Originally Posted by otterflyer

Just flew Premium Select BOS-FCO and back. Recapping from a flight review ... but in general, Premium Select is a kind of mixed-up hybrid service, and the food choices are a little strange.

Meal Service: Outbound service was utterly bizarre. We had a Boston-based crew who seemed rushed and harried the entire time, despite the plane not being terribly full and takeoff being on time. I was offered a PDB but my partner, sitting next to me, was not because he was momentarily searching for the outlet (the FA just skipped right over him!). At mealtime, I was never given table linens or silverware, and the FA plunked my meal tray down without noticing and moved right along. When I flagged down another FA for silverware to eat my meal, she looked frustrated and fetched me disposable cutlery and a cocktail napkin from economy and said "No tablecloths, sorry." Whatever, I'm not too proud to eat with a cocktail napkin, but it was a bit strange when everyone else had a tablecloth and proper silverware. Then our finished trays sat uncollected for an hour after we were done eating, and trash really started to pile up (plastic wrapping from the pillow/blanket, plastic PDB cups, cutlery, trays, water bottles, snack packaging). The crew didn't come by to pick up for hours. I fell asleep at one point clutching a plastic cup because it had nowhere to live. There was an odd mix of economy and business-class service items, like DL can't quite decide that "premium" passengers should eat and drink from, and thus it just ... piled up.

Return to BOS was completely different, however. Our crew had just done an AMS-FCO leg and were mostly Dutch, and terribly attractive. They were very pleasant, prompt, and professional. Individual greetings, presentation of the menu, and offer of a PDB and a refill were standard before we even took off. Maybe they were on loan from KLM? :P

Food: It was interesting to see that the meal choices in A are the same as DL One, with the elimination of, I think, the fish option, and of course the nicer plating and additional courses. In PS, everything was served on a single tray, without bread (!!) This is a surprise -- not that in-flight bread is some delicious treat but it's a cheap and easy carb to throw on a plate, and it really does add some bulk to a main meal. I can't imagine what the reasoning is, and without it, the meal sizes were meager. Surprisingly meager. Doll-sized, really.

Outbound was the March menu, which I didn't take a picture of and can no longer search for, so going by memory here. It consisted of some sort of farro-and-pea salad (bland and dry, with no greenery or dressing whatsoever) and a choice of chicken with sweetcorn mousseline and a grab bag of sauteed vegetables, or a mezzaluna pasta with pumpkin, or perhaps it was butternut squash. The pasta was sugary-sweet and the portion was quite small, especially without bread, cheese, crackers, or fruit. Dessert was some sort of tasty banana mousse, no offer of another drink. Maybe 90 minutes before arrival, an egg-and-cheese sandwich in a greasy cardboard box was plopped on my tray table, and the less said about that the better. I was starving for most of this flight, and the only very edible thing was that mousse.

Return meal, much like return service, was much improved but also not great. A nice nicoise-ish potato and green bean salad was followed by a choice of roti chicken curry with mango chutney or a yummy spelt risotto with morels and asparagus. Yes, it was an airplane risotto so it won't be on Top Chef any time soon, but it was simple and flavorful and cheesy and actually quite comforting. My partner's chicken curry looked tasty and had a decent amount of rice, and he said it did the job. The dessert, a small cup of salted caramel ice cream, was rock hard. I hate ice cream so I'm not the one to ask if this was good. Our pre-arrival meal of a spinach-feta pastry or chicken "spring roll" was utterly disgusting. The pastry in both cases was squishy bread, and both fillings smelled like cheap dried oregano and grease. I left mine unfinished and ate two packages of shortbread cookies from the snack basket instead. I really can't say enough bad things about this pre-arrival meal. How much more expensive could it possibly be to offer the D1 meal, even a dumbed-down version of it?! I would rather have eaten a United economy sandwich than that culinary disaster. Hell, just give me some Cheez-Itz.

It was altogether a bit strange. Presentation was economy, but some service items were business, and the meal selection was business minus the more expensive proteins and some cheaper but more filling items. It was weird not to have a single lettuce leaf or bit of fruit anywhere. I probably won't fly Premium Select again anytime soon (it was just the most convenient nonstop option on a pretty expensive transcon route).