News and notes from around the interweb:
- The old joke about airline food use to be “it’s inedible, and the portions are too small!”
We talk a lot about business and first class meals here, but do you remember when United Airlines had a chef collaboration for economy class meals and even promoted the cookbook for it? They were marketing that the deals of food in economy mattered. That was then. Now this:
@united 9 out of 11 people around me threw away all 2 of the “veggie sandwiches” you provided. Not only is this an upsetting experience for the guest but causes a lot of food wastage. You knew how bad this meal is, you provided 2 m&m packs …for breakfast?!
— fuMeesh (@_ditz__) October 14, 2023
- Delta introduces a mattress pad attached to a pillow for business class well, it’s something, though they’re clearly behind United (even still) with business class soft product. American’s mattress pad is good, by the way, but on fewer flights.
- Quite a moment.
On my way to #Israel to report on the war.
I got on the @airfrance flight & the entire crew was singing in Hebrew. Caught this tearful moment as people boarded.
The flight attendant Jean Paul hugged people including me. I nearly burst into tears too. #Love still wins. pic.twitter.com/vo6UxPJIEg
— Sara Sidner (@sarasidnerCNN) October 13, 2023
- Qatar Airways signs on for free Starlink inflight internet it’s not just super fast, it has lower latency than competitor options because the satellites are in low earth orbit. It’s not yet clear which aircraft will get it. Other airlines offering Starlink are JSX, airBaltic, Hawaiian Airlines, and ZIPAIR.
- Hertz changed their expiration rules down to 12 months of inactivity without telling one and they’re scrubbing their website to hide it
Logged on today to @Hertz only to see they have removed my points despite this being the last communication that they expire January 2024 @LoyaltyLobby pic.twitter.com/mbF6j2t6K6
— Jerry Lucas (@GoHerd23) October 12, 2023
- Moving a Masterpiece to La Guardia Is a High-Wire Act (NYT) “A five-ton aerial sculpture created by Richard Lippold for Lincoln Center, where it hung for decades, has been reinstalled at an airport.”
- American taking Alaska Airlines Airbus narrowbodies has been four years in the making
This applies for N950XV, N951XV, N952XV, N953XV, N954XV, N955XV, N956XV, N957XV, N958XV, N959XV
In other words, the 10 Alaska 321Neos that are now coming to AA.
You know, like I said 6 months ago .
First one up is N923VA which will become N952XV.
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) October 14, 2023
Airline food is just one of those things I don’t understand. With all the resources they have why can’t they come up with something better? I understand the logistics and such but seems to me if they would quit trying to church up the food to try and be fancy they could do simple tasty food. I flew D1 round trip ATL-HND in august and on the return trip preordered the sea bass. It came out so hot I could feel the heat on my face. By the time it cooled enough to eat it was a a blob of fish flavored jelly. Man what I would have given for a simple pasta dish or even a sandwich. Booked the flight again yesterday for over the Christmas holidays and I’m tempted this time to just pack my own food. At over 14 hours I’ve got to eat something.
I think the easy answer is don’t be a vegetarian? Not good for you anyways. United was just trying to give you a hint.
I would even hesitate to call it a “veggie” sandwich. Potbelly wins!
Vegetarianism has significant benefits for personal health as well as for the environment and sustainability. Please do not be misinformed.
I flew American Airlines Bogota -Miami the other day. and the flight was delayed. The time we waited on the tarmac to the time we arrived in Miami was about 6 and 1/2 hours (normally around 4 hours). We were only offered a small packet of pretzels and a packet of cookies along with a drink. What cheapskates!.
@HVC is right! Much better to eat vegetarian than eat pieces of animal. This from a former carnivore. Never felt better physically and mentally.
The wastage part is correct but terming it food is questionable. Due to eating good meals on Asian airlines makes me think that what is served on USA airlines is the big middle finger to the flying customers.
OK, I fly coach because I cannot afford premium cabin tix (Senior on a VERY “fixed budget”). But I always make sure I get on the plane with a good selection of my favorite snacks, and/or a nice sandwich, etc., whether prepared at home or purchased on the concourse. After reading lots of these posts with “food horror stories,” I believe I am eating better inflight than most premium cabin passengers who are paying 3-4x times what I am for a ticket.
We had lunch on one leg of a United flight recently. Breakfast on another leg. Both “Domestic First Class”. Both were very acceptable. I had “Ropa Vieja Enchiladas” for lunch, “French Toast Souffle” for breakfast. My only complaint about the breakfast item was that it was very sweet. Otherwise, the fresh fruit, croissant, etc. were good. The lunch was very tasty, as good as from a decent casual restaurant.
These were far better than flights just a year ago.
United has failed miserably in the meal space, to the point of complete embarrassment.
If their goal is to offend the premium paying passenger into leaving Mileage Plus, then this all makes sense.
We fly international business class about 80% of the time. On domestic airlines, the meals are rarely worth eating. Same for British Air, but they seem to be improving. The photo in this article reminds me of the “everything bagel” that American once served in First. It was not a bagel (dough obviously wasn’t boiled, and no hole) and it had some mystery spread on it that was ghastly. However, many other international airlines have great food, so it can be done. Even if an airline is cutting corners, ingredients like salad, fresh fruit, pasta, and rice are all inexpensive. Even Jetstar (Qantas’s budget clone) offers a nice ham and cheese sandwich (with real ham and real cheese) in economy.
When I traveled for work, I just put up with whatever the airlines served. Now that I have retired, my wife packs us back-up meals, just in case the airline food isn’t palatable. It’s hard to beat her lox & cream cheese with tomatoes and onions on a real bagel. Another treat, roast beef with blue cheese on rye, or home made peanut butter (just ground peanuts) with chopped fresh strawberries on rye.
@EnviroBK, it sounds like even with palatable food on flights, what you wife makes is better.
Anyone that orders fish on an airplane probably also eats gas station sushi. Smh.