Just when I wrote off upgrades, suggesting that buying them at a discount for $40 was the way, my luck with them seems to have turned around. I’ve cleared on three of my last four segments. We’ll see how the rest of the week goes.
On my trip this week, buy up offers in the American Airlines app and on their website were super expensive. And the prices jumped around! For instance, one segment started out at $442 and dropped to $97, while another went from $247 to around $500 to more than $600.
I assume if American will only sell an upgrade for an additional $600 on a flight that’s less than 1,000 miles they are confident in not giving it away and I’ll keep my exit row aisle.
On an otherwise uneventful flight from Dallas – Fort Worth to Washington’s National airport, the woman in the aisle seat next to me was on her third bloody mary. Shortly before landing a flight attendant came around to collect drinks and other service items. So this passenger held up her finger as if to ask for a moment – and then chugged her vodka and bloody mary mix. The flight attendant visibly cringed and said, “you really didn’t have to do that…”
I drank only water but I did try the chicken parmesan. My upgrade cleared right at 24 hours out, and I wasn’t able to pre-order. But this was an interesting selection and mostly I wanted to taste it.
Now, it’s chicken parmesan with macaroni and cheese, so naturally the side American Airlines selected for it was mozzarella balls.
American Airlines is still offering cardboard box meals on their regional jets, instead of returning to pre-pandemic plated meals. And they frequently overload on salad – my record is three different salads on a single tray domestically. But even massively overcooked, the chicken was tasty!
They just could do with paying more attention to the details of what items pair well with each other in the same meal. That’s their weakness. I see American Airlines ads constantly on social media, “American Airlines checks all the right boxes to get you there,” but sometimes the lack of attention to detail in customer experience reminds me precisely of box checking.
Even if they don’t spend more money, they could put better thought into meal planning. Overall their meals beat Delta (a low bar) but a bit more care here would go a long way.
Not sure what the added edition of the three bloody Mary’s and you only having water…?
American Airlines increased the price for a first-class domestic segment upgrade to over $600 to compensate for the cost of those succulent, tender, juicy, tasty, and salty mozzarella balls.
Upgrade cash offers are all over the map and can change drastically within one day. What it means if you’re looking for a good deal you just have to keep checking, or play the upgrade lottery which increasingly is a losing battle.
Domestic first class meals (other than Flagship business) have declined in quantity and quality since COVID. Some of this was cost cutting and some of this is to appease flight attendants. I don’t see meals being improved.
The people designing the meals must like cheese a lot.
They should have had cheesecake for your dessert.
American’s domestic carering up front is pure trash. Whether I play the pay to upgrade lottery or get upgraded, I bring my own sandwiches or meals with me in my little cooler pouch to sustain myself. If you want bubble guts later on after your flight, then by all means, eat up while you’re sitting in the front.
I’ve had that meal several times and always thought it was pretty decent for domestic airplane food; that said, I perceive it a little differently! I’ve always thought of the pasta as more of a pasta alfredo type dish than a mac and cheese… That makes it a very normal pairing with chicken parm, and makes the antipasto type appetizer a very logical dish as well.
I’d drink 3 bloodies if I had to fly American, too
My balls have cheese on them too.
Until…almost the end, I was waiting for the traditional sentence against Delta!
I had that meal yesterday GEG to DFW but the salad was a green salad plus a corn salad instead of the olives and mozzarella balls you had. The chicken Parmesan and pasta were tasty!
I would actually love that meal!
DO YOU FLY FOR FOOD?
OR TRANSPORTATION?
GO SIT YOUR ASSES IN GROUP 9.
ENJOY!
CRY BABIES.
THE SAME COMPLAINERS.
@John I go to restaurants for food. Should I not complain if they play loud music? I go to the movies for the movie. I can’t complain if the popcorn is stale? Should Gary not note a filthy bathroom because he’s not flying to have access to one? Hope you’re not in customer services….
I just had the beef rib and mac and cheese. It was the best meal I have had lately. The vegetarian meals are always terrible and I have been stuck with those a few times when I get less than 24 hour upgrades. But it’s hard to complain when it’s a free upgrade.
Mozzarella balls are yummy (to me), so I wouldn’t mind, as I luv cheese!!!
I wouldn’t eat the food on any flight, let alone one that is only three hours. Does Gary ever skip a meal?
Shut your greedy asses up. It’s airplan food. It’s not a 5 star restaurant. Try Air France. They are beginning to charge passengers for meals and then complain
I look at it from the prospective of the poor SOB in the back of the plane.
“You smuck, you paid $400 extra for a cheese ball? My bag of Cheetos has more cheese at one hundredth the price!!”
@ Gary — All of the food served by AA is variations of fat doused in salt. It is just presented in different shapes, sizes and colors. It is all gross.
I’m not understanding the problem with having more cheese? Cheese 1) is delicious and 2) isn’t cheap. This shows AA is committing money to their meal product
I fly all three airlines regularly and I find Delta to have the most consistently enjoyable meals. JetBlue mint has excellent options but is almost never an option because they don’t fly anywhere but NY and BOS from my home airport. But how anyone can complain about an airlines food that shares the skies with United is beyond me! Their food is consistently disgusting.
AA procurement accidentally ordered 35,000 pounds of cheese instead of the requested 350 pounds of cheese and it all expires Friday.
When the SVP of Premium Inflight Service, Brady Byrnes, goes on CNBC and says “It doesn’t really matter what you serve” you can’t really be surprised that they serve crappy food.
@Joe Logan – I’m first to criticize here, but someone clipped that out of context.