Dec 31, 2016, 10:45 pm
Last edit by: JY1024
AA/US Domestic Dining (including Canada, Mexico, & the Caribbean)
Note: this thread is about meals served on AA-US. There is another thread for the contingent that wishes to debate and discuss linens as a primary subject, including related presentation issues: Linens / presentation debate for meal service on AA, US / both.
PLEASE: DO NOT POST OVERSIZED IMAGES; PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE AND REPEAT IMAGES IN YOUR QUOTED POST. /Moderators
Welcome to the 2017 Domestic Dining thread and the resulting discussion/trip reports/photos/shared experiences. Here, in this wiki post, I'll strive to explain what you should expect on AA flights in First and Business, meals-wise. Keep in mind that there are many domestic flights, so there are quite a few parameters to keep track of.
Basically, in its best condensed form, you should expect to receive a meal between 4:59am - 8pm on flights longer than 900 miles, which equals about two hours in the air. From that point, there are exceptions, and specific timing parameters.
What to Expect - Mainline:
Keep in mind that this list is not entirely inclusive, and there may be certain exceptions and/or abnormalities.
- Up to 699 miles: Light snacks such as a fig bar, cookies, and/or pretzels
- 700-899 miles: Warmed nuts, a snack plate (fruit/cheese, pita/hummus, or spinach dip/pita), and a cookie
- 900-1298 miles: A meal (fruit/breakfast entree; salad/entree) followed by a cookie; no meals between 1:30-4pm
- 1298-2199 miles: A full meal including an appetizer, with cake for lunch desserts and premade ice-cream for dinner desserts
- 2200 miles and above: Same as 1298-2199 miles, but consists of made-to-order sundaes or a cheese plate for both lunch and dinner desserts
What to Expect - Regional:
Keep in mind that this list is not entirely inclusive, and there may be certain exceptions and/or abnormalities.
- Up to 175 miles: A light snack mix along with beverage service
- 176-899 miles: Sweet and savory, organic/healthy snack choices (snack basket)
- 900-2199 miles: Warm mixed nuts, two meal options, and dessert. (For flights over 2200 miles, you will receive the same selection of snacks from 176-899 miles as a pre-arrival snack. All regional meal flights leaving after 8:00pm will also receive sweet and savory snacks as the only option. Editor's note: A regional jet for 2000+ miles? Hope that never happens!)
All of the meal flights that fall under the above timing parameters will receive two choices; normally, one meat and one vegetarian.
Longer westbound flights leaving from the east coast (transcontinental; non-premium) are not officially exceptions, but some flights after 8pm receive a full dinner service (such as the 8:05pm MIA-SAN flight, or the 8:30pm PHL-LAS flight). Additionally, non-premium transcontinental red-eye flights will receive snack basket service upon departure, then a continental breakfast box prior to arrival.
Official Exceptions:
The following flights all fall under 900 miles, but will receive a full meal service, with the exception of flights leaving between 1:31-4pm. Despite some of the listed flights being over 900 miles, they are remaining listed here, based on the AA website for documentation purposes.
- Chicago (ORD) - AUS/BDL/BOS/DCA/EWR/JFK/LGA/MSY/RDU
- Dallas (DFW) - BJX/ORD/MEX/QRO/SLP
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL) - PAP
- Los Angeles (LAX) - DEN
- Miami (MIA) - DCA/IAD/PAP
- New York (LGA) - ATL
- Phoenix (PHX) - MZT
Additional Information:
- JFK-LAX/SFO; MIA-LAX are considered premium transcontinental flights, and as such, receives a more refined service with three meal choices, per-course service, printed menus, and tray/tablecloth linens in both F/J. Those flights now are the only domestic flights in the system to offer special meals as another option (which can be reserved by either preordering online, or calling). Red-eye flights will receive a full "supper/snack" meal service, which is basically a condensed dinner service.
- Hawaiian meal service is very similar to what you'd expect on 2200+ mile flights, but there also will be Hawaiian rolls served, along with a pre-arrival continental breakfast/snack (dependent on the length of the route). Tropical warmed nuts are also currently served.
- All flights over 700 miles, regardless of a meal being served or not, will receive warm mixed nuts and a cookie.
Disclaimer: The editor of this Wiki does not guarantee the information presented above will always be accurate or properly followed by AA, given catering mishaps, irregular operations, rogue crews, or mismanagement. For the best up-to-date information, it would be prudent to check AA's website constantly for any updates, or call AA. The editors of this Wiki will keep this Wiki updated as often as possible.
2017 Combined AA Domestic Meal / Meals - menu / photos / etc. (master thread)
Jan 21, 2017, 10:22 am
#61
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: PHL
Programs: AAdvantage Platinum, Hilton HHonors Diamond
Posts: 1,204
Jan 21, 2017, 10:25 am
#62
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 5,270
The service for this flight is listed on AA.com as "Refreshments," so I suspect the latter.
Jan 21, 2017, 10:37 am
#63
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: PHL
Programs: AAdvantage Platinum, Hilton HHonors Diamond
Posts: 1,204
It has been listed as "refreshments" for at least two years now, and served with hot nuts, snack and a cookie. I'm going to go with miscater. One of us must be right, otherwise lazy FA wins out.
Jan 21, 2017, 2:02 pm
#64
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Kamuela, HI
Programs: AA-Plat
Posts: 462
Meal on LAX/KOA
Are either of these two choices edible?
Lunch (LAX to KOA)
Grilled Pork Chop
With mushroom medley, shiitake bread pudding and haricots verts
Asiago Stuffed Gnocchi
With pesto and burrata cheese
Lunch (LAX to KOA)
Grilled Pork Chop
With mushroom medley, shiitake bread pudding and haricots verts
Asiago Stuffed Gnocchi
With pesto and burrata cheese
Jan 21, 2017, 2:05 pm
#65
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: PHL
Programs: AA EXP / HH Diamond
Posts: 592
The (old) mile-based windows are in this thread's wiki, and time-wise, the plated snack options felt about correct for duration south-bound.
His service was... not polished, but I wouldn't say lazy (maybe a little on PDB options). Again, proactive on drink refills, and was with-it enough to bring all of us pretzels. I don't know the other people asking about more, but their expectation was clearly at least for the plated snacks and/or nut ramekin.
Last edited by Flyer78; Jan 21, 2017 at 2:10 pm
Jan 21, 2017, 2:31 pm
#66
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: AA
Posts: 14,744
Even the shortest flights get the snack basket, so I'm going with miscater.
Jan 21, 2017, 2:58 pm
#67
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: WAS/TYO
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP (3MM), DL PM, BONVOY TITANIUM, HYATT GLOBALIST, HILTON DIAMOND, IHG DIAMOND AMB, et al
Posts: 5,913
-FlyerBeek
Jan 21, 2017, 4:51 pm
#69
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: United 1P
Posts: 688
so lga to clt will not have meal service in the first class right?
Jan 21, 2017, 5:22 pm
#70
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New York, NY
Programs: BAEC Gold, Delta Platinum, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, AMEX Platinum (US)
Posts: 18,487
Jan 22, 2017, 11:48 am
#71
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: KHOU/KIAH
Programs: AA EXP | Marriott Bonvoy Titanium| Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 11,268
On BOS - DFW now
Choice of Salmon Salad (with vegetables and sliced egg) and Quinoa (with vegetables).
I ate the Quinoa on DCA-DFW last week and can unequivocally say it is the worst dish I've ever eaten on an AA flight*. Despite being a vegetarian, I chose the salmon salad as the salmon is on the side, and asked the FA to not serve it/not waste it.
--
* - worst food of all time was on a Jet Airways flight in India. They served some raw paneer/tofu type thing in sugar syrup. Nearly committed seppuku after the first bite.
Choice of Salmon Salad (with vegetables and sliced egg) and Quinoa (with vegetables).
I ate the Quinoa on DCA-DFW last week and can unequivocally say it is the worst dish I've ever eaten on an AA flight*. Despite being a vegetarian, I chose the salmon salad as the salmon is on the side, and asked the FA to not serve it/not waste it.
--
* - worst food of all time was on a Jet Airways flight in India. They served some raw paneer/tofu type thing in sugar syrup. Nearly committed seppuku after the first bite.
Jan 22, 2017, 12:06 pm
#72
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: AA PLT, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,405
Just because you were unfamiliar with the food or texture doesn't mean it was bad. What was it? Rasgulla? Rasmalai? Most likely it wasn't raw. The "dough balls" in rasgulla can have a rubbery texture that can be off-putting to the unfamiliar, but that's how it's often served all over India and the world. Obviously if it was rotten that's one thing. 9W used to have outstanding catering, even on Indian domestic flights.
Jan 22, 2017, 12:11 pm
#73
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: KHOU/KIAH
Programs: AA EXP | Marriott Bonvoy Titanium| Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 11,268
Just because you were unfamiliar with the food or texture doesn't mean it was bad. What was it? Rasgulla? Rasmalai? Most likely it wasn't raw. The "dough balls" in rasgulla can have a rubbery texture that can be off-putting to the unfamiliar, but that's how it's often served all over India and the world. Obviously if it was rotten that's one thing. 9W used to have outstanding catering, even on Indian domestic flights.
If only it was rasgulla or rasmalai, I would have been delighted. This was utterly a failure in culinary exercise. 9W has been hit or miss IMO, I had some of the best and some of the worst experiences with their catering. I flew EWR-BRU-DEL a couple years ago and the food was incredidble in J. Flew BLR-DEL a couple weeks ago and it was lousy, however DEL - BOM was quite good.
Jan 22, 2017, 12:22 pm
#74
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 698
Just wondering if anyone can suggest what I might get on a domestic first class flight I have coming up. It's PHL-MSP on E75 leaving 8.25am. This is a three hour flight.
Do the E75s have ovens? Should I just expect a normal breakfast meal? Or is it just a cold offering?
Do the E75s have ovens? Should I just expect a normal breakfast meal? Or is it just a cold offering?
Jan 22, 2017, 1:03 pm
#75
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: DCA/IAD/WAS
Programs: MAR AMB, WOH Explorist, AA EXP, UA 2P
Posts: 2,138
Just wondering if anyone can suggest what I might get on a domestic first class flight I have coming up. It's PHL-MSP on E75 leaving 8.25am. This is a three hour flight.
Do the E75s have ovens? Should I just expect a normal breakfast meal? Or is it just a cold offering?
Do the E75s have ovens? Should I just expect a normal breakfast meal? Or is it just a cold offering?