Trip Reports - Food in coach. Will somebody ever write about this?

I'm constantly reading about food reports in business and first class.

I don't recall reading about the food in coach.
Doesn't anyone fly coach anymore? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif

I know coach food reports would be boring and uninteresting; but come on, most flyertalkers are sitting in the back. Or are they? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

By the way, United served one of the best steaks ever in Business class last Thursday on a 3 class transcon JFK/LAX. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Dan

Dan I rode in coach once, but can't remember anything about the food. Just as well really. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

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~ Glen ~

HI: I'm one of those people who, for the most part, rides in coach. Only a few first class trips that were gifts from gate agents except for the one I'm taking to Hawaii. Most of the airlines serve very little in coach, but AA serves the best coach food I've had.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I'm constantly reading about food reports in business and first class.
I don't recall reading about the food in coach.</font>

Dan -

People are posting reports on Y food, it's just that they're so short you don't remember them.

Greg

There is no food in coach on all domestic and international flights under 4 hours.

umm

mayby not on american carriers...but others still manage to serve a proper meal in coach on a 1h flight..

I want to write about my "bistro bag" that I had in coach a few months ago, but under heavy protest from my stomach, I thought that it didn't require any comments.

However, I do like when the "warm sock of cheesy meat filled pockets" are served with cheese doodles. Gawd, I'd rather have the little sugar packets and salt. BLEAGTH!

I suppose that is why you see comments on J and F service, vs. Y.

I guess it is also pretty cool to read about what the folks in the front are eating. I haven't ever flown in the front of the plane on a 3 class service (domestic or International).

Here is a recent article from The Washington Post about food in economy class.

www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A62239-2002Jun28&notFound=true (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A62239-2002Jun28&notFound=true)

As expected, the US carriers are feeling financial burn, so they're taking away every last amenity. This practice tends to be cyclical; the carriers will hit "rock bottom" and bounce back to more generous service.

The airlines always say the same things: "meal service is not a deciding factor in picking a carrer, but it is high on the list for complaints." They also tend to point out that "passengers prefer cheaper fares."

Incidentally, it has now become more difficult to bring "carry on" aboard. Stiffer carry-on regulations restrict the number of items passengers can carry; likewise, "open containers" of beverages cannot be taken past the security barriers.

jetBlue has a partial solution by selling reputedly good food at the gate.


I've had conversations many times with different friends from abroad about how difficult it is to travel in the USA. The security is a misguided hassle and "they never give you anything to eat."

As a former airport employee and now a nurse, I know that hungry people are angry people. For so many reasons, it's in everyone's best interest to keep passengers from getting hungry.

I think we should all praise Continental and Alaska Airlines for maintaining catering service. Coincidentally, Continental is also spearheading the "trusted traveler" program, which may make security less burdensome.


[This message has been edited by Mats (edited 07-20-2002).]

Marysunshine I agree with you that AA at least on transatlantic flights serves the best food in Y economy. And by "best" I mean "edible."

Hammer, go to airlinemeals.net
They show pics of airline meals in all classes.
I agree with you that people who fly in economy on this board often do not mention the meal service.In fact most posts are about Business and First Class. Even with the better meals and seats they are still being "ripped off."

However I did describe in great detail the disgusting food they serve on SWISS in economy on their transatlantic flights.
It makes me even more annoyed when I read about the "great food" SWISS serve in Business and First. The much lower fares in the back still do not warrant being served "disgusting" meals, which I would not even serve to my dog.

Brettee,

That's an interesting statement about SWISS food. My perception was slightly different: Both in respect to food quality as well as quantity (see my trip report ZRH-LHR) I was positively surprised. The airlines I fly most are CO, KLM, NW, AA and SWISS with an occasional LH or AF. Swiss by far always (with one exception from JFK to GVA, where the meat was extremely dry and the condiments as well) offered a lot of good food in economy class. And especially good wines, too. What I hate most about SWISS is their low seat pitch in business class, narrow seats on longhaul airbuses in economy and lack of a status point earning american partner. Other than that, I love them. Old Swissair in old times (not last 12 months) did have better food in longhaul Y, but dreadful shorthaul service, which is now excellent.

I wrote a bit about Coach food on AA, on AA86 ORD-LHR.

It's on the bottom of one of my trip reports here - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/002895.html

You'll find it toward the bottom of the thread.

Dan - gald to hear about the steak. My "combo" sampler seafood, cheese plate thing in First on the JFK-LAX flight Friday was awful.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">jetBlue has a partial solution by selling reputedly good food at the gate.</font>

Not at JFK - brought back not so pleasant memories of flying in and out of there with TWA.

Greg

Ch-usa you say that the food on SWISS between London to Zurich is great in Y? Or in C? A big difference. What do they serve on an hour flight? If the food is so good in Y between London to Zurich maybe SWISS should just stick to short haul flights which Crossair used to do previously.

Secondly you say it is good generally in Y to the USA from Switzerland? Did you recently fly with them in Y to the USA? Since they started in April I took 4 segments. Even the lady behind me without my saying a word told her husband her meal was disgusting.

My latest gourmet lunch with them consisted of green lettuce and spaghetti. Desert was a mini plum because they forgot to load enough cheesecake.

Finally 1 hour later they found a cheesecake which was the size of a matchbox.

The seats in Y are very narrow and uncomfortable on the A330.

I was amused as I just read today a review of SWISS on E opinions by someone who said he was "disappointed" by the food in Y from Zurich to New Delhi and annoyed at the tiny portions. He also remarked about the cramped seating.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Bretteee:
Ch-usa you say that the food on SWISS between London to Zurich is great in Y? Or in C? A big difference. What do they serve on an hour flight? If the food is so good in Y between London to Zurich maybe SWISS should just stick to short haul flights which Crossair used to do previously.

Secondly you say it is good generally in Y to the USA from Switzerland? Did you recently fly with them in Y to the USA? Since they started in April I took 4 segments. Even the lady behind me without my saying a word told her husband her meal was disgusting.

My latest gourmet lunch with them consisted of green lettuce and spaghetti. Desert was a mini plum because they forgot to load enough cheesecake.

Finally 1 hour later they found a cheesecake which was the size of a matchbox.

The seats in Y are very narrow and uncomfortable on the A330.

I was amused as I just read today a review of SWISS on E opinions by someone who said he was "disappointed" by the food in Y from Zurich to New Delhi and annoyed at the tiny portions. He also remarked about the cramped seating. </font>

Bretteee,

My London flight was in Y both ways: See my tripreport (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/002922.html).

They serve a nice cold plate, actually almost as good as old Crossair on similar flights. On the outbound "Siedfleischsalat" (cold marinated beef) with a green bean salad and a cheesecake (small, but delicios) plus ICE CREAM!!! On the inbound cold ham with potatoe salad, if I recall correctly. Food was of decent to very good quality. Except for less porcelaine and none of the nice olive-oil and balsamico just as good as Crossair, I would say. (And this was an A321). I actually believe that in C not much more is offered: real porcelaine and a warm meal, that's not very large. Plus a couple of extra drinks.

As to longhaul flights, I did one GVA-JFK-ZRH last May (I think). Portions were smaller than AA, for example, but except for one thing I don't remember of good quality. Just a little bit less tasty than the old "natural gourmet". I wasn't hungry after having finished - and found that a lot better meal was offered than on NW, KL, CO or even AA. My last CO meal was very small (teeny tiny mini steak - 1 x 1 x 1.5 inch) and the vegies tasted like salt and plastic.
I do agree about A330 seats, though. They suck. But 767 on CO or NW DC10 are with the exception of a few special seats just as bad. And the MD11, though no personal screen, is not that bad. No comparison to MRTC on AA, though.

Overall, I really prefer SWISS (KLM second) for transatlantic - part of it is, of course, that I have the highest upgrade ratio on them. And for shorthaul they are great.




[This message has been edited by ch_usa (edited 07-21-2002).]

I have found that food in coach on UA international (transpacific especially) is as good? as if not better than "stateside" first class. Foreign competition forces US carriers to compete in quality. It's a shame US flights serve such miserable food for the fare charged for first class. I've received better food in economy between LAX-NRT than first class SEA-LAX.

Ch you say you flew LX to New York last May.You mean 2 months ago? What exactly did you eat in Y then that was so tasty as I also flew similar routing in April, May and June. As to AA I fly them at times in Y from London to JFK and they offer not only bigger portions (international flights) but their food, unlike SWISS (in my opinion)is actually cooked for "human consumption." In addition they have the most leg room and comfortable seats on their 777 and 767s.

Now to be fair I will admit that the snack was tasty. It was a viandes des grisons sandwich with peppers on an olive roll and 2 biscuits.

My point is this. All LX can do in Y is serve decent snacks. Until they learn how to serve food in Y on long haul flights that is fit for "human consumption" they should just stick to what Crossair is good at i.e. short haul flights. Maybe they should spend a little less on their catering on short haul services and spend a little more on long haul flights.

I am not sure that the AA miles they give me will be sufficient to tempt me to continue flying them though they do offer the only nonstop on the GVA - JFK route.

Raven what is ironic is that now the US airlines (at least AA) serve better food than many European airlines on their transatlantic flights in Y.

Ch sorry to disagree with you again. You say you like KLM. The 2 airlines I cannot stand in Y transatlantic are SWISS and KLM. KLM has the worst leg room and I used to think they had the worst food (transatlantic) until I flew SWISS.I had stopped flying Swissair about 5 years ago. Every time I see a KLM or SWISS aircraft I roll my eyes.

Just as I used to dread KLM I dread every time I board a SWISS plane for a transatlantic flight.

Since I was upgraded to C on my first and so far only longhaul flights with SWISS (ZRH-EWR RT), I can not comment on longhaul Y food yet (C was good). I will fly the route again in October, but of course I'm also hoping for an upgrade again.

Last year, I was forced to fly ZRH-DFW on an AA 777 in Coach. It was terrible in every aspect. Service was extremely unfriendly, meals were dreadful (the second meal was a 5x5cm pizza that tasted like styrofoam), and I was stuck in a cramped middle seat. Compared to that, even a cargo plane would be heaven.

On "mid-haul" flights, I find SWISS' Y catering excellent (see report (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/002922.html)). On very short flights (e.g. ZRH-CDG), the current sandwich service is an improvement over the old SR service but a large step down from the former Crossair offering.

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airOli (http://www.olimade.com/airoli), the Swiss Air Line. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

[This message has been edited by airoli (edited 07-22-2002).]

OK. If you fly AA on certain, select routes, they have the coach PAX pick up a bag from a cooler. That is the meal. What's in it? I don't know. I don't take it. I think the breakfast one has a packaged bagel, cream cheese, a container of cereal, and a small carton of milk.

Bretteee

You don't have to disagree. The reason I like KLM is NW WorldClub Access with RW Card and a lot of operational upgrades, not their horrible Y. I by no means like that one :-)

I'm sorry I don't remember the meal that well. Some type of beef - and I'm really quite sure I liked it better than AA meals, which are definitely larger but at least in my cases not better. But you know, with food, a lot of it is a "taste" question. We might just have different preferences when it comes to meal service. In Y I look for a piece of meat that is not to dry and tastes like meat, veggies that taste like veggies, some potatoes or the likes not beeing too salty - plus a nice little desert (one that tastes natural versus artificially flavoured) and I'm happy. And I love Moevenpick Ice Cream. And I definitely prefer SWISS over KLM in Y, I can give you that in writing. And I also prefer SWISS over CO. Now I can't compare to Singapore or Emirates, but I bet they would beat SWISS for sure.

OK, I will post about my flight in coach. It was US 11 from PHL-LAX on June 14, a 767. Seat 7F, pitch not bad. Delayed @ 90 minutes departing because plane was 4 hours late arriving from LGW, some kind of mechanical. (Interesting as the flight number originates in MAD) We also had to take the tram out to a remote stand. Patty LaBelle was in 1F.

Dinner was a choice of a rigatoni alfredo with some tine peppers, or some roast beef concoction. Both were accompanied with a roll, butter, and a tiny salad. Dessert was a chocolate chocolate chip cookie (the best thing on the tray.) This was preceeded by a full beverage and followed with an immediate beverage service. Once they cleared all the trays they came through with a water and coffee service. Before September they used silverware in the main cabin on the 767, but we got plastic.

Because of no winds in either direction, flight time was 4:45, and they didn't come through with a pre-arrival drink service. As was the case on my outbound flight, FC had the pint sized water, main cabin still had liters. Crew was not the friendliest, but they were understaffed. Only 2 up front and it would have been 3 in the back, but somebody commuting home after working the CDG flight was nice enough to pitch in.

All in all the service wasn't bad, but I am glad I had a half of a Lee's hoagie to satisfy my hunger. I could have sworn the people in the rows around me were leering at me for bringing it on with me.

Food on AA transatlantic flights in economy is not bad. Certainly the portions are decent sized.

Food on CX in economy is, IMHO, very, very good. Very tasty and satisfying. During the middle of their transpacific flights, they put out a nice selection of sandwiches, candies and cookies for your pleasure. The flight attendants also serve hot instant noodles (re: MSG) during mid-flight.

Some of the dishes I've had on CX in economy class include tender juicy chicken served with fried rice and congee with seafood (Chinese porridge).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Bretteee:
My point is this. All LX can do in Y is serve decent snacks. Until they learn how to serve food in Y on long haul flights that is fit for "human consumption" they should just stick to what Crossair is good at i.e. short haul flights. Maybe they should spend a little less on their catering on short haul services and spend a little more on long haul flights.

</font>

Maybe you shouldn't forget that quite a few passengers flying 2 hours in Y in Europe have to pay more for their flight than for a transatlantic flight. That's why they might deserve some decent food..... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

if i fly longhaul in coach (thanks god this does not happen too much) i make my own choice before out of those:

a) play hard and dont eat anything which is sure good for weight control or
b) take my own food in the plane. it might be cold then but at least it is what I want

i can only say all experienced flyertalkers here should know by now that they cannot expect haute cuisine in coach ... just use a way around it and you will arrive happier as you dont have to complain all the time http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

sometimes in live it makes sense to not expect thing that will never happen anyway ...

My view of economy food since the beginning of 2000:

US trans-Atlantic (April 2000)- miniscule portions, barely enough to fend off starvation.

US trans-continental (April - May 2000) - fairly miniscule portions. No worse than diner food otherwise.

AA trans-Atlantic/South America (June 2001) - too much carbohydrate/sugar in breakfasts. Pizza light meal is o.k. First meal (lunch/dinner) is decent. Alfajore on the EZE runs is a nice touch.

QF mainline regional flight Australia (August 2000). Just a pack of biscuits, cake and/or chocolate for morning/afternoon tea on a tray with enough containers to hold a 2 course meal with cheese & crackers.

AS interwest coast (Sept. 2001) - my first "meal" on Alaska. Just a cold chicken taco salad for a snack.

AA 1/2 trans-continental (Oct. 2001) - only flight of 5 AA flights to serve any food (other than the Nutrigrain bars for breakfast on one flight). Assortment of 2-3 hot items (burrito and some other immemorables).

HP transcontinental (April 2001) - fairly decent meal. Pretty large salad made it memorable. Standard pasta otherwise. Salad meal option was the same dinner salad with some cheese and cold cuts added.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by AAalltheway:
There is no food in coach on all domestic and international flights under 4 hours. </font>

Not true for Continental: "Meals and snacks are served on flights over 1½ hours for First Class and over 2 hours for Economy Class." Check out this link for details.
http://www.continental.com/tis/tis_01_04_04.asp

Sorry Cruising No, travellers on SWISS intra European flights from ZHR/GVA to LHR in Y do not deserve better food than flights to the USA as they are nearly all flying for SF150 roundtrip which is $100. Fares are low as we now have Easyjet competing. The fact that they are spoiling Y passengers on 50 minute flights and "starving" Y passengers on 8 1/2 hour flights shows that management is cookoo.

Airoli I agree with you that AA crews are nasty. I have no idea why. Maybe because they have a dangerous job. I am laughing about the Pizza snack because I liked it.

Uli I do not expect "haute cuisine" in Y. But I do expect edible sufficient food. I get it on BA and AA transatlantic (based on my taste buds). I don't on LX. But I am stuck with them due to convenience.

Ch I can understand why you like KLM. So would I if I could get upgraded. I remember the old days when KLM and Swissair were my favourite airlines in Y.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by guy44134:
Not true for Continental: "Meals and snacks are served on flights over 1½ hours for First Class and over 2 hours for Economy Class." Check out this link for details.
http://www.continental.com/tis/tis_01_04_04.asp

</font>

She/he must have been talking about AA in particular when making this statement. AS still serves food as well, even on short 1 hr 30 min. flights from PDX to the bay area. Granted, it's not much but it's more than you get on anyone else - even in First Class.

As a vegetarian, I find all the food generally crummy no matter if I'm sitting in F, C or Y. In fact the worst meal I ever had on an airline was in international F. I refrain from requesting veg meals because they're so bad and so often when I'm in F I will try and see if I can get a Y meal if it happens to be vegetarian. Better yet is if I can buy myself a Subway sandwich in advance and carry it on with me. IME, a Subway sandwich beats airline food any day no matter what the class. All those calories in such bad food just ain't worth it.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Bretteee:
Sorry Cruising No, travellers on SWISS intra European flights from ZHR/GVA to LHR in Y do not deserve better food than flights to the USA as they are nearly all flying for SF150 roundtrip which is $100. Fares are low as we now have Easyjet competing. The fact that they are spoiling Y passengers on 50 minute flights and "starving" Y passengers on 8 1/2 hour flights shows that management is cookoo. </font>

Fly once during the week from Switzerland to Scandinavia or to Eastern Europe. You'll have to get a loan from the bank to be able to buy a Y ticket! The -too few- routes with Easy Jet competition are an exception. All the rest of the European network has to be considered as highway robbery!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Bretteee:
No, travellers on SWISS intra European flights from ZHR/GVA to LHR in Y do not deserve better food than flights to the USA as they are nearly all flying for SF150 roundtrip which is $100. Fares are low as we now have Easyjet competing.</font>

The cheapest (youth / student only!) fare I've ever got on the ZRH-LON route was CHF249.- + tax. Perhaps the fares are lower from GVA because easyJet is stronger there? brettee, I'd be very grateful to learn where I can get LX Y tickets ZRH-LON for CHF150 (apart from the occasional short-notice web specials).



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airOli (http://www.olimade.com/airoli), the Swiss Air Line. ;)

I fly coach and while I usually do not think the food is terrible tasting, I do not like to eat it because it gives me such a stomach ache. I do not know why...just does.

As someone who is constantly hungry, the quantity and quality of food is definitely a consideration when I choose an airline. It is therefore no coincidence that the airline I fly most often - Air New Zealand - is renowned for its onboard catering, even in coach. Here's a sample from a recent Sydney-Wellington economy class dinner flight (approximately 2.5 hour flying time on a 737) which rated as one of my best ever eating experiences in coach:

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">
Dinner

Bread roll (these are served warm, by the way - nothing worse than cold, rock-hard rolls on a plane)

salad

Green bean salad with sour cream and almonds

Mustard potato salad

main course

Lamb and pumpkin pie

or

Chicken in parmesan and polenta crust

Roasted tomato relish to accompany your meal selection

Dessert

Sherry trifle (This actually ended up being ice cream instead.)

Cheese and crackers

Tea and coffee

Light option

Salad of the day
Bread roll
Cheese and crackers
Dessert
Tea and coffee

</font>

I had the lamb and pumpkin pie, it was fantastic. They also did at least 3 drinks services, and the wine selection was decent. This level of catering is not limited to dinner time flights - any flights between NZ and Australia get a full hot meal.

Even on NZ mainline domestic flights, sometimes with a flying time of as little as 30 minutes, you get fed - and if it is breakfast or dinner time, it's a hot meal. You should see those FA's work! (Yes, this is Y class we're talking about. Sadly, this is about to change - as of November, NZ domestic flights go 'low-frills' with only very basic snack service. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif )

Other airlines on which I've had good economy class food experiences are Emirates (though this varies from route to route), JAL (figuring out the contents of the Japanese style meals also helps pass the time), Qantas domestic a few years ago before they became a monopoly, BA (who served the nicest ever plane snack LHR-LAX a few years ago - a roasted bell-pepper panini http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starsmilie.gifyum http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starsmilie.gif ) and yes, UA longhaul international (though I've had a few bad experiences too).

Oh dear, I'm salivating again... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by mad_atta (edited 07-25-2002).]

My only problem with NZ is that the portions of food in Y are too small! You do notice that when it does taste good.

Cheers,

Justin

Madatta regarding your great snack on BA I had the nicest blueberry muffin for breakfast on BA Y I have ever eaten. One muffin was quite sufficient. I just do not understand why so many airlines find it so difficult to feed Y passengers like human beings.

Shame that Air New Zealand do not fly in my neck of the woods. I believe they also go to LA from London.

Airoli I exaggerated. However you are partly correct. On BA at least the fare to London including tax of about 60SF is 240SF from GVA and Zurich.My aunts just bought their tickets.

Madatta I love sherry trifle. Alas it's difficult these days to even find a decent sherry trifle in England.

Justin, you're right that the individual portions could be bigger on AirNZ - in economy anyway - but by the time I've worked my way right through the courses including the cheese and crackers I'm usually pretty well stuffed.

Brettee, I was very intrigued to see how they would serve sherry trifle on a plane, so was a little disappointed that it was replaced by ice cream. On the subject of airline desserts, why do so many airlines feel that a cube of garishly coloured, vaguely fruit-flavoured gelatin is an acceptable dessert?!?

The only thing memorable (good, that is) I can recall re food in coach would be the breakfasts NW serves on some of their longer flights, like LAX to MSP. I was pleasantly surprised when they served hot bagels.

They were surprisingly good, and a step up from just a bagel out of the fridge.

Returning home from MUC on my first mileage run a few years back they served a delicious ham and melted cheese panini in coach. I was shocked, but delighted. German catering beats the pants off caterers of any American carrier I've ever dealt with ...

I flew AA54 last week ORD-MAN in Y with family. Both meals were actually pretty good. Chicken or steak for dinner, omelette or cereal with fruit for breakfast. Drink service was the only thing that could have been better. Since it was AA, legroom was great. Trip report coming soon!

Yyz I agree with you that the extra legroom on AA is very nice. However there are rumours it may not last. I have come to the conclusion that AA Y transatlantic overall is the best of the bunch. The only problem are the unfriendly crews (just my experience) and the worry that their security is not the best. Perfection in Y no longer exists anymore, at least among European or US airlines. There always seems something wrong with every airline. Either the leg room is cramped, the food is lousy. the crew are unfriendly or the security cannot be trusted.

If anyone ever offers you a choice between the omelette or the cereal / fruit combo on AA coach...DO NOT CHOSE THE OMELETTE!
It tastes nothing like eggs...tastes more like sawdust. Other than that the food on AA coach is pretty decent. Dinners usually consist of beef/chicken/pasta choice and the bistro bags aren't all that bad.

With all this talk of coach food, bistro bags, vegetarian meals, and bagels, I figure I would plug my new web page for FT downloads. The first download (first featured in the American Airlines forum) is an mp3 of a band describing their experience with Bistro Bag service.

http://ft.xpdsl.com

When I fly economy, I fly on dirt-cheap tickets; $ 260 or so to Europe. Saying this, I don’t expect anything fancy in “wooden class”. However, I had some acceptable food with LH, DL and BA.

Food on economy:

Having flown on SWISS between BKK-SIN-BKK in economy, I must say that I am pleased with it. Maybe it's just the catering stations. But still SWISS offered a tasty starter of smoked salmon, and mains consisted of seafood fried noodles or curried pork rice. YUM! Dessert was a chocolate mousse of some kind. Loved the new cutlery.

Food out of Asian airports tend to be better than most US ones. THAI AIRWAYS serves very good meals in their economy class (except domestic runs). Similarly SINGAPORE AIRLINES, CATHAY PACIFIC and MALAYSIA AIRLINES all serve tasty and hearty portions.

Food On Cathay Pacific Y class I would say excellent, especially if you are asian origin, but note the one think should be looking at if you fly on a 744, and on a 74B or 74Y config. Row 30 to 53 are only serve by one FA on each aisle, first meal serve from the front to the back, second meal reverse. You have to wait forever to get the meals either one of the meals if you seat at the very front or the very back. But the interesting thing is the second meal the serve from the back to the front, I am in 30H, everyone got their meals already except myself. FA could still offer me a choice of the meals, never experience on other airlines

I remember having some excellent meals on Aero California and Mexicana. The key words here are excellent and remember. Who knows if the level of quality has been maintained?

On Mexicana, I flew DEN-MZT-PVR-GDL-MZT-DEN. Out of Denver, the meal aboard MX's all economy class configured 727-200 was the same as what UA served in First on the DEN-ORD flight I'd done a coupla months earlier.

On Aero California, I flew an ancient DC-9-15 from TIJ-LAP-MZT-MEX and enjoyed a lunch and a dinner. Both meals were quite filling and drinks were not only complimentary but were also poured to your tastes from big bottles, not airline miniatures.

For modern day fare, I'd have to agree with Mad Atta that it's hard to beat Air New Zealand for both quality and quantity of food served aloft.

The worst food I can remember having was aboard Ozark. The steak was so overdone I had to chew hard and snap my head back to get it down. The veggies tasted canned. The coffee tasted like spinal fluid. Aacckkk!

Guy you mentioned SWISS served smoken salmon between BKK and Singapore in Y. To the USA they serve just green lettuce (weeds) as a starter. Maybe they serve better food on intra Asian flight as it's cheaper or because they are competing with Asian carriers.

Seat 2A I flew on Mexicana from Manzanillo to Mexico City a few years ago and they ran out of food so those of us in the back rows got nada. I was also told by someone that their food is better than AeroMexico.I don't know about their international but domestic was awful from Mexico to Cabo San Lucas.

Okay I have flown alot of domestic coach lately.

CO LAS to CLE 737 coach: microwave chuckwagon burger and sun chips. Better to skip and avoid the line to the bathroom with this one.

CO CLE to LAS 737 FC: swiss bacon burger, salad, roll and fruit torte. This was a nice lunch.

UA HNL to SFO or HNL to LAX 777 coach: breakfast eggs called omelette but basically scrambled, sausage links and potato cubes o'brien

UA SFO to HNL or HNL to LAX 777 coach: dinner teriyaki chicken and rice or meatloaf and potato cubes o'brien, frozen salad and roll, and cookie. I prefer Crab Pot at SFO on my own tab than this meal.

Hawaiian basically serves the same meals as UA in coach between HNL and Mainland. You may get lavosh instead of the roll.

DE HNL to LAX coach had spinach tortilla rollups with turkey and fruit last trip. Reminded me of NWA as they were the initial rollup in coach between LAX/SFO and HNL 2 years ago.

When in doubt I try to pack someone if sitting in coach, eat at home and nosh on their snacks or eat at the airport as it uses up that waiting time.

Coach on Air Canada ORD/YVR.

Lunch of a cold pasta over several pcs of tasty (but somewhat hard) beef.

Coach on United SEA/ORD

Small sandwich on a bun, consisting of turkey and cheese. It was certainly acceptable.

And to both airlines, thanks for the full can of soda.

Dan

UA PDX-LAX (evening): Pretzel/soft cheezy tasting things snack mix

UA LAX-BOS (redeye): Don't know, was asleep

UA BOS-DEN (morning): Breakfast (cheeze/egg/chives wrap, banana, awful breakfast snack mix), Pretzel snack mix

UA DEN-PDX (lunch): Pretzel snack mix

I had a delightful repast on AS Sea-Bos just last week.

Breakfast:
two nicely browned sausages
not dry scrambled eggs
delish blintz with raspberry sauce
fresh fruit cup (real fruit)
orange muffin
good coffee and a full carton on milk for my coffee

snack- a bit defective
a big bag of trail mix like they used to serve on Horizon geg-sea

Actually, the service and food were better than my return in F.

lala

AS is what airline? Not Alaska? If so I had no idea they flew to Boston.

AS is Alaska and we fly from SEA to BOS, IAD and DCA presently. EWR and MIA nonstops to SEA begin in October and November, respectively.

Ummm to all those (eg airlines) who say suspending or limiting economy meals is a major cost saving:-

McDonalds in HKG have just introduced their 'Rice Meals'. In expensive HKG, these still only cost HK$ 22 (US$ 2.80) each. The meal comes complete with plastic cutlery in a compartmented and covered tray - not at all unlike an airline meal. The trays have 3 compartments one for chicken, one for broccoli and one for rice. A separate heated sauce container is supplied. At the moment there are only two types of 'Rice Meals' available - curry and mushroom. Now this is NOT excellent food and it's been a bit controversial here in Hong Kong (McDonalds will destroy local restaurants etc) but these meals simply rock the socks off anything I have ever been served in coach on any US domestic flight, on any US airline, ever. They even beat many US domestic F class meals that I've had (in terms of taste and quality, but not (of course) for presentation).

OK, I know that to an airline the costs involved will be more than US$2.80 to provide a meal. But I have had good meals on airlines in some parts of the world on flights that were less than an hour, so I know that if an airline wants to do it, they can. It's not so much the cost - it can't be - it's the attitude.

UA 191 Y Class IAD-LAX under 4 hours served a good dinner last Sunday.

letiole: vegan meals on UA to the Pacific weren't too bad in Y a couple years ago, I thought. What they serve to LHR was pretty boring but edible. Did you try AA or UA?

Growing up as a total latchkey kid, I have found my ability to make something out of nothing (in the cupboards to eat while waiting for a parent to come home toting a late dinner) a useful art.

I could combine found ingredients with common cupboard staples like, oh, say, peanut butter and pickles, and make a meal that would send your tastebuds to heaven.

I am constantly amazed how much this skill comes in handy, and I have definitely noticed how much it is needed to ingest airplane food.

For those without the skill, gosh, I can't even imagine.

So, anyway, here's my tip for the day. I've found if you have ketchup packets and extra pepper from McDs, and seedless jam from your hotel coffee shop as well, on your person when you board, you are pretty much prepared for anything. Combined properly they will make a killer dressing (taste mask) for salads, sandwiches, chicken, whatever.

Of course texture is important and no one can do anything about soggy or wilted food. If this is the case I recommend drinking your meal - I like a nice scotch http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

DEN-MIA in Y on UA a couple of weeks back (11 a.m.-ish departure); lunch "snack":

Sandwich with turkey, pastrami and cheese on a roll. Dijonaise packet on the side. Tasted OK once I unfolded the contents and rearranged them on the roll.

Bag of Sun Chips.

Philadelphia Cream Cheese Raspberry Snack Bar. Tasty but had something like 56% of RDA of saturated fat!

Two runs of the drink cart plus coffee/water service prowling the aisle.

Seat 16C (757) had excellent legroom. I was quite satisfied with the service.

I had no idea AS flew to the east Coast. Do they use 737s like CO does?