sandwich in a box. Real glass, not plastic, option of warm or cold food, a real dessert, not a cookie and a smile every now and then. Not to mention a pillow or a blanket.
2. When having a limited amount of any one option, ask those that fly the most (EXP/PlatPro, etc.), for their preference first. Stop with the even start at the front – odd flight number at the back. Give those that bring the revenue to the company the first option of choosing their meal.
You do not need to get cheap to save money and increase revenue. You need to get wiser and spend the money where the value is.
If flying First Class is turning into a “lie flat economy experience”, save the extra money, book economy, take a sandwich and spend all that First Class money you saved, at your destination.
There you go again.,..
What makes you think American is in the flight business? They are a marketing company selling electronic items that sometimes will allow you to get someplace if you are lucky. Do you think their CEO cares about flights? How many times you think he looks at the financial statements in a day? If the sales system is down for an hour do you think he knows? What if a plane to Paris is 10 hours late today? Does he hear about that? This ceased to be an airline about 10 years ago. Now they are more concerned about challenging the people I elected to represent me in my state legislature about bills they haven’t even read than they are about what they do for a living. If they can save 1 cent per meal they will do it no matter what the quality impact is, if if can even get worse. This is clearly the worst choice in the business. I would rather take Greyhound or drive.
Arguing passengers want less contact is just an excuse for less service. If some passengers want less contact they will simply say “no thank you” when offered a meal or beverage. Those passengers who expect service, myself included, will say “yes, please”. The argument is in the same vein as the announcement that “flight attendants are here primarily for your safety”. It is an excuse that they are doing their job even if they provide lousy service.
This story reads like American Airlines does not operate in a competitive market. Other airlines are bringing back meals – not just in first class… This is a great invitation to try JetBlue, who offers a good value/good product in their Mint business class product. Or, if you want to patronize a legacy carrier, try Delta, who seems to actually care about their customers.
As one other commenter said, this is a continued ‘death by 1000 cuts’ at AA. The Oasis retrofit did it for me (cramming too many seats into coach, reducing the number of main cabin extra seats). One of the learnings from Covid – choose your airline based on service, frequency, reliability etc – not their continually de-valued loyalty schemes.
In many cities. AA does have a monopoly. Think most places with Eagle service. Or such fine cities as Charlotte, where 90% of flights are on AA. Competition in US aviation is a fairy tale except in very select places.
Why in the world would I pay or use miles for FC on AA if they’re going to do this? On a recent trip from ORD to LAS they served a cold sandwich in a bag. Then on the return trip, they served another cold sandwich in a bag. I’d like to put you in a bag, American. Do they actually do any research in regards to what FC customers want? Guess I’ll be flying UA or JB when I have a choice in the future. And if I must fly American, it’ll be on the other side of the FC curtains. No thanks.
From Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade:
“You chose…wisely. “
Perhaps someone at AA can read these comments, and go for wiser choices? Alienating the best customers with discomfort seems unwise! Of course, alienation of “the rest” in Economy with the hard bench seats and little to nothing to eat speaks for itself.
I have to say this. I really find it hard to believe that In this day and age Airlines still separate first class from the rest of the People on board. From How we are greeted when we board to what we are or are not served to eat in flight. Personally I don’t think there should be this separation in class… Meaning the rich versus the poor… We are all human beings we all like nice things. And we all pay absorbent prices on that airline. Why the separation still in this day and age. If that is what jou want, then why don’t you just have an airplane that is for first class only. Then we don’t have to look at it. And you can do whatever you want on there. You can serve whatever high class food you like only to the “first class” people. Because that’s how you make the rest of us feel like we are “second class” .
We all like to be treated like first class. Tear down that curtain. Do you get my drift. Pretty soon you’ll be having seats attached to the outside of the plane for some of us. Flying used to be a “first class” experience for all of us who flew. It isn’t like that anymore. Try getting back to that feeling of “Fly the Friendly Skies”.
That’s really all I have to say.
@Linda Gibson – You’ve obviously never flow first class – or perhaps only on Aeroflot.