Tag Archives for catering.
American’s Heathrow catering meltdown forced the airline into bare-minimum meals flown in from the U.S., but the pendulum may be swinging back fast in premium cabins. DO & CO is stepping in on London routes—an upgrade that could leave American’s long-haul meal service meaningfully better than what passengers were getting before the blowup.
American Airlines’ London business class is now serving wine from a box, a detail that would be unthinkable in a premium cabin when everything is running normally. It’s the latest visible symptom of the Heathrow catering breakdown that has forced this airline into bare-minimum service levels.
American Airlines abruptly stopped taking local catering at London Heathrow and began flying in minimal meals from the U.S., leaving premium cabins with a stripped-down service both directions because the galleys can’t hold two flights worth of food. The airline hasn’t explained the reason, but a photo that’s circulating showing mice nested in bread on an American Airlines 777 offers a clue for why Heathrow catering was shut off overnight.
American Airlines has a catering mess in London right now, so it’s loading two flights worth of meals in the U.S. and flying them over—then relying on that stock for the return trip. The result is bare-minimum service, with limited entrée choices and no ice cream up front, because there simply isn’t enough galley space to carry full catering both ways.
According to a source close to the matter but not authorized to speak, a long-term deal was reached. The parties should be announcing it soon.
Major airline caterer Gate Gourmet is scheduled to face a worker strike starting July 30th. I told you we wouldn’t see an American Airlines strike. We aren’t. But unless there’s a last-minute breakthrough in negotiations, this will happen.
Airline caterer Gate Gourmet may face a strike at the end of the month, as the National Mediation Board released union UNITE HERE from negotiations and into a 30-day cooling off period. The caterer says they’ve made an “industry-leading offer” that the union has rejected.
Staff for the Vice President are reportedly “revolting” over “the inferior quality of lunches on Air Force Two, the vice president’s plane.”
President Biden’s staff on Air Force One receive filet mignon, and the service comes on “gold-rimmed plates, accompanied by cold beers.” In contrast, staff for Kamala Harris receive “soggy sandwiches in brown paper bags – and no booze.” Instead, expect “cold pasta salads and water.” One staffer calls it “horrible slop.”
Flight attendants rearrange the beverage carts they’re given in order to serve customers efficiently as they move down the aisle. That’s almost a requirement to provide beverage service. American Airlines is now telling flight attendants that when they do this, they must also restore beverage carts to their original organization prior to the end of the flight.
The airline says that if they do not do this, caterers won’t “salvage and recycle products for future flights.” They want flight attendants, pressed for time and who are supposed to be providing service to customers, organizing things for the benefit of caterers who are on the ground.
The American Airlines caterer at Dallas – Fort Worth, LSG Sky Chefs, is short on ice and blaming supply chain for the problem. Flights are getting notes, instead of ice, in their catering drawers.
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 »
