Jan 1, 2018, 1:30 pm
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PLEASE: DO NOT POST OVERSIZED IMAGES; PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE AND REPEAT IMAGES IN YOUR QUOTED POST.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.
ARCHIVE: 2018 AA Domestic Meal / Meals - menu / photos / etc. (master thread)
Dec 18, 2018, 11:23 pm
#1066
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: District of Columbia
Programs: AA ExecPl, AT Gold, Hyatt Globalist, IHG Diamond, Hilton Diamond, National
Posts: 2,440
But the UA cheeseburger was actually good! I haven't tried this one, but the picture makes it look terrible, and the description of one hard inedible top bun and one mushy bottom bun doesn't sound too appealing!
Dec 19, 2018, 5:47 am
#1067
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: AA Executive Platinum/Million Miler, Marriott Titanium Elite-Lifetime, Hilton Gold
Posts: 3,210
I had it last week. It was actually decent. Not as bad as I was expecting it to be.
Dec 19, 2018, 5:55 am
#1068
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: BOS
Programs: AAdvantage (Exec. Plat.)
Posts: 81
BOS-DFW B738 Boeing Sky Interior early, early morning flight. No pre-order due to upgrade clearing at gate; however, both options of cheese omelette and oatmeal offered. Biscuit, bagel, or chocolate croissant offered after the entire cabin had been served.
(Sidebar: At D-100 there were eight open seats in first. My upgrade finally cleared 10 minutes prior to boarding even though I was the only person on the upgrade list and six open seats. Conversely, my DFW-MEX leg cleared at exactly D-100 with 10 open seats. I honestly can't figure out the AA upgrade algorithm.)
BOS-based crew that couldn't care less about their jobs, unfortunately. And very junior. However, there was lots of time for extremely loud galley talk (5 a.m. departure so not really appreciated when everyone was trying to sleep) Facebooking, lotioning, schedule gossiping, and several more rounds of lotioning.
PDB of water, OJ, and apple juice. No names or status recognition the entire flight. The meal itself was not bad, though I didn't finish the biscuit because they didn't cater jelly and it was just too dry. Refills offered periodically.
EDIT: An hour before boarding, with nearly the entire cabin asleep, the flight attendants seemingly decided it was time for people to get up and proceeded to drone on and on and on about the latest not-so-exciting credit card offer.
(Sidebar: At D-100 there were eight open seats in first. My upgrade finally cleared 10 minutes prior to boarding even though I was the only person on the upgrade list and six open seats. Conversely, my DFW-MEX leg cleared at exactly D-100 with 10 open seats. I honestly can't figure out the AA upgrade algorithm.)
BOS-based crew that couldn't care less about their jobs, unfortunately. And very junior. However, there was lots of time for extremely loud galley talk (5 a.m. departure so not really appreciated when everyone was trying to sleep) Facebooking, lotioning, schedule gossiping, and several more rounds of lotioning.
PDB of water, OJ, and apple juice. No names or status recognition the entire flight. The meal itself was not bad, though I didn't finish the biscuit because they didn't cater jelly and it was just too dry. Refills offered periodically.
EDIT: An hour before boarding, with nearly the entire cabin asleep, the flight attendants seemingly decided it was time for people to get up and proceeded to drone on and on and on about the latest not-so-exciting credit card offer.
Last edited by kszary; Dec 19, 2018 at 6:10 am
Dec 19, 2018, 1:10 pm
#1069
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,602
ORD-LAX
AA 1384
pmAA A321 with seat back IFE... wow, what a concept but enjoy it while it lasts
7:20a-10:10a (sked)
7:15a-9:20a (actual)
December 19, 2018
Hindu Breakfast
Had no idea what to expect with the Hindu Breakfast so I stopped at the FL as my ridiculously early morning PIT-ORD flight landed at 5:45am.
Impressive selection although the omelet station didn't open until sometime after 6am. I had the feta quiche, chorizo and thin sliced potatoes. The quiche was a little disappointing but the chorizo and potatoes were excellent.
And who doesn't want dessert at 6am? It was to die for.
On board, the usual mixed bag of crew attitudes. The lead First Class FA was OK offering PDBs and acknowledging pre-ordered meals including my Hindu meal. I have no idea what the dish was but it was quite refreshing. Tasted like a lightly sweetened coconut and raisin oatmeal. And four slices of small but tasty naan.
While the First Class FA was good, the main cabin male FA that helped pick up tray was totally disinterested, didn't say a word and just pointed at my tray, apparently the new AA gesture for "are you done?" Where does AA find these gems?
AA 1384
pmAA A321 with seat back IFE... wow, what a concept but enjoy it while it lasts
7:20a-10:10a (sked)
7:15a-9:20a (actual)
December 19, 2018
Hindu Breakfast
Had no idea what to expect with the Hindu Breakfast so I stopped at the FL as my ridiculously early morning PIT-ORD flight landed at 5:45am.
Impressive selection although the omelet station didn't open until sometime after 6am. I had the feta quiche, chorizo and thin sliced potatoes. The quiche was a little disappointing but the chorizo and potatoes were excellent.
And who doesn't want dessert at 6am? It was to die for.
On board, the usual mixed bag of crew attitudes. The lead First Class FA was OK offering PDBs and acknowledging pre-ordered meals including my Hindu meal. I have no idea what the dish was but it was quite refreshing. Tasted like a lightly sweetened coconut and raisin oatmeal. And four slices of small but tasty naan.
While the First Class FA was good, the main cabin male FA that helped pick up tray was totally disinterested, didn't say a word and just pointed at my tray, apparently the new AA gesture for "are you done?" Where does AA find these gems?
Last edited by SFO777; Dec 19, 2018 at 3:18 pm
Dec 19, 2018, 3:08 pm
#1070
Suspended
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Diamond, AAdvantage EXP, Hyatt Explorist, HHonors Diamond, Avis First
Posts: 7,344
LGA-MIA
738
Breakfast
Truly poor service in FC from one of the laziest FA's I have seen in years. I'll just leave it at that as there are too many failures to cover:
738
Breakfast
Truly poor service in FC from one of the laziest FA's I have seen in years. I'll just leave it at that as there are too many failures to cover:
Dec 19, 2018, 5:31 pm
#1071
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: BOS
Programs: AAdvantage (Exec. Plat.)
Posts: 81
DFW-MEX: Upgrade cleared at D-100. B738 (no video). Cheese enchiladas pre-ordered. PDB of water or OJ (so, LAA crew, at least in the front of the plane). Nice, cordial galley flight attendant, though a lackluster service overall.
Ended up pushing about 30 minutes late as someone decided not to go to MEX which required pulling all of the bags off the plane, removing that person’s bag, and then once again re-loading the bags.
Once airborne, FA’s were in no rush to get started. Finally started working about 25 minutes into a 1:59 flight. First drink arrived 1:10 into the flight, which was co-located with the meal tray delivery. Nuts were also served on the meal tray.
The cheese enchiladas were actually pretty good, if a bit on the heavy side for lunch. Soft corn tortillas filled with rice and cheese and a subtle spicy finish. The AA salads continue to get more embarrassing as time goes on. The bowls are small in the first place, and this one wasn't even halfway filled.
The roll was so hard I honestly couldn't manage to cut it, so I passed on it completely (better carbs to be had in Mexico, anyway).
Drink refills were difficult due to the timing; ended up having to ask. Choice of chocolate chip or snickerdoodle cookie during descent, as well as the never-ending “limited time” credit card offer. Which seemed a bit silly to even attempt on a flight were at least 75 percent of the passengers didn’t have a U.S. Social Security number.
Mints catered as seen on my drive-by to the bathroom, but left in the cart, which seems to be the new norm for at least 60% of my flights.
Apropos of nothing: the “enhanced” food options at the DFW Admirals Club were actually fantastic. A self-service breakfast taco bar (eggs, crumbled bacon, cheese, black beans, tortillas, salsas, etc.) made for a very good snack. I hope they continue these options. Unfortunately both coffee machines in the Terminal A club were broken, and there isn’t nearly enough staff to keep the food replenished and the club clean considering how many people they let inside.
Standby for MEX-CLT on Saturday.
Ended up pushing about 30 minutes late as someone decided not to go to MEX which required pulling all of the bags off the plane, removing that person’s bag, and then once again re-loading the bags.
Once airborne, FA’s were in no rush to get started. Finally started working about 25 minutes into a 1:59 flight. First drink arrived 1:10 into the flight, which was co-located with the meal tray delivery. Nuts were also served on the meal tray.
The cheese enchiladas were actually pretty good, if a bit on the heavy side for lunch. Soft corn tortillas filled with rice and cheese and a subtle spicy finish. The AA salads continue to get more embarrassing as time goes on. The bowls are small in the first place, and this one wasn't even halfway filled.
The roll was so hard I honestly couldn't manage to cut it, so I passed on it completely (better carbs to be had in Mexico, anyway).
Drink refills were difficult due to the timing; ended up having to ask. Choice of chocolate chip or snickerdoodle cookie during descent, as well as the never-ending “limited time” credit card offer. Which seemed a bit silly to even attempt on a flight were at least 75 percent of the passengers didn’t have a U.S. Social Security number.
Mints catered as seen on my drive-by to the bathroom, but left in the cart, which seems to be the new norm for at least 60% of my flights.
Apropos of nothing: the “enhanced” food options at the DFW Admirals Club were actually fantastic. A self-service breakfast taco bar (eggs, crumbled bacon, cheese, black beans, tortillas, salsas, etc.) made for a very good snack. I hope they continue these options. Unfortunately both coffee machines in the Terminal A club were broken, and there isn’t nearly enough staff to keep the food replenished and the club clean considering how many people they let inside.
Standby for MEX-CLT on Saturday.
Dec 19, 2018, 8:24 pm
#1072
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Durham, NC (RDU/GSO/CLT)
Programs: AA EXP/MM, DL GM, UA Platinum, HH DIA, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 33,857
AA 2796 MIA-ORD 10:00-12:19 PM 767-300
PDB of Water or OJ
Choice of the Cheeseburger or Asian Chicken Salad. Presentation isn't the best but it's fairly decent for lunch. And I was so sick of the Poblano Peppers or Nicoise Salad so at least it's new.
Chocolate Chip > Snickerdoodle
Incidentally, here's a picture of the AA cheeseburger from 2009. It's essentially the same burger but now you get higher quality condiments.
PDB of Water or OJ
Choice of the Cheeseburger or Asian Chicken Salad. Presentation isn't the best but it's fairly decent for lunch. And I was so sick of the Poblano Peppers or Nicoise Salad so at least it's new.
Chocolate Chip > Snickerdoodle
Incidentally, here's a picture of the AA cheeseburger from 2009. It's essentially the same burger but now you get higher quality condiments.
Dec 19, 2018, 9:04 pm
#1073
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: PHX & AGP
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 11,453
Dec 20, 2018, 8:17 am
#1074
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA Plat Pro, HH Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 124
ORD - MIA flight 2796 yesterday. Decided to give the Diabetic meal a try as I wasn’t to keen on the regular choices of ravioli or chicken with salad. Was a little surprised when I received it, as I was expecting what others had recently posted. The chicken didn’t look fresh but whatever they marinated it with was pretty tasty. It also came with a banana nut bar, which after a few bites I was over. They did give me a warm roll as well.
Dec 20, 2018, 1:44 pm
#1075
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Denver
Programs: AS, AA, UA, Hilton, Marriott, Caesars DE
Posts: 2,070
AA 473 CLT-DEN
18:20
Grilled Beef Filet Grilled Beef Filet with cauliflower mash, broccolini and guajillo chili butter
Beef was fine, mash was probably the best part of the meal, broccolini was awful and tasted like water, as if it was frozen, heated and then reheated. Not sure where the chili butter went.... Salad was overly complex, featuring iceberg lettuce and 3 grapes. Side was I believe some sort of mozzarella/buffalo mozzarella, it didn't have much for taste, but actually accompanied well with the pickled vegetables that came on the plate. Mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert. PDB done, nuts and drinks were served first. Mint to finish.
18:20
Grilled Beef Filet Grilled Beef Filet with cauliflower mash, broccolini and guajillo chili butter
Beef was fine, mash was probably the best part of the meal, broccolini was awful and tasted like water, as if it was frozen, heated and then reheated. Not sure where the chili butter went.... Salad was overly complex, featuring iceberg lettuce and 3 grapes
. Side was I believe some sort of mozzarella/buffalo mozzarella, it didn't have much for taste, but actually accompanied well with the pickled vegetables that came on the plate. Mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert. PDB done, nuts and drinks were served first. Mint to finish.
Dec 21, 2018, 11:31 am
#1076
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 178
SFO-MIA Business offer Tex Mex Salad or Noodles Bowl? Any Advice
Dec 21, 2018, 11:37 am
#1077
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,602
Dec 21, 2018, 3:24 pm
#1078
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: DFW
Posts: 270
YVR catering
Been many years since I have flown in/out of YVR. Out yesterday had a very good meal. Leaf lettuce with pomegranates salad. Heinz balsamic dressing. Roasted corn dish as appetizer and chicken parm with orzo pasta. Chocolate cake for dessert.
Seems like that is catered at YVR with condiments. Better than anything I have had in awhile in domestic flights.
Seems like that is catered at YVR with condiments. Better than anything I have had in awhile in domestic flights.
Dec 21, 2018, 5:40 pm
#1079
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: DFW/PHL
Programs: US CP, UA *G; SPG Plat, Hilton Gold; Natl Exec, Hertz PC
Posts: 623
Been many years since I have flown in/out of YVR. Out yesterday had a very good meal. Leaf lettuce with pomegranates salad. Heinz balsamic dressing. Roasted corn dish as appetizer and chicken parm with orzo pasta. Chocolate cake for dessert.
Seems like that is catered at YVR with condiments. Better than anything I have had in awhile in domestic flights.
Seems like that is catered at YVR with condiments. Better than anything I have had in awhile in domestic flights.
Agreed that it's probably catered out of YVR - is this why I'm not able to pre-order meals on flights from YVR?
Dec 21, 2018, 5:48 pm
#1080
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: DFW
Posts: 270
Agree it is not “real” parm. Sauce was good and orzo maybe a little over cooked. Sad part is still a lot better than most domestic. Also points out how much everybody’s taste differ. Other choice was poblano peppers which I have had a few times and never really cared for.