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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PLEASE: DO NOT POST OVERSIZED IMAGES; PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE AND REPEAT IMAGES IN YOUR QUOTED POST.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 Jun 11, 2019, 10:05 am
  #526  
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Originally Posted by dll
I'm going to guess you were served the wrong meal from the catering cart - that was probably the intended meal for SBA-DFW. Oops! Reckon the passengers on the return were perplexed with fruit, yogurt and cold pastries for lunch.
If that is the case, the FA should be disciplined. How hard is it to look at the paperwork, double-check the time of the flight, and serve the correct meal? That is their job. Hopefully, it was in fact a catering error.
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Old Jun 11, 2019, 11:11 am
  #527  
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A couple of positive things to note from the above Mesa flight:

- Looks like they finally are boarding glassware and no more plastic cups for in-flight service
- They finally got the dressing right for the Asian chicken salad (before they were just using the same olive oil dressing they give you for all other salads).
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Old Jun 11, 2019, 11:53 am
  #528  
 
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Originally Posted by AANYC1981
A couple of positive things to note from the above Mesa flight:

- Looks like they finally are boarding glassware and no more plastic cups for in-flight service
- They finally got the dressing right for the Asian chicken salad (before they were just using the same olive oil dressing they give you for all other salads).
I feel like the Asian dressing issue resurfaces every time the entrée changes though. We went through the same issue with the rice noodle salad -- we got the generic vinaigrette for the first couple of months before the sesame dressing finally got switched in... And then we started all over again when the chopped salad rotated in. Feels kind of like Groundhog Day -- it's great it gets fixed eventually but it would be nice if the caterers could get most stations up to speed on that from the start.
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Old Jun 12, 2019, 2:31 pm
  #529  
 
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I just flew DFW-SFO Sunday night (3 hour delay) and ordered the Zoes Kitchen Charcuterie Plate (available by pre-order only)
prosciutto, salami, mozzarella, spicy olives and dried cherry tomatoes; served with hummus, crudites, and pita rounds

It was excellent! really enjoyed it over the choice of Enchilada's and beef.
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Old Jun 12, 2019, 6:39 pm
  #530  
 
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Location: Denver
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LGA-ORD
AA 357 17:34
6/11/19


Choice of chicken with a lemon garlic risotto or a rotini pasta in red sauce. Bread distributed from basket. Towels distributed, then nuts and drinks. Dessert of chocolate chip cookie and mint to finish.

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Old Jun 12, 2019, 6:40 pm
  #531  
 
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ORD-DEN
AA 1387 20:36
6/11/19


Nuts and drinks distributed after takeoff. Then chocolate chip cookie.
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Old Jun 13, 2019, 10:30 am
  #532  
 
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Originally Posted by safari ari
ORD-DEN
AA 1387 20:36
6/11/19


Nuts and drinks distributed after takeoff. Then chocolate chip cookie.
Doesn’t this route usually have the pre-plated snacks served? Aka the humus?
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Old Jun 13, 2019, 10:58 am
  #533  
 
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Originally Posted by TheFlyGuy2


Doesn’t this route usually have the pre-plated snacks served? Aka the humus?
Not after 8pm.
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Old Jun 13, 2019, 11:43 am
  #534  
 
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Originally Posted by safari ari
LGA-ORD
AA 357 17:34
6/11/19


Choice of chicken with a lemon garlic risotto or a rotini pasta in red sauce. Bread distributed from basket. Towels distributed, then nuts and drinks. Dessert of chocolate chip cookie and mint to finish.

How was it? They had a chicken with risotto before that sounded boring but was actually quite nice
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Old Jun 13, 2019, 11:59 am
  #535  
 
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Originally Posted by bmw745ion19s
How was it? They had a chicken with risotto before that sounded boring but was actually quite nice
I had this dish a few weeks ago and imho the previous Chicken with Risotto was better, though this iteration was not bad by any means.
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Old Jun 13, 2019, 12:26 pm
  #536  
 
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Originally Posted by bmw745ion19s
How was it? They had a chicken with risotto before that sounded boring but was actually quite nice
Chicken was cooked decently well, didn't take much to cut it along the grain. Asparagus was bland, and the risotto definitely wasn't a risotto, more of a lemon cheese rice, but wasn't bad overall, a little salty but I do without salt usually.
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Old Jun 13, 2019, 12:46 pm
  #537  
 
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Originally Posted by safari ari
Chicken was cooked decently well, didn't take much to cut it along the grain. Asparagus was bland, and the risotto definitely wasn't a risotto, more of a lemon cheese rice, but wasn't bad overall, a little salty but I do without salt usually.
Yes, in the picture it almost looks like rice.
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Old Jun 13, 2019, 2:13 pm
  #538  
 
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I should add that the flight attendant did mention that lunch meals were loaded for both DFW-SBA and SBA-DFW on that flight. Service was very good so I don't think it was a careless mistake. Breakfast vs. lunch is pretty obvious, unlike the Alaska flight I take sometimes (also double-catered) where it's a roast beef sandwich or protein plate SEA-SBA and a chicken club sandwich or a protein plate SBA-SEA.

Originally Posted by formeraa
If that is the case, the FA should be disciplined. How hard is it to look at the paperwork, double-check the time of the flight, and serve the correct meal? That is their job. Hopefully, it was in fact a catering error.
Kurt is offline  
Old Jun 14, 2019, 11:16 am
  #539  
 
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Originally Posted by AANYC1981
A couple of positive things to note from the above Mesa flight:

- Looks like they finally are boarding glassware and no more plastic cups for in-flight service
- They finally got the dressing right for the Asian chicken salad (before they were just using the same olive oil dressing they give you for all other salads).
LOL. Agree that the dressing pairings are sometimes (often) hilariously bad, even on mainline.
metallo is offline  
Old Jun 18, 2019, 10:26 pm
  #540  
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: San Francisco area
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SFO-DFW F Dinner

Pre ordered the beef short rib with cauliflower mash and chicken salad, odd pairing if you ask me. Anyway I have had this couple of times over the past month and liked it, tasted much better than it looked. My neighbor had the charcuterie plate and found the pita bread and mozzarella cheese portion of that to be completely frozen, yuck.


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