I still remember my first meal in first class, nearly 30 years ago. It was such an experience!
I graduated college in 1996 and earned elite status with United Airlines for the first time in 1997. The very first time I was upgraded was on a Los Angeles – Washington Dulles flight and lunch was served in courses. I had an almond dusted shrimp appetizer followed by a steak for my entree and then dessert. I enjoyed a couple of cocktails and the Sunday New York Times in an old recliner-style business class seat on a Boeing 777. I could get used to this, I thought!
Come spring 2001 United was making cutbacks in their inflight catering spend and I remember the controversy among frequent flyers over their ‘gourmet’ cheeseburger being served at lunch. It was a good and substantive burger, not like what customers think of as an onboard burger today.
Prior to the US Airways merger here was an American Airlines dinner served onboard the 919 mile Washington National – Miami flight.
That was before meal service on American was US Airways-ed in September 2014. Things got so bad the airline started investing a little more in its meals less than a year later. I stopped eating inflight.
After several cuts to meal service, in 2018 United Airlines tried to eliminate meals altogether on flights under 4 hours outside of dinner hours. They rolled that back after just two weeks.
- Airlines want to spend less on food
- But what if they’re missing a real revenue opportunity?
About fourteen years ago American introduced the ability to pre-order meals in first class. You’re just pre-selecting what they’d otherwise have onboard and assuring you get your meal choice. Then they added the ability to choose ‘special meals’ and back then those were higher quality than the rest of American’s domestic meal service. I recommended the Muslim meal, before they removed protein from them. (These meals were worth it even if ordering one meant the government would think you’re a terrorist.)
Airlines are scrounging for revenue. There’s only so far they can push checked bag fees. Why not look for opportunities to earn more money in ways that also add more value?
Airlines should offer paid buy on board in first class. Let you pre-order a premium meal for extra money. That way airlines can make more money off of customers who may be best-positioned to pay, a better strategy perhaps than higher checked bag fees for infrequent leisure flyers traveling in coach.
I’d happily spend for a meal that was actually good on a 3 hour flight. The only worry is that airlines would cut ‘included’ meals even further. And that’s certainly possible, but doesn’t have to be the case and really how much worse could they get? American Airlines has served $1 shelf-stable pasta in first class.
I’d rather have a good meal that cost me something than what’s served today without extra cost. Delta already has ‘basic first class’ with no advance seat assignments. How about make it all basic first class, a la carte, but make the meals good enough to pay for?
And U.S. airport caterers are clearly capable of pulling off good food. The food served on many Asian airlines, and on some European ones, can be quite delicious – even when the flights are departing the U.S.
ANA Ramen
Singapore Airlines Lobster Thermidor
Etihad salmon biryani
Singapore Airlines Dim Sum
This is logistically possible. In 2012, Austrian Airlines introduced paid pre-order meals in coach from caterer DO & CO at the 15 euro price point.
Czech Airlines offers paid meals even in economy which myriad choices as well as paid premium wines, such as Moët and Chandon Imperial Brut Rosé champagne. airBaltic has a good looking paid premium meal selection program as well.
It should be:
- easier to do this in first class with fewer passengers to manage
- possible to invest more in food at a lower price since customers would opt for this instead of a first class meal — the airline generates revenue and saves cost at the same time.
Raising more money for airlines by delivering a better product to customers is a better and more sustainable business model in a competitive industry than trying to charge more for the same or lesser product.
Do you agree – should airlines make this change? Would you buy a premium meal in domestic first class?
Maybe Americans should stop eating constantly? Maybe airlines could sell Zepbound duty free on international flights…
Airline catering kitchens in the US generally suck, even when foreign airlines are paying. There’s a clear quality difference in food catered in Paris vs the US on AF, for example.
Add in US airlines being cheap, and you get food in first that’s worse than what economy was 30 years ago.
Who really pays extra $$$ to sit in first class of B737 or A320? It is not worth at all.
Polaris risotto recipe as told by a flight attendant: a box of instant rice, add extra salt, pour water over and bake, sprinkle with Kraft cheese. Voila. Gate Gourmet secret recipe.
More cities need to have restaurant districts near airports so one can eat before going to or after leaving.
@ T — 16 or 20 people per flight, depending on seating confirguration.
Steak or fish? “Yes, yes. I remember. I had lasagna.”
Gary: What you are proposoing is an extra work for flight attendants and I am sure they do not want that at all!
Great food and service died with the original Pan Am. Their food & service overall was superb even in economy with Piper-Heidsieck yellow label champagne. First Class was surreal, Clipper Class was excellent.
There is no true service oriented USA based airline any longer. Cabin crew are no longer trained in the United States to TWA or Pan Am standards. Absolutely ANYBODY can be a flight attendant. Just look at American Airlines. Your only good chance of a nice flight with them is getting a senior crew that was trained under Bob Crandall’s standards. Or United out of San Francisco with their base of many former Pan Am folks.
To me airline luxury is a bag of pretzels, a bag of peanuts, a bag of raisins and a full can of diet soda:). On overseas routes just multiply by 3.
Kuloko took the words from me.
US flight attendants would revolt. 8 different custom meals to prepare!!! I can hear it now: “We’re here for their safety, were not paid to be servers !!”
“And that’s certainly possible, but doesn’t have to be the case…”
Seriously, you think they won’t just do it regardless of whether it “[has] to be the case” in the name of a few bucks? Hell, I could see Delta including meals in “regular” F/D1 but cutting them from any Basic Business/Basic First fares.
To be clear, some part of why I started just buying F up front was because I didn’t feel like playing stupid games over what was or wasn’t included. I don’t want to see this segmentation crap go even further.
[And to be clear, the meals I’ve had on AA, DL, and AS have all been quite serviceable. Some have even been – dare I say it? – quite delicious!]
I think passengers don’t mind paying more when purchasing the ticket to feel like they’re buying something that makes them better than everyone else. See Polaris Studio. I don’t think they’d feel the same about buying up for “better” (slightly less mediocre) food. I think it would be perceived as taking away a perk that used to be free and replacing it with a cash grab.
For what’s it’s worth, every meal (except one) I’ve had on Alaska in F and Y in the last few years has been between fine and great. Avoid the lemongrass pork sandwich.
With Delta’s basic business, it seems that whether to pay for food will become a choice on flights booked in that class.
How about better meals in F if you actually paid for F.
“Free” upgrades to F get lower quality meals with the option for a paid (meal) upgrade
@Kuloko, @SN — Do you two bozos actually think crews are making your in-flight meals from scratch?
No, in nearly all cases, crews warm, plate, and serve pre-made food, actually prepared by a network of global service providers, like gategroup, dnata, LSG Sky Chefs, etc.
Even airlines, like Turkish Airlines, which say they have on-board “chefs” (wearing cute hats!) on long-haul flights, these “chefs” are still licensed flight attendants.
The only airline with non-licensed “Cabin Services Assistants” is Emirates’ performing the duties of shower attendants on their a380.
Maybe, stop denigrating the people who literally serve you. Or, if you must, please tell them how you feel about them, preferably before meals. Yum!
I would rather go with much better cold dish options than the warmed over chicken breast. Some of the options are ok and others are pretty bad.
Sorry, @George Nathan Romey, best we can do for you is a Wawa sandwich. Thank you for being a Concierge Key!
It would kill their NPS score and be akin to charging for water in the minds of consumers.
I have to imagine that when people think of first class, they think of edible food – that expectation is unmet (of course), but it’s not about the reality of the situation, but the perception.
The question becomes – would it be a revenue driver or a revenue killer (akin to Southwest claiming to lose money if they started charging for bags a few years ago)?
Obviously, Southwest is an all economy airline. First class has a different aura, so the nickel-and-diming for a supposedly premium product is what is important. I think the smart play would be to both test in a few markets and monitor how Delta’s basic business class does (across a variety of metrics, not just whether or not Delta claims to be making more money).
Gary I’m sure your titles get the desired clicks – but there’s no need to paint with such a broad brush. Of course American’s food is going to suck, that’s what AA is going through right now. Last week on Delta, MSP – Spokane WA, I had a shockingly big piece of salmon that was perfectly cooked and presented. They email me ahead of time to ask what I want to order. Plus you compare catering on a 2.5-hour domestic flight with luxury long-haul catering for a ticket that cost thousands more? There is another way to approach the topic.
Gary, maybe if you weren’t so obsessed with having lavish meals on flights, you would lose a little weight!
@ kuloko
While many Americans bitch and moan about EU “biz class” seats, wife and I have no problem with flights under 2 1/2 hours on LH. Breakfast and lunch have choices. And dinner is even better. With pre-order we have a choice of five entres! No extra cost, Gary. And it comes with a side of EU 261 as well.
@1990 At Xmas, one of the choices is roast goose. I’ll see you a Wawa, and raise you one goose.
Does every recommendation you make always include more money for the airlines?
I remember in the late 90’s and prior to 9/11 American had a great pre-order menu that was available in both cabins, I frequently enjoyed the cold seafood platter in COACH ! between Tampa and Dallas ( Imagine !!) Pan Am had an amazing pre-order menu and Alaska has in both cabins probably the best meals aloft in North America..
Or, if you pay a charge to select your F/J seat, you should have access to pre-order menu choices of exceptional quality unavailable to those who get seats at check in.
I don’t like your premise that we should pay more for a better meal in First Class because we have already paid more. When I go International I avoid US carriers because their service and food is so bad compared to other international carriers. This is especially true for Asian carriers.
How many frequent travellers are really interested in eating on domestic flights these days? In the “old days,” there were some nuts and cheese packets in the airport lounges. Now there are full spreads. Some are better than others, but all are better than domestic first class meals. The vast majority of my domestic flights involve airports with nice lounges. I guess this is good because I fly less in first class these days because free upgrades are scarce and — with access to emergency exit and other less-crowded extra legroom seats — I’m good, and not interested in paying for domestic FC.
I thought I read here that AA was going premium in a big way. Now we’re bitching about inedible meals in F? I do know that my last couple of AA flights the food was disgusting on one flight and pretty good on another. Depends where catering was done, I guess. Nothing was premium in any way however.
No, Gary. Domestic carriers, as they rush headlong into “premium” hard products, should also look at the actual in flight experience. Most flyers will tell you that friendly, thoughtful FA’s, a good meal, and full beverages are really helps what creates a nice flight. Asian and EU carriers do it easily. And it is completely doable in the US — the carriers just have to make it so.
So no, we don’t need to pay more for food in premium cabins. Why not hold the carriers to the higher standards that others achieve, just like they hold us to higher ticket prices and mileage redemptions?
I think Gary has a good idea here, but targeted at the wrong class. F is tremendously expensive compared to the minor benefits above Y (on US airlines) and a quality meal should be an absolute expectation when flying in F. However I do think this would be a good option to have in Y.
@AlanZ — Ah yes, at LH, ‘what’s good for the (roast) goose is good for the gander…’