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

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PLEASE: DO NOT POST OVERSIZED IMAGES; PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE AND REPEAT IMAGES IN YOUR QUOTED POST.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)

Old Mar 2, 2018, 9:30 am
  #166  
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Originally Posted by txrus
Apparently AA has switched to unsalted butter pats, as was evidenced by my lunch tray today-wonder how much Discount Dougie thinks he is saving on this one?
If you dislike AA so much why not go over to DL or UA, they have plenty of flights out of PHX.
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Old Mar 2, 2018, 2:18 pm
  #167  
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Originally Posted by IzzyL
Thanks for the photo. I'm trying to make up my mind between the chicken meatballs or the peppers. What odd choices for meals!
My wife had the peppers on the same flight that I had the meatballs and quite liked them. She had the foresight to bring a miniature bottle of hot sauce with her. She might have taken a picture for her husband's "sad airplane food hobby". I'll see if I can get it...
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Old Mar 2, 2018, 3:33 pm
  #168  
 
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MIA-PHL
OLD LUS A321
Breakfast


No PDB of choice today and no conceivable reason why. A rare miss from a LUS crew.

Once in the air, service was slow to start but eventually improved.

FA took meal orders back to front (good thing I was in row 4). Pre-order acknowledged.

I chose the chive/kale omelette (pictured below) served with a fruit plate with tasty, ripe fruit. Choice of breads from the bread basket. Drinks re-filled throughout the flight, at least.

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Old Mar 2, 2018, 4:33 pm
  #169  
 
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Originally Posted by Fraser
My wife had the peppers on the same flight that I had the meatballs and quite liked them. She had the foresight to bring a miniature bottle of hot sauce with her. She might have taken a picture for her husband's "sad airplane food hobby". I'll see if I can get it...
Nothing sad about that hobby at all in fact its quite rational when one thinks about it as in a given year I probably have more meals on an airplane than any other single location and that's probably true for a lot of frequent fliers. Add to that the variability in quality and/or frequency that the menu description is far more appealing than what ends up on the tray, having photos of the actual meals is quite important.
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Old Mar 2, 2018, 9:42 pm
  #170  
 
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Originally Posted by txrus
Apparently AA has switched to unsalted butter pats, as was evidenced by my lunch tray today-wonder how much Discount Dougie thinks he is saving on this one?
This is a ridiculous statement - salted butter and unsalted butter cost the same; if anything, unsalted butter ends up being more expensive for AA due to spoilage because it has a shorter shelf life. Plus, it works out better for those that prefer unsalted butter. You can always add salt to your unsalted butter but you can't take the salt out of salted butter.
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Old Mar 4, 2018, 12:30 pm
  #171  
 
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March 4, 2018 SFO-CLT AA445 Breakfast


Cheese Omlete (Added my own honey, hot sauce, and extra jelly.)
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Old Mar 4, 2018, 11:27 pm
  #172  
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what to expect LAX-KOA, FC, for dinner

Departing LAX ~5:15pm to KOA, later this year. What is being served in FC now?

This https://www.aa.com.br/i18n/travelInf...p?locale=en_JP answers part of my question. What are current entree options?
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Old Mar 4, 2018, 11:33 pm
  #173  
 
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Originally Posted by philemer
Departing LAX ~5:15pm to KOA, later this year. What is being served in FC now?

This https://www.aa.com.br/i18n/travelInf...p?locale=en_JP answers part of my question. What are current entree options?
"Later this year" the menu will rotate. But if you like quinoa or lasagna, you're all set.
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Old Mar 5, 2018, 8:28 am
  #174  
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Originally Posted by jcatman
"Later this year" the menu will rotate. But if you like quinoa or lasagna, you're all set.
Thanks. Does the menu rotate on a set schedule or randomly?
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Old Mar 5, 2018, 6:03 pm
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LAX-JFK lunch menu

Hello,

I am flying in First later this week from LAX-JFK. There is no option to preorder lunch. Has anyone flown this route recently who knows what lunch options there are?

Thanks.
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Old Mar 5, 2018, 6:12 pm
  #176  
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Originally Posted by kjm12898
Hello,

I am flying in First later this week from LAX-JFK. There is no option to preorder lunch. Has anyone flown this route recently who knows what lunch options there are?

Thanks.
i would eat in flagship first dining and not worry about the food in-flight
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Old Mar 5, 2018, 6:29 pm
  #177  
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going for great continues: American Removes Plated Dessert from Medium Haul Routes | The Forward Cabin
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Old Mar 5, 2018, 10:10 pm
  #178  
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Originally Posted by AANYC1981
Crumb by tiny crumb.
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Old Mar 5, 2018, 10:38 pm
  #179  
 
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God AAbsolutely pathetic. I really hate what Discount Dougie has done to this airline.
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Old Mar 6, 2018, 12:30 pm
  #180  
 
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Originally Posted by AANYC1981
Oh no. This was what I was fearing. DL/UA made many cuts to their F service recently (see all the grumbling on DL/UA's boards, especially UA's), but AA was finally back to being the best, a first since pre-September 2014. I was hoping AA would stay strong and differentiate, but I guess not.

Question, though: could this possibly be only for lunch flights? The article explicitly mentions pies/cakes, but not ice-cream, which are served on midcon dinners (flights longer than 1400 miles, I think?). Would dinner service be affected, too? The article mentions DFW-SEA, which gets the cakes/pies for lunch, then ice-cream for dinner (non-sundaes...strawberry, mint, chocolate, etc.).
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