Tag Archives for buy-on-board.
Passengers are roasting American Airlines’ $11 cheese plate after photos showed just how little you get for the price. One flyer summed it up perfectly: “It tastes like a bad financial decision.” And the close-up of the single $3 grape makes the case better than any review ever could.
American Airlines quietly made a smart move, dropping its awful $16 steak sandwich from coach buy-on-board and replacing it with a new Southwest-style turkey wrap. It’s served with a street-corn salad and churro bar—and against all odds, it’s actually decent.
I shared a galley photo of the $16 steak sandwich which is more of a roast beef. And I finally had the chance to try it this week.
The airline announced today the addition to Socorro Tequila onboard starting June 1, and new snack baskets starting June 11 (in addition to a separate midday basket in addition to the morning and afternoon baskets).
But what I’m most interested in is the June 1 expansion of buy on board items.
The current guidance is that food for sale is only available on “select flights” that are “over 1,300 miles” and not to expect there to be anything left by the time a flight attendant reaches your aisle because “limited quantities are available.” All they even sell is a fruit and cheese plate ($11), roasted almonds ($8) and cool ranch doritos ($5). That’s going to change.
The thing that struck me most about the cheese plate – aside from how sad it was – is that is consists of big chunks of cheese, crackers, grapes and a chocolate. But there is no plastic knife to slice the cheese. So you’re stuck taking big bites out of these cheese chunks. It is… awkward.
I don’t want to drink the swill that many airlines serve on board, and would love an option to pay for something nicer. I’m not sure it would work, though, as a business proposition because of the cost to source a niche product, taking up scarce galley space, when the market for this might be limited.
Airlines might also worry that a paid upcharge in a premium cabin might cheapen the experience. On the other hand they don’t seem to worry that serving cheap wines cheapens the experience! So perhaps they should give it a go as a test to improve the product while generating incremental revenue as well?
Some Flyertalkers are reporting that United’s buy-on-board snack boxes are frequently expired. Bought a minimeal yesterday DEN-BWI and noticed the salami (or whatever it is) was dated use by 1/4 – 4 days past due. I ate it anyway Its 24 hours later and so far so good So I looked on the box itself and faintly impressed on the bottom is a date which said 12/16! …which I presume is the packing date… Im not one to complain so I didn’t but you may want to check those dates before you pop it open. Surprising for coming out of a hub… they must have quite a backlog of those meals! A flight attendant suggests exchanging expired meat for fresh meat: We’ve had quite a few snackboxes with outdated items lately. We are happy to…
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 »
