How To Decide Which Airline Serves The Best Burger

by Gary Leff

News and notes from around the interweb:

  • Be careful of Avis prepaid rates. This is super shady. Surely a glitch but that’s of little comfort to the customer.

  • I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often actually.

  • It’s a bit strange to see The Points Guy declare the best burger in the sky after comparing only Delta and United. They also declare the wonders of the United Polaris lounge burger but the truth is that the American Airlines Flagship burger is better.

    Basic principles: A great burger starts with quality beef. It should have processed cheese that melts well. And it should be inside of a potato bun. Brioche and ciabatta are not well-matched to a burger. Think of the bun as a delivery vehicle for the burger, big enough to contain it but not so large that it overwhelms the contents. Everything you put on the burger needs to fit inside so it doesn’t fall apart when you eat it. You want to balance the flavors inside, getting a combination of everything with each bite.


    American Airlines Flagship Burger New York JFK

  • Bags took 90 minutes. When I flew Alaska my bags in Austin took 11. I’ll never understand how Alaska and Delta can so often meet their bag guarantees while others struggle.

  • Would Joni Mitchell shed a tear?

    The city of Cleveland has agreed to pay more than $12 million to terminate a long-term lease with the operators of the Sheraton Cleveland Airport Hotel, which is likely to be turned into additional parking for the airport.

    The short-term fate of the hotel is unclear, although a woman answering the phone at the hotel Thursday afternoon said it was closing on Tuesday.

  • How a Delta Air Lines Executive Spends His Sundays (NYT) “Ryan Marzullo is overseeing the design and construction of a new multibillion-dollar terminal at La Guardia Airport”

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  2. I’ll just settle for an airline that will not cancel or delay my reservation

  3. Stop eating (beef) burgers. Red meat is very bad for your health. The science of nutrition is murky, but one thing it has established is that red meat is essentially toxic. I have not even touched upon the ethical considerations surrounding red meat and the financial considerations surrounding the dramatic increases in the price of red meat over the past two years.

    If one enjoys protein and bread, may I suggest an air-chilled antibiotic-free chicken breast (skinless) paired with a whole wheat roll and extra virgin olive oil. Accompanied by a kale, romaine, arugula, and cherry tomato salad in an oil and vinegar dressing. Finished with a honeycrisp apple, Greek yogurt, seasonal fruits, and xylitol gum chewed for 20 minutes.

    Fruit, vegetable, and whole grain heavy diets with poultry, instead of red meat, dramatically reduce the risk of many serious health problems.

  5. Gary,
    Hate to burst your bubble but a brioche bun is flavorful and does not taste like air. More to the Point, a good brioche bun soaks up the jui es without getting all mushy.

  6. Given Cleveland politics, why do I suspect that the hotel is unprofitable, but the cancellation of the lease gives them both a quick cash infusion and an escape from further losses. And of course, there will undoubtedly be some of that cash showing up in envelopes, briefcases and brown paper bags.

  7. That Sheraton is a dumpster fire, basically motel rooms.

    Agree with Alan about a brioche bun. With a thicker patty, brioche I find holds up better to the juices.

  8. I started cooking professionally and was in catering from 16 years of age and trained with some fine executive chefs.Started cooking burgers over real charcoal and wood before working in surf and turf restaurants and catering
    First thing is no airline can make a great burger because they mostly suck at catering /cooking and like a french fry its only best consumed right out of the fryer or in the case off the fire grill not reheated and dried out saved only by the grease cheese and condiments keeping it moist.Yes its the quality and the blend or a single high quality ground beef to start
    And never flattening the burger or letting the juice run out while cooking as well as a proper high temperature
    Buns are subjective its not wrong or right to have Brioche vs whole what or White etc.I like them all the main thing is for myself is I do want something soft that doesn’t compete with the beautiful texture of high quality beef.A hard crust distracts from beef texture
    Preferably of Prime aged beef or high quality choice and having 15% or better fat content
    20% is typically the gold standard
    Airlines should stick to Sandwiches unless they have high end chefs and caterers which primarily is left to International carriers who know more frequently how to serve proper hot food
    I’m rarely pleased in domestic first class but it does oddly happen from time to time

  9. I agree that The Points Guy’s burger article was lacking, so was this about burgers on American airlines only? Anyone every had the Cathay Pacific burger in business class? Pretty fantastic!

  11. I can’t say I’ve had a good burger in the air, but am a fan of the BA burger (with a Brewdog Speedbird) in their lounges that have them. Not a fan of the VS Impossible Burger.

  12. None of these burgers are amazing by any stretch of the imagination. That being said I had the Polaris burger recently. It was barely edible. The AA flagship burger was decent. There are far better burgers once you leave the airport. If people think these are great burgers then I really feel sorry for them.

  13. Yin take your vegan garbage elsewhere. I BBQd a tasty tri tip steak from Costco last night. And just now enjoyed another perfectly prepared double double from InNOut. Yum! Cows taste good.

Comments are closed.