henhen

In my roughly 8 times or so flying American longhaul business class, I've noticed the dessert menu options to be all/heavily dairy/cheese choices. Options typically consist of a sundae, cheese plate, or cheesecake/cake with lots of cream/dairy in it.

I realise some folks may enjoy this but I turned lactose intolerant a few years back so I can't freely enjoy those items anymore unfortunately. Has American always been like this on the dessert section? Can it be that difficult to have a fresh fruit choice or have a cake that's not cheesecake/tiramisu?

I've flown other oneworld carriers up front and they usually are good about having a fruit/other option.

Any experiences/thoughts on this, especially those who might also be lactose.

kb9522

ckx2

Special meal will help you.

3Cforme

Those other oneworld carriers aren't U.S.-based, are they? Victory by the California Milk Advisory Board is complete.

SamOF

There are usually more sweet things in the mid-flight galley snack display, and the cookies/chocolate things are usually pretty tasty. I might ask the crews if they could make you a plate of those.

mvoight

How much of AA's dairy products come from California milk? After all, if we are going to have dairy products, they might as well come from the "Happy Cows" in California, where cows consider earthquakes to be foot massages. (This was in one ad)

OskiBear

Unfortunately, it seems to have always been this way. That said, most dessert options seem to be heavy on dairy. There's also the sundaes. I've just prepared myself and always have plenty of lactase pills ready when I fly.

764toHI

Not sure whether AA's dairy products come from California milk, but I'll bet they are Dean Foods products!

ijgordon

Cookies usually have butter, and chocolate could have milk in it as well.
I'm kind of struggling to think of what good "regular" non-dairy desert options there could be (i.e., not something made explicitly to be non-dairy, and not just a fruit plate). Even apple pie or a warm fruit cobbler would have butter in the crust/topping, no?

dave_261

Totally agree. This is the exact reason airlines offer special meals.

One of the meal options is "Non-lactose: Does not contain cheese, dairy products and their derivatives, lactose or milk products"

Antarius

I'm not lactose intolerant, but I do understand the OPs point - Cheese plate, cheesecake and ice cream; akin to being sat on by a cow.

I would be in favor of 1 of the 3 being less dairy based.

henhen

Should of specified more, I can eat stuff with dairy in it, but when it comes to like a sundae, milk, heavy cheesecake, and obviously straight up cheese, that's when it gives me stomach issues if I don't prepare with lactase pills.

Would be good to see more things along the likes of cookies/carrot/choco cake, fruit platter and things not predominately dairy.

I also don't feel the need to order a special meal just for the dessert portion, when the starter/mains are perfectly fine, even with small/limited amounts of dairy (that can be avoided/scraped off for example)

beachfan

In general, the health index of AA meals is low - heavy on fat and carbs and salt.

The vegetarian pasta in white sauce must be 1000 calories and 1000 milligrams of salt.

The salads were shrunk a couple years back.

The snack basket offerings have the healthiest options - fruit, nuts, and 50 calorie popcorn (instead of the Smartfood Cheddar which is tasty but more calories than potato chips).

dll

I hear you - I also really do wish they offered a fruit plate option as well. I don't eat ice cream, so the sundae isn't my thing. I usually skip the dessert and then grab something from the basket later on (fruit or one of the other dessert items). I just completed several r/t segments on Air Canada and noted they have a cheese plate, warm cookie and ice cream or fruit plate option available.

SeeBuyFly

But you felt the need to complain about it. (Should this complaint go in that other thread?)

Unfortunately AA does not realize that there is a market for the special meal option "regular meal items except lactose-free/vegan dessert".