Tag Archives for inflight meals.
Two premium services updates: American Airlines has no plans to return meal service up front to the way it was before the pandemic, instead working on “meaningful changes.” There are, however, 3 Admirals Clubs that will re-open in the next month.
American Airlines has been testing protein boxes in domestic first class as meals which replace their serving the old coach buy on board options front. The airline tells me that next week this expands to non-premium flights over 2200 miles.
In other words premium transcon flights like New York JFK – Los Angeles and San Francisco continue to get hot meals. What’s new is that non-premium transcon flights, longer than Charlotte – Los Angeles like DC – Los Angeles or Miami Seattle, will get ‘Fresh Bites’ instead of the old coach buy on board wrapped sandwiches.
During American’s “State of the Airline” presentation and question and answer with employees, Managing Director of Flight Service Brady Byrnes explained that they’re working through what’s next for meals and are talking with the flight attendants union “about what is the right timing both from a customer and from a crewmember perspective.”
The purpose of American’s current Charlotte meals test is to “kind of understand when we do reintroduce full service, what products we should be offering, kind of streamlining the service for our flight attendants and really making sure that our customers enjoy it.” The return to service is going to be streamlined.
American Airlines started letting customers pre-select their meals online when they’re flying in premium cabins back in the fall of 2012. Delta didn’t roll out this feature until early 2019 and going into the pandemic United was still in testing.
The airline offered meals pre-ordered between 30 days and 24 hours before a flight, selecting from items that are offered on board anyway. Most meal service on domestic flights was scrapped, though, early in the pandemic.
American is ‘evaluating’ whether these trial meal boxes will be rolled out more broadly. Over the summer employees were told we wouldn’t see a return of first class meals as they used to be, but hopefully this isn’t all there will be for awhile. What do you think?
Last week American Airlines shared with its pilots that they’re testing what they call ‘tapas’ in domestic first class.
This test of new meals is happening on about 40 flights a day departing from Charlotte. It becan January 13 and runs through March 9, 2021. And, a spokesperson for American shares with me that there are two versions of this new meal, a “fresh new protein box and vegetarian box meal concepts.” Here’s what the ‘protein box’ looks like
Japan Airlines has a new cost-saving measure they’re testing on Bangkok – Tokyo Haneda overnight flights (JL flight 34): letting customers choose in advance to skip meal service in exchange for an amenity kit.
A man posted a video to TikTok where he cooks a steak in a Delta lavatory. He puts a Sterno can in the toilet, lights it, and places an aluminum grilling sheet over the seat. Then he puts the raw steak on the sheet and pours white wine over it to marinate (perhaps it’s an old steak he’s trying to hide the spoiling flavor on, a good piece of meat should never require this!). He plates it and returns to his seat. There’s no question he should be banned from the airline, and probably charged with a crime if this really happened as-shown, for lighting a fire in the lavatory.
Let’s take a look at American’s current lunch and dinner sandwich, enjoyed this past week on a flight from Dallas Fort-Worth to Washington Dulles. The standard offering appears to be a ‘low protein’ meal.
American Airlines still sells first class, and doesn’t discount it based on providing less service. This represents a current first class meal. The man who took this photo fo the current first class meal says “[g]lad I ate before my flight!”
Etihad will eliminate first class chefs and business class food and beverage managers. It’s expected that the former may be laid off “by the end of October” while the latter face elimination “by the end of this year.”
Etihad’s first class chefs are flight attendants with restaurant cooking experience. Food and beverage managers are specially trained.
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 »
