VegasGambler

I did? briev said he pre-ordered the F&C and got charged for it.

If that was an economy pre-order, that was not at all clear.

FWIW I just got off the OGG-SFO red-eye. It was a "snack" flight. I was expecting just the snack basket, but they had split pea soup and F&C!

briev

I preordered it both times -- I preorder it before basically every AS flight. The first time was free, the second time wasn't (and I just took the burger for free instead). Both times I took the identical steps -- preordered cheese and after upgrade I requested what I preordered instead of the FC menu -- and had two different replies from staff. The first was IAD>SEA, and the second time was LAX>SEA.

No big deal, just thought it was odd. I am addicted to the Beechers though.

AS Flyer

That was what I understood from your first post. You pre-ordered when you had a main cabin seat. When you were upgraded you requested the food you had pre-ordered when you were originally expecting to be in the main cabin. In that case, the food doesn't follow you. You can pre-order a First Class meal if within the allowable time, but if you were upgraded closer to departure than allowed for a pre-ordered meal then you would get the First Class meal and could still purchase the main cabin meal you pre-ordered. It's all semantics (because the cheese plate is pretty much the same - just plated rather than in a box) but, in this case, they matter. Clearly, no two FA's are on the same page about how this works but what I'm telling you above is the policy as it's told them by the company.

I guess I understood that you were upgraded because I know that First Class cheese plates are on a plate and the ones from main cabin are in a box. Despite all the crazy inconsistency, I don't know if any FA would have charged anyone for a plated cheese plate - those are only loaded in the FC cabin and are understood to have been ordered by a FC guest.

AS Flyer

You're right - it wasn't clear. I guess I understood that the first cheese plate was on a plate - that's one that was loaded in First Class for a First Class pre-order. The second one sounds like it was retrieved from main cabin - which I guessed was as a result of a pre-order previous to having been upgraded.

I'm a little confused about the soup and fruit and cheese - that's weird. Thought they just served the fruit and cheese plate but soup is always a nice bonus. I love soup LOL

VegasGambler

It has been a long time since I've done an AS redeye so I really did not know what to expect. I thought it was just going to be snack basket so I was very happy to get offered the F&C.

The soup was a little strange. As a Canadian I have a very specific idea about what split pea soup is supposed to be like and this was not it. It was kind of citrusy. It was ok, nothing special. I drank it down and went on to the cheese, which was great as always.

jsguyrus

And lets not forget one of the reasons they now offer food from the back (fruit & cheese or protein plate) is because we all complained about not being able to get a fruit and cheese up front!

whitf00t

Sitting in F right now from PDX-ORD, and the flight attendant (seemed to be a senior FA, extremely polite and friendly and excellent so far) explained the Fruit/Cheese plate policy. My seat mate requested it instead of the chicken/ravioli, and she said they’d have to charge him for it.

she agreed that it can be reserved, complimentary, in advance, but if not reserved in advance it has to be charged because they don’t load enough F/C plates for F to get complimentary.

extremely surprising to me, but, I guess that’s how it works.

channa

Even if you don't pre-order and you're past the pre-order cutoff, the AS app shows fruit and cheese as a meal option and "complimentary" in F.

Based on that, any charge from it should be refunded.

AS Flyer

but none of the food options are guaranteed - I mean, if you didn't get your choice of the other two options it's not likely they would refund your $$$. Honestly, that's between any of you and customer relations, I can only explain the policy onboard the airplanes.

Bellerina

But they obviously haven't run out of it if they are willing to sell you one. If the app shows it as complimentary even after cut-off, it should be free if they have it on board. If they don't have it for F, they should say they don't have any more in the F cabin. Seems like F&C would be easy to stock extra on the plane and then those not used in F could be extras to be sold in Main cabin. Not sure why they don't just stock a few extra for F.

Overall, it just is a little sour to be charged for food they have on the plane in F. Is it really worth $8 to piss off the F passengers? Feels like penny pinching on F product. Definitely making me re-think F when I have other airlines offering for much lower prices.

pcoll

AS FLYER, I appreciate your input and perspective on issues and questions we have about AS. Helps us understand what AS has in place and policy. Good to hear all sides.