ISTFlyer

A friend has flown F on yesterday’s AA 19 service from LAX to DCA and he told me that the crew were offering drink refills, however, the only meals offered was a cheese plate and selections from the snack basket.

brewdog11

I love the bathroom trick. Sometimes I've gotten up without even having to really use it and just wash my hands. The Woodford is worth a handwash.

ExpatExp

Why is it a bathroom trick? Is it because flight attendants will not respond if you ring the bell and ask for a drink? Or because they told you there was no service and you must stay seated, so you must pretend to need the bathroom in order to order a drink? Looking forward to my next flight, so just want to know what the best approach is

brewdog11

It's a way to request a beverage and/or engage crew in conversation that's less diva-like than ringing the overhead call button. Simply get up, walk toward the lav, and request a beverage along the way.

Lovethecabin

this. I rarely ever ring the bell, I have no problem asking for what I want/need but something about hitting the call button makes me feel like a diva. My husband has since told me he saw the FA being rude to an elderly man, which is LOW in our book.

we did get the cheese “plate” bag on the JAC-ORD flight.

AANYC1981

The bathroom trick also works really well in MCE/MC.....it’s a win/win for everyone involved and it’s a good excuse to stretch your legs.

ExpatExp

Ah, interesting. In that case, I actually do the same thing already -- when I am sitting in Y. But I usually choose to pay more so I can sit in J or F and get an increased level of service, and in that case, I don't normally hesitate to press the button. Thank you for explaining in any case!

Tack

I must be the luckiest AA passenger ever! I’ve not stopped flying during COVID. I’m still doing my 2-3 time a month routine. Not one FA has ever not served me in FC. I’ve never had to ring the call button. Or use the bathroom trick. I ask them as they walk by or walk up to them on the jump seat and ask. Each time I’ve been served by a friendly FA. Usually as soon as I ask, other passengers speak up. Yesterday, SNA-DFW, was offered a beverage once airborne. Refills made without any question by the crew and fruit and cheese delivered with a smile. And yup, I drink Jack/rocks so all my beverages were alcoholic. Hand to god, the service I get from AA as an EP has always been good to very good. What am I not seeing here?

cmd320

Impressive. For a moment I thought VX still existed while reading this.

kmersh

Wife and I flew to BNA to see family and the FA mad the announcement about no food/beverage and then he walked up to row 1 and said quietly to First Class that only applies to Economy, I am happy to bring you a beverage or two during our short flight.

He was a man of his word, he brought me two Woodfords and my wife two glasses of red wine during the flight. I thanked him and he said, I am just doing my job and I appreciate your flying with us today.

AANYC1981

Bless him! That’s all it takes with that dumb script they have to read which makes premium customers lumped into everyone else and BE people. AA has a history of these general announcements “About your flight” which totally don’t apply to the premium cabin.

UAPremierGuy

Say goodbye to domestic meals, with the exception of the Premium JFK-SFO/LAX route: https://viewfromthewing.com/american...er-2200-miles/

PAAthetic. NO reason to pay for F now, especially with the awful Oasis seats.

jcatman

A pass of the snack basket before landing. What an amazing bonus.

cmd320

Well that will be the end of my favoring flying F on AA over other airlines.

qukslvr619

I am hoping that this is going to end up like when UA “snacked” all domestic F flights about 2 years ago. Yes we are in a different environment, but a fruit and cheese plate isnt going to cut it if AA expects to gain back business travelers as they return to flying.

So at best this is what I see happening:
-only a test to see how far they can cut before people really complain
-reverting back to semi normal standards and spinning it as an enhancement. I can see the release now: “we’ve listened to our customers and they’ve indicated that heartier food offerings are important to the inflight experience”
-in that reversal, somehow they will quietly raise the threshold to about 1000 for the basic fruit/cheese plate and probably stick a 1000-1500 threshold to an “upgraded” snack plate (basically throw a couple slices of meat on top) which will eliminate most domestic midcons from full meal service.

I hate to say this but AA did seem fairly generous in what they were offering domestically in F before COVID, relative to similar stage lengths on UA or DL. I was regularly flying STLPHL which was roughly around 900 miles and I can’t think of another sub-1000 mile flight on UA that was offering meals on. UA’s threshold was typically 1000+. Granted it was a cold continental breakfast snack but it was nice not having to grab something at the airport.

The loss of inflight meals was always seemingly offset by the addition of better airport food offerings. Now with most of them closed, it’s really a no win situation and I can’t quite understand why they aren’t opening or really offering better options than the ubiquitous crummy McDonalds or limited Starbucks food selection.