Originally Posted by
Often1
Rather than trying to parse whether a given flight is a TCON, why not ask US the direct question about the specific flight.
The US practice has always been to add meal service to specific flights in highly competitive markets. Thus, maybe a surprise.
Unfortunately, US will most probably just repeat back to you what is on the website, which is not always correct. As an anecdotal example, a few years ago I flew PHL-AUS. The website said that there was no meal (in both directions). I asked US directly about this (both over the phone and through their web portal), they said there was no meal.
Thankfully, through FlyerTalk, I learned that there was a meal. And indeed, once I took both flights, there were meals on both. Hence, it has shown me that asking US this is kind of pointless as they just tell you what their screen says, which may be wrong. The best way to find out is to use a site like FlyerTalk to find someone with experience on the route to give you a definitive answer.