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ARCHIVE: Combined 2019 AA Domestic Meal, Meals, menu / photos / etc. (master thread)

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Old Jan 2, 2019, 10:33 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: JDiver
AA/US Domestic Dining (including Canada, Mexico, & the Caribbean)

Link to Combined 2019 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PLEASE: DO NOT POST OVERSIZED IMAGES; PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE AND REPEAT IMAGES IN YOUR QUOTED POST.

MrAndy1369 originated this thread. Other posts in this topic have been merged here, throwing his post to #4. For members’ easy reference, we have reproduced that guidepost in its entirety. /Moderators

Originally Posted by MrAndy1369
Introduction
Welcome to the 2019 version of the combined AA meals thread, focusing on domestic service. Please post your meal/service experiences, including menus, photos, reports, questions, and service anecdotes.

To help give us a clear picture of your experience, remember to include the route, time, and meal designation (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, refreshments, none). Photos are welcome and very helpful. Those are rudimentary guidelines, but of course, the format/style is up to you.

Format Sample
This is a format you can use when introducing your meal report. This is just a sample format; deviations are expected.

AA1: JFK-LAX: 3pm
Dinner
A321
First Class, 2A

(from here, share the menu and/or experiences and/or photos)

Historical Meal Reports
Throwback mode? Go crazy! For the 2019 International Meals thread, click here.

Enjoy!
[COLOR="Navy"]Welcome to the 2019 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!)
American Eagle flights do not offer pre-ordering of meals.

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.

  • At this time, pre-ordered meals are not available on American Eagle flights.

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.

Thanks to MrAndy1369 for starting the thread and for the guidelines.
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ARCHIVE: Combined 2019 AA Domestic Meal, Meals, menu / photos / etc. (master thread)

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Old Feb 13, 2019, 11:24 am
  #121  
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: New York City + Vail, CO
Programs: American Airlines Executive Platinum, Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite
Posts: 3,226
I'm flying YVR -> ORD -> LGA in J soon and I see that there are only two meal choices, no fruit and cheese plate and no special meal options. Did something change?

Lunch meals

  • Choose later
  • Coconut Curry
    vegetables
  • Grilled Chicken
    haricots verts, cherry tomatoes, yellow pepper, olives, Café de Paris butter
Terms and conditions
  • To offer you fresh, seasonal ingredients, menus are available beginning 30 days (and up to 24 hours) before your flight.
  • If you change your trip, you'll need to reserve your meal again.
  • Flights that don't serve meals aren't shown.
  • On occasion, your first choice may not be available on board.
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Old Feb 13, 2019, 1:48 pm
  #122  
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Originally Posted by donotblink
I'm flying YVR -> ORD -> LGA in J soon and I see that there are only two meal choices, no fruit and cheese plate and no special meal options. Did something change?

Lunch meals

  • Choose later
  • Coconut Curry
    vegetables
  • Grilled Chicken
    haricots verts, cherry tomatoes, yellow pepper, olives, Café de Paris butter
Terms and conditions
  • To offer you fresh, seasonal ingredients, menus are available beginning 30 days (and up to 24 hours) before your flight.
  • If you change your trip, you'll need to reserve your meal again.
  • Flights that don't serve meals aren't shown.
  • On occasion, your first choice may not be available on board.
Special meals aren't available on flights from Canada.

https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...-allergies.jsp
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Old Feb 13, 2019, 1:57 pm
  #123  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA- EXP UA - Silver SPG- PLT Marriott- PLT
Posts: 759
[QUOTE=AANYC1981;30744153]
Originally Posted by kszary
BOS-PHX LAA B738 (non-Oasis). LAX LAA crew. Full bar PDB, excellent by-the-book dinner service. Pre-ordered diabetic meal -- everyone had meal envy. Other options were some sort of chicken and "lasagna", which is really more like a bolognese. Ice cream sundae or cheese plate for dessert.



LGA has the same exact meal for diabetic lunches. I find that dish really bland and boring.

.
can you clarify - LGA has the chicken, mashed potatoes, shirmp as diabetic lunch? I have one coming up so actually think that looks quite good.
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Old Feb 13, 2019, 1:59 pm
  #124  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
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ordered the diabetic breakfast today from ORD>EWR. Choices were egg enchilada or fruit plate. My diabetic entree was the egg enchilada with a piece of sausage thrown in for good measure. Absolutely disgusting. Was hoping for an egg omelette. I'm fearing they're on to us ordering diabetic, and just modifying the (mostly) horrible meals, without providing the higher quality special meals they were providing.
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Old Feb 13, 2019, 2:21 pm
  #125  
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: USA
Programs: AAdvantage, MileagePlus, SkyMiles
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Originally Posted by chicagoflyer1976
ordered the diabetic breakfast today from ORD>EWR. Choices were egg enchilada or fruit plate. My diabetic entree was the egg enchilada with a piece of sausage thrown in for good measure. Absolutely disgusting. Was hoping for an egg omelette. I'm fearing they're on to us ordering diabetic, and just modifying the (mostly) horrible meals, without providing the higher quality special meals they were providing.
I've noticed mixed reviews of special meals. It seems to be hub-dependent, with PHL and MIA getting the highest reviews so far.
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Old Feb 13, 2019, 2:31 pm
  #126  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
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Has anyone tried their burgers? I'm partial to steamed cheeseburgers from southern CT diner from way back so perhaps this is similar?
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Old Feb 13, 2019, 2:52 pm
  #127  
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Don’t do diabetic breakfasts in general....just stick to the AA egg dish.

LGA diabetic lunch is the chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy in the foil holder for lunch (maybe dinner too) but there are no shrimp app to ORD due to a shorter flight length.
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Old Feb 13, 2019, 3:07 pm
  #128  
 
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Originally Posted by AANYC1981
Don’t do diabetic breakfasts in general....just stick to the AA egg dish.

LGA diabetic lunch is the chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy in the foil holder for lunch (maybe dinner too) but there are no shrimp app to ORD due to a shorter flight length.
thanks - it actually looks pretty good to me - guess I'll (hopefully) find out Saturday.
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Old Feb 13, 2019, 3:17 pm
  #129  
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
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Just flew DFW-BIS-DFW first class both ways. Going up, had snack basket. Nice selection. Return flight 2 days later, got cold dinner (regional planes don't have ovens). Hubby had the protein salad (quinoa, chickpeas, sliced veggies), sliced chicken, and chocolate cheesecake. I had the cheese tray with veggies and hummus. Same dessert.
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Old Feb 13, 2019, 6:07 pm
  #130  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
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Originally Posted by Fraser
Except US then went to one of the stingiest meal window offerings. I think at one stage they only offered meals if flights were more than 3.5hrs or something absurd. My wife flew cross country in F (RIC-SAN via CLT and PHX, IIRC) and ended up mealless the entire way with no time to grab anything during the connections, this was in the late 2000s.
Yes, during BK2 they switched to just serving the boxed meals they sold in coach to the first class cabin free. I flew US transcon almost every week 2002-10 and saw the service go from high-end service with menus, linens, ice cream sundaes, etc. to boxed meals to everything in between. At one point we even got TWO meals on transcons: one after takeoff and then a pre-arrival snack. (Sorry for getting us OT.)
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Old Feb 13, 2019, 6:48 pm
  #131  
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Originally Posted by USFlyerUS
Yes, during BK2 they switched to just serving the boxed meals they sold in coach to the first class cabin free. I flew US transcon almost every week 2002-10 and saw the service go from high-end service with menus, linens, ice cream sundaes, etc. to boxed meals to everything in between. At one point we even got TWO meals on transcons: one after takeoff and then a pre-arrival snack. (Sorry for getting us OT.)
This applies to American Airlines in 2019, how?
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Old Feb 13, 2019, 7:28 pm
  #132  
 
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Originally Posted by AANYC1981


This applies to American Airlines in 2019, how?
He's just looking back on how meal services has changed over the years, because someone upthread asked if AA/US ever served meals on shorthaul flights. Sometimes it's nice to reflect on the past and how meal services are often cyclical, depending on the era, and compare to nowadays.

Originally Posted by USFlyerUS
Yes, during BK2 they switched to just serving the boxed meals they sold in coach to the first class cabin free. I flew US transcon almost every week 2002-10 and saw the service go from high-end service with menus, linens, ice cream sundaes, etc. to boxed meals to everything in between. At one point we even got TWO meals on transcons: one after takeoff and then a pre-arrival snack. (Sorry for getting us OT.)
Wow. It's kind of hard to imagine pmUS being "high-end" for sure. Was it true that pmUS service kept changing and cutting/returning during that time? I seem to remember many complaints back then how inconsistent the meal service was. (Sorry if I'm veering a bit OT.)
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Old Feb 13, 2019, 8:00 pm
  #133  
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Posts: 731
Originally Posted by MrAndy1369


Wow. It's kind of hard to imagine pmUS being "high-end" for sure. Was it true that pmUS service kept changing and cutting/returning during that time? I seem to remember many complaints back then how inconsistent the meal service was. (Sorry if I'm veering a bit OT.)
In the pre-9/11 days until around 2002 or so, I recall food service was provided on every flight in F during traditional meal time hours that was scheduled for at least 90 minutes.

While I don’t have specific mileage requirements or anything, I can say that CLT-Florida flights had a light meal service (pasta salad with a sandwich for example), and full hot meal service was provided on CLT-Northeast flights. I flew ALB-PHL in the summer of 2001 in F during the morning and got a fruit plate with a hot croissant.

Transcons had a multi course meal service with queen carts. Printed menus were provided. For breakfast there was an appetizer service with a big fruit bowl, yogurt, and choice of hot breakfast bread. Three entree choices were provided. For dinner, there was also an appetizer course featuring an appetizer plate with salad bowl with choice of two dressings. Choice of chicken, beef, or fish for main. Select AM and afternoon transcontinental flights also had a second pre-arrival cold tray meal featuring a small sandwich (always seemed to be roast beef) with a fruit bowl and pre-packaged brownie.

I want to say the pre-arrival meal was the first to go away, but to be fair it wasn’t very necessary.

I think meals were still provided on North/South East-coast flights in F until BK2 which is when US began to experiment with providing BOB meals gratis in F.

Transcon Y flights were very nice as well. Full hot meal service (with bigger meals than in TATL now with real crockery) and most flights had a mid-flight ice cream sandwich run IIRC.

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Old Feb 14, 2019, 5:00 am
  #134  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Washington, DC
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Posts: 3,205
Originally Posted by AANYC1981
This applies to American Airlines in 2019, how?
It doesn't. I was responding to someone who asked about whether AA (of which legacy US is now a part) ever served meals on certain flights.
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Old Feb 14, 2019, 6:45 am
  #135  
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: IAD/DCA/BWI
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Originally Posted by CLT
Transcon Y flights were very nice as well. Full hot meal service (with bigger meals than in TATL now with real crockery) and most flights had a mid-flight ice cream sandwich run IIRC.
That's a great summary of service. That reminded me of another thing I loved about the coach transcon service in Y -- after the Piedmont merger they actually had hot towel service in coach. They were the rolled cotton paper disposable-type towels that you'd get in a cheap Asian restaurant, and not even as nice as the disposable woven cotton ones they used in F, but still a nice touch for coach. I only flew Piedmont on short and mid-con flights so I never got to experience their transcon service before the US-PI merger, but my impression was that both the hot towels and ice cream bars (and later sandwiches) on the transcons were inherited from Piedmont.

Sorry this isn't a message about 2019, but I think history of the company's meal service is somewhat relevant to every year's meal thread.
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