Jan 29, 2017, 11:30 am
Last edit by: Prospero
Special meals and nut allergies and Special meals and dietary requests
AA currently makes a number of “special meals” available on certain flights; they must be requested at least 24 hours in advance. Please see this page on AA.com for current information.
"Special meals are available on select flights with scheduled, complimentary meal service. Similar to scheduled meal service, they are based on departure time, destination and flight length. Menus vary monthly to ensure fresh and seasonal ingredients." See listing of special meals available from AA below.
How to request your special meal:
Contact Reservations (link)
For your interest, airline meal codes for SPML offerings on AA. The list of options may appear extensive but in practice the variety is much reduced due to duplication
From British Airways, definitions of these meals:
Archive of previous posts: ARCHIVE: Ordering SPML / Special Meal - how, what (consolidated)
AA currently makes a number of “special meals” available on certain flights; they must be requested at least 24 hours in advance. Please see this page on AA.com for current information.
"Special meals are available on select flights with scheduled, complimentary meal service. Similar to scheduled meal service, they are based on departure time, destination and flight length. Menus vary monthly to ensure fresh and seasonal ingredients." See listing of special meals available from AA below.
How to request your special meal:
- Make sure your flight has scheduled meal service
- Determine which specialty meal meets your need
- Call to order
- This option is available at least 24 hours before and up to 30 days in advance of your departure.
- Log into your AA account
- Select on Your Trips
- Select View/Change on your reservation
- Go down to Reserve a Meal.
- When you arrive at the airport, advise the gate agent and flight attendants that you ordered a special meal
- Call Reservations if you booked through American Airlines or contact your travel agent if you booked with an agency.
Contact Reservations (link)
For your interest, airline meal codes for SPML offerings on AA. The list of options may appear extensive but in practice the variety is much reduced due to duplication
- AVML - Asian Vegetarian Meal
- BBML - Baby / Infant Food
- BLML - Bland Meal
- CHML - Children’s Meal
- DBML - Diabetic Meal
- GFML - Gluten-free Meal
- HNML - Hindu Meal
- KSML - Kosher (Jewish) Meal
- LFML – Low Fat Meal
- LSML – Low Sodium Meal
- MOML - Muslim (Halal) Meal
- NLML – Non-Lactose Meal
- VGML - Vegetarian Meal (non-dairy)
- VLML – Vegetarian Lacto-ovo Meal
- VVML – Vegetarian Vegan Meal
From British Airways, definitions of these meals:
- Asian vegetarian - Does not contain fish, shellfish, meat, poultry or eggs. It is a meatless meal and spicy in content.
- Baby meal - ?
- Bland - For those with digestive tract and gut disorders. Excludes mustard, pickles, garlic, fried and fatty food.
- Child meal - Contains a combination of familiar and fun foods.
- Diabetic - For those who need to manage blood sugar levels. Foods excluded are sugars, syrups, jams, cakes and chocolate, unless specifically for diabetics.
- Gluten intolerant - Foods excluded are wheat or wheat flour, barley oats and rye, bread, cakes (unless wheat free), pastry, sausages or any flour based products.
- Hindu - Does not contain beef, beef derivatives, veal or pork, it is not a meatless meal.
- Kosher Meal - These meals are prepared to comply with Jewish dietary laws.
- Lacto-ovo vegetarian - Does not contain meat, fish or seafood. May contain dairy products such as milk, butter, cheese and eggs etc.
- Low fat - High fibre meal with reduced amounts of fat.
- Low lactose - Excludes cheese, dairy products and their derivatives and lactose or milk products.
- Low salt - Excludes use of salt, MSG and baking soda/powder, instead herbs and spices are used to flavour the meal.
- Muslim Meal - Does not contain pork, by-products of pork or foodstuffs containing alcohol. All meats come from ritually slaughtered animals.
- Vegan vegetarian - Does not contain meat, fish, fowl, eggs, honey, dairy products or derivatives. If vegan is not specified, then a lacto ovo meal will be provided.
Archive of previous posts: ARCHIVE: Ordering SPML / Special Meal - how, what (consolidated)
Guide: AA SPML - Special Meal (vegetarian, gluten intolerant, child, etc.)
Aug 2, 2018, 8:39 am
#151
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: NYC
Posts: 9,122
Nov 3, 2018, 12:12 am
#152
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: PHL
Programs: AA ExP, Marriott Amb, National EAE, Hilton Diamond, SPG Plat (RIP), US CP (RIP)
Posts: 2,379
For future reference try ordering the Diabetic meal. They are carb controlled so not nearly as carb heavy as many standard meal choices. And sometimes high protein with two proteins provided.
Nov 3, 2018, 4:06 am
#153
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: CLE
Posts: 1,886
Thank you. I’ll order the diabetic meal. The diabetic meal on Delta was just awful. What can I lose?
Nov 3, 2018, 5:05 am
#154
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: PHL
Programs: AA ExP, Marriott Amb, National EAE, Hilton Diamond, SPG Plat (RIP), US CP (RIP)
Posts: 2,379
Haven’t ordered it yet on an international flight but the domestic thread has several pictures and reviews. Generally on par with standard meal quality, sometimes much better. Only gripes are the roll is usually white when I’d prefer whole grain, and serving margarine instead of butter.
Nov 7, 2018, 11:23 am
#155
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: ORD (formerly SAN)
Programs: Hilton Diamond; IHG Platinum; Bonvoy Gold; AA Platinum Pro and United Premier Silver (DH = AA EXP)
Posts: 1,928
Domestic First, 7/29/18; pre-ordered asian vegetarian meal and received this entree. FA's were confused and hadn't seen it earlier, and kindly asked me if I still wanted it. It looked like salmon and had a sauce or topping that would typically be associated with salmon, but it had the texture of chicken and, with the topped scraped off, didn't have any distinctive flavor that I could detect -- although my taste buds were probably dulled after my beer was consumed. My guess is that was vegetarian and was one of those faux factory fish or chicken preparations. Anyone seen this earlier? I wasn't disappointed and wouldn't mind at all having it again, but I'm curious as to whether others have had it. PS - both side dishes were also good IMO
Nov 12, 2018, 4:55 am
#156
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: St. Paul, MN
Programs: Walmart Super Elite
Posts: 727
Do you have a photo of it cut into? There aren't many vegetarian items that has the texture of chicken. I used to frequent a vegetarian diner in San Diego that had meat-like dishes (like honey walnut shrimp) where the tofu was shaped and colored like meat, including chicken, salmon and shrimp. However, you can tell that it's tofu by its texture.
Jan 11, 2019, 8:45 am
#158
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Boston, USA
Programs: AA EXP, TK Elite, HH Gold, SPG/Marriott Gold
Posts: 939
Does anyone know the quality of AVML dinner out of Boston on LAX route in First ?
Is this going to be a Least common denominator "Bland" meal or they really cater
a Spicy/Indian vegetarian type meal as advertised ???
Is this going to be a Least common denominator "Bland" meal or they really cater
a Spicy/Indian vegetarian type meal as advertised ???
Jan 11, 2019, 9:02 am
#159
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Wherever the lounge is
Posts: 145
Hi All,
I just wanted to report on my experiment of ordering a VLML meal in J on a flight from CDG to PHL in December. I did not feel like eating any of the meat, and the pasta on the regular menu would have met the requirements of no meat but allowing eggs and dairy, but I wanted to roll the dice.
Well the dice came out as snake eyes. The best word I can use to describe the main meal, and the pre-landing meal is "atrocious." Even the flight attendant commented that she does not know what the caterers were doing, but she was going to "write up" and send a report to whomever is in charge of ordering the catering out of CDG that the food was poor. I did not take pictures, but all I can tell you is that it was some pile of unflavored, limp vegetables. Luckily, I had eaten well in the lounge before boarding, and I was able to eat nuts, bread, cheese and dessert for my main meal.
When the pre-arrival meal came around the flight attendant told me that I probably don't want to eat that and she got me a regular selection meal. She shared that all of the special meals on that flight were bad, and that even the children's meal which should have been simple, was unrecognizable and the kids would not eat it.
I hope this helps someone!
I just wanted to report on my experiment of ordering a VLML meal in J on a flight from CDG to PHL in December. I did not feel like eating any of the meat, and the pasta on the regular menu would have met the requirements of no meat but allowing eggs and dairy, but I wanted to roll the dice.
Well the dice came out as snake eyes. The best word I can use to describe the main meal, and the pre-landing meal is "atrocious." Even the flight attendant commented that she does not know what the caterers were doing, but she was going to "write up" and send a report to whomever is in charge of ordering the catering out of CDG that the food was poor. I did not take pictures, but all I can tell you is that it was some pile of unflavored, limp vegetables. Luckily, I had eaten well in the lounge before boarding, and I was able to eat nuts, bread, cheese and dessert for my main meal.
When the pre-arrival meal came around the flight attendant told me that I probably don't want to eat that and she got me a regular selection meal. She shared that all of the special meals on that flight were bad, and that even the children's meal which should have been simple, was unrecognizable and the kids would not eat it.
I hope this helps someone!
Jan 11, 2019, 6:48 pm
#161
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: LAX/BUR, RDU
Programs: DL SM, AAdvantage, SPG
Posts: 1,360
Hi All,
I just wanted to report on my experiment of ordering a VLML meal in J on a flight from CDG to PHL in December. I did not feel like eating any of the meat, and the pasta on the regular menu would have met the requirements of no meat but allowing eggs and dairy, but I wanted to roll the dice.
Well the dice came out as snake eyes. The best word I can use to describe the main meal, and the pre-landing meal is "atrocious." Even the flight attendant commented that she does not know what the caterers were doing, but she was going to "write up" and send a report to whomever is in charge of ordering the catering out of CDG that the food was poor. I did not take pictures, but all I can tell you is that it was some pile of unflavored, limp vegetables. Luckily, I had eaten well in the lounge before boarding, and I was able to eat nuts, bread, cheese and dessert for my main meal.
When the pre-arrival meal came around the flight attendant told me that I probably don't want to eat that and she got me a regular selection meal. She shared that all of the special meals on that flight were bad, and that even the children's meal which should have been simple, was unrecognizable and the kids would not eat it.
I hope this helps someone!
I just wanted to report on my experiment of ordering a VLML meal in J on a flight from CDG to PHL in December. I did not feel like eating any of the meat, and the pasta on the regular menu would have met the requirements of no meat but allowing eggs and dairy, but I wanted to roll the dice.
Well the dice came out as snake eyes. The best word I can use to describe the main meal, and the pre-landing meal is "atrocious." Even the flight attendant commented that she does not know what the caterers were doing, but she was going to "write up" and send a report to whomever is in charge of ordering the catering out of CDG that the food was poor. I did not take pictures, but all I can tell you is that it was some pile of unflavored, limp vegetables. Luckily, I had eaten well in the lounge before boarding, and I was able to eat nuts, bread, cheese and dessert for my main meal.
When the pre-arrival meal came around the flight attendant told me that I probably don't want to eat that and she got me a regular selection meal. She shared that all of the special meals on that flight were bad, and that even the children's meal which should have been simple, was unrecognizable and the kids would not eat it.
I hope this helps someone!
I've had good experiences with HNML and AVML (which are sometimes, but not always, the same), but it really does depend on the station. Do you remember who the caterer was for your flight?
Jan 11, 2019, 8:53 pm
#162
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Wherever the lounge is
Posts: 145
Maybe others can also speak to this, but I've noticed many airlines tend to lump VGML and VLML into the lowest category, and most VGML meals I've seen/heard of are boring vegetables or some unrecognizable slop.
I've had good experiences with HNML and AVML (which are sometimes, but not always, the same), but it really does depend on the station. Do you remember who the caterer was for your flight?
I've had good experiences with HNML and AVML (which are sometimes, but not always, the same), but it really does depend on the station. Do you remember who the caterer was for your flight?
But us you are right. My meal was more like a vegan meal Of low quality.
Jan 11, 2019, 9:02 pm
#163
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: LAX/BUR, RDU
Programs: DL SM, AAdvantage, SPG
Posts: 1,360
I've found AF/DL special meals out of CDG to be pretty good, and I think my good flights have been catered by Servair. YMMV though
Jan 12, 2019, 8:30 am
#164
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Boston, USA
Programs: AA EXP, TK Elite, HH Gold, SPG/Marriott Gold
Posts: 939
Maybe others can also speak to this, but I've noticed many airlines tend to lump VGML and VLML into the lowest category, and most VGML meals I've seen/heard of are boring vegetables or some unrecognizable slop.
I've had good experiences with HNML and AVML (which are sometimes, but not always, the same), but it really does depend on the station. Do you remember who the caterer was for your flight?
I've had good experiences with HNML and AVML (which are sometimes, but not always, the same), but it really does depend on the station. Do you remember who the caterer was for your flight?
Vegetarian meals (AVML) in J ! I complained and they agreed that this was an issue for a non-vegetarian
person. It was also tagged as HNML but completely vegetarian :-( So this was a clear case of TK
creating lowest common denominator meals and then tagging them differently to create an
illusion of multiple options...Fortunately there were other options on the standard menu that they
could offer me which I liked ! I will report how AA handles my AVML request out of Boston on a
domestic First meal...
Mar 8, 2019, 8:03 am
#165
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: American EXP; British Airways Gold
Posts: 1,896
Diabetic Meal on Transcon Flight
I grew tired of garbanzo beans in the Hindu/Muslim/AsianVeg offerings, so switched to Diabetic on domestic flights (not on long-haul since the diabetic breakfasts can be gross).
Sunday, March 3.....flew JFK-LAX in First on the noon flight.
Here's the entree:
Generous portion of mild Salmon with blistered tomatoes; white rice; asparagus. Nice offering from AA. ^
Sunday, March 3.....flew JFK-LAX in First on the noon flight.
Here's the entree:
Generous portion of mild Salmon with blistered tomatoes; white rice; asparagus. Nice offering from AA. ^