ACYYZ/SD

Ovens are rarely (if ever) turned on before the aircraft leaves the gate. Meal orders whenever possible are taken on the ground.

RangerNS

I am.

lynchpin_yyz

I discovered today that SE is the only priority status. I have found, at least on the longer NA routes they do tend to work their way down the status tree (I say this because I worked my way up the status tree last year for the first time since 2018)... Anyway, discovered on the flight that E50K/MM doesn't officially matter (even if many FAs do still use it). Chicken it is tonight.

canadiancow

Could have just read the wiki

But yes, I've had priority as 35K. I've certainly seen non-SE MMs get priority recently. But the official priority has been posted and is in the wiki (though it probably could use a bit of an update to reflect XT/XM/ST/SM).

flyingcrooked

The consensus in the thread I believe is that there is no priority for those below SE. However flying PY from EDI-YYZ just now, the FA approached me not long after boarding, still at the gate, and addressed me by name, while looking at a seat chart of PY with only three passengers of 20 indicated by name. She asked for my meal preference and noted it on the paper. Maybe 5-10 minutes later she came through the cabin to ask for meal preferences from everybody else (I assume the two other people on the seat chart were asked individually ahead of time, but I didn’t witness that).

I’m 50k flying on e-upped latitude fare. I’m guessing it’s the AC status but don’t know if this is a one off by an enterprising FA or indicates some kind of policy change. Didn’t notice anything flying the opposite direction in J a few days ago.

Changeup2000

Yeah, I also had some similar experiences before SE. It may depend on the specific SDs.

flyingcrooked

yes, I managed to catch the FA before leaving the plane and asked her about it, and she said since there were no SEs in PY, she just decided to take advance meal orders from everyone with status, before the non-status flyers.

One could argue this deviation from policy is bad because it sets up expectations for the future that will mostly go unfulfilled, but to me it's the opposite, it's nice to see an AC FA take the initiative to recognise/reward status holders. Moreover sometimes that is most effective when it seems the result of an individual's choicer rather than a corporate policy.

arno3220

I've also had this happen once or twice in PY. It's a nice touch.

Seat13F_AC_CRJ

Same for me. Twice in PY.

172pilot

I've also had the FA come to me in PY, address me by name, ask me for me choice and then say oops, we only have the chicken left. A for effort, F for result.

canadiancow

But you're SE...

taupo

Flew Y+ (nothing remotely premium about AC's middle cabin) ATH to YUL this week.
Meal order was taken in turn with everyone else.

canadiancow

Did you get your first choice?

If you got your first choice, there isn't much to infer.

taupo

I didn’t, but was fine with the pasta as opposed to chicken and didn’t feel the need to DYKWIA the FA and potentially upset another pax of their choice was taken away

canadiancow

Ugh.

I actually don't know the policy in PY, since I've only flown it once. But I definitely got priority there.

I'm well past the point of caring about upsetting the FA or another pax in J though. If I'm expecting a meal (I often just decline altogether), and they tell me there's none left of the one I want, I usually ask "is my status on your list?"

I eat far too many AC J meals to suffer through something I really don't want.