While U.S. airlines aren’t offering meals on domestic flights, and offering a shell of what they used to serve internationally, Air Canada is both bringing back celebrity chef meals in business class and adding chef-curated meals to economy and premium economy.

Air Canada announced today a new partnership with prestigious Montreal-based Chef Jérôme Ferrer, who will design meals for the airline’s Premium Economy and Economy Class customers on all flights departing Canada for Europe and Asia, as well as Australia and South America once these flights resume. Chef Ferrer will join celebrated Canadian Chefs David Hawksworth, Antonio Park and Vikram Vij, whose meals will be offered once more on Air Canada flights beginning later this month as the airline begins to restore its award-winning onboard service program.

North American business class flights even will see celebrity chef meals, and economy and premium economy will get the branded treatment on international flights departing Canada. They’re also re-introducing “[l]imited inflight food options in Economy Class onboard North American flights greater than two hours..on a pre-order basis.” Meals will be presented “in a custom paper box” following Covid-19 protocols. This is the new economy and premium economy chef:

This is significant because it underscores how airlines are differentiating their approaches to the pandemic. Offering a better experience is a key strategy to winning business away from other airlines.

For U.S. consumers who do not live in an international gateway city, a connection is required. And as Air Canada brings U.S. flights back online, this matters because they’ve historically been the foreign carrier serving the most U.S. destinations – making the one-stop required for an international trip just as easy via Canada as via many U.S. cities. Air Canada is a direct competitor of U.S. airlines for U.S. passenger international trips.

Contra Air Canada’s claim that they “are the first North American airline to partner with a celebrated chef to curate complimentary meals in Economy Class” in the late 90s United had a celebrity chef partnership with Sheila Lukins for meals in the back of the plane.

United Airlines Coach Meal Recipes Were Given Away Onboard In a Cookbook, 1997

While meals in coach were long the stuff of late night comic monologues, United’s Sheila Lukins dishes included Heartland Sunday Braised Beef; Zesty Herb Lasagna; Minty Tortellini Alfredo With Ham; and Orange Grove Chicken.

I’ve argued that you should not expect the travel experience to be the same any time soon as airlines cut cut cut their way to fiscal stability, and prioritize paying down debt and eventually buying back stock before making new capital investments. It’s good to see one small indication that this may not be universal.