Two Hour Meal Window Is Back

[MAH4546]

Well that failed miserably.
 
Starting May 1st, AA will once again have the domestic industry's most generous meal window. Flights of at least two hours will have meals in First Class (with the exception of select PMUS RJ flights which don't have catering equipment). Between 2h and 2h29m, the meal will be a light, such as a a wrap with pita chips or a charcuterie plate; not very different from the light "snacks" AA previously served on short flights.  
Also redeyes get their light meals back along with a "breakfast box" served before landing; why on earth AA thought it was okay to not serve meals on redeye transcons that could be as long as 6 hours (sans the JFK/MIA ones) is beyond me. 
 
Previously eliminated elements - like table linens and ramekins for sauces are also being reintroduced effective immediately. 

 

[FWAAA]

Parker/Kirby/Kerr/Adler are even more addled than the most dimwitted posters on this website.

Rather than try to build on the momentum of the unit revenue gains that AA achieved at UA's expense in 2012-14, this brilliant dream team chose to save a buck or two by cutting meals last September. Unfreakingbelievably shortsighted. And now, as predicted, an admission from management that two-bit cuts to what's been working for decades (AA's superior onboard service) wasn't the proper course to chart. Idiots.

 

[Black Magic]

I'm not surprised. It was only a short while ago that this same team thought it would be novel to be the only airline that tried to charge for water or soda on flights.  It didn't last either.  Once again DUI knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

 

[jimntx]

Even though it's more work for me, I'm very happy that this change is happening.  Though the snack basket was a distinct improvement over the "gourmet" snack mix--90% pretzels--that we offered before on shorter legs, dropping the tray service completely on everything less than 3 hours was a mistake.  And, that truly ugly brown plaid paper tray liner did NOT say world-class airline in any language.

 

[IORFA]

Poor "old" Hector has no clue what he is doing! I think he dumped lavs at Pan Am, because nothing he started doing here was first class anything. Hector ignores all my suggestions now. The decision to move the evening meal cutoff to 8pm is still a mistake. If for noting else, the mid-cons AND transcons should at least get a snack. A real snack. Not the basket crap. They are now going from the crappy "lite bites" basket to just cookies on ORD/DFW west coast departures after 8pm. Problem is that a lot of people haven't had a chance to eat before they get to ORD/DFW. At least they added back the nuts awhile ago.

 

[jimntx]

I agree.  Any flight near/over 3 hours should have something on a tray for F/C.  Period.  End of discussion  Even if it is only a salad with some chicken or other meat in it and a sweet.  (Bring back baked on board cookies?  They were very popular with passengers.)

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

They were also very popular with my mouth and my belly.

 

[WorldTraveler]

The likelihood that someone in first class on a US domestic flight hasn't had the opportunity to eat before 8 pm and is simply waiting for an airline first class meal is a stretch whether they are starting their journey at ORD or DFW or making a connection.

If someone hasn't eaten before 8 pm, they likely aren't motivated by hunger but rather lifestyle - eating just because food is available. There is so much food in the US and so many opportunities to buy it that it is highly doubtful that AA needs to be the source of meals for those who don't bother to eat until after 8 pm. And if the food isn't there and no other airline decides they need to be serving full meals outside of normal meal times for the American culture, then AA loses nothing.

Catering is a competitive tool. Parker is right to believe that it isn't necessarily to offer something that other carriers can't or don't match.

A higher quality product during meal hours is a worthy goal... expecting AA's galleys to be serving meals at all hours of the day or night is not realistic.

An 8 pm cutoff of meal service is more than reasonable. A light snack after that point is perfectly appropriate.

 

[eolesen]

It probably didn't help things that UA expanded its meal offering a week after AA reduced theirs, and no, it wasn't in response. While I was still doing consulting, we were meeting with the UA marketing guys, and they gave us a sneak peek of what was coming right before the AA announcement hit the wires.

I'm on the fence regarding whether or not the redeye meals were necessary, but I do like the move. You'll never see 100% uptake, but I know that some travelers appreciate it.

Most days I'd arrive at the airport last-minute after a full day in the offices or at the jobsite, knowing that there would be nothing open at the other end except for hotel room service or a drive-thru. Sometimes there was time to grab a stale wrap or sandwich in the terminal, but not always.

 

[WorldTraveler]

and if you knew there was no meal, you would have stopped or made due without.

No business has a responsibility to continue to offer services above and beyond their norms because its customers don't plan.

and there are plenty of 24 hour food options available throughout the US.

 

[USFlyer]

An 8 pm cutoff of meal service is more than reasonable. A light snack after that point is perfectly appropriate.

 
So now you're weighing in on how we should live our lives?  That's rich.
 
I eat dinner between 9 and 10 p.m. every day.  As do many other 30-somethings I know with busy jobs and lives.

 

[MAH4546]

I eat dinner at 9pm daily, and while that isn't the norm in most cities in the U.S., it is in AA's Miami hub, and many places in Latin America and Europe.

 

[WorldTraveler]

and I specifically noted that in transcon markets - of which MIA would qualify - a broader meal offering on every flight IS appropriate.

I did not ever understand that Europe and Latin America catering was part of these changes regarding the meal windows. are they?

in the context of flights from DFW and ORD, the norm for the American population is not to dine after 8 pm.


There was a time when AA offered a whole lot more service to a lot broader passenger base than they do now; to somehow jump on FC catering like it forebodes the end of the world is a little over the top.

let's face it, though, between customers who expect companies to provide everything and FAs who want to eat, AA isn't going to ever get a commendation for cutting service even if that is not only competitive but is also cost effectively appropriate.

and I find it more than ironic that some of the same people who attack me for criticizing AA do the same when I say they have made the right decision.

 

[Dog Wonder]

http://www.theonion.com/articles/conversational-lamprey-slowly-draining-life-from-d,38366/

 

[eolesen]

I eat dinner at 9pm daily, and while that isn't the norm in most cities in the U.S., it is in AA's Miami hub, and many places in Latin America and Europe.

Yep, but in DFW, ORD, and anywhere else in the flyover states, they pretty much roll up the sidewalks at 9pm.

I was on a business trip to ATL earlier this year, and couldn't find a single restaurant still open in the airport when I landed at 9pm. By the time I got to the hotel across from DL's HDQ, the only 24 hour options were Waffle House or Dominos (delivered). The drive thru at McDonalds was open, but doesn't take walk-up orders after the lobby closed at 10pm.