Originally Posted by
danielonn
Stop it with the complaints please. Are you expecting a 4 star Michelin rated meal? My fellow FTers I know fine dining and I have learned to curb my expectations. Domestic First class except for D1 will never be like International First Class.. When the Flight Attendant comes around with the choices please accept them graciously. Remember the Flight Attendants like waiters did not chose the menu for the flight let alone work for the catering department. Your options are Do you want to eat Sir/Madam followed by the choices.
If you do want to eat then say Yes Please I'll have (Option 1 Option 2) or No Thank You. Remember no one is forcing you to eat. I consider the meal in First Class a way to not be hungry when flying and use it for substance rather than pondering if the meal is good or not. If I taste the food and its not to my liking then I am not going to turn around and snap my fingers and say"Hey Flight Attendant this was the worst meal possible". Listen folks we are not on the ground in a restaurant who can remake the dish or offer us another choice. Perhaps the meal selections and number of each hot/cold items were done months in advance by Yield Management.
With a glass of Red Wine or a Spirit like Gin and Tonic or Woodford Reserve that will mitigate any poor tasting meals. Then with the Snack Basket or Biscoffs that will be fine on the flight.
If the meal were the reason you were flying First Class then might I suggest you wait and fly La Premier on Air France? Or make your own meal to bring onboard. Who says you can't go to Whole Foods and make a Baguette Sandwich with High end meats and cheeses or create your own cheese platter and supplement it with the alcohol served on board?
Who here agrees with me that you should be happy with what is put in front of you? I was brought up to be gracious what was put in front of me and just live with my selection. Its not the end of the world as when I land at my destination anyways I will go for a good diner at a local restaurant or a happy hour.
Flying is a mode of transportation. I fly First Class for a quieter cabin not for a $200 meal at The French Laundry.
So your meal was served not to your liking do you think they cater extra meals all the time? Just smile and remember you are not obligated to finish it or even touch the salmon fish.
I don't think that anyone is expecting fine dining, nor do the vast majority of complaints in this thread reflect that kind of expectation. One recent poster has had rather obnoxious expectations, but that's not the majority, or even close to it.
I don't know anyone who has reported snapping their fingers at the flight attendant or expecting that an F/A could do anything about a meal on board.
At the same time, when someone pays to sit in a premium cabin that advertises, and I quote, "
full chef-curated meal service" as part of the first class experience, it is reasonable to expect that the food will be decent. It is reasonable, for example, to expect that bread won't be soggy or frozen, or that a salad will consist of more than a few pieces of shredded iceberg lettuce. While I agree that one can't expect the same level of service that one might expect in a international J or F cabin, one can certainly expect food that is of higher quality than institutional cafeteria lunch food. It is all the more frustrating to have sub-par meal service at a time when they are selling, rather than giving away via upgrades, more first class seats than ever.