I agree in taste. But the amount of whinging on here and elsewhere tells me putting hot meals back isn't a bad move.

Case in point, I have a specific former colleague who has amassed a balance sheet to last more than a few lifetimes, and he'll occasionally fly in the back to Taipei for reasons I'm still unclear on. A year or so ago he spent a good 20 minutes explaining to our old team at a reunion night out how this removal of hot meals to TPE in economy class meant the downfall of CX. This gentleman is responsible for not a small amount of money and decisions, yet this apparently was a grave concern of his. And for the record, I highly doubt he even eats the hot meals, and by what he does like to eat ("junk food" might be a generous term), I'd bet strongly he prefers the microwave rubbery pastry to the hot meals. But no matter....this is his rallying point about the decline of CX: no hot meals to TPE in economy class.

There is something indeed "prestigious" about getting a hot meal, no matter how terrible it is. Especially if it's on an hour-long flight. Lacking one indicates "cheapness" on airlines I suppose in people's minds. On the OMAATT blog, that fellow routinely brings up the crappy state of US airline meals, and never fails to mention when he gets a hot meal on a regional flight on foreign carriers. It's just a "thing".