American Airlines launched their Sydney flight with an improved meal service. American executives described it as a test. The flight was expected to be higher yield, justifying the investment which was also necessary as a part of their joint venture with Qantas given the expectations of Qantas customers.
Back in December I asked whether the better meals would be rolled out more broadly, and at the time they didn’t know. It seemed a good guess that it would be a part of the Auckland flight, which is included in the joint venture with Qantas. And that it could be something American would do on high yield ultra long haul flying like Dallas – Hong Kong. I didn’t expect it would spread systemwide.
However that’s exactly what American’s CEO Doug Parker shared at the JP Morgan airline and transportation conference yesterday.