Abyssmal food on board
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Los Angeles& Telluride
Programs: UA1K, 1MM,AA Exec. Platinum, Global Entry, Nexus
Posts: 733
Abyssmal food on board
I thought long and hard about starting this thread. I decided I wanted to ...../voice my opinion. Traveled on AA from LHR to LAX in F recently. The service on board was great. Friendly staff and attentive to my needs. Just what one hopes for when traveling. The food however in the BA club in T3 and on board was TERRIBLE. Inside the club, I had a choice of prepacked Tuna fish or some other unrecognizable food. I fully understand the need to keep people's including my own grubby hands from touching food. So if you're going to do that, give me a menu to order food from. On board, FC passengers were given the same food choices as those in Biz Class. The exact same menu. Not right IMHO. Then for midflight snacks, the choices were worse than a vending machine. In fact if I could monetize it, I'd contract with AA to put fresh vending machines on board. No fruit. No cookies. No sandwiches of any kind. No cheeses. No cookies. I wondered if mid flight they didn't change the paint on the plane to read SPIRIT airlines.
I understand that we are in a pandemic, but on our outbound flight on IBERIA we had many more choices and much better quality food. Why has AA sunk to the lowest level of food service?
I understand that we are in a pandemic, but on our outbound flight on IBERIA we had many more choices and much better quality food. Why has AA sunk to the lowest level of food service?
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Los Angeles& Telluride
Programs: UA1K, 1MM,AA Exec. Platinum, Global Entry, Nexus
Posts: 733
#5
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 103
It's "health and safety" camouflage. American just simply wants to cut any corner they can to squeeze any amount of profit. What's sad though, is passengers would almost certainly stomach the additional $XX on a ticket if it meant better quality food and snacks. COVID has been nothing more than a crutch for domestic carriers to worsen an already inferior product. And then pretend it's for YOUR benefit.
#6
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 81
Really? I mean other than FTers, I'd say the market has spoken time and time again that people will go for the cheapest ticket, no matter what. I would agree this is less the case for business class travel, but becoming more so by the day for companies who are even starting to consider ALLOWING their employees to travel for business again, unfortunately.
#7
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: OC, CA
Programs: AA EXP, 2MM, HH Diamond
Posts: 840
It's "health and safety" camouflage. American just simply wants to cut any corner they can to squeeze any amount of profit. What's sad though, is passengers would almost certainly stomach the additional $XX on a ticket if it meant better quality food and snacks. COVID has been nothing more than a crutch for domestic carriers to worsen an already inferior product. And then pretend it's for YOUR benefit.
#8
Join Date: Oct 2005
Programs: BA GGL & GfL, AA LTP, Marriott (sigh) Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, Accor Gold, Avis Preferred
Posts: 3,311
whats so odd is the LHR lounge situation.
with no BA flights out of T3, but the BA lounge open, it smells of AA cost cutting because that is not the same BA T5 lounge experience which is online order from a limited menu. why AA did not open their lounge is odd if they were the only one of the two to operate flights from T3 but imagine it would be cheaper to use BA given they already were staffing across T5, and AA chose the "lounge lite" package that BA offered which is like the normal set up but more akin to holding the wedding in the backyard. much much cheaper.
with no BA flights out of T3, but the BA lounge open, it smells of AA cost cutting because that is not the same BA T5 lounge experience which is online order from a limited menu. why AA did not open their lounge is odd if they were the only one of the two to operate flights from T3 but imagine it would be cheaper to use BA given they already were staffing across T5, and AA chose the "lounge lite" package that BA offered which is like the normal set up but more akin to holding the wedding in the backyard. much much cheaper.
#10
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 103
But I would argue there's still a decent sum of people who book air travel in 2021 knowing full well they will bill it to a company or employer and get reimbursed for their expenses. Especially in first or Economy plus. I fall into the this category. Luckily, I'm fortunate enough to have a job which allows me to book my own economy travel (within reason). So staying loyal to an airline (in this case AA) means I can expense any travel at par pricing to said client and have the latitude in the price. E.g. I can tell the client(s): this is what American costs, and this is what you're getting billed. Here's the receipt to prove it's what it actually cost. No negotiations. I can't imagine I'm alone.
But that said, even if it were my own money. If the difference between edible food and throw-up between two buns (which is the most recent F cabin sandwich offering) is $20? or even $50? and I'm footing the bill, I'd rather spend my own dime to get a better offering. Either way, I'm going to spend it. Whether that's buying overpriced food at the airport snack shack or doing it in the air. It's a sunk cost. May as well save the hassle in the terminal.
Last edited by Eyenigma; Sep 9, 2021 at 2:21 am
#11
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: UK - Hampshire & London
Programs: Mucci de Guardian des Celliers des Grands Crus 1e Class, plus BAEC.
Posts: 2,839
As mentioned by a poster above, the LHR T3 situation is down to AA not providing an enhanced lounge offering for their F pax.
Im surprised that the BA lounge in T3 isnt following the QR code menu system they use in T5. The post-Covid lounge offering in T5 has been almost universally praised.
Im surprised that the BA lounge in T3 isnt following the QR code menu system they use in T5. The post-Covid lounge offering in T5 has been almost universally praised.
#12
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 4,645
i would pay extra, but I doubt that most people would. For leisure travelers, even people who can afford a higher price will only pay extra if they actually know the food - or seat or whatever differentiation matters to them - is better. Most people (outside of FT) don’t do their homework and even mass advertising may not work if competitors do similar advertising to obscure the differentiation. And even if they are aware of the differentiation it may not be that important to everyone - Southwest is doing just fine without meals. Finally, many business travelers are inhibited by travel policies that prioritize price over everything else.
For international flights I make it a general rule to almost never fly US carriers, unless they're offering an absolute bargain basement fare that makes it sensible for me to buy up to a better seat etc.
I gotta say, the best food I've had on a plane was on OZ and SQ, though OZ has gone significantly downhill since 2018 when they changed caterers. And QR was the only carrier that was willing to go to the Business class galley to get me champagne with dinner when I asked for it when I was in Y.
Last edited by stupidhead; Sep 9, 2021 at 6:22 am
#13
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2019
Programs: AA: CK
Posts: 2,230
I think it's clear that the T3 BA lounge is only open at the request of AA, in which case AA is likely footing the bill, in which case, you won't see BA's "higher end" offerings. AA has become a truly pathetic airline when it comes to premium service. The absolute bottom of the heap.
#14
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia, USA
Posts: 4,537
I would happily pay a $25 surcharge (maybe even more) for a pre-ordered 1970s-era Transatlantic First Class Meal on an overseas flight. But I know this kind of surcharge is anathema to many on FT and the carriers won't do it because of the costly logistics.
#15
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: UA 1K and PP, AA Plat (3MM, former CK), Marriott Ambassador and LTT, Hilton Gold, Uber One
Posts: 1,378
Really? I mean other than FTers, I'd say the market has spoken time and time again that people will go for the cheapest ticket, no matter what. I would agree this is less the case for business class travel, but becoming more so by the day for companies who are even starting to consider ALLOWING their employees to travel for business again, unfortunately.