Jan 2, 2019, 10:33 am
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PLEASE: DO NOT POST OVERSIZED IMAGES; PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE AND REPEAT IMAGES IN YOUR QUOTED POST.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
[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.
What to Expect - Regional:
Keep in mind that this list is not entirely inclusive, and there may be certain exceptions and/or abnormalities.
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.
Additional Information:
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.
[COLOR]
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
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!
Enjoy!
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!
- 2018 - link
- 2017 - 2017 Combined AA Domestic Meal / Meals - menu / photos / etc. (master thread)
- 2016 - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...er-thread.html
- 2015 - link
- 2014 (post-9/1 combined) - link
- 2014 (pre-9/1) - link
- 2013 - link
- 2012 - link
- 2011 - link
- 2010 - link
- 2009 (combined Domestic and International) - link
Enjoy!
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.
- 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)
Jan 3, 2019, 3:01 pm
#16
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 78
What should one expect if the meal service says "Continental Breakfast" on a longer regional flight? I flew XNA-DCA for the first time over the holidays after several pleasant DCA-XNA journeys, which always feature a decent cold meal and booze. The eastbound nonstop is a 7:30AM flight so I wasn't expecting booze, but the details said "Continental Breakfast" so I told my mom not to worry about getting up early to cook me a huge breakfast, since I figured I would get a muffin or some such on the plane. (She did fix me coffee and toast on homemade bread, though, which was delish and made me not care quite so much about the following sentence.) On this flight, at least, "Continental Breakfast" meant a couple of passes with the snack basket, which didn't feature anything terribly breakfast related - VERY different from the DCA-XNA service. The crew was great, we got PDBs, and fortunately DCA has a Chick-Fil-A now and it wasn't Sunday, but I was a bit disappointed, perhaps because the DCA-XNA flights set my expectations too high.
I wrote into AA because I'm a glutton for punishment and humiliation, and of course got a fairly canned response saying how sorry they were for [incident in question] and that they understand how [appropriate emotion] I must have felt because of [incident in question].
Not a huge deal but I was surprised at the different levels of service between the two flights - if "snacks" or "refreshments" had been mentioned at any point I would have asked Mama to whip up some bacon and eggs (which I should have done anyway, because who says no to Mama's breakfast, but it was early and I wasn't thinking right...)
Thanks for any insights! Still love my DCA-XNA flight...
I wrote into AA because I'm a glutton for punishment and humiliation, and of course got a fairly canned response saying how sorry they were for [incident in question] and that they understand how [appropriate emotion] I must have felt because of [incident in question].
Not a huge deal but I was surprised at the different levels of service between the two flights - if "snacks" or "refreshments" had been mentioned at any point I would have asked Mama to whip up some bacon and eggs (which I should have done anyway, because who says no to Mama's breakfast, but it was early and I wasn't thinking right...)
Thanks for any insights! Still love my DCA-XNA flight...
Jan 4, 2019, 12:16 pm
#17
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2002
Location: NC
Programs: AAConciergeKey/1MM, DL DM/2 MM, UA Gold,Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 11,967
What should one expect if the meal service says "Continental Breakfast" on a longer regional flight? I flew XNA-DCA for the first time over the holidays after several pleasant DCA-XNA journeys, which always feature a decent cold meal and booze. The eastbound nonstop is a 7:30AM flight so I wasn't expecting booze, but the details said "Continental Breakfast" so I told my mom not to worry about getting up early to cook me a huge breakfast, since I figured I would get a muffin or some such on the plane. (She did fix me coffee and toast on homemade bread, though, which was delish and made me not care quite so much about the following sentence.) On this flight, at least, "Continental Breakfast" meant a couple of passes with the snack basket, which didn't feature anything terribly breakfast related - VERY different from the DCA-XNA service. The crew was great, we got PDBs, and fortunately DCA has a Chick-Fil-A now and it wasn't Sunday, but I was a bit disappointed, perhaps because the DCA-XNA flights set my expectations too high.
I wrote into AA because I'm a glutton for punishment and humiliation, and of course got a fairly canned response saying how sorry they were for [incident in question] and that they understand how [appropriate emotion] I must have felt because of [incident in question].
Not a huge deal but I was surprised at the different levels of service between the two flights - if "snacks" or "refreshments" had been mentioned at any point I would have asked Mama to whip up some bacon and eggs (which I should have done anyway, because who says no to Mama's breakfast, but it was early and I wasn't thinking right...)
Thanks for any insights! Still love my DCA-XNA flight...
I wrote into AA because I'm a glutton for punishment and humiliation, and of course got a fairly canned response saying how sorry they were for [incident in question] and that they understand how [appropriate emotion] I must have felt because of [incident in question].
Not a huge deal but I was surprised at the different levels of service between the two flights - if "snacks" or "refreshments" had been mentioned at any point I would have asked Mama to whip up some bacon and eggs (which I should have done anyway, because who says no to Mama's breakfast, but it was early and I wasn't thinking right...)
Thanks for any insights! Still love my DCA-XNA flight...
Jan 4, 2019, 12:48 pm
#18
Join Date: Dec 2005
Programs: AA-EXP, Flying Blue-Silver
Posts: 727
PHL-LAS
767-300
First Class
Dinner
January 2019
PDB was an offering of water or OJ from a tray (despite early boarding and plenty of time to do a proper PDB service).
Once in the air, hot towels were distributed.
Beverage service with somewhat warmed nuts.
Dinner was choice of chicken or pasta served from the cart. Pre-order NOT acknowledged.
I went with the pasta (it was a bland serving of small shell-shaped noodles in a red sauce with fava beans). It was served on a tray with a very sad looking salad and the appetizer was a couple of triangles of thinly sliced cheese with a few strips of red pepper. Choice of bread offered from the basket.
Dessert was ice cream, albeit I didn't get to try it because the F/A "forgot" to offer me one and, when I went to the restroom, was sitting in the jump seat eating it (no clue why I was "missed" being offered the ice cream while everyone else in the cabin appeared to have been offered one).
No mint prior to landing.
Overall, a poor showing to start 2019. The food was blah and the service from the purser was HORRIBLE. Being a 767-300, there were two F/A's working F. The F/A working the other aisle was constantly refilling beverages, checking on his passengers, and passing through the cabin the entire flight. The purser "working" my aisle, spent 99% of the flight up in the galley chatting, sitting in the jump seat, and eating. Loath to use the call button, I physically had to walk up to the galley and request beverage refills throughout the flight (which he would pretty promptly bring but certain NEVER thought to ask anyone else in his comings and goings to my seat if they wanted anything).
767-300
First Class
Dinner
January 2019
PDB was an offering of water or OJ from a tray (despite early boarding and plenty of time to do a proper PDB service).
Once in the air, hot towels were distributed.
Beverage service with somewhat warmed nuts.
Dinner was choice of chicken or pasta served from the cart. Pre-order NOT acknowledged.
I went with the pasta (it was a bland serving of small shell-shaped noodles in a red sauce with fava beans). It was served on a tray with a very sad looking salad and the appetizer was a couple of triangles of thinly sliced cheese with a few strips of red pepper. Choice of bread offered from the basket.
Dessert was ice cream, albeit I didn't get to try it because the F/A "forgot" to offer me one and, when I went to the restroom, was sitting in the jump seat eating it (no clue why I was "missed" being offered the ice cream while everyone else in the cabin appeared to have been offered one).
No mint prior to landing.
Overall, a poor showing to start 2019. The food was blah and the service from the purser was HORRIBLE. Being a 767-300, there were two F/A's working F. The F/A working the other aisle was constantly refilling beverages, checking on his passengers, and passing through the cabin the entire flight. The purser "working" my aisle, spent 99% of the flight up in the galley chatting, sitting in the jump seat, and eating. Loath to use the call button, I physically had to walk up to the galley and request beverage refills throughout the flight (which he would pretty promptly bring but certain NEVER thought to ask anyone else in his comings and goings to my seat if they wanted anything).
Jan 4, 2019, 1:08 pm
#19
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 78
They may have either miscatered or forgot to serve the breakfast. I flew GSO-DFW the other day, and the FAs forgot to do the breakfast service. Once I reminded them about an hour out that this flight is always catered for breakfast, they were like oh yea, let me check, do you want it? I wasn't asleep and no one was served prior to that. It was cereal, banana, packaged muffin, and shelf-stable yogurt.
Jan 4, 2019, 2:17 pm
#20
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: USA
Programs: AAdvantage, MileagePlus, SkyMiles
Posts: 4,159
Noticing the ANC-DFW nonstop redeye is showing as "Refreshments". Are you kidding me? I remember this being a major debacle back in 2014 when AA changed its meal service to "align" with pmUS, and ANC-DFW, longer than some TATL flights, got "Refreshments" (ie, "Lite Bites" and warmed nuts) only, despite leaving at 8:40 p.m. and being long. There were numerous complaints. I would have imagined that AA would have since then corrected that major misstep (as they did with many of their initial F cuts), but apparently I am wrong.
Jan 6, 2019, 12:11 pm
#21
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: OH
Programs: AA EXP; HHonors Gold; IHG Platinum
Posts: 122
1/4/19
AA117 - JFK-LAX 3:00
F Dinner
Pre-ordered the Hindu meal and was not disappointed. Consisted of a chickpea salad (as well as standard salad), Bhindi masala and palak paneer with rice and naan (in foil), a samosa filled with potatoes and peas, and gulab jamun for dessert. Also offered choice of standard desserts.
Hindu starter
Hindu entree
Hindu meal dessert
AA117 - JFK-LAX 3:00
F Dinner
Pre-ordered the Hindu meal and was not disappointed. Consisted of a chickpea salad (as well as standard salad), Bhindi masala and palak paneer with rice and naan (in foil), a samosa filled with potatoes and peas, and gulab jamun for dessert. Also offered choice of standard desserts.
Hindu starter
Hindu entree
Hindu meal dessert
Jan 7, 2019, 7:08 pm
#22
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: MIA
Programs: AA EXP (AC), DL G (SC), Bonvoy LTP, & IHG AMB
Posts: 1,798
AA1251: ORD-BOS: 5pm
Dinner
B738
First Class, 6A
Started off on the right foot with a warm welcome, PDB, and offer to take jackets. I take this flight fairly often and this treatment is unfortunately rare; however, the two younger female FAs did a superb job. Apparently I forgot to PreOrder so was given the choice of chicken or pasta with mushrooms off of the standard menu. Went with the pasta which honestly wasn't terrible. The taste was a bit spicy, which I appreciated, and the dish was served hot. Perfectly acceptable for the short 1 hr 40 minute flight.
Plenty of re-fills offered along with warmed nuts, cookie service, and pre-landing mint. AAplause certs given and kudos offered via DM on twitter. Have to say, this is a bit of a short flight to get the service out and more or less made up for the delayed (for the umpteenth time) flight out from BOS to ORD.
Dinner
B738
First Class, 6A
Started off on the right foot with a warm welcome, PDB, and offer to take jackets. I take this flight fairly often and this treatment is unfortunately rare; however, the two younger female FAs did a superb job. Apparently I forgot to PreOrder so was given the choice of chicken or pasta with mushrooms off of the standard menu. Went with the pasta which honestly wasn't terrible. The taste was a bit spicy, which I appreciated, and the dish was served hot. Perfectly acceptable for the short 1 hr 40 minute flight.
Plenty of re-fills offered along with warmed nuts, cookie service, and pre-landing mint. AAplause certs given and kudos offered via DM on twitter. Have to say, this is a bit of a short flight to get the service out and more or less made up for the delayed (for the umpteenth time) flight out from BOS to ORD.
Jan 8, 2019, 5:57 pm
#23
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: MIA
Posts: 498
LAX-MIA - Mid January
MIA-DFW - Early Feb
Any rec's for meal choice? The MIA-DFW salad looks bizarre. Might go special, whats the consensus for best Special meal? Gluten Free or Diabetic?
MIA-DFW - Early Feb
Any rec's for meal choice? The MIA-DFW salad looks bizarre. Might go special, whats the consensus for best Special meal? Gluten Free or Diabetic?
Jan 8, 2019, 6:21 pm
#24
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: LAX
Programs: AA Gold (prev. Ex Plat for 10 years); DL Plat; UA Gold; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,338
Perhaps try Hindu? Or if you want a guaranteed different option, Kosher. Those are pre-packaged.
In other news, I'm delighted to see AA stepping up with more veggie options. LAX-MIA doesn't look bad at all
Jan 9, 2019, 4:21 pm
#25
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: DFW
Posts: 270
Not sure?
Had something I can't explain. Booked 36 hours before flight ORD-BDL morning flight and went and looked at meal options. Same oatmeal/breakfast sandwich. No big deal. Then looked at length of flight and only 738 miles. Maybe an exception route due to UA? Not complaining cause 7am is too early and AA club tacos are so boring.
Jan 9, 2019, 4:25 pm
#26
Suspended
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Diamond, AAdvantage EXP, Hyatt Explorist, HHonors Diamond, Avis First
Posts: 7,344
Had something I can't explain. Booked 36 hours before flight ORD-BDL morning flight and went and looked at meal options. Same oatmeal/breakfast sandwich. No big deal. Then looked at length of flight and only 738 miles. Maybe an exception route due to UA? Not complaining cause 7am is too early and AA club tacos are so boring.
Jan 10, 2019, 1:09 am
#27
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: AA EXP, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, HHonors Diamond, National Exec, Hertz PC, Nexus
Posts: 410
Will upgrades clear with a Y special meal ordered?
[deleted] Wrong thread
Last edited by TropicalTripper; Jan 11, 2019 at 12:14 am Reason: Deleted
Jan 10, 2019, 11:30 am
#28
Suspended
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Diamond, AAdvantage EXP, Hyatt Explorist, HHonors Diamond, Avis First
Posts: 7,344
Jan 15, 2019, 6:53 am
#29
Suspended
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Diamond, AAdvantage EXP, Hyatt Explorist, HHonors Diamond, Avis First
Posts: 7,344
LGA-ORD
Last edited by AANYC1981; Jan 16, 2019 at 7:12 pm
Jan 16, 2019, 6:25 pm
#30
Suspended
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Diamond, AAdvantage EXP, Hyatt Explorist, HHonors Diamond, Avis First
Posts: 7,344
ORD-LGA
738
Lunch
738
Lunch
Last edited by AANYC1981; Jan 16, 2019 at 7:13 pm