American Airlines is pushing a premium narrative, but still serves $1 shelf-stable pasta in first class on some routes. This is lunch service from Salt Lake City to Philadelphia, a 1,927 mile flight.
American Airlines doesn’t contract for catering in Salt Lake City, so meals are flown in on the previous trip to be used for this one. As a result they don’t offer anything fresh – it’s packaged food – but American uses very cheap packaged food. And it looks disgusting.
Wow. First class lunch on SLC to PHL route
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u/snohflake5 in
americanairlines
Philadephia – Salt Lake City arrives at 9:50 p.m. and the aircraft remains overnight. Salt Lake City – Philadelphia departs at 7:50 a.m. So that 10-hour sit doesn’t allow for fresh meals catered from Philadelphia. Years ago American used to contract with LSG Sky Chefs for Salt Lake City catering. It’s certainly seems possible to do for their 12 daily departures!
“Meal of the Moment 3 Cheese Pasta” replaced shelf stable MyPasta two years ago. American Airlines is still serving it. Flight attendants are supposed to mix in hot water prior to serving.
The Meal of the Moment website used to list a price of 99 rupees (US$1.05). “Default Title – Rs. 99” is still hidden there.
It’s unclear what the current cost is to American Airlines – U.S. pricing may be different, but they’re also buying in bulk. The pasta is supposed to be made with boiling water, not just hot water (and ideally not with airplane tank water). It has a 9 month shelf life.
American’s shelf-stable soup and shelf-stable milk have been equally concerning.
It seems to me that the airline should either cater a real meal at Salt Lake City, or at least expressly label this flight as “shelf-stable service” at booking and in the app. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. And if they’re going to offer shelf-stable service, replace dehydrated pasta with at least a decent sealed cold plate or premium snack box. Instant pasta in first class is surreal. And since this isn’t delivering the promised service, they should be auto-posting miles for all passengers in the cabin along with an apology.
Eyy, marone… pAAstAA… gabagool…
Wow, how embarrassing. Yuck.
Is it really any worse than the slop everyone serves in domestic F? I had a cheeseburger on a competitor this week and it was SOOOOOOOO salty I could have a few bites or I’d been blasted from sucking down enough bourbon and diet to eliminate the salty taste.
How soon before starts AA handing out $0.99 cent boxes of macaroni and cheese with a cup of hot water?
Maybe the newest Board member will leverage her extensive airline catering experience here (or not).
How terrible. I had no idea they did this. So many customer interaction with their staff, seats, cleanliness, everything is pitiful. But out of CLT here and not much of an option but AA
Domestic first class food is generally dreadful, not just at AA. Some of the pre orders at AA aren’t all that bad as far as domestic first class airline food goes.
As Tim Dunn may say,”Fly Delta”. Certainly Delta flys nonstop SlLC-PHL.
AA needs to look into some backpacker dehydrated meals. Some are delicious (Crayfish Etouffee , Chicken Pesto etc ) flavorful real food of excellent quality. In fact better than the catering slop . I kid you not.
The worst part is you know you’re going to get tank water!
It’s also surprising the DL nonstops are later in the day.
Should just give F customers a $50 credit for takeout from the airport food court or give them takeout trays to take from the lounge.
Domestic Airlines are so pathetic it’s like some twisted joke. Anyone ever try shelf stable pasta? Ate a lot of it in the Marines in MREs. Stuff sucks almost as much as American does.
First class meals now lower quality than Coach meals were before all the airlines eliminated them domestically.
Charging a premium for service that used to be standard is disgusting. Sorry I can’t think of a better word.
For shorter flights getting a larger bag of chips is not worth the extra cost. And if you ask any of the airlines for one of the snack boxes instead you have to argue to get it, in my experience.
@Parker — AA’s sliders are the worst. I’d say Delta’s ShakeShack burger is slightly better than United’s cheeseburger. D1 cheeseburger westbound TATL was actually decent.
@This comes to mind — Surely, they’re serving you folks in Ohio something nicer than the rest of us, no?
American Airlines really spoils its passengers with the luxury of shelf-stable, one-ply toilet paper in its lavatories—because who wouldn’t want to experience the thrill of sandpaper at 35,000 feet?
What an embarrassment. All AA leadership needs to be shit-canned (not because of just this but for royally screwing their airline into a joke).
@1990 I was referring to the Shake Shack cheeseburger but was trying not to stir up Tim Dunn. I’m sure that Shake Shack burger is just fine and I’m really the issue (or something to that effect is what I would expect to hear).
It’s better than extra banana
AA is my last choice for many reasons. Domestic 1st class is economy plus with a big seat. I’d never pay for it. In the 90s was nice, now?
We had a terrific experience and a great (pre-ordered) meal on AA from MCI to MIA in First last month. FA’s were wonderful — like they were in the 70’s — and the flight was on-time.
MCI is not an AA hub nor is SLC. I’m surprised by the huge difference between the two cities.
We had a terrific experience and a great (pre-ordered) meal on AA from MCI to MIA in First last month. FA’s were wonderful — like they were in the 70’s — and the flight was on-time.
MCI is not an AA hub nor is SLC. I’m surprised by the huge difference between the two cities.
Regarding the clip about FC < coach, let me relay a story:
In 1973, we took our honeymoon trip to HLN on "747 Braniff Place" — from DAL to HNL. We were in the cheapest tickets that would get us there. In coach, we had: booties, sleep mask, chapstick, etc., we had the choice of three hot entrees and with more legroom than some domestic First Class today. The seats in coach were wider than today. And then, toward the end of the flight, there was a nice buffet in the back of the plane. The FA's were dressed in Hawaiian-themed uniforms. I can document all of this from photos, it is not from nostalgic memories.
What bothers me is that, even if I was willing to pay for it (I am), no airline offers anything like this, even in First.
And so America{N} both continue their death spiral descent into sub-mediocrity….. 🙁
I agree. Get rid of CEO Isom and all his yes men/women below him. Dollar general/spirit in the sky!
The Soylent Green was better.
@ Maryland. Being an Army veteran I take issue with your backpacker dehydrated meals. But then you might also think a poop in the woods is better than an AA lavatory…in which case you are probably correct.
This week, (March 26, 2026), Gary Leff writes, “American Airlines Is Serving $1 Shelf-Stable Pasta In First Class. This is lunch service from Salt Lake City to Philadelphia, a 1,927-mile flight.” When flying on American Airlines, nothing says “premium travel experience” quite like microwaved pasta that costs less than a bottle of water at the airport. American Airlines is single-handedly redefining gourmet—one sodium-packed, shrink-wrapped noodle at a time.
After indulging in their premium dollar-store noodles, first-class customers might wonder what’s next. For AAdvantage elites, a unique opportunity awaits: a free entry in the prestigious AA Big Turd Contest. Yes, you read that right—the passenger who produces the most impressive post-pasta masterpiece can win up to 10,000 AAdvantage miles. At last, an AAdvantage rewards program that recognizes real achievement. Void where prohibited.
The contest rules are simple: do not flush. Ring the flight attendant call button. The head flight attendant will be by shortly with a measuring tape, some rubber gloves, and a deep sense of regret about their career choices. For inspiration, see the video linked below for an example of a South Park turd.
In other news AMERICAN announces an exclusive premium long term partnership with luxury cheese maker Velveeta and their new meals ready to eat