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PLEASE: DO NOT POST OVERSIZED IMAGES; PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE AND REPEAT IMAGES IN YOUR QUOTED POST.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)
#1051
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2012
Location: MCO
Programs: AA, B6, DL, EK, EY, QR, SQ, UA, Amex Plat, Marriott Tit, HHonors Gold
Posts: 12,809
Yes! Some people want breakfast, others want lunch. There's no reason why a brunch menu couldn't be provided to offer both.
#1052
Join Date: May 2015
Location: SFO
Programs: AA, AS, AC, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG
Posts: 198
If this is mentioned somewhere else in these many comments, sorry....
I can never figure out why AA does not serve breakfast, instead of offering a lunch or dinner option, on their HNL to LAX early flight. Once again I am taking the 8am departure time from HNL and the food options are a cheese Cannelloni or a Monte Cristo sandwich. I don’t get it.
I can never figure out why AA does not serve breakfast, instead of offering a lunch or dinner option, on their HNL to LAX early flight. Once again I am taking the 8am departure time from HNL and the food options are a cheese Cannelloni or a Monte Cristo sandwich. I don’t get it.
#1053
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: PHX & AGP
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 11,463
This sounds reasonable however, I they do a brunch service you have a breakfast item and a lunch item, not too complex really, plus add to the fact that you can pre-order your meal makes it very easy. Also to be fair AA has brunch item on the West to east coast flights... Wouldn't be very hard to scale them down for domestic meal.
#1054
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: LGB
Programs: AA Platinum Pro, Marriott Platinum, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 241
Snack Basket Change?
So it appears that they’ve changed up the options for the Eagle short-haul snack basket. Gone are the thin chocolate chip cookies, which were awesome (for prepackaged cookies). Now it seems like the best sweet option is the honey & oat “waffle” which is meh.
Normally I’m flying ORD catered flights, and these were catered in CLT, so not sure if that makes a difference. The FA commented on the change too though.
Normally I’m flying ORD catered flights, and these were catered in CLT, so not sure if that makes a difference. The FA commented on the change too though.
#1055
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: USA
Programs: AAdvantage, MileagePlus, SkyMiles
Posts: 4,161
So it appears that they’ve changed up the options for the Eagle short-haul snack basket. Gone are the thin chocolate chip cookies, which were awesome (for prepackaged cookies). Now it seems like the best sweet option is the honey & oat “waffle” which is meh.
Normally I’m flying ORD catered flights, and these were catered in CLT, so not sure if that makes a difference. The FA commented on the change too though.
Normally I’m flying ORD catered flights, and these were catered in CLT, so not sure if that makes a difference. The FA commented on the change too though.
#1056
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Los Angeles & Orange County, CA
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I don't disagree with your assessment, but for me when it comes to the quality and quantity of food served for main courses, I consistently am finding better luck with UA and then DL overall. Breakfast is a weird one but I still tend to find myself not liking what AA is serving. Really don't like omelettes on the ground, in the air they're even worse. I miss the breakfast skillets on AA. Those were actually pretty decent.
For short hauls/Midcons, VX is currently the best but they are going away. Let's see what AS will do, but I'm going to say that they are all the same sh*t. Warm nuts and disgusting Thrifty "ice cream" are not going to be a differentiator for me. I'm going to pay for whoever is the cheapest.
For premium transcontinental. There is no comparison. DL leads the pack so far ahead it's not even close. B6 follows in second. VX, then UA. AA is dead last. Again, an ice cream sundae should not be the differentiator when I am going to get a nicer appetizer, main, and a dessert elsewhere vs the crap AA serves. I WILL pay more to pick DL on this route, up to a few hundred dollars.
Pre-ordering is nice, but if I'm pre-ordering cr@p, it doesn't really matter.
#1057
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Durham, NC (RDU/GSO/CLT)
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#1058
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Durham, NC (RDU/GSO/CLT)
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Posts: 33,857
AA 1787 CLT-PDX 2015-2246 A-321
Full PDB ^^
Unprompted doubles was unexpected but very appreciated
Choice of cheese lasagna or beef filet. The beef was not very good and very overdone. That said, I appreciated a full dinner service on this later flight
We also got a choice of sundaes or a fruit and cheese plate.
Full PDB ^^
Unprompted doubles was unexpected but very appreciated
Choice of cheese lasagna or beef filet. The beef was not very good and very overdone. That said, I appreciated a full dinner service on this later flight
We also got a choice of sundaes or a fruit and cheese plate.
#1059
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: SF + PHX
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1k, Marriott Gold, HH Gold, X Elite+
Posts: 262
AA 975
5:05 p.m. - 7:46 p.m.
ORD-SFO
Choice of stuffed poblano or herbs dchicken
My chicken pre-order was not acknowledged and thankfully there were some left when the attendant got to me.
Appetizer corn 'salad', salad was spinach with citrus and cheese + italian dressing.
Dessert was strawberry ice cream
5:05 p.m. - 7:46 p.m.
ORD-SFO
Choice of stuffed poblano or herbs dchicken
My chicken pre-order was not acknowledged and thankfully there were some left when the attendant got to me.
Appetizer corn 'salad', salad was spinach with citrus and cheese + italian dressing.
Dessert was strawberry ice cream
#1060
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: AA Executive Platinum/Million Miler, Marriott Titanium Elite-Lifetime, Hilton Gold
Posts: 3,217
The stuffed poblano peppers is actually one of my favorite AA meals in First. It's far tastier than the chicken.
#1061
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: SF + PHX
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1k, Marriott Gold, HH Gold, X Elite+
Posts: 262
i happen to agree on flavor, but since I’ve never had the luxury of an option (usually get stuck with the lasagna or pepper, depending on route) I figured I’d try my luck. I’d pick the pepper from now on.
#1062
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: DCA
Programs: AA Executive Platinum
Posts: 2,085
Nice to see that the post-8pm meals do remain on PHL/CLT trancons. These are great, and the service is complete and includes a choice of desserts.
#1063
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: GVA
Programs: BA Silver (OW Sapphire), A3 Gold (*G), Bonvoy LTTE, HHonors Diamond, LeClubAccor Silver, UA Silver
Posts: 1,778
So what should I expect after 8pm? Nothing?
Got a 8:39PM ORD-SFO flight coming up. Should I just eat at Flagship lounge?
Got a 8:39PM ORD-SFO flight coming up. Should I just eat at Flagship lounge?
#1064
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: New Orleans (MSY)
Programs: AA EXP, IHG PLT, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Explorist, Amtrak, WN
Posts: 2,617
#1065