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

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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PLEASE: DO NOT POST OVERSIZED IMAGES; PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE AND REPEAT IMAGES IN YOUR QUOTED POST.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.
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ARCHIVE: 2018 AA Domestic Meal / Meals - menu / photos / etc. (master thread)

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Old Oct 13, 2018, 5:05 pm
  #901  
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: MIA
Programs: AA EXP (AC), DL G (SC), Bonvoy LTP, & IHG AMB
Posts: 1,798
Originally Posted by AANYC1981
Really lousy AA flight this morning:

LGA-ORD (NYC based crew)
738 (classic)
Breakfast

PDB of water/OJ only from the FC FA who strolled up to the gate just before boarding time.

Pre-order barely acknowledged: cheese omelette or oatmeal. Drink orders taken on the ground and I requested a bloody mary.

FC FA delivers everyone's first drink in-flight on the meal tray. Mine comes with no drink and FC FA says they didn't stock any mixers so he'll have to go back to coach to get it.......he never does. So I stop him and say I'll just have a screwdriver instead (since I saw people having OJ). He then comes back to me and says they didn't stock any liquor in the FC cart.....WTH?

Eventually one of the coach FA's did bring up some minis and I had the screwdriver, but man AA is sinking to new lows.
Your experience mirrors mine with regard to breakfast hour service almost exactly and it's contributing factor to my playing the field now. Whereas UA used to have the most inconsistent service standards among FAs, IME AA now has the title: very few great ones and too many lazy ones just going through the motions... And I'm sure there was no post-flight survey because let's be honest, why track abysmal metrics? Service standard declines oddly enough correspond with a plummeting stock value #Greatiswhatweregoingfor
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Old Oct 13, 2018, 5:35 pm
  #902  
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Join Date: Nov 2003
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Originally Posted by CHOPCHOP767


In the quest to find a decent breakfast on AA, alas the Kosher option brought me no closer to something even remotely satisfying... This was the meal, as presented, onboard my 07:00 from ORD to BOS. On the plus side: the A321. On the more negative side, the crew mailed this one in, I tried eating the bagel that wasn't even warmed - had two bites and tossed it, and the seat didn't recline... Sadly, par for the course with AA these days...
that looks God awful

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Old Oct 16, 2018, 1:39 pm
  #903  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Nice quiet place in The Fla Keys
Programs: AA - My other choices are severely limited
Posts: 72
Originally Posted by FlightNurse
I'll stick with the Muslim or Asian meals from now on.
It's now the DW's meals of choice or the gluten free's.
I'm guessing the proverbial cheese lasagna got old.

BTW, our upcoming MIA-LGA-MIA, on an Awaysis (Thanx JDiver), has it again. WTH?

Last edited by Nomorepretzels; Oct 16, 2018 at 1:42 pm Reason: grammar
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Old Oct 16, 2018, 5:01 pm
  #904  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 67
Thanks, very helpful.

It's still giving me an option to order a special meal in the online reservation, so I will report back on how that is.
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Old Oct 19, 2018, 11:05 am
  #905  
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Denver
Programs: AS, AA, UA, Hilton, Marriott, Caesars DE
Posts: 2,070
AA 1636 CLT-DEN
16:11 Departure
10/18/18

Choice: Beef Fillet or Cheese Lasagna. Fillet came with a simple salad, roll, some sort of meat side but was very suspicious and unsure, quinoa and asparagus side and a small onion, which my dish did not have. No PDB possibly due to an hour delay, nuts and drinks served after takeoff.


Last edited by safari ari; Oct 29, 2018 at 8:51 pm
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Old Oct 19, 2018, 12:51 pm
  #906  
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
Posts: 175
skimpy F breakfast on transcon

october 6, 2018
AA2
LAX/JFK
seat 4A
321T
9:15 departure
breakfast

chose the shrimp avocado toast - got 2 slices of toast, 2 shrimp, and about 1 tbsp. of avocado - that was the pre-booked main course! very poor for F - thank goodness i'd had the gorgeous fruit plate in flagship dining before boarding or i would have had to eat every one of those basket snacks :-)
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Old Oct 19, 2018, 1:43 pm
  #907  
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Join Date: May 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Diamond, AAdvantage EXP, Hyatt Explorist, HHonors Diamond, Avis First
Posts: 7,344
Originally Posted by 2Ruse
october 6, 2018
AA2
LAX/JFK
seat 4A
321T
9:15 departure
breakfast

chose the shrimp avocado toast - got 2 slices of toast, 2 shrimp, and about 1 tbsp. of avocado - that was the pre-booked main course! very poor for F - thank goodness i'd had the gorgeous fruit plate in flagship dining before boarding or i would have had to eat every one of those basket snacks :-)
if I’m in FC on this route I wouldn’t even bother with the food in FC......eat in Flagship First Dining and just have the drinks keep coming up front and sleep.

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Old Oct 21, 2018, 4:28 pm
  #908  
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: PHX & AGP
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 11,453
Originally Posted by AANYC1981


if I’m in FC on this route I wouldn’t even bother with the food in FC......eat in Flagship First Dining and just have the drinks keep coming up front and sleep.

I would agree with you 100%, people are worrying about what is being serviced, who cares it's garage, eat at the FFD and sleep the flight away.
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Old Oct 21, 2018, 6:22 pm
  #909  
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Join Date: Nov 2003
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Programs: American Airlines
Posts: 30,028
Originally Posted by AANYC1981


if I’m in FC on this route I wouldn’t even bother with the food in FC......eat in Flagship First Dining and just have the drinks keep coming up front and sleep.

You wouldn't be saying this if he was in Dallas!

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Old Oct 22, 2018, 2:40 pm
  #910  
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LGA-ORD
738
Lunch
PDB of choice

Pre-ordered the diabetic meal (I'm not diabetic just sick of the shrimp salad and cheese enchiladas). FA commented how good my meal looked lol. Bread warming was offered but I declined.



Service was nothing to write home about other than this LAA cew actually doing a full PDB
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Old Oct 22, 2018, 3:35 pm
  #911  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: AA PLT, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,405
Originally Posted by AANYC1981
Bread warming was offered but I declined.

LAA cew actually doing a full PDB
Sure sounds noteworthy to me! That is certifiably spectacular service by LCC standards.
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Old Oct 23, 2018, 11:33 am
  #912  
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: DEN
Programs: DL PM, Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Gold
Posts: 399
Flying LAX-LIH on Thursday and got these choices (with an unexpected upgrade ). Found the options in various threads but no opinions....anyone have an opinion on these two?
  • Grilled Pork Chop Grilled Pork Chop
    With mushroom medley, shiitake bread pudding and haricots verts
  • Braised Curry Chickpeas Braised Curry Chickpeas
    cilantro rice, sautéed red bell pepper
Youngtraveldude is offline  
Old Oct 24, 2018, 1:59 pm
  #913  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 1
I mostly lurk here just to see what options might be. Wouldn't you know I would get 2 choices I haven't seen talked about much.

11/23/18
DFW-MCO
Lunch

Choices are

Tex Mex Salad -
romaine, roasted corn, black beans, tomato and cotija cheese with a side of grilled Adobo chicken

or

Chow Mein Noodle Bowl
with stir fried vegetables and miso glaze

Of course there is also the cheese plate and various special meals.

Any recommendations?
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Old Oct 24, 2018, 2:07 pm
  #914  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA- EXP UA - Silver SPG- PLT Marriott- PLT
Posts: 759
Originally Posted by AANYC1981
LGA-ORD
738
Lunch
PDB of choice

Pre-ordered the diabetic meal (I'm not diabetic just sick of the shrimp salad and cheese enchiladas). FA commented how good my meal looked lol. Bread warming was offered but I declined.



Service was nothing to write home about other than this LAA cew actually doing a full PDB
Is that salmon and mashed potatoes? Looks really good if it is!
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Old Oct 24, 2018, 3:58 pm
  #915  
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Location: NYC
Programs: DL Diamond, AAdvantage EXP, Hyatt Explorist, HHonors Diamond, Avis First
Posts: 7,344
Originally Posted by chicagoflyer1976
Is that salmon and mashed potatoes? Looks really good if it is!
seasoned chicken breast with mashed potatoes and a rather bland gravy. Better than the preorder options though!
AANYC1981 is offline  


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