Lunch during breakfast time

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Sep 7, 2011 | 6:21 pm
  #1  
Inwas on a 9am flight from SAN to IAH yesterday and was offered a beef burrito or chicken salad. When I asked about it FA made it sound like this was right. I looked at itinerary and it says breakfast. Why would they serve me lunch at 9am? For what it's worth breakfast is hard to mess up and my favorite meal. I asked for a snack pack and she charged me for it on top of it.
Sep 7, 2011 | 8:25 pm
  #2  
9:00 a.m. is the cutoff time, IIRC.

8:59 a.m. from the west coast is breakfast, 9:00 a.m. is lunch.

It can be somewhat rationalized, as 9:00 a.m. is 11:00 a.m. IAH time, so by the time you get served, it's probably closer to 12 noon.
Sep 7, 2011 | 9:48 pm
  #3  
Quote: For what it's worth breakfast is hard to mess up
Oh, I beg to differ. In-flight eggs are far easier to mess up than most lunch items.
Sep 8, 2011 | 10:27 am
  #4  
Quote: Why would they serve me lunch at 9am?
CO serve lunch at 10am (UK time) on the 8:40am LHR-EWR flight, then give you a snack at New York lunch time just prior to landing.

Why they can't hold the service by an hour (or do the meals in the other order) I do not know.
Sep 8, 2011 | 3:25 pm
  #5  
Quote: 9:00 a.m. is the cutoff time, IIRC.

8:59 a.m. from the west coast is breakfast, 9:00 a.m. is lunch.

It can be somewhat rationalized, as 9:00 a.m. is 11:00 a.m. IAH time, so by the time you get served, it's probably closer to 12 noon.
I recently flew SFO- IAH on UA 854 with scheduled departure time of 8:43 AM and was served lunch. FA said it was based on arrival time. What I hate is that they do not account for connecting passengers, who may have boarded an earlier flight at 5 AM... Odd structures to be sure.
Sep 8, 2011 | 9:29 pm
  #6  
Quote: CO serve lunch at 10am (UK time) on the 8:40am LHR-EWR flight, then give you a snack at New York lunch time just prior to landing.

Why they can't hold the service by an hour (or do the meals in the other order) I do not know.
On every long-haul flight I've been on on any carrier, the biggest meal of the flight is served soon after takeoff, and is usually a dinner-type meal, even if they happen to call it "lunch" because of the time of day. This has been true whether the departure was at 9:30am, noon, afternoon, evening, or even 1am.

I think the reason for serving immediately is that for a flight that's long enough for 2 or 3 meal services, it would be perceived very negatively to tell passenger "we have fully-stocked galleys, will be serving you 2 (or 3) full meals, and know that some of you are hungry, but we're not going to give you any food right away because some of you may not be at mealtime."

The people who are not hungry are not forced to eat, or can eat lightly, and those that are can get their full meal.
Sep 9, 2011 | 4:05 am
  #7  
Quote: CO serve lunch at 10am (UK time) on the 8:40am LHR-EWR flight, then give you a snack at New York lunch time just prior to landing.

Why they can't hold the service by an hour (or do the meals in the other order) I do not know.
What is interesting is that this flight actually shows Breakfast in the reservation and not Lunch. However it is lunch that is actually served.
Sep 9, 2011 | 1:04 pm
  #8  
Quote: I recently flew SFO- IAH on UA 854 with scheduled departure time of 8:43 AM and was served lunch. FA said it was based on arrival time. What I hate is that they do not account for connecting passengers, who may have boarded an earlier flight at 5 AM... Odd structures to be sure.
Wouldn't connecting passengers be more acclimated for lunch than originating passengers, since the former have been up since 5 am (and may have already had breakfast on their first leg)? Or am I missing your point?
Sep 9, 2011 | 1:07 pm
  #9  
Quote: Wouldn't connecting passengers be more acclimated for lunch than originating passengers, since the former have been up since 5 am (and may have already had breakfast on their first leg)? Or am I missing your point?
Maybe, I guess... I just don't eat at 4:30 AM. Actually, I try not to be up at 4:30- if I am then I am thinking dinner
Sep 22, 2011 | 5:44 pm
  #10  
My itinerary said (F) Breakfast. It makes no sense to serve lunch because where I am GOING to it is lunch time.
Sep 22, 2011 | 5:48 pm
  #11  
Oh, I beg to differ. In-flight eggs are far easier to mess up than most lunch items.

What I meant by that comment is my omelet and breakfast is consistently good. I have had many average or below lunches on CO. I prefer breakfast over lunch any day.

To the comment about connecting flights what about originating flights? I leave San Diego at 9:00am. Everyone in San Diego is at least at that moment on Pacific Timie. So why serve lunch???? I still don't understand. And again the ticket said breakfast in first not lunch!
Sep 22, 2011 | 10:51 pm
  #12  
Quote: I think the reason for serving immediately is that for a flight that's long enough for 2 or 3 meal services, it would be perceived very negatively to tell passenger "we have fully-stocked galleys, will be serving you 2 (or 3) full meals, and know that some of you are hungry, but we're not going to give you any food right away because some of you may not be at mealtime."
Another big factor is that it's hard to keep the mass-prepared food fresh, so they want to serve it sooner rather than later