jhurwitz

On my last pmVX Airbus flight, the flight attendant told me that 10/31 is the last day that Airbus planes will allow on-demand ordering of food & drink via the Red IFE. According to her, effective 11/1 the Airbus fleet will switch to pmAS-style beverage cart service, where you order from and pay at the cart, with multiple cart services on longer flights.

I haven't seen anything about this on FT yet, but apologies if this has been covered already. I guess we'll find out in a few days if this rumor is true.

isaac.chambers

I was told this a couple of weeks ago regarding Red IFE will fully non-functional starting 11/1 - only streaming will be available on the airbuses. we will see of course.

this was mentioned in the airbus repaint/reconfiguration thread....

AS Flyer

sltlyamusd

I'm glad to hear this. I like the idea of having multiple cart services on longer flights (although I'm still bummed that the PTVs will be removed). There have been some product inconsistencies in terms of in flight product between AS metal and VX metal (like not getting warm nuts or biscoffs on VX metal). Hopefully those will be coming to an end.

bkojote

RIP, Red Food ordering was awesome.

isaac.chambers

thanks for the clarification - glad to see the entertainment continue even when the ordering stops. Although i can see this saving a ton of catering....me and my partner always raced each other after the 10k announcement to order food and drinks.....

VegasGambler

This is just a way for them to save money by bringing you fewer drinks.

No matter how often the carts come by (and my money's on "not very often") how can it be better than getting drinks on demand? This isn't only about booze either... it's nice to be about to just get a coffee or a coke or a water whenever you want one, rather than on a set schedule.

sltlyamusd

I like the idea of on demand ordering a lot, and also the idea of not having the aisle blocked by the drink cart. However, my personal experience ordering via RED has been somewhat inconsistent. Sometimes the card readers were broken. Sometimes you order a drink or food and it shows up right away. Sometimes it never shows up and you have to track someone down. The principle is great, just that the execution wasn't always.

Ideally, AS would have installed RED on the 737s and that way there would be a consistent experience fleet-wide. But, as their investor day presentation indicates, they view themselves as a "LCC," and thus are removing amenities instead of installing them.

be_rettSEA

Not to mention it often pulled the F flight attendant's attention from the front cabin to constantly checking the order screen and fulfilling Y cabin drink orders, so will be nice to have their full attention on the front cabin. But agreed - love the on-demand ordering and no carts in aisle when in coach.

VegasGambler

Yeah, I can see that it might be too "modern" for some people. As they say, it's just like online shopping... but some people don't shop online.

Still, it's just so much more convenient. I hate it when I'm thirsty on a plane (the air is so dry) and I have to wait for water. I'm not one of those people who tries to milk F or premium for as many drinks as possible... but when I'm thirsty I want to be able to get water.

notquiteaff

northwesterner

This is the current status quo on ex-VX flights.

The VX flight attendants, as a whole, are very slow with their single cart service. The last couple of flights, they asked what my drink was rather than check their tablets for what was ordered on Red.

Right now, the AS service standard on a SEA-LAX flight is two full drink services and a water service. How many more drinks do you need?

It's been a while since I've been on AS metal transcon or mid-con, but I recall the FAs being very active and visible with drink services (similar to what you see on Delta).

The VX flight attendants literally sit in the galley for the entirety of a 6hr trans-con, save for the one cart service. Even though they'll get you anything you want, it doesn't give any sense of proactive service.

wwongo

I guess I'm in the minority but I prefer that the cart method. I have no problem with ordering online but I just like the way the cart usually comes three times on a transcon flight. Maybe it just seems pushy to me to make someone bring me something so I won't ask but well if they are already coming by...

Mostly though I think AS needs the process to be consistent across flights. I rarely fly the airbus fleet and the one time that I did in coach, I was surprised to miss out on a cheese plate even though I was in the first row, because people ordered them too fast. It was just not what I expected and I think most people just like to know what to expect.

VegasGambler

Well, is not proactive. It's the exact opposite.

If prefer to request something whenever I want it (assuming that the process is easy, which it is) rather than have to wait until I'm offered. The whole point is, I prefer to have it in my schedule than on theirs.

I guess I understand that getting offered gives it more if an impression of service... people would rather deal with a person than a computer. I just don't really put a lot of value in that. As long as I can get what I want, when I want it, I'm perfectly happy to order it from the menu.

It really is just like online shopping. I'd rather order something while watching tv in my underwear and have it arrive 2 days later than have to wait til a store is open and take time out of my schedule to go there. But it's not for everyone.

m_j_n

This was more or less the procedure, at least in my experience regularly flying VX for nearly their entire existence. Cart service shortly after takeoff to provide food/bev, or deliver anything already ordered. On demand afterwards. Premium seats were prioritized. It usually worked wonderfully, though I can only judge by what I experienced.