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First, kudos to AA for being the only major carrier that continues to serve real meals to transcon passengers in first and business class.

To the main point, you have to de-mask to eat. I fully support the mask requirement, but assuming you have a seatmate outside your household, and you aren't flying Flagship First, you really shouldn't be eating at the same time that the seatmate is. So....based on anyone's personal experience or informed knowledge, will FAs accede to a passenger request to serve their meal when the other person has finished and hopefully has re-attached their mask? Unfortunately for the FA, this is likely to mean a bit less time perusing a magazine in the jump seat, but.....

Blumie

It's not SOP, but I imagine most FAs would honor this request. Some will roll their eyes, some might refuse, but I imagine most would be ok with it.

Blumie

But can I also suggest, as part of my never ending battle against airplane "food," that you skip the onboard food service and eat real food upon arrival. After all, if you're flying to NYC or LA, there might be an option or two that can serve a better meal than what AA might serve you. YMMV, of course.

metallo

I’d say that if you’re very concerned about your neighbor and potential COVID-19 exposure, you should deal with it informally with the passenger in the adjacent seat yourself. No need to drag the already stressed FA into it.

By the way, why not just self-stagger and wait to eat your food until after your neighbor finishes?

I think passengers are placing too much faith in the airline and other passengers and should be responsible for themselves if they choose to fly during a pandemic.

bmw745ion19s

This might be a little much unless you ask to eat your meal quickly first. Plenty of people don't eat fast and then continue drinking throughout the flight. You might want to buy the seat next to you but you are still plenty close to people in other rows, who may be casually eating/drinking most of the flight without a mask.

AANYC1981

They’re absolutely not staggering meal service based on if you’re next to someone.

if you’re so worried about this you probably shouldn’t be traveling in general.

if you don’t want a meal service fly Delta.

standbyalldtime

As mentioned above, it's far from guaranteed that the pax seated next to you would be thrilled to immediately put their mask on after finishing their meal, perhaps choosing to continue enjoying an after dinner drink or a leisurely dessert while watching a movie.

If you a) must fly AA, b) cannot upgrade to first, and c) care about this issue tremendously, then eating before your flight or communicating directly with the passenger next to you your wishes is the best option. You can always leave the "covers" on your dishes until he/she is done. You may want to have a backup plan in place in case the customer is uncooperative, as they are by no means obligated to honor your request if they did indeed plan to have a more drawn out meal.

enviroian

I wonder if they'll stagger on an upcoming dfw-lhr flight in J.

footballfanatic

Without the soft product (the meal, service, etc) I just don’t see the draw of doing anything but going free agent. Will see which airline ends up keeping a solid airline meal, service, clubs, etc and go that route. Extending status is a huge bonus though and appreciate they went this step.

Paying 4x for a slightly bigger seat is ridiculous anyway, but many still do it.

Blumie

Deciding whether to pay 4x more depending on whether or not you get a crappy meal is far more absurd IMHO.

mvoight

Yep, like buying a Lambo to drive on roads with speed limits of 70-75 MPH

PUCCI GALORE

This

Frankly, meals and drinks onboard are, for me, a reasonably pleasant way to pass the time. I sometimes think that we spend too long in front of screens. Two hours or so is quite enough for me. Avid reader though I may be I carry a kindle to avoid having to lug books around so that the meals are a welcome opportunity not to have my eyes fixed on any kind of screen.

I think that staggering the service between passengers seated next to each other is rather unfair on the poor Flight Attendant. My husband is an incredibly slow eater, and he often has a glass in front of him for the rest of the flight - as do I. I'm afraid that I would not come to any arrangements with the person next to me who worries when I take off my mask. I have also been known to sneeze in public and whilst I cover my nose and mouth, the person next to me (or the other way around) is at risk if I or he/she happens to be eating.

Thus my own thought are that this is a rather unreasonable request to make, and I am also minded that one is more at risk in a car driving to the airport then anything that occurs at either the airport or on board the aircraft.

Anyone expecting Hateu-Cuisine is in for a rather cold reality check. My husband is an extremely

LAX_Esq

I'm not sure how this kind of comment is helpful or relevant. Most people typically need (or want) to eat on somewhat regular intervals, generally around "normal" meal times. People are stuck on the airplane for many hours. The flights often overlap with normal meal times. Or the flights depart or arrive at times such that it's not practical to go to a restaurant before or after.

The point is that most people will people need/want to eat at some point during the duration of the flight. Pretty much everyone realizes they serve better food at restaurants on land than AA serves on their airplanes. (And, they even have good food in cities outside of NYC / LA / SF!)

I don't see how chiming in with "just go to a real restaurant bro and don't worry about the crummy airplane food" is helpful to any discussion about airplane food.

Blumie

There are many reasons why someone might choose to eat airplane food, but I think it's both helpful and relevant to remind people that there are other options. By way of example, I flew JFK-LAX earlier this month on a flight that departed at 600p and arrived around 915p (1215a NYC time). This is a prime example of a flight that operates during "normal meal times." That said, many people may not know that there are quality restaurants within a 10- to 15-minute ride from LAX -- in Manhattan Beach, Playa del Rey, Marina del Rey, and Santa Monica, for example -- that are open late enough to enjoy a late meal. In my case, I was seated at the Tin Roof Bistro in Manhattan Beach by 930p and had a really nice, leisurely meal with a friend. I find this information both helpful and relevant. YMMV.

LAX_Esq

I think regular travelers are well aware that one can get a good quality restaurant meal in a major US city at 9:30pm. But YMMV.