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Delta In-Flight Meal/Food Service: The Definitive Thread — 2021 Edition

Old Jul 8, 2021, 6:40 am
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Last edit by: xliioper
Current 2021 First Class meal service status -- Current FC meal service consists of cold meal boxes with the exception of JFK-SEA and BOS-SEA/SFO FC marketed flights which receive hot meal service. This includes both domestic and international DL FC marketed flights. Otherwise, only D1 marketed flights receive hot meals. All flights over 900 miles which depart before 9PM receive meal service in FC. In addition, flights over 2300 miles will receive meal service in FC for departures after 9PM.

There have been no official announcements from DL concerning when hot meals will return to FC, however, it is rumored it will return Q1 2022.

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Delta In-Flight Meal/Food Service: The Definitive Thread — 2021 Edition

Old Nov 28, 2021, 8:39 am
  #1456  
 
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Virginia USA
Posts: 1,204
Originally Posted by ClipperDelta
Upcoming choices for a JFK-NCE D1 trip:


Interested to see how the Cioppino will work out on a plane!

Anybody have any feedback on this menu? I'm learning short ribs but interested in the Cioppino.
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Old Nov 28, 2021, 9:40 am
  #1457  
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Originally Posted by flyerfirsts
Anybody have any feedback on this menu? I'm learning short ribs but interested in the Cioppino.
I’ve had the Cioppino a few times now and the quality has improved; initially it was rather mediocre (soggy and tasteless) but the last trip in early November was quite decent:



I would say that if you want to be safe (in terms of quality consistency), the short ribs are probably a better bet. I am a fish/seafood person so I am just thankful there is now a fish option on the menu!
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Old Nov 28, 2021, 11:17 am
  #1458  
 
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Originally Posted by ClipperDelta
I’ve had the Cioppino a few times now and the quality has improved; initially it was rather mediocre (soggy and tasteless) but the last trip in early November was quite decent:

I would say that if you want to be safe (in terms of quality consistency), the short ribs are probably a better bet. I am a fish/seafood person so I am just thankful there is now a fish option on the menu!
I am also a fish seafood person, but as a result I can't stand overcooked rubbery seafood. Need this be a concern, or is it just the other ingredients that are at risk of being overcooked?
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Old Nov 28, 2021, 11:34 am
  #1459  
 
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Is Delta serving full dinner in first class BOS-AUS 7pm flight. If so, what?
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Old Nov 28, 2021, 11:51 am
  #1460  
 
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Originally Posted by nologic
Is Delta serving full dinner in first class BOS-AUS 7pm flight. If so, what?
Something tells me you haven't read the last few pages of this thread.

If by full dinner you mean a less robust gas station sandwich and/or salad; then you'll have a choice between a few of them depending on catering that day. Sandwich choices are Chicken Salad sandwich, Prosciutto, Italian Ham and Tomato Mozarella.
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Old Nov 28, 2021, 12:01 pm
  #1461  
 
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Originally Posted by Yellowjj
Something tells me you haven't read the last few pages of this thread.

If by full dinner you mean a less robust gas station sandwich and/or salad; then you'll have a choice between a few of them depending on catering that day. Sandwich choices are Chicken Salad sandwich, Prosciutto, Italian Ham and Tomato Mozarella.
guilty there, thank you. Sounds like dinner is a snack, not very appealing, certainly no hot dinner as one would expect in first class of a flight of this duration and I think would find an American… Which 6 PM flight was full, although now there’s one seat but then I would be left with orphan Delta credits if they allowed me to cancel… Not even sure of the cancellation policy on Delta. Oh well I’ll settle in watch a movie and make the best of it.
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Old Nov 28, 2021, 3:45 pm
  #1462  
 
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Originally Posted by BirdLawyer
Is C+ getting alcohol on <500 mile flights? Blocked for 1.5 hours.
Originally Posted by nologic
guilty there, thank you. Sounds like dinner is a snack, not very appealing, certainly no hot dinner as one would expect in first class of a flight of this duration and I think would find an American… Which 6 PM flight was full, although now there’s one seat but then I would be left with orphan Delta credits if they allowed me to cancel… Not even sure of the cancellation policy on Delta. Oh well I’ll settle in watch a movie and make the best of it.
they will let you turn it into ecredit you have to use by the end of next year
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Old Nov 28, 2021, 5:59 pm
  #1463  
formerly wchinchen
 
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LAX HNL

Finally meals are back!

11/28: LAX to HNL

chicken kale salad, Moroccan Mezze, and Salmon dish.

(edit: cold box meals)

Last edited by HaleiwaFlyer; Nov 28, 2021 at 10:20 pm
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Old Nov 28, 2021, 7:22 pm
  #1464  
 
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Originally Posted by HaleiwaFlyer
Finally meals are back!

11/28: LAX to HNL

chicken kale salad, Moroccan Mezze, and Salmon dish.
Must be a mistake!
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Old Nov 29, 2021, 5:43 am
  #1465  
 
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Originally Posted by HaleiwaFlyer
Finally meals are back!

11/28: LAX to HNL

chicken kale salad, Moroccan Mezze, and Salmon dish.

(edit: cold box meals)
BOS-AUS breakfast:

* banana bread,
* cold meat and cheese plate,
* cold chai oatmeal.

No hot breakfast. Aren’t they making enough money? Plane us full. What abt omelette, pancakes, or maybe a warm bagel?
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Old Nov 29, 2021, 6:46 am
  #1466  
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Originally Posted by HaleiwaFlyer
Finally meals are back!

11/28: LAX to HNL

chicken kale salad, Moroccan Mezze, and Salmon dish.

(edit: cold box meals)
Thanks for the clarification that these are just some newer cold box options and not actually hot meals. The cold boxed meals were actually rolled out starting in late July and aren't really that new. There were some newer salad (roast beef rolls with sweet potatoes) and sandwich (pastrami on rye) box options on my flights a couple weeks ago, so there seems to be a bit more diversity these days. I suspect hot meal options will not appear until 1Q 2022 at earliest (as rumored above by JonNYC).

Last edited by xliioper; Nov 29, 2021 at 6:53 am
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Old Nov 29, 2021, 8:27 am
  #1467  
 
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Originally Posted by nologic
BOS-AUS breakfast:

* banana bread,
* cold meat and cheese plate,
* cold chai oatmeal.

No hot breakfast. Aren’t they making enough money? Plane us full. What abt omelette, pancakes, or maybe a warm bagel?
DL isn't serving any hot meals in domestic F, only D1. No idea why they continue to cheap out. Well yes, they're cheap, but people are still buying the tickets so they don't care.
Even pre-COVID, I've never seen pancakes on a Delta flight. Typical hot breakfast is warm oatmeal/cereal (sometimes cold) or egg/sausage dish. I miss the days of the warm oats and fresh fruit.
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Old Nov 29, 2021, 1:31 pm
  #1468  
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Two flights MSP/SFO over the holiday, both Dinner.

Both flights loaded the Chicken Salad Sandwich, Prosciutto Sandwich, and Ancient Grain Bowl (standard Dinner set - Lunch is Italian Ham Sandwich, Strawberry Chicken Salad (salad), Tomato Mozzarella Sandwich). FAs had a menu on their phones that were shown to us at ordering time. I could have sworn they were different (even though the food was the same) on the two flights, and I did not see "sandwich" in the title of the chicken salad, but it was indeed the same sandwich.

No sign of these new non-standard looking boxes from a few posts. I don't know if they represent a new catering standard or if stations are running out of boxes and improvising.
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Old Nov 29, 2021, 5:54 pm
  #1469  
 
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Originally Posted by Yellowjj
Something tells me you haven't read the last few pages of this thread.

If by full dinner you mean a less robust gas station sandwich and/or salad; then you'll have a choice between a few of them depending on catering that day. Sandwich choices are Chicken Salad sandwich, Prosciutto, Italian Ham and Tomato Mozarella.
Hey Gas Station sandwiches have expiration dates on them. I think the FA's peal all of those off before serving them to us loyal customers.
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Old Nov 30, 2021, 9:15 am
  #1470  
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 189
Originally Posted by findark
Lunch is Italian Ham Sandwich, Strawberry Chicken Salad (salad), Tomato Mozzarella Sandwich
Den to DTW on Sunday they served us what they called lunch (3:35 flight? wouldn't have pegged that for lunch) which had the italian ham and tomato mozzarella, but the other option was the salmon salad.

DTW to Den the previous week was outside meal hours, and they served us the bistro box as a snack, which as a snack to me didn't seem to be all that bad.

Both flights the flight attendants were basically active for about the first half of the flight, and once the "meal" was served and trash picked up, more or less disappeared (on the den to dtw flight, to the point that they drew the curtain across the galley and stayed in there).

And man, that canned margarita is harsh. Must be the finest $6 bottle tequlia being used.
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