The American Airlines $11 Cheese Plate ‘Tastes Like A Bad Financial Decision’ — And The $3 Grape Proves It

Passengers are calling the American Airlines $11 cheese plate a “bad financial decision” after photos showed just three grapes and two tiny cheese triangles. The “$3 grape” explains the outrage.

American Airlines has offered less food in coach on domestic flights than Delta or United. And what they’ve offered has been overpriced and not very good. They’re getting better, though!

• They went from offering nothing for sale in coach on flights 1,300 miles or less to offering food for sale when the flight exceeds 1,100 miles. That’s an improvement, even if I still can’t get anything on Austin – Charlotte, Phoenix or Chicago.

• They’ve diversified the food offerings. Their first stab at new food was quite bad, but their more recent efforts have improved. It’s not as good as what Alaska and United do in back, but it’s better!

Executive Platinum and ConciergeKey passengers receive a free food for sale item when seaed in coach. Everyone else pays, and the pricing is absurd for what you get. As one passenger put it taking to Twitter to show what an $11 cheese plate is like, “It tastes like a bad financial decision.”

Hey @americanair !!
I wanted to buy a cheese tray, not an airplane.
Respectfully,
A peasant in Coach pic.twitter.com/7IPWuUmgMB

— John Lovell | the Warrior Poet (@johnlovell275) November 12, 2025

“So you’re telling me you paid $11 for the cheese tray.

“Yes Dave.”

“And on this cheese tray you got three grapes and two triangles of cheese.”

“That’s right Dave.” pic.twitter.com/htKZfhBZJO

— Ryan G. Frederick (@ryanfred) November 12, 2025

Here’s the American Airlines cheese plate. The cheese is not very good. It’s what I’d expect shrink wrapped from a 7-11. Still, many Executive Platinum customers get excited for it since it’s free to them. And that’s their complimentary upgrade most days. You should not pay $11 for it, though.

Fortunately, at least American has replaced the horrible $16 steak sandwich with a Southwest turkey wrap that’s actually not bad. Of course, it’s $13 and for that price they only give you half the wrap.

The first airline to do buy on board was America West. Their management took over US Airways and then American Airlines, so American has a legacy here that should be able to do this right. Food for sale was cheaper than providing coach meals to everyone – you board less food, since not everyone buys it, and there’s a revenue component.

Still, space on a plane comes at a premium and airline catering is more expensive due to security, transportation and storage reasons than comparable food off of an aircraft.

Nonetheless, Alaska (especially) and United seem to do a decent job here. And though discussions around premium usually center on premium cabins, most passengers fly coach. There isn’t as much margin to play with in economy, but attention to detail and thoughtful investment goes a long way towards making the experience feel more personal and human.

Decent buy on board options would make American’s coach product much more attractive. You don’t always have time to stop in the terminal for food when running between flights. Having food on offer helps make you feel taken care of. The flight no longer has the sense of a post-apocalyptic society where shortages prevail, into one where there’s abundance – even if you don’t buy, you don’t have to worry about getting hungry and having nowhere to turn.