Originally Posted by
Athena53
I've been flying Business Class on long hauls for years- still do even though I'm retired. While I welcome slightly more reasonable pricing in Business Class, I'm seeing the product degrade. Is it my imagination or did we used to have Lounge access for all paid Business Class flights? Now it's just international and not all international (turned away at DFW before a flight to Cabo San Lucas last month). Food service dwindling; was upgraded between CLT and MCI last month and, according to the Web site, should have had "Light bites"; instead it was the "snack basket". Flight from DFW to Cabo left at 8 PM and was nearly 3 hours; "food" was a dish of warmed mixed nuts and- a cookie. I am learning to travel with a stash of protein bars.
So, they're lowering fares to get more paid pax into the pointy end of the plane but the degradation of the experience shows it.
Mexico, Canada, and Caribbean flights _except_ MEX Mexico City are considered domestic business class. No lounge access, same meal rules as domestic. Refreshments only (nuts and cookie) after 8pm (I agree this is too early). This has been in place for years.
CLT-MCI does qualify for the light-bites aka cheese plate, as long as it is scheduled within the meal windows. The late evening CLT-MCI departs after the dinner window, so it gets the Refreshments (nuts and cookie). Both stations have catering so this was possibly a Flight Attendant error. Light-bites have been in place since the meal changes September 1, 2014. I have noticed that the FAs will incorrectly substitute the snack basket for the nuts-cookie combo from time to time. But I believe all flights over 700 miles are catered with the nuts, both full meal flights (1000+ miles) and light-bite flights (700-999 miles), and also flights outside the meal window (after 8pm).
Sometimes at outstations without catering, in the case of IRROPS with the schedule, the double-catered food for the return flight sits too long to be served and is discarded. Happens rarely, but I've experienced it twice in the past couple of years PBI-DFW, which is a meal flight. I always ask for and receive 7500 miles for a missing meal in domestic business.