American Airlines advertises meals as one of the benefits of first class travel. Specifically, “Meal service on flights over 900 miles during meal times.”
They say they are “elevating your dining experience” and that meals in premium cabins “are healthy, delicious” – so it’s not just food, it’s good food that’s good for you, too.
Of course airlines advertise one thing to convince you to buy a ticket, and to spend more. And they deliver something else. One of the most common occurrences is advertising their most comfortable seats to get you to spend more to upgrade from coach to first class, and then delivering something entirely different.
For instance this was a pitch to upgrade to first class on a standard domestic Airbus A321. They show you that you’re getting their lie flat seat that’s only on the Airbus A321T which operates mostly between New York JFK and premium West Coast markets.
Customers spending the extra money based on what American shows them get this instead:
And too often they get this:
So is it any surprise when a passenger complains that American Airlines failed to cater their first class flight, the airline says,
Our ticket price reflects the cost of transportation. Any meals and snacks served on our flights are considered complimentary conveniences.
It’s like the eBay seller that promises something they aren’t allowed to sell, but claims they’re really only selling “a white envelope” and the contents of that envelope are just a free gift.
This was flight AA2676, a 5:22 p.m. departure from Newark to Phoenix, which is a 2,133 miles and at dinner time. The customer did not get what they were entitled to. American Airlines says they did, falling back on ‘we’re just selling transportation and not the things we advertise.’ That is what their contract of carriage says, of course, and under existing precedent you have no recourse other than complaining to the Department of Transportation which is unlikely to be sympathetic because you received… transportation.
This isn’t just an American Airlines problem – it’s the structure of how a single federal agency’s regulation replaces the standard practices that other industries have to follow and how they’re exempt from common law rules and practices.
The traveling public will figure it out and use other brands.
I wish airlines would end drinks and snacks on flights 90 mins or less. BYOWater and snacks. Fight crews should concentrate on more important things, and including hospitality.
DOT holds jurisdiction over airline marketing…
America West being America West again.
AA is dead, y’all. It was buried many years ago.
Isom and his 40mthieves stole AA’s clothes before they buried it in a ditch and are now masquerading as AA.
Why would anyone chose to fly anywhere on American Airlines?
I don’t understand all the complaining. These are perfectly competitive markets and you have viable choices. As Philadelphia is my hub…AA dominantes here . I had the meal above Tuesday coming from MIA and it was good, glass of red wine w dinner and coffee w the dessert. You can pre-order your means and they offer a decent selection in addition to beef, chicken or the Harvest Bowl. With a business/first class ticket you have access to the Admirals Lounge so there’s no excuse to be hungry or thirsty.
Airlines are, in fact, selling ‘carriage’ from Point A to Point B. Meals and beverages are, in fact, amenities. Always have been, always will be. i think there are a couple issues at at play. First issue is the belief that meals are included in the price of their ticket. Ultimately, they are but its a miniscule amount…more of a small rebate of the fare paid… and it’s a variable amount as fares are entirely demand-based. There may be instances where a meal is not provided but the fare is actually higher based on demand for a specific flight in a market where meals are offered at traditional.mealtimes. The other issue appears to be the tendency to compare airline meals to restaurant meals and correspondingly to assign a dollar value to the meal provided..
Flying in the US is generally a totally substandard experience full stop. The 17 boarding categories, the excessive hand luggage every passenger takes, the fact fares don’t include checked luggage except for First Class, no meals in First Class (now I know there’s a distance threshold). Flying in other parts of the world is a much more enjoyable experience.
People shouldn’t get access to airline lounges because of credit cards nor should luggage be predicated on credit cards either. Elsewhere in the world you earn Airpoints and get status which earns you lounge access. That way every man and his dog isn’t allowed in. Here it isn’t special because everyone has a credit card that gets them in!
Also First Class in the US is not the equivalent of First Class in the rest of the western world. Total sham.
> Our ticket price reflects the cost of transportation. Any meals and snacks served on our flights are considered complimentary conveniences.
So shouldn’t all tickets be the same price?
Scary and a bit of a miscalculation … when u consider so many Delta flyers are looking for alternatives. What are they think?
Does the DOT hold jurisdiction? It sounds like the FTC to me: unfair and deceptive trade practices, in the form of not delivering what is advertised. AA really shouldn’t be able to point to the Contract of Carriage for an out.
AA is dead and the new AA is fricken terrible is America west shit sucks how they stayed in business is beyond my comprehension why anyone would fly on these guys is the biggest wonder of the world I guess make tickets cheap anyone would fly them… not me!! Never friend took them the other day from Denver to kax tinyvass plane he’s 6’2 and sat in coach he couldn’t even fit directly behind the seat in front of him he had to sit sideways entire flight and forget about putting try table down not enough room to do that or put your bag under the seat seats too close together now!! So fricken ridiculous! Seriously businesses have fire codes on how many people can be in an establishment why not airplanes? With seats this close together no way you could evacuate that plane fast and safely!! Someone said too there’s seats now covering half the exit row on some planes so to exit in an evacuation you’d have to turn sideways then turn straight at door before you could jump onto slide!!! Really America west, I mean AA, how many seats do you need inguess your job now make everyone the most uncomfortable as possible
The Travel Insider could elevate itself by actually reporting on both sides of air travel – airline AND recalcitrant customers. Far too many people think they are boarding a cruise ship vs basic transportation. If contributors think the majors are bad, try a discount airline. Like herding cattle.
Is the AA flight from fort worth to Paris catered or do you bring your own peanuts etc?
This scotches my travel.plans… we were going to fly first class from coast to coast but with the lies Delta tells, and now the lies AA is telling I’m seriously considering the train. We have the time as we’re retired, and I don’t want a crowded cruise ship because we both just got over Covid. Even flying was iffy. Now it’s definitely out.
If you think AAthinks about you as a person / or valued passanger.Sorry,you where born about 25yrs to late…Just ask them if you can ever get an agent on the phone in this country who really cares….Bon Apitite….
Another reason I don’t fly American… And never will.
So Delta got NWA and ruined a good operation in typical Delta fashion.
American got the progeney of the inbreeding of America Worst and U Still Alleghney In Reality, so what did you expect…
United / Continental merger was the most competitive – even though both airlines boards screwed the rank and file but got golden patachutes all around.
So glad we built the Interstate system 75 yrs ago, I have time and even with $4.00/gal gas my wife and I can drive FL to North Dakota without going thru ATL, IAD, DEN, ERW, JFK, IAH …..
Airline deregulation and the end of the CAAB was the beginning of the end for US airlines. Some industries just beg to be regulated by the government. Airlines are one of them.
We live in a very entitled society which encourages bad behavior and treatment of others. Calculate your miles for your trip, how much you pay for your ticket and tell me if the airline owes you anything but transport. And we are not even talking about the convince of the time frame you are getting there vs days or years it would take you otherwise. This is no different from passengers on international flight thinking they are entitled to a pen to fill out there immigration form. When does it stop with our behavior!? If you are sitting in first class you are giving the illusion you have class and money. Complaining about food should be the last thing you do. The airports have endless restaurants. If anyone if offended by American Airlines statements, I understand! Because the truth hurts and it’s often hard to look in the mirror. Who do you blame when you encounter traffic on the highway? but workers of the airline constantly get blame for delays etc. when we want too much and live we entitlement and forget gratitude. We become the problem and not any organization! Change your attitude and behavior and the world will follow. I back American Airlines statement 100%. I don’t take for granted the air that I breathe or think I am entitled to it, which is why I give thanks every morning.
@William Alford – the federal government stopped regulating schedules and price, most other regulation remains in place – it’s just captured by the airlines.
What a stupid article. Didn’t AA just build a state of art catering facility in DFW? Would AA leave a passenger without food on a long flight? Probably not. This complaint was from a short haul, entitled POS. Get a life and bring a cliff bar when you travel. We have bigger problems in our country focus on that.
Paying 10 times extra for some lousy food is certainly not worth the airfare. They can keep their fast food, bad food I’ll go to a restaurant or home when I land. Thank you.
A special call-out to all those business and first class flyers telling the rest of us to stop whining. You are the epitome of entitled clueless Marie Antoinette type. “What are you in steerage complaining about? I have my glass of wine and exclusive lounge so the system works – for me!!”
“It’s not that they don’t keep their word, they just haven’t. “
Air travel in the US is pretty pathetic these days. Highly overpriced for minimally basic to poor service. I believe its due to the poor training as well as the entitled attitudes of the employees. They want to use they’re positions to exert authority over you when there not even old enough to take care of themselves. Flight attendants today create about 90% of the confrontations that occur on flights today. The way I have been spoken to by flight attendants before would get them punched in the face if I wasn’t on the plane where they have a ridiculous amount of misplaced authority. I am a upper class executive platinum flyer that flys a minimum of 3 times a month and I am only seeing the quality of service and attitudes of the employees decline.
Trransactions between airlines and passengers are one-sided. AA is the worst. A ticket is nothing more than an empty promise to take you somewhere some day. All risk is borne by passengers. Massive regulation is needed. Too bad politicians don’t care.
And it’s all controlled by Biden’s boy buttigieg! It’s a failure in all sense of the word. They are in your life at all turns to destroy it! What till they put in the law they are pushing to do away with ALL TRAVEL PERKS LOYALTY PROGRAMS!
Wake Up!
ANOTHER REASON WHY, I will always take a Foreign Airline over United or AA. IF I have a Choice . Took a First Class flight from Hawaii to Vegas in June on HAWAIIAN AIRLINES, the Food was a definite WTF is this S – – t Moment ! Totally LOUSY !
Between my wife and I, we have flown on 7 trips in 2023. 6 of them were domestic and on AA, 1 of them was an international flight to Belize on Alaska Airlines. All but one leg of those trips was in Business/First Class.
We have been satisfied overall with the service that AA has to offer. Some of the AA flights had meal service, others did not. I learned to look carefully at the flight information before booking to determine if meal service would be provided on the flight. That way there were no surprises or disappointments as it related to meals. Even on the flights were no meals were provided, beverage and snack service was provided that included multiple opportunities for beverages including alcohol.
I cannot speak to AA’s advertising practices because I don’t look at or choose flights based upon advertising. My wife and I choose flights based upon where and when we want to travel, the convenience of getting to/from the departure and arrival airports, and of course the cost of airfare and transportation to/from the airport. I think using this criteria for selecting a flight as opposed to paying attention to advertising reduces the frequency of being disappointed.
If AA is falsely advertising that definitely should be stopped! My unsolicited advice to other consumers like myself is to educate yourself about the things I’ve mentioned because it may be a very long time before any meaningful action is taken to stop any [alleged] false advertising, if ever.
Lastly, having a credit card that provides free access to lounges (like our Capital One Venture X card) and strategically booking layovers in those airports takes away much of the inconvenience of traveling, and makes us feel like we are beginning our vacation experience as soon as we Board due to the pampering that is sure to follow (at the very least in the lounges and on the flight the meals become a bonus to us).
As a captive market victim in CLT I can say from experience. Business (there is no 1st) doesn’t get meals on even long haul domestic. I routinely fly CLT to SEA, PDX, LAX, SFO on AA. Have never been served a meal,up front, even on these trans-con routes.
Sitting in first class and I tried to purchase a snack pack from economy because I didn’t like the snacks in first. I was not allowed, even I was going to pay for it. I almost gave my credit card to a random person in economy. I’ve learned my lesson, bring my own snacks.
The demise of PANAM was the end of comfortable flying. All American carriers are substandard and cannot compare to especially, Asian airlines, in comfort service and graciousness.
IMHO, the whittling away of airline amenities is a product of high demand for air travel. If they’re filling the seats, it doesn’t matter if you like your flight, are comfortable or hungry–they’ve done their job simply by getting you to your destination. If they could stand 200 people hanging from straphangers they would. This situation will only get better if the economy changes and the airlines stop filling the seats. They will then be forced to compete for your business.
Airlines should be sued for false advertising and deceptive advertising. It should not be legal to advertise with the intent to decieve
I (a Delta fortress hub hostage) was saying this the other day.
Delta sucks. Where are we going to go? UA? AA? Really
Alaska and JetBlue only work for some markets.
Thus I went free agent some time ago and just choose whichever carrier has the best First class ticket price, schedule and nonstop options.
Tend to fly DL 80% of the time.
I still they’re better than AA or UA, but not leaps and bounds.
I would fly others more but irregular operations means I strongly lean towards whichever airline is hubbed at my origin or has many directs per day.
The nerve of these commenters bootlicking on AA’s behalf is so unbelievable, I’d be shocked to find they aren’t staffers or lifelong AA loyalists too blinded by their pompousness to notice the rug has been pulled over their eyes.
I fly primarily to/within APAC, but I also fly transcontinental/bicoastal consistently and the fact that AA has lulled some of you into Stockholm Syndrome doesn’t make it any less reasonable to assume you’ll get some level of sustenance brought to your pointy-end seat on a “full-service” carrier on a flight long enough to serve it. I implore you to get over yourselves, as not every premium cabin passenger has time to pop into a restaurant or lounge prior to every flight (assuming you qualify for lounge access).
I used to be an executive platinum on American, but their service has gone down so much I Fly Delta exclusively now
I normally fly Asiana Airlines when traveling to/from the U.S. The food and service is very good (even in economy).
So, you can keep your U.S airlines which suck.
Well considering people are not happy with delta atm and people are telling those passengers to fly with someone else. That’s why AA can flip their finger at you. And while AA critics are saying go fly with someone else, we’ll we’re running out of someone else. Airlines know this.
Regarding a complaint on an advertised item ot delivered., in this case meal service. File a complaint with the Commerce Dept, not DOT. You’ll have more luck because that is the type of complaints they work with daily.
Really AA treat customers bad, i had an experience on flight aa1022, on October 1st, it was an airbus a320 with almost 22 years in service, seats were uncomfortable, aircraft looked a reserve, really never flew in one aircraft in so bad shape. I bought a seat and had to fight to have a compensation due my seat, i paid and it was really uncomfortable.
I’ve flow two round trip flights on American in the last two months…a total of four legs. The seats were filthy and the meals were nothing to write home about. Alaska has a better first class product. I’ll go back to flying with them.
TLDR:
Flying commercial sucks. Some suck less, but it still sucks.
@R Flynn Meals are only offered during certain time windows. You have to be flying red-eyes or other flights outside t¹he rather broad meal times.
Alaska is the best, but if not West-coast based or travel mostly West coast, it is not convenient.
As Gary points out, it’s all down to a mismatch between expectations and realities. I am rarely disappointed by travel on a US airline. I expect food, if provided, will be barely fit for human consumption. I expect the seats will be dirty and bring a <1oz pack of travel wipes for this purpose. If I have no choice but a connecting itinerary, I expect I will misconnect, and make sure that I have nothing important planned right after my scheduled arrival time. I usually pay more for bigger seats, expecting I will get… a bigger seat, and nothing else. I had a recent DL flight that arrive two hours late (thunderstorms in ATL), but the food was actually delicious, service was excellent, and the seat was clean, so I was happy: the airline exceeded my expectations.
Sensationalism and negative journalism seems to attract attention and get the internet hits. Good job Gary. You had to dig deep to find that picture of a seatless first class. It’s absurd that this is being implied as the norm. It would be refreshing to see a more balanced conversation coming from one of the foremost experts in the field.
Does this same flight offer meal service most of the time? Some of the time? Does the “flight experience” section of AA website state Meal service is offered?
If so, AA needs to understand that they have set the expectation of a meal. If a client is a diabetic, has hypoglycemia, or is traveling with children, this expectation can impact the customers decisions made by the customer when planning travel. If this is an expectation that cannot be met, they should take pride in themselves and their work and be honest with their customers.
And whomever was talking about unruly passengers….
Please spare us. I have been treated poorly by numerous rude and lazy airline attendants who sport terrible attitudes bc they know they can have you thrown off a plane just because they want to. Whomever mentioned trains as option… I’m with you!
The many problems with American flagged carriers would all be quickly fixed if the US government (owned and operated by corporate America) would sign the open skies treaty which allows foreign flagged carriers to fly people within the US. This would put an end to the collusion between the US carriers which leaves people with no real choice. The foreign carriers treat people the way we used to be.
Don’t get me wrong.. Advertising something, buying it, and receiving something else is, in my opinion, false advertising and a dirty business practice. But to hear so many people complain about their travel experience just reinforces how soft we’ve become. I can afford a first class seat.. But I’m not gonna spend double the fare just to be slightly more comfortable on a 4-6 hour flight! You know how long it took your great great grandparents to get ANYWHERE…. On a freaking buggy!?!? And here you are.. On your iPhone, crying about how someone didn’t feed you or that the seat was uncomfortable. Wamba. Your vacation starts when you land and ends when you go back to the airport to go home. We’re just lucky enough to live in a time where we can be in a metal tube flying at 600mph at 35k feet and get us home safely in hours as opposed to days or months. #quitb_tchin