Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Airlines and Mileage Programs > American Airlines | AAdvantage
Reload this Page >

ARCHIVE: 2018 AA Domestic Meal / Meals - menu / photos / etc. (master thread)

Community
Wiki Posts
Search
Old Jan 1, 2018, 1:30 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: JDiver
AA/US Domestic Dining (including Canada, Mexico, & the Caribbean)


See here for the 2019 domestic meal thread.


Note: this thread is about meals served on domestic AA flights.

Link to Combined 2018 AA International Meal / Meals - menu / photos / etc. (master thread)

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PLEASE: DO NOT POST OVERSIZED IMAGES; PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE AND REPEAT IMAGES IN YOUR QUOTED POST.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 2018 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.
Print Wikipost

ARCHIVE: 2018 AA Domestic Meal / Meals - menu / photos / etc. (master thread)

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Mar 17, 2018, 12:39 pm
  #211  
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
Originally Posted by AANYC1981
I’d be flying JetBlue on this route if you’re worried about FC and meal service
And hard product, and price.
cmd320 is offline  
Old Mar 17, 2018, 4:48 pm
  #212  
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: SF + PHX
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1k, Marriott Gold, HH Gold, X Elite+
Posts: 262
AA 563
MCO-PHX
Dinner

PDB on the ground followed by dinner immediately in the air.
No nuts and choice of beverage was only served once the FA was ready to serve your meal. (Took almost an hour to get through service)

choice of stuffed poblano or chicken meatballs.
corn salad appetizer and kale with citrus, cranberries and cheese as the real salad. No choice of roll; multigrain was pre-plated.

My pre-order wasn’t showing on the tablet, so I was at the mercy of others leaving me my top choice. Had the meatballs. They weren’t great, but AA food rarely is. A bit bland and a bit spicy simultaneously, depending on which bite you got. I had OD’d on polenta in the MIA centurion lounge beforehand but still had room for more.


Kreative03 is offline  
Old Mar 17, 2018, 8:22 pm
  #213  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Madrid
Programs: IB+ Emerald (Platino), M&M Senator (Gold), Meliá Rewards Platino, NH Platinum
Posts: 436
F catering downgrade (I wonder if it´s just an incidence or they started to copy UA crappy F meals):
DFW-CLT, today (17.03.18), breakfast flight.
Preordered online the typical omlette with potatoes and sausages (oatmeal with fruit was the 2nd option to preorder) and surprisingly got a cold sandwich with ham and tomato + fruit plate (croissant with eggs and ham was the 2nd option).
Marcin83 is offline  
Old Mar 18, 2018, 2:13 am
  #214  
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: los angeles, calif.
Programs: Alaska Airlines Gold MVP
Posts: 7,170
Originally Posted by cmd320
And hard product, and price.
Don't forget service.
MAH4546 is offline  
Old Mar 18, 2018, 1:50 pm
  #215  
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 45
MIA-ORD

Question, when was MIA-ORD downgraded in terms of dinner? The last time I flew the route a few years ago it was “enhanced” with shrimp cocktail and ice cream for dessert. Now, based on what I’ve read it seems like the route gets normal dinner service with cookies. Is this correct?
TheFlyGuy1992 is offline  
Old Mar 18, 2018, 2:40 pm
  #216  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: BOS
Programs: AAdvantage (Exec. Plat.)
Posts: 81
Originally Posted by TheFlyGuy1992
Question, when was MIA-ORD downgraded in terms of dinner? The last time I flew the route a few years ago it was “enhanced” with shrimp cocktail and ice cream for dessert. Now, based on what I’ve read it seems like the route gets normal dinner service with cookies. Is this correct?
Thaaaaaat would be when Doug & Hector & Co. made the meal "enhancements" after the merger a few years ago. BOS-MIA was the same way -- a very nice dinner with a shrimp appetizer and ice cream for dessert. The ironic thing is the new meal cutoff points exempt BOS by just a few miles. Oh well. Going for Great!
kszary is offline  
Old Mar 18, 2018, 7:45 pm
  #217  
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: USA
Programs: AAdvantage, MileagePlus, SkyMiles
Posts: 4,159
Originally Posted by TheFlyGuy1992
Question, when was MIA-ORD downgraded in terms of dinner? The last time I flew the route a few years ago it was “enhanced” with shrimp cocktail and ice cream for dessert. Now, based on what I’ve read it seems like the route gets normal dinner service with cookies. Is this correct?
Always been that way, at least since the merger. As MIA-ORD falls just barely under 1200 miles, it's been a dinner service with cookies for dessert. I think the cutoff for the "Basic Plus" service is about 1400-1500 miles, in where you'll get the appetizer and ice-cream. AA made those changes in 2014. However, I do think pmAA still treated this segment as a "Basic" service, not "Basic Plus" - I could be wrong, though.

Longer flights like ORD-SFO/LAX, DFW-SFO, etc. gets the longer service with ice-cream and appetizers, though.
MrAndy1369 is offline  
Old Mar 18, 2018, 7:46 pm
  #218  
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: USA
Programs: AAdvantage, MileagePlus, SkyMiles
Posts: 4,159
Originally Posted by Kreative03
AA 563
MCO-PHX
Dinner

PDB on the ground followed by dinner immediately in the air.
No nuts and choice of beverage was only served once the FA was ready to serve your meal. (Took almost an hour to get through service)

choice of stuffed poblano or chicken meatballs.
corn salad appetizer and kale with citrus, cranberries and cheese as the real salad. No choice of roll; multigrain was pre-plated.

My pre-order wasn’t showing on the tablet, so I was at the mercy of others leaving me my top choice. Had the meatballs. They weren’t great, but AA food rarely is. A bit bland and a bit spicy simultaneously, depending on which bite you got. I had OD’d on polenta in the MIA centurion lounge beforehand but still had room for more.
No nuts? Weird. What was your dessert?
MrAndy1369 is offline  
Old Mar 19, 2018, 8:54 am
  #219  
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Chicago, IL
Programs: United 1P, Hilton Gold
Posts: 62
I'm usually flying BOS->CLT (727miles) on a 5am/6am flight. Is there any way to request a breakfast that doesn't include the yoghurt (typo intential)? The smell makes me nauseous and eating it makes me sick. I'm not lactose intolerent (milk, cheese has always been fine) but that yogurt makes me sick. I usually end up eating the blueberries and leaving the rest alone. For once, it would be nice to have a better option than that.
The WalL is offline  
Old Mar 19, 2018, 9:53 pm
  #220  
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: San Diego (SAN)
Programs: IHG Platinum
Posts: 940
Originally Posted by NP2745
I will either be taking a SAN-JFK DIRECT REDEYE FLIGHT OR A SAN-JFK VIA PHX REDEYE FLIGHT later this year. Both flights would depart around 10:00pm in the leg to JFK. I know the shorter leg from SAN to PHX would just be beverages, but is the longer leg to JFK (both from PHX and SAN) just nuts and a cookie or is it the cheese/hummus plate? I know that is after their designated time to serve meals, but that is quite a long flight to simply have nuts and a cookie. Delta serves full meals from SAN-JFK on redeyes.
SAN-JFK redeye should start with the cheese/hummus plate option, and then will have a light continental breakfast plate (yogurt, blueberries, coffee cake) available before landing,

PHX-JFK redeye has nuts and a cookie after takeoff, and no arrival food service.
JonNYC likes this.
T/BE20/G is offline  
Old Mar 20, 2018, 1:53 pm
  #221  
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: USA
Programs: AAdvantage, MileagePlus, SkyMiles
Posts: 4,159
Originally Posted by T/BE20/G
SAN-JFK redeye should start with the cheese/hummus plate option, and then will have a light continental breakfast plate (yogurt, blueberries, coffee cake) available before landing,

PHX-JFK redeye has nuts and a cookie after takeoff, and no arrival food service.
How is this differentiated? LAX and PHX to JFK both are quite close in distance, and neither are premium transcons. Is it the 2200+ mile threshold? Also, a bit off point (but asking as you seem to be in the know), but any other changes coming to meal service, other than the rumored lunches on shorter haul meal flights losing cakes/pies to cookies?
MrAndy1369 is offline  
Old Mar 20, 2018, 11:05 pm
  #222  
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: San Diego (SAN)
Programs: IHG Platinum
Posts: 940
Originally Posted by MrAndy1369
How is this differentiated? LAX and PHX to JFK both are quite close in distance, and neither are premium transcons. Is it the 2200+ mile threshold? Also, a bit off point (but asking as you seem to be in the know), but any other changes coming to meal service, other than the rumored lunches on shorter haul meal flights losing cakes/pies to cookies?
I imagine that the official differentiation is the 2200 mile threshold, but my original answer is just based on first hand experience as a pilot who somewhat regularly operates both of those flights. SAN-MIA also has the snack/breakfast service, at just over 2200 miles, while PHX-JFK is just under that distance.
T/BE20/G is offline  
Old Mar 22, 2018, 2:39 pm
  #223  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Austin
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Glob, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium, UA *S, BA Fanboy
Posts: 414
AA2206: DFW-FLL: 2:30pm
Lunch
B738
First Class, 3E

Choices were Stuffed Poblano peppers, or Orzo salad with flavorless shrimp. It was far from spectacular, but from my understanding, I wasn't supposed to get a meal on this midday flight. Are we seeing a trend of more meals being served 1331-1600?
Red Raider LV is offline  
Old Mar 23, 2018, 1:58 pm
  #224  
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: USA
Programs: AAdvantage, MileagePlus, SkyMiles
Posts: 4,159
Originally Posted by T/BE20/G
I imagine that the official differentiation is the 2200 mile threshold, but my original answer is just based on first hand experience as a pilot who somewhat regularly operates both of those flights. SAN-MIA also has the snack/breakfast service, at just over 2200 miles, while PHX-JFK is just under that distance.
OK, awesome, thanks! Did you see my other question?
MrAndy1369 is offline  
Old Mar 23, 2018, 2:34 pm
  #225  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,602
Los Angeles LAX to New York JFK
American AA 172
A321T
10:45a-7:19p
March 19, 2018
First Class

Not sure if this was an FA thing or new #GoingForGreat directive, but pre departure beverages were served in plastic.



Today's menu...







And wine list which shockingly featured two $30 bottles plus a couple of more typicAAl $10 and a $20.



Showtime, AA style.



Nothing says AA First Class than plastic salt and pepper shakers. Hey, at least they're not paper packets.



The sourdough roll was warm and delicious.



The Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Timbale was quite good.







The Drouhin Pouilly-Vinzelles was a meh, although its room temp probably didn't help. It actually tasted better watered down and cooled by ice from my Diet Coke. LOL.



For my main, I chose the Thai Beef Red Curry with stir fried veggies and coconut rice. Nice presentation...



... and quite tasty despite the beef being pretty well done.





Mid flight snack from the snack basket. Panna from the Flagship Lounge.



And warm chocolate chip cookie about an hour out.

SFO777 is offline  


Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.