American Airlines has been working to bring back real meals to domestic first class and they’ve started to get the supply chain for this working by introducing trays back to first class – though just putting current boxed meals on the trays.
The airline has has said that we’ll see hot meals on trays “gradually return” over “the next several months” and also that regional carriers are going to offer real food on flights over 900 miles, similar to when mainline flights receive meals.
Aviation watchdog JonNYC tweeted out a photo from an internal American Airlines meal display of dishes under consideration. I first saw the photo on LinkedIn and then in my Facebook feed. These appear to be cold items:
Not 100% sure this is recent/relevant (I *assume* so, seeking to confirm,) but, FWIW: pic.twitter.com/FxIXPKK0TO
— ˜”*° JonNYC °*”˜ (@xJonNYC) August 19, 2021
Jon offers some additional detail:
..current pesto spinach mozzarella sandwich.
Another is the current salmon/egg protein breakfast.
I see the chia oatmeal with ginger peaches topping
And then of course the typical mixed nuts offering and glassware return and ice cream coming back"— ˜”*° JonNYC °*”˜ (@xJonNYC) August 20, 2021
I asked American about the photo and they confirm,
[New i]nternational [meals] should be finalized but domestic is still being worked on…
We did receive great feedback from team members, but we still have a few more steps to go. Lots of feedback needed on items so nothing finalized to share quite yet.
American has done more to feed passengers during the pandemic than most carriers including (and especially) Delta. And they’ve retained full beverage service up front, even if predeparture beverages aren’t officially part of the service at this time. So it’s good to see progress on this front.
@ Gary — Just flew MIA-GRU and GRU-JFK in J last week. The dinner food was gross on both flights.
Flew transatlantic economy twice and the food was GrEaT!
Disgusting sandwich in First Class
I asked the very nice flight attendant what it was and she replied sandwich
Then I said what is on it she replied I think it’s turkey then she replied it’s protein that’s what’s written on the wrapper
I then asked a passenger what it tasted like and he said it’s a cross between roast beef and salami!! WTF just call it what it is Mystery Meat an unidentified flying object
The UFO of sandwiches
No way I’d put that nasty thing near my mouth let their crud ceo the worst airline ceo in history eat that rubbish if he wants to
I will be flying much less going forward mostly due to their sloppy operations.& communication /customer service /understaffing in airports
21 years ago American had excellent food in First & Business it’s now Spirit with bad snacks and a disgrace to premium cabins
Worse my flight was on an old US airways jet no power to recharge
The thing made so much noise I questioned it’s air worthiness and we roasted in Dallas with no AC on board in 100 degree heat made only worse in masks gasping to breathe
I’m pretty sure that most Delta passengers – regardless of class – are far more interested in getting to their destination on time than any other factor.
Given that Delta’s on-time in the latest DOT report (for the month of June) was 86% with 0.1% system cancellations while American’s was 75% with 3.3% cancellations, most people recognize that basic service starts with reliability.
And when AA had the highest delayed baggage rate and more civil rights complaints than any other airline except Southwest (both at historically high numbers of complaints), it is pretty clear that service at AA and WN are bottom of the barrel. United did have a worse complaint ratio than American so AA does have that going for it.
@ Tim Dunn — For $485 round-trip and eanring 30,000 AS miles, I’ll take the crappy food and risk of delay every time. Had a nice week in Brazil…
Better food would be much better development for AA. Pre-merger AA had some decent food in F and found it convenient to skip a breakfast or another meal before the flight by knowing that I will be served something more than a shelf-stable sandwich. While the food was not superb, it was still OK and saved me a lot of time.
@Tim Dunn — *REALLY* enjoyed my DL (paid J) flight cancellation! Even more enjoyable was the FIVE (+) hours it took to speak to an agent to tell me I was SOL. By your standards, my flight wasn’t late and DL is still awesome.
Food matters in premium cabins – a good meal saves time before and after the trip
AA Platinum Pro 2M miler here…just flew domestic First on AA and meal service was pathetic…using COVID as excuse…they filled those center seats fast but can’t produce a decent food service for First…we’ve begun buying our First/Biz tix elsewhere
Turkey pastrami sandwich was one of the two offerings in Biz to Guadalajara. Pastrami is NOT made out of turkey so I got the tomato with some cheese spread sandwich. Who dreams up this crap?
The food NEVER looks like the promos staged for the media. Under Parker’s watch AA has become the Worst of the Legacy Carriers and I do not see anything changing until this bumbling Idiot is removed from his position. (And many of the Employees will tell the same since They do not like him either). Operationally,Customer Service and Product wise, Parker’s American Airlines is a real Dud (actually a *hit sandwich). Pathetic
@Gringo Loco
No, I don’t think anyone including Delta is awesome when they cancel a flight.
I do know that statistics clearly show that Delta cancels a whole lot less, operates more flights on -time, and gets bags where they need to be better than their competitors.
Given that Delta cancelled just 12 mainline flights in June while American cancelled 2400, Southwest cancelled 3250, and even Alaska cancelled 247 mainline flights, you are in a rare group.
I also get statistics don’t matter when you are the minority for whom things go bad.
I just flew LAX to LHR in AA First followed by LHR to CDG in BA Business and the meal on the 45 minute flight to Paris was far better that what AA served.
AA is becoming terrible. When you buy a first class/ business class ticket you are looking for excellent service. My last flight AA showed me nothing but terrible service, terrible food and terrible customer service.
There were soft drinks offered.
No meals.
When are they going to serve meals to main cabin or even premium economy on the Hawaii routes again? Delta and United have been for months while AA thinks a bag of pretzels is sufficient for a 6-8 hr flight.
When will AA start serving MEALS in business class international flights? Getting tired of getting a small bottle of water and a cookie.
Exactly @Wanda!! How on earth they will justify an 8-hour flight in economy or premium economy without food I have zero idea. It’s not covid precautions since you are “encouraged” to bring your own food on board. And I am talking from a major AA hub- DFW. So don’t tell me its about ramping the supply chain back up- it is your hub! Get it together! Ugh. Already regretting my switch to AA from United. Not that I like United that much either but I sure as heck can’t fly Delta where I travel for work (if we ever get back to international business travel).
Wish AA would at least be as good as US Airways before the merger. That would be a step in the right direction. Pathetic AA now.