Antarius

Well, since passengers aren't outdoors on an aircraft, this is a completely irrelevant comparison.

tylerdurden4543

Yeah, this was the point at which I stopped reading. I don't think the argument is that preparing and dispatching a meal is what increases transmission but rather it's sitting in a confined space with others and eating with a lowered/removed mask. So eating inside of a plane is in no way analogous to picking up take-out or eating outside.

That said, I agree with others that I perceive the reduction in meal service to be more about cost cutting not COVID transmission reduction (and to be fair, the airlines need to cut costs these days due to decreased demand and in many cases, lower F fares).

fly747first

That's also my understanding

pmblinn

Agreed. And they are still hemorrhaging cash. The current environment has forced the airlines to focus on pure survival, instead of profit-making. They have ZERO choice other than to cut costs and hope they can ride this thing out. (I guess you could argue they could sit around and wait for more government assistance, but they would do so at their peril.)

Therefore, I personally have ratcheted my lounge and in-flight expectations WAY down. As a result, my lounge and in-flight experiences have miraculously improved. YMMV.

footballfanatic

Yes, really! The novelty never wears off. I agree with this too.

skylady

If you are flying long haul, you will be fed. When flying short haul, there are plenty of snacks that you can carry through TSA, that will tide you over till your destination. The program of not serving, is to limit your interaction with crew, and theirs to you. I'm sure money is a big factor, but not the only factor. I paid $6 for a bottle of water, and $6 for goldfish crackers, knowing I would not get anything on my flight. Poor planning on my part, but I made it work.

travelingdrsuz

I just flew PE DFW to GRU and was served a hot dinner and typical breakfast (and had my choice of dinners). In fact, my service was no different to that of my PE flight to Paris, pre-pandemic. I am flying home in business, and just selected my meal from four choices (I chose filet Mignon). We were given amenity packs, Casper blankets, and the usual pillows, headphones, etc, all wrapped. Only difference was a sanitizing wipe and face masks--plus lower load. Oh, and that the price was a bargain.

Carolina2Cali

Your listing of 5 is what makes the potential value of 4 so high, happened to me yesterday. My first flight was delayed for a variety of stupid reasons, some partially AA's fault, and so I had to find food by RUNNING through the airport and getting something from the only one without a line of 50+ people. Thankfully, it was Salsaritas, which I like. If they had a line, I would have been starved, even in first class. They weren't allowed to serve us water or throw a can of coke let alone the cheese plate for even an hour into the flight due to turbulence, which they predicted before even take off, due to arbitrary rules. If I hadn't gotten the Salsaritas, I would have been cranky having had only the Biscoff cookie over 4+ hours... plus the sour patches I stored in my backpack.

dw

I think it’s time for this thread to be merged into that old... what was it... what is the most insignificant thing people can complain about (?) thread

Carolina2Cali

Ok DW, you wanna say goodbye to your mother for potentially the last time, arrive to a small airport with virtually no food open, plan to eat on your layover, have your layover effectively erased due to delays on the ground twice (with AA not telling anyone until it was PAST time to board and the plane hadn't even left the previous city to get to you yet), then more delays on the tarmac, and then running to your next flight, ready to eat but a cookie isn't enough... be my guest. Why is this forum so toxic? The FA was even cheeky. She knew the rules were random. The minute she was finally allowed to, she went around asking people what they would like to request to drink, since requesting is the rules now.

FlyDeltaMD88

Purely cost cutting. Leave it at that, and it's OK as I know every air carrier is struggling.

fotographer

it seems the F seat real and probably only decent benefit is a larger seat... drinks service has been a miss most of my last 4 flights and well the food options.. I rather leave it.
Now, if I were hungry would buy something at the airport... but most places he food places are closed

tkelvin69

Travel much to developing countries? I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have been malnourished rather just a bit hungry.

Antarius

I always keep a couple of protein bars in my backpack. Never know when a bad delay happens, a miscater occurs etc.

would recommend to add to the sour patches pocket.

fly747first

You may want to bring extra bars if you are flying domestic Delta None which seems to be following a strict "nothing is everything" standard without ice, coffee, or even canned soft drinks.
At least AA is serving cold food on flights over 900 miles and fairly comprehensive beverage service