Detailed Catering Cuts

[IORFA]

Are you referring to Delta Connection flights?  I flew JFK-ORD on Endeavor Air recently and they served a turkey sandwich, chips and Dancing Deer packaged cookie just like I would receive on a mainline DL flight.  On AA, Eagle meals on CRJ-700/Embraer 175 are served cold but there is always an option.  
 
Josh

It is Delta Connection. Compass Airllines. Alaska serves meals. Delta serves bubkas! Except for said crap basket. I still can't understand why they serve coffee in espresso cups. Where is the forum irritant when you need him for actual answers? Ahh, wouldn't matter since I have his annoying a$$ on ignore. Just like everyone else should.

 

[jimntx]

This is going to get very interesting very quickly. As someone who bids/flies #1 (F/C), I see the gamut. Most of the time there is at least one or two FFers who will pass completely on the meal--particularly, if there is a chance of real food at the destination--and others who eat the salad and nibble at the entrée. BUT, just tell them that there is no meal, and the tone of the conversation changes rapidly. I had an Executive Platinum ask me if breakfast was going to be served on an 0800 flight, DFW-STL! It's 1 hour, 15 minutes wheels up to wheels down!

I agree that the dinner hour window should be extended. Last month my line had a couple of late evening DFW-PDX flights which departed DFW at 2115. That is too long a flight for just hot nuts and cookies.

Oh, and E, I can assure you that the concept of doing anything because it would be easier on the flight attendants never crossed their minds. Even though, CLT is a major hub for US Airways, we are still double-catering the AA DFW-CLT flights out of DFW. I think they are saving 10 cents/tray. The official excuse is that they don't have the right kind of catering carts at CLT, and no the idea of putting some AA carts at the CLT caterer was not an option.

And, they will use that "competitive" market argument more than you would imagine. Otherwise, we wouldn't be serving meals on DFW-COS, DFW-DEN, and DFW-ATL. All have flying times of less than 2 hours most days. I'm anxious to see if those routes go to a snack basket.

 

[nycbusdriver]

...and now the doofus CEO is doing the only thing he knows, and that's cutting what works.   Price of everything, value of nothing.   Parker, Kirby, Kerr and the rest run out into the street seeking some loose change while ignoring the dollars on the sidewalk.   
 
We'll see if revenues continue to grow at the rate they've grown since early 2012.  

 
This was the way legacy US did business long before Parker, et al., came along.  Back in the day (like 1980s) legend, or rumor, has it that Colodny was applauded for cutting olives out of the salads, and thus saving USAir something like $1 million a year.  It is also rumored that, if he didn't invent it, Colody was an early proponent of the "spork," which meant they didn't ahve to give the customers both a spoon AND a fork.
 
They (US management in every incarnation) have sprinted past $20 bills in order to save a nickel.  Parker and his minions are simply turning it into an artform.

 

[nycbusdriver]

Heck, USAirways made how much off Vendor sales in CLT?  Save money and make money all in one plan.  Who honestly eats airplane food anyway?

 
Everyone loves to hate airline food.  But take it away and they scream bloody murder.

 

[737823]

And, they will use that "competitive" market argument more than you would imagine. Otherwise, we wouldn't be serving meals on DFW-COS, DFW-DEN, and DFW-ATL. All have flying times of less than 2 hours most days. I'm anxious to see if those routes go to a snack basket.

Based on the list published yes they are all losing meal service. The only DFW exceptions are DTW and SLC.

Josh

 

[kirkpatrick]

>> Everyone loves to hate airline food<<
 
I think people see it as a sign of sophistication to hate the food.  No one wants to admit it can be quite good at times.  For months now I've been working FC and BC galley on the 321T between JFK and LAX/SFO.  Some of the entrees are very tasty.
 
MK

 

[robbedagain]

Chicago  NY  DFW to Chicago will also retain meal Josh

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

In the wintertime, heading eastbound from ORD to LGA on a dinner service with towels, nuts, choice of two hot entrees, and baked cookies for 16 FC pax in 1 hour 30 minutes or less, it is quite a hustle to serve. I manage to grind it out but it is not very pretty. Oh well, no rest for the wicked.

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

Oh yeah, and can't forget to serve the pilots their selection of entrees, too

 

[Crash Pad DCA]

http://airchive.com/blog/2014/08/06/so-long-american-airlines-axes-short-haul-first-class-meals/
 

So Long: American Airlines Axes Short-Haul First Class Meals
...
 
Not all routes will face the downgrade, however. Fifteen city pairs will retain the three-course service up front. The full list of lucky destinations includes:

• Chicago to: Boston, Denver, New York Kennedy & LaGuardia, Raleigh-Durham, Washington Reagan
• Dallas/Fort Worth to: Chicago, Detroit, Salt Lake City
• Fort Lauderdale to: Port Au Prince
• Miami to: Houston Bush, Port Au Prince
• New York Kennedy to: Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa

The change comes on the heels of an April decision to expand full meal service on US Airways flights from 3.5 hours to the current two hours and forty-five minutes.
 
Industry analysts, such as Henry Harteveldt with Atmosphere Research Group, weren’t terribly enthused about the change. “At a time when American is raising its fares and reporting record profits, it’s disappointing to see them gut their customer experience, rather than investing to improve it and make the airline tangibly better than its competition.” The move positions American’s service to more closely resembles the experience with rival United, which is not exactly known to be a bastion of excellent service. Delta, meanwhile, offers meals on flights over 900 miles.
 
...
 
As both exclusivity and reliability appear to erode, customers are left feeling as though they’re paying the same (or more) for less. Indeed, members of the popular frequent flyer forum FlyerTalk zeroed in on that point, with many suggesting that if they’re going to have pay first-class prices for what they perceive to be coach-class service, they might as well just pay the coach-class fare and move on back.
 
But blustery rhetoric and concrete action are two different things. If the past is any guide, the likelihood that long-time high-value customers will bail over nuts and the loss of a meal on a short flight is low. “Maybe there is a tipping point at which a customer will truly alter their purchasing behavior as a result of these small changes. But recent history has yet to identify such a pattern with any airline in any market,” says aviation industry analyst Seth Miller.
 
In short, the vast majority of folks will accept the change and move on. Luis Linares, a lifetime Gold Elite member says “realistically I’ll continue to buy from and fly with them,” admitting that he’d have to “start from scratch” with any other carrier to achieve the status he has now. Stephen Trimble, an AA executive platinum member and Americas Managing Editor at Flightglobal, took a more flippant perspective: “It doesn’t bother me,” he says, “That food isn’t meant to be eaten anyway.”

 

[AC AA LA FA]

I am in favor of the adjustments especially with the fact that any savings driven by departure windows/flying time will be reinvested in quality of the entrée when a meal is important. The biggest gripe amongst my premium customers is regarding the quality or quantity of the entrée. Some of them as of now, are pretty shabby. AA needed an upgrade in presentation and procedure in order to deliver a more consistent product. I welcome the change and am cautiously optimistic our f/a's and pax alike will respond well to the adjustments. It's time to see the 4 frozen shrimp and cocktail sauce retired.....
AFS service JFK-SFO/LAX remains the same- as it should. I have received overwhelming positive feedback on the route regarding the product in it's entirety.

 

[nycbusdriver]

Oh yeah, and can't forget to serve the pilots their selection of entrees, too

 
Nah.  Probably better to have them heavily hypoglycemic for the approach and landing.  Then complain about how rough it was (assuming you survive.)

 

[jimntx]

Absolutely. Particularly this month when for the cockpit we are featuring a choice of severe abdominal gas or the salmonella.

 

[IORFA]

Nah.  Probably better to have them heavily hypoglycemic for the approach and landing.  Then complain about how rough it was (assuming you survive.)

They should bring their own food if they have such dietary needs! That would be the only way to know they were properly taken care of. We manage it well, so should the pilots.

 

[737823]

Looks like AA is using the USAIR china and tray set-up which looks awfully tacky compared to the sophisticated, simple but elegant AA style. Going to be flying later this week and will report back but one of my online pre-orders indicates that AA has moved towards including meat in both hot breakfast items which is unfortunate.

Josh