Jan 1, 20, 9:30 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
AA/US Domestic Dining (including Canada, Mexico, & the Caribbean)
Link to The Official American Airlines Onboard Service Policy Guide, by Gary Leff on January 22, 2020. Comprehensive charts and information.
Link to Combined 2020 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PLEASE: DO NOT POST OVERSIZED IMAGES; PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE AND REPEAT IMAGES IN YOUR QUOTED POST.
Welcome to the 2020 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.
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Link to The Official American Airlines Onboard Service Policy Guide, by Gary Leff on January 22, 2020. Comprehensive charts and information.
Link to Combined 2020 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.
Welcome to the 2020 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.
- 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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Combined 2020 AA Domestic Meal / Meals - menu / photos / etc. (master thread)
Jan 8, 20, 11:03 am
#16
Suspended
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Diamond, AAdvantage EXP, Hyatt Explorist, HHonors Diamond, Avis First
Posts: 7,344
Jan 8, 20, 3:39 pm
#17
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: MCO-TPA
Programs: AA EXP, UA, B6, DL, Bonvoy Titanium & Lifetime Platinum, Hilton, National
Posts: 184
I’ve had the first three. They are all fine depending on how hungry you think you will be.
Jan 8, 20, 11:14 pm
#18
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New York, NY
Programs: BAEC Gold, Delta Platinum, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, AMEX Platinum (US)
Posts: 18,477
For the curious, my options next month on the 6am JFK-LAX flight in F
Jan 9, 20, 2:58 am
#19
Join Date: Jan 2020
Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Gold, Radisson Gold
Posts: 8
[QUOTE=joepercussion1;31917635]Any idea of what to expect in J for a 12:30am departure LAX-JFK? No option to pre-order.[/QUOTE
Just took this flight last weekend. Full dinner menu was offered even though you cannot preselect. Not surprisingly very few people ate the meal. Almost everyone wanted to sleep.
Just took this flight last weekend. Full dinner menu was offered even though you cannot preselect. Not surprisingly very few people ate the meal. Almost everyone wanted to sleep.
Jan 9, 20, 11:57 am
#20
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New York, NY
Programs: BAEC Gold, Delta Platinum, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, AMEX Platinum (US)
Posts: 18,477
I assume that's the same for the later departing westbounds. I am on the 8.30pm JFK-LAX in F next week and was surprised to not be able to pre-order anything, I assumed it was an exception to the flights with no full catering. Curious to see what I'll end up with now...
Jan 9, 20, 4:09 pm
#21
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: American EXP; British Airways Gold
Posts: 1,896
Jan 9, 20, 5:32 pm
#22
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Denver, Colorado, USA
Programs: AS MVP 100K, UA PremEx-MM
Posts: 3,319
Here's JFK-SFO in Business, first week of February:
Any recommendations?
Any recommendations?
Jan 9, 20, 5:40 pm
#23
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Wanting First. Buying First.
Programs: Lifetime Executive Diamond Platinum VIP with Braniff, Eastern, Midway, National & Pan Am
Posts: 15,946
To each his own I guess but I would ALWAYS choose a beef main course when available on AA domestic F. Some of the pasta dishes I have seen on AA look like dog vomit. AA F chicken is usually pretty dried out. For me, beef is the most reliable selection by far.
Jan 10, 20, 3:38 pm
#24
Join Date: Jan 2020
Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Gold, Radisson Gold
Posts: 8
Last night was in J from JFK to LAX, happened to go up to use the restroom while the FAs were discussing how they couldn't find any cookies except for snickerdoodles.....didn't see very much passengers accepting cookies from the tray 
.
OTOH, tried the new James Beard artichoke ravioli, it was pretty good!! Some pieces of the pasta were a little dried out but it was very tasty. I would recommend it.
.OTOH, tried the new James Beard artichoke ravioli, it was pretty good!! Some pieces of the pasta were a little dried out but it was very tasty. I would recommend it.
Jan 10, 20, 6:09 pm
#25
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: ORD, sadly...
Programs: AA Exec Plat
Posts: 597
Jan 11, 20, 9:02 pm
#26
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: DCA/CLT/HKG
Programs: AA EXP (Former US CP)
Posts: 711
Difference between the 2 carriers is like black and white
I had to go to the Bay Area this past week for a family emergency, and prices were absolutely horrible so I ended up doing IAD-LAX-SJC on AA, and then SFO-IAD on AS.
On the AA IAD-LAX, the service was absolutely horrible. They ran out of BOB meals (not the snacks/snack boxes, but the Zoes meals) just after the exit row. They did a full beverage run after departure, and then I overheard one FA scold another FA for suggesting they do a coffee run after the BOB clean up. That same FA stamped her foot down at the people sitting in the exit row and said "I know the other FA already told you once before to put everything in the overhead, I am not going to tell you again".
On SFO-IAD on AS, the crew essentially never sat down. They did a water and juice service upon reaching 10,000 feet, then a full beverage and BOB round, immediately followed by another beverage and BOB round, followed by coffee, and then a full beverage service prior to arrival. Someone walked through with a water bottle basically every 20 minutes, and we were encouraged to ring the call bell if we wanted anything else. The crew was extremely pleasant, and during the final beverage service, each of the two FA's serving drinks in my zone asked everyone how they were enjoying their flight when they asked what they wanted to drink. Color me impressed.
On the AA IAD-LAX, the service was absolutely horrible. They ran out of BOB meals (not the snacks/snack boxes, but the Zoes meals) just after the exit row. They did a full beverage run after departure, and then I overheard one FA scold another FA for suggesting they do a coffee run after the BOB clean up. That same FA stamped her foot down at the people sitting in the exit row and said "I know the other FA already told you once before to put everything in the overhead, I am not going to tell you again".
On SFO-IAD on AS, the crew essentially never sat down. They did a water and juice service upon reaching 10,000 feet, then a full beverage and BOB round, immediately followed by another beverage and BOB round, followed by coffee, and then a full beverage service prior to arrival. Someone walked through with a water bottle basically every 20 minutes, and we were encouraged to ring the call bell if we wanted anything else. The crew was extremely pleasant, and during the final beverage service, each of the two FA's serving drinks in my zone asked everyone how they were enjoying their flight when they asked what they wanted to drink. Color me impressed.
Jan 12, 20, 4:21 am
#27
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Programs: Aer Lingus AerClub Concierge, BA Silver
Posts: 405
Any thoughts on these options?
Jan 12, 20, 6:55 am
#28
Suspended
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Diamond, AAdvantage EXP, Hyatt Explorist, HHonors Diamond, Avis First
Posts: 7,344
Is there a plan to cycle in new domestic menu rotations? All of these options are getting really old at this point.
Jan 12, 20, 9:10 am
#29
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: ORD, sadly...
Programs: AA Exec Plat
Posts: 597
