Jan 3, 2017, 9:02 am
Last edit by: Seat 2A
How to find out what the meal service will be for a specific Alaska Air flight:
1) On the website, use the "Explore" tab and select "Flight Schedules" from the left-hand side of the drop-down menu.
2) Plug in your city-pair and your week of travel, and the site will pull up all of the Alaska Air flights for that week.
3) Find your flight number on the list. From there you can see what's offered for the meal service. There are two columns corresponding to first class and coach.
A) In first class the codes are (B-breakfast; L-lunch; D-dinner; S-snack).
B) For coach the section may be blank (meaning beverage service and for-purchase cold snack-packs). Or it may show "F" or "F,F" to indicate there are other items for purchase on longer routes like a cheese plate, or in some cases the Beecher's breakfast sandwich or one of the Tom Douglas items.
What *specifically* is offered in first class for B, L, D, or S is the source of much discussion in this thread.
Sometimes a S (snack) will seem more substantial than what's offered as L (lunch). That's where searching this thread can be of assistance.
As near as I can tell for the coach section:
Blank = snack packs only;
"F" = snack packs and cheese plates offered;
"F,F" = snack packs, cheese plate, plus one other item on offer.
Please feel free to edit if that assumption is not correct.
For anyone desiring a more structured or organized submission, here is a template (You'll need to add a / before the last bracketed B as in [/b]):
[B]Date of Flight[B]:
[B]Flight Number and Route flown[B]:
[B]Time of Departure[B]:
[B]Length of flight[B]:
[B]Class of service[B]:
[B]Pre-Departure Beverage service[B]:
[B]Meal served[B]:
[B]Meal Description[B]: .
[B]Additional Comments[B]:
1) On the website, use the "Explore" tab and select "Flight Schedules" from the left-hand side of the drop-down menu.
2) Plug in your city-pair and your week of travel, and the site will pull up all of the Alaska Air flights for that week.
3) Find your flight number on the list. From there you can see what's offered for the meal service. There are two columns corresponding to first class and coach.
A) In first class the codes are (B-breakfast; L-lunch; D-dinner; S-snack).
B) For coach the section may be blank (meaning beverage service and for-purchase cold snack-packs). Or it may show "F" or "F,F" to indicate there are other items for purchase on longer routes like a cheese plate, or in some cases the Beecher's breakfast sandwich or one of the Tom Douglas items.
What *specifically* is offered in first class for B, L, D, or S is the source of much discussion in this thread.
Sometimes a S (snack) will seem more substantial than what's offered as L (lunch). That's where searching this thread can be of assistance.
As near as I can tell for the coach section:
Blank = snack packs only;
"F" = snack packs and cheese plates offered;
"F,F" = snack packs, cheese plate, plus one other item on offer.
Please feel free to edit if that assumption is not correct.
For anyone desiring a more structured or organized submission, here is a template (You'll need to add a / before the last bracketed B as in [/b]):
[B]Date of Flight[B]:
[B]Flight Number and Route flown[B]:
[B]Time of Departure[B]:
[B]Length of flight[B]:
[B]Class of service[B]:
[B]Pre-Departure Beverage service[B]:
[B]Meal served[B]:
[B]Meal Description[B]: .
[B]Additional Comments[B]:
What Will Alaska Airlines Be Serving In First Class On Your Flight? (2017)
Oct 2, 2017, 12:54 am
#766
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: AS, SQ, SPG, IHG
Posts: 319
The transcons departing around the 9AM-10AM timeframe have always, to my memory, been catered for lunch/dinner. I thought my experience was a one-off but if this also happened on SEA-BWI, I'm worried that there's been a system-wide change. Between this and the "slow-cooked vegetables" meal I got on a transcon VX flight, catering on AS/VX seems to have gone downhill in quite a hurry.
Oct 2, 2017, 11:22 am
#767
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: PDX
Programs: AS 75K, BW Plat, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 10,725
Was on PDX-DCA which departs at a similar time. I fly this route a lot and it's usually catered with the lunch/dinner options. Unfortunately, I ran into the cereal/omelette mess described above which was definitely not what I was expecting. Wrote to Alaska Listens and got a canned response regarding taking "portion sizes" into consideration. Also requested a cheese plate from the back, was told they didn't have anything, and was asked to pay $6 for a snack box. I did it--didn't really have time to grab anything at PDX due to a tight connection, but I thought I flew F so I didn't have to worry about such things.
The transcons departing around the 9AM-10AM timeframe have always, to my memory, been catered for lunch/dinner. I thought my experience was a one-off but if this also happened on SEA-BWI, I'm worried that there's been a system-wide change. Between this and the "slow-cooked vegetables" meal I got on a transcon VX flight, catering on AS/VX seems to have gone downhill in quite a hurry.
The transcons departing around the 9AM-10AM timeframe have always, to my memory, been catered for lunch/dinner. I thought my experience was a one-off but if this also happened on SEA-BWI, I'm worried that there's been a system-wide change. Between this and the "slow-cooked vegetables" meal I got on a transcon VX flight, catering on AS/VX seems to have gone downhill in quite a hurry.
Oct 2, 2017, 11:55 am
#768
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Sacramento, CA
Programs: AA Exec Plat, Hyatt,Marriott,BA,AS
Posts: 4,428
This would all be resolved if AS would publish meal window times on it's website...you know they have this information already so I've never understood why they don't just publish it. With that said, I think 9:30am is the cut-off for breakfast....I noticed my 9:30am EWR-SEA flight offered breakfast, but then the scheduled changed to 9:35am (I think) and that triggered a meal change to lunch....honestly, I usually prefer breakfast since the transcon flights are typically more down-to-earth meals (eggs, potatoes, breakfast meat, etc.) whereas the lunches/dinners are where things come off the rails and odd salads and side dishes start showing up....
Oct 2, 2017, 1:19 pm
#769
Moderator: Alaska Mileage Plan
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 12,320
My experience on AA eastbound flights is 9:29 am is breakfast and 9:31 am is lunch. I've never figured out what 9:30 is.
Oct 2, 2017, 1:27 pm
#770
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Sacramento, CA
Programs: AA Exec Plat, Hyatt,Marriott,BA,AS
Posts: 4,428
Oct 2, 2017, 2:00 pm
#772
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,397
9/28/17
AS 26 SEA-ORD
17:35 PDT
3h 45m
First
Pre-Departure Beverage service: Water
Meal served: Beef Stir Fry and Salad
Meal Description: see picture
Additional Comments: Not much of a meal compared to what I was just served on VX F ORD-LAX this morning (added for comparison; beef brisket hash, poached eggs, fruit and croissant) Got a cheese plate comped (offered to pay, FA waved me off). Tasty enough I suppose. So much for upgraded midcon service.
AS 26 SEA-ORD
17:35 PDT
3h 45m
First
Pre-Departure Beverage service: Water
Meal served: Beef Stir Fry and Salad
Meal Description: see picture
Additional Comments: Not much of a meal compared to what I was just served on VX F ORD-LAX this morning (added for comparison; beef brisket hash, poached eggs, fruit and croissant) Got a cheese plate comped (offered to pay, FA waved me off). Tasty enough I suppose. So much for upgraded midcon service.
Oct 2, 2017, 4:06 pm
#773
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Intermountain West
Programs: Too many to list
Posts: 12,089
Oct 2, 2017, 4:43 pm
#774
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: PDX
Programs: AS 75K, BW Plat, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 10,725
I agree...the beef stir fry is a new one and actually looks tasty. The VX breakfast is "ok", but I can't recall ever wanting beef hash as a breakfast side dish...in this case I'd prefer a cheese omelette with potatoes on AS instead.
Oct 2, 2017, 4:55 pm
#775
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Pacific Wonderland
Programs: ʙᴏɴᴠo̱ʏ Au, IHG Au, HH Dia, Nexus, Pilot FlyingJ Preferred
Posts: 5,336
No menu is going to satisfy everyone. Everyone has their food dislikes. Me? I'd like to see breakfast served up to 9am departures, between 9 and 11 one breakfast and one lunch entree. Preorder would be good IF there were more menu options than the scheduled service.
Oct 2, 2017, 6:32 pm
#776
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: East Ester, Alaska
Programs: Alaska Million Miler, United Million Miler, Wyndham Rewards Diamond, Choice Hotels Diamond
Posts: 12,148
Again, it's worth noting that by the time that we actually were served anything, it was already close to 1100am Pacific time and 2:00pm Eastern time.
Perhaps the reason Alaska is dragging its wings on Pre-ordered meals is that the program might end up costing them more money.
Last edited by Seat 2A; Oct 2, 2017 at 6:57 pm
Oct 2, 2017, 6:35 pm
#777
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Intermountain West
Programs: Too many to list
Posts: 12,089
I was on AS 764, the 0950 departure from Portland to Washington DCA. At that late hour of the morning, I assumed that it would be a luncheon flight, so then imagine my surprise when we were handed menus offering the dreaded Cheese and Scallion (free) Omelet or the House Made Granola and Yogurt.
Again, it's worth noting that by the time that we actually were served anything, it was already close to 1100am Pacific time and 2:00pm Eastern time.
Again, it's worth noting that by the time that we actually were served anything, it was already close to 1100am Pacific time and 2:00pm Eastern time.
Oct 2, 2017, 7:02 pm
#778
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: East Ester, Alaska
Programs: Alaska Million Miler, United Million Miler, Wyndham Rewards Diamond, Choice Hotels Diamond
Posts: 12,148
I suspect they're thinking something along the lines of:
It's more cost effective to serve breakfast than lunch on this flight. So what if most of them have already eaten breakfast by then. A few of 'em might complain, but most of them will just sigh and eat it. And we'll save money. Plus... upper management might just give me a nice bonus for keeping the catering costs down.
It's more cost effective to serve breakfast than lunch on this flight. So what if most of them have already eaten breakfast by then. A few of 'em might complain, but most of them will just sigh and eat it. And we'll save money. Plus... upper management might just give me a nice bonus for keeping the catering costs down.
Last edited by Seat 2A; Oct 2, 2017 at 7:47 pm
Oct 2, 2017, 7:12 pm
#779
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: AS, SQ, SPG, IHG
Posts: 319
I was just on AS 764, the 0950 departure from Portland to Washington DCA (Sep. 30). At that late hour of the morning, I assumed that it would be a luncheon flight, so then imagine my surprise when we were handed menus offering the dreaded Cheese and Scallion (free) Omelet or the House Made Granola and Yogurt.
Oct 2, 2017, 7:17 pm
#780
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Sacramento, CA
Programs: AA Exec Plat, Hyatt,Marriott,BA,AS
Posts: 4,428
I suspect they're thinking something along the lines of:
It's cheaper to serve breakfast than lunch on this flight. So what if most of them have already eaten breakfast by then. A few of 'em might complain, but most of them will just sigh and eat it. And we'll save money. Plus... upper management might just give me a nice bonus for keeping the catering costs down.
It's cheaper to serve breakfast than lunch on this flight. So what if most of them have already eaten breakfast by then. A few of 'em might complain, but most of them will just sigh and eat it. And we'll save money. Plus... upper management might just give me a nice bonus for keeping the catering costs down.
They need to get their F pre-order system up and running immediately, understanding that the merger is consuming them. But it can't be that complicated to get your IT people (or even outsource it) to get a pre-order meal system set up, before you piss off even more F customers.