(reliability). The same way AA is able to cater it flights out of MEX reliably -- the challenges that caterers are having vary a lot by vendor and station, and QR has very limited exposure to the catering market in the US compared to our airlines.

The relative simplicity of the shelf-stable BOB items vs. perishable is EXACTLY the reason they returned first and have remained as the perishable stuff has cycled on/off/on/off each month. That said, it's not as simple as I think some people think it is, or portrayed on internet forums. The branded boxes, for example, have 5-8 months of lead time on the front end for product design, testing, procurement, printing, production, distribution, etc..

For the record, I'm not aware of any domestic caterers that are rocking it right now, or I'm sure AA would be looking to make some changes. For LSG specifically, DL and UA are seeing the same issues as AA overall. That said, both generally have slightly fewer service elements catered, so there are fewer needs for substitutions and fewer opportunities to miscater things compared with AA.