I'd settle for just publishing the menus for each month/quarter.

I had selected the Japanese meal ahead of time for NRT-DTW a few days ago and the FA made a point to tell me my meal was loaded, though for some reason my seat didn't have a menu for me to see what was in it or what the other options were. Once I was able to look, I stuck with it since the western options sounded pretty mediocre.

The Japanese main entree was grilled eel with steamed rice and miso soup, all of which was fantastic.

So looks like this is finally a thing, and not just the Japanese/Chinese special meals that were argued about the last 5 pages LOL

https://thepointsguy.com/2017/10/delta-pre-order-meals/

It is only 6 days in advance compared to 30 for AA, but I think 6 days in plenty of time, they will also send a text to ask if you don't respond to email on ordering.

I have a D1 flight out of JFK in early 2018, look forward to trying it out.

I wonder why Detroit isn't getting it early on, as it would seem more manageable to launch and work the kinks out in Detroit than New York-J.F.K. or Atlanta.

I also wonder what constitutes a "few months."

Atlanta makes sense as it is HQ and biggest hub, with potentially most resources at disposal

JFK makes sense as likely the most premium heavy point of departure or highest yielding D1 maybe?
Does JFK have the most D1 flights aside from Atlanta?

Just guesses

I have a D1 out of DTW in May, I'll see if the "few months" are covered here lol
IMO "few" is 3-4 months, but who knows

Just seems like a missed opportunity with the launch of the A350 not to offer it.

It will also be interesting to see what meals are offered for those who don't pre-select meals or make a last-minute booking, get a last-minute upgrade, or change flights.

For pre-select, my guess is that Delta will merely offer the menu that you would otherwise be offered in-flight, allowing you to guarantee your selection. I doubt Delta will allow you to order something not on the standard menu.

I would assume as much

Guess they just couldn't get it ready for October

This will also have an impact on people who take FEBO into consideration when booking a seat. Once it is rolled out system wide, no reason to sit in a particular part of the cabin to get meal choice.

I prefer being towards the front of front row if I'm in F/J, no longer will intentionally book in back of F/J on odd number flights....I wonder if this will have impact on the meal choice of people who get UG last minute

I would think a roll out/test of a new service, especially with an IT platform involved, would best be conducted at a smaller station, with D1 service, e.g. LAX or BOS, maybe even SEA. If DL is going to start with JFK and ATL, they better have their ducks in row.

As for a "few months", I'm thinking more like 9 to 11 :p

This whole plan is nothing but an opportunity for Jennifer Aniston to come on board again and mock everybody.

JA: I'm sorry, this isn't the meal I ordered; it doesn't have my favorite dressing and the dessert is wrong.

FA: HAHAHAHA! Special order? We offer pre-order; if you order a standard meal early enough, we try to stock enough of them so you can have one. Where do you think you are???

(JA starts looking for the stairs so she can go up to the bar, leaving the FA's doubled over with laughter).

FA1: (Trying to compose herself enough to keep from choking): Special-order meal! Favorite dressing!

FA2: HAHAHAHAHAHA (cough cough)!

(JA walks toward the back of D1 because she thinks the staircase is there)

PX: Ma'am where are you - OMG, you're Jenifer Aniston, you're not looking for the bar, are you?

JA: Yes, I am actually, can you show me how to get there?

PX: Sorry, this isn't Emirates; there's no bar, there's no special meal, we're lucky if the meal is cooked the way it's supposed to be cooked. I always bring a couple of sandwiches on board; do you want one?

JA: Oh, thank you so much, that's so generous of you! Here, let me give you a couple passes to the Emirates lounge and the CX lounge, and before we land I'll try to alienate the FAs enough so they don't block the economy passengers from leaving until we're all out; I hate that.

PX: Me too; maybe instead of trying to create a hierarchy of who-gets-out-first, they could learn basic cooking techniques.

JA and PX together: Well, let's try to get some sleep and dream about the people relaxing in their suites on Emirates.

They only announced it was coming in 2016.

I just hope the pre-order selections are more than chicken and pasta by the time it is rolled out to domestic first-class and medium-haul Caribbean/Latin America flights.

Of course, this also means there is no reason why Delta couldn't also allow economy-class passengers to pre-order the same meal and pay for it. Or allowing first-class passengers on domestic flights that are otherwise too short for meal service to pre-order a meal and pay for it.

Not that stewardesses follow this in-flight service standard.

I just think its really sad this is still not up and running at Delta consider American has now been doing this for several years

Yeah, but the FA's do.

The rollout seems a bit drawn out, but I'll look at the positive side and just be glad this is finally happening. It's one of the areas where AA has actually be quite ahead of DL with a customer-centric offering.

I'm curious what the cut-off will be for selection? At AA, you can pre-select anywhere from 30 days in advance to 24 hours prior to departure. This allows folks who get complimentary upgrades to select, as long as they are upgraded at least 24 hours in advance of departure.