One Star Hotel Type Breakfast now the Norm in First
Sep 19, 2009, 3:47 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2005
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One Star Hotel Type Breakfast now the Norm in First
Last week I flew DCA-MSP and MSP-PHX in the morning and got two breakfasts - with a choice of chex or chex on the first and cheerios or cheerios on the second flight. There was nothing but simple carbohydrates for the entire breakfast. The bagel offered was not high quality, not fresh, and not appetizing. Orange juice was canned. Everything was cheap stuff and reminded me of an Econolodge breakfast (it wasn't as good as a typical Fairfield Inn breakfast). In exchange for the two full carb-loaded breakfasts I would have preferred them go to McDonalds and buy a few Egg McMuffins and pass them out to the First Class passengers (which I did barely have time to do between flights after turning down most of the first breakfast; it cost about $2.50 and, to me, was far superior in taste to the entire First Class breakfast.)
Recently I have found the cold lunch and dinner offerings dominating Deltified flights now are at least better than the cold breakfasts, but they are inconsistent in quality. Too often nowadays the offerings in First are non-existent or even less appetizing than the snacks for sale in coach.
And now I have to bring my own nut mix, since they got rid of the Fancy Nut mix in First and are now offering salted peanuts only.
The ease of obtaining upgrades is the last significant remaining advantage of being a DL NW ff, don't understand why they think saving a few dollars on meals is really going to help their bottom line when they are having difficulty retaining many of their frequent flyers. I'm pretty sure that the additional long-term revenue generated from having a reputation for excellent food service in premium cabins is greater than the cost of that service.
Recently I have found the cold lunch and dinner offerings dominating Deltified flights now are at least better than the cold breakfasts, but they are inconsistent in quality. Too often nowadays the offerings in First are non-existent or even less appetizing than the snacks for sale in coach.
And now I have to bring my own nut mix, since they got rid of the Fancy Nut mix in First and are now offering salted peanuts only.
The ease of obtaining upgrades is the last significant remaining advantage of being a DL NW ff, don't understand why they think saving a few dollars on meals is really going to help their bottom line when they are having difficulty retaining many of their frequent flyers. I'm pretty sure that the additional long-term revenue generated from having a reputation for excellent food service in premium cabins is greater than the cost of that service.
Sep 19, 2009, 4:56 pm
#2
Join Date: Aug 2003
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And all of this is a surprise? Sorry welcome to the new DL best in class service. 
Sep 19, 2009, 6:20 pm
#3
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: San Diego DL Diamond Medallion 2.4 MM
Posts: 249
GrizShel Breakfast
GrizShel,
I fly the first leg DCA-MSP every other week, and you're right you get a choice of cold cereal, yoghurt and a bagel. You're problem is you need to fly a bit further, i.e. the West Coast, then you get a hot breakfast...or as a 2nd choice the famous cold breakfast. It has to do with miles flown and time of day, etc.
WinkDaddy provided this link.
First class:
https://www.delta.com/traveling_chec....../dining.jsp
I fly the first leg DCA-MSP every other week, and you're right you get a choice of cold cereal, yoghurt and a bagel. You're problem is you need to fly a bit further, i.e. the West Coast, then you get a hot breakfast...or as a 2nd choice the famous cold breakfast. It has to do with miles flown and time of day, etc.
WinkDaddy provided this link.
First class:
https://www.delta.com/traveling_chec....../dining.jsp
Sep 19, 2009, 7:59 pm
#4
Join Date: Apr 2005
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Posts: 1,297
Flew ATL-SJU on Wednesday and the meal was a terrible cheese omlette that had no taste. It was the only choice. I almost wish they would have offered cereal!
Sep 19, 2009, 8:15 pm
#5
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I think this is the link to meal stuff:
http://www.delta.com/traveling_check....../dining.jsp
I had a few of those breakfasts last week. Personally, being diabetic, it is a TON of carbs, and I would prefer the eggy thing, but, I enjoyed it! I read another post where someone complained about the bagel, etc. I actually enjoyed the bread style bagel - wheat/multi grain. Soft and different from a NY style water bagel. Butter and Jelly. Cereal was raisin bran - no choice - not bad - on all 3 legs. Yougrt. A nice fresh mixed fruit plate - Cantalope, strawberries, kiwi, orange slices, pineapple. DTW/MCO MCO/MSP MSP/LAS
I see that DL does special meals on meal flights as long as they're requested at least 12 hours in advance (24 for Kosher). I don't know if NW has reinstated special meals on domestic flights or not!
http://www.delta.com/traveling_check....../dining.jsp
I had a few of those breakfasts last week. Personally, being diabetic, it is a TON of carbs, and I would prefer the eggy thing, but, I enjoyed it! I read another post where someone complained about the bagel, etc. I actually enjoyed the bread style bagel - wheat/multi grain. Soft and different from a NY style water bagel. Butter and Jelly. Cereal was raisin bran - no choice - not bad - on all 3 legs. Yougrt. A nice fresh mixed fruit plate - Cantalope, strawberries, kiwi, orange slices, pineapple. DTW/MCO MCO/MSP MSP/LAS
I see that DL does special meals on meal flights as long as they're requested at least 12 hours in advance (24 for Kosher). I don't know if NW has reinstated special meals on domestic flights or not!
Sep 19, 2009, 8:45 pm
#6
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: St. Louis
Programs: NW/DL Plat, SPG Gold, Hertz Gold 5*
Posts: 99
I actually think the omlette / sausage / potato combo is pretty decent. I got that this past week LAX -> MSP on the 8 am flight. In a way, even kind of look forward to it and pass on the bagel carb fest you usually find ubiquitously at a snack joint preboarding. Of course I usually pound a protein drink first thing in the AM so I'm generally on sched for a refill about the time they bring the hot plate around.
Sep 19, 2009, 11:11 pm
#7
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: OMA / MUC
Programs: Former NW PE, now DL DM
Posts: 1,006
No longer do you find a sizable number of people who are willing to actually "pay real money" for premium service up front. Let's face it, the largest DOMESTIC carrier in this country doesn't even have a FC cabin!!
Over the last 10 years, it has been a continuous spiral downward as far as service in FC is concerned. The bean counters say that the airlines are not getting enough higher fares up front to warrant spending extra money on the "premium service and meals". Just a bunch of free-loading Elites sitting up there. So the standards are lowered. The passengers then increasingly see little advantage to sitting up front, so fewer of them are willing to pay a premium fare for it. Then the bean counters say "Look, the demand has decreased again. We need to decrease what we are spending for those sitting in FC." And on and on......
Over the years, CO and NW had sought to court the higher fares that AA, UA, and DL were able to command on their non-stop tanscon's by offering decent meal service up front on connecting flights, while the Big 3 lowered their standards. Now NW is gone, assimilated into DL, leaving CO as the sole "underdog" that chooses to offer a quality product, but solely for marketing purposes. Certainly not because they feel that any FF'ers with free upgrades are entitled to a premium product when they paid only a cheap coach fare. CO has been able to shrink their FC cabins so that they more closely match the demand for the higher fares that actually get "paying passengers" into those seats upfront! It's their way of saying that the goodies are reserved for the people who actually pay for them, and not for some of us who have been paying the lowest fares and free-loading our way up front with our Elite Status. Meanwhile, DL continues to offer a decent number of FC seats on mainline planes, so higher level Elites are going to get a reasonable number of upgrades, but since they really aren't paying for any premium service, why should DL actually provide it?
You can thank the Bush Administration for approving the decreased competition in the US domestic airline industry. The playing field has changed, and you get what you get these days. Or more exactly, we are moving closer and closer to "you get only what you pay for!"
Sep 20, 2009, 1:49 am
#8
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 2,384
Things have changed over the years, OP!
No longer do you find a sizable number of people who are willing to actually "pay real money" for premium service up front. Let's face it, the largest DOMESTIC carrier in this country doesn't even have a FC cabin!!
Over the last 10 years, it has been a continuous spiral downward as far as service in FC is concerned. The bean counters say that the airlines are not getting enough higher fares up front to warrant spending extra money on the "premium service and meals". Just a bunch of free-loading Elites sitting up there. So the standards are lowered. The passengers then increasingly see little advantage to sitting up front, so fewer of them are willing to pay a premium fare for it. Then the bean counters say "Look, the demand has decreased again. We need to decrease what we are spending for those sitting in FC." And on and on......
Over the years, CO and NW had sought to court the higher fares that AA, UA, and DL were able to command on their non-stop tanscon's by offering decent meal service up front on connecting flights, while the Big 3 lowered their standards. Now NW is gone, assimilated into DL, leaving CO as the sole "underdog" that chooses to offer a quality product, but solely for marketing purposes. Certainly not because they feel that any FF'ers with free upgrades are entitled to a premium product when they paid only a cheap coach fare. CO has been able to shrink their FC cabins so that they more closely match the demand for the higher fares that actually get "paying passengers" into those seats upfront! It's their way of saying that the goodies are reserved for the people who actually pay for them, and not for some of us who have been paying the lowest fares and free-loading our way up front with our Elite Status. Meanwhile, DL continues to offer a decent number of FC seats on mainline planes, so higher level Elites are going to get a reasonable number of upgrades, but since they really aren't paying for any premium service, why should DL actually provide it?
You can thank the Bush Administration for approving the decreased competition in the US domestic airline industry. The playing field has changed, and you get what you get these days. Or more exactly, we are moving closer and closer to "you get only what you pay for!"
No longer do you find a sizable number of people who are willing to actually "pay real money" for premium service up front. Let's face it, the largest DOMESTIC carrier in this country doesn't even have a FC cabin!!
Over the last 10 years, it has been a continuous spiral downward as far as service in FC is concerned. The bean counters say that the airlines are not getting enough higher fares up front to warrant spending extra money on the "premium service and meals". Just a bunch of free-loading Elites sitting up there. So the standards are lowered. The passengers then increasingly see little advantage to sitting up front, so fewer of them are willing to pay a premium fare for it. Then the bean counters say "Look, the demand has decreased again. We need to decrease what we are spending for those sitting in FC." And on and on......
Over the years, CO and NW had sought to court the higher fares that AA, UA, and DL were able to command on their non-stop tanscon's by offering decent meal service up front on connecting flights, while the Big 3 lowered their standards. Now NW is gone, assimilated into DL, leaving CO as the sole "underdog" that chooses to offer a quality product, but solely for marketing purposes. Certainly not because they feel that any FF'ers with free upgrades are entitled to a premium product when they paid only a cheap coach fare. CO has been able to shrink their FC cabins so that they more closely match the demand for the higher fares that actually get "paying passengers" into those seats upfront! It's their way of saying that the goodies are reserved for the people who actually pay for them, and not for some of us who have been paying the lowest fares and free-loading our way up front with our Elite Status. Meanwhile, DL continues to offer a decent number of FC seats on mainline planes, so higher level Elites are going to get a reasonable number of upgrades, but since they really aren't paying for any premium service, why should DL actually provide it?
You can thank the Bush Administration for approving the decreased competition in the US domestic airline industry. The playing field has changed, and you get what you get these days. Or more exactly, we are moving closer and closer to "you get only what you pay for!"
Sep 20, 2009, 2:00 am
#9
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+2 mrcimino1, a fair assessment of Skyteam domestic premium flying over the last ten years. 
Sep 20, 2009, 2:21 am
#10
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: BDL
Programs: NWA Platinum, HHonors Diamond, SPG, YX, AA
Posts: 5,351
Things have changed over the years, OP!
No longer do you find a sizable number of people who are willing to actually "pay real money" for premium service up front. Let's face it, the largest DOMESTIC carrier in this country doesn't even have a FC cabin!!
Over the last 10 years, it has been a continuous spiral downward as far as service in FC is concerned. The bean counters say that the airlines are not getting enough higher fares up front to warrant spending extra money on the "premium service and meals". Just a bunch of free-loading Elites sitting up there. So the standards are lowered. The passengers then increasingly see little advantage to sitting up front, so fewer of them are willing to pay a premium fare for it. Then the bean counters say "Look, the demand has decreased again. We need to decrease what we are spending for those sitting in FC." And on and on......
Over the years, CO and NW had sought to court the higher fares that AA, UA, and DL were able to command on their non-stop tanscon's by offering decent meal service up front on connecting flights, while the Big 3 lowered their standards. Now NW is gone, assimilated into DL, leaving CO as the sole "underdog" that chooses to offer a quality product, but solely for marketing purposes. Certainly not because they feel that any FF'ers with free upgrades are entitled to a premium product when they paid only a cheap coach fare. CO has been able to shrink their FC cabins so that they more closely match the demand for the higher fares that actually get "paying passengers" into those seats upfront! It's their way of saying that the goodies are reserved for the people who actually pay for them, and not for some of us who have been paying the lowest fares and free-loading our way up front with our Elite Status. Meanwhile, DL continues to offer a decent number of FC seats on mainline planes, so higher level Elites are going to get a reasonable number of upgrades, but since they really aren't paying for any premium service, why should DL actually provide it?
You can thank the Bush Administration for approving the decreased competition in the US domestic airline industry. The playing field has changed, and you get what you get these days. Or more exactly, we are moving closer and closer to "you get only what you pay for!"
No longer do you find a sizable number of people who are willing to actually "pay real money" for premium service up front. Let's face it, the largest DOMESTIC carrier in this country doesn't even have a FC cabin!!
Over the last 10 years, it has been a continuous spiral downward as far as service in FC is concerned. The bean counters say that the airlines are not getting enough higher fares up front to warrant spending extra money on the "premium service and meals". Just a bunch of free-loading Elites sitting up there. So the standards are lowered. The passengers then increasingly see little advantage to sitting up front, so fewer of them are willing to pay a premium fare for it. Then the bean counters say "Look, the demand has decreased again. We need to decrease what we are spending for those sitting in FC." And on and on......
Over the years, CO and NW had sought to court the higher fares that AA, UA, and DL were able to command on their non-stop tanscon's by offering decent meal service up front on connecting flights, while the Big 3 lowered their standards. Now NW is gone, assimilated into DL, leaving CO as the sole "underdog" that chooses to offer a quality product, but solely for marketing purposes. Certainly not because they feel that any FF'ers with free upgrades are entitled to a premium product when they paid only a cheap coach fare. CO has been able to shrink their FC cabins so that they more closely match the demand for the higher fares that actually get "paying passengers" into those seats upfront! It's their way of saying that the goodies are reserved for the people who actually pay for them, and not for some of us who have been paying the lowest fares and free-loading our way up front with our Elite Status. Meanwhile, DL continues to offer a decent number of FC seats on mainline planes, so higher level Elites are going to get a reasonable number of upgrades, but since they really aren't paying for any premium service, why should DL actually provide it?
You can thank the Bush Administration for approving the decreased competition in the US domestic airline industry. The playing field has changed, and you get what you get these days. Or more exactly, we are moving closer and closer to "you get only what you pay for!"
Blame President Bush for worse meals in FC.
Wow.
Sep 20, 2009, 5:17 am
#11
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: MSP
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Posts: 728
Would it kill them to offer a cold fruit/cheese/cracker plate?
Sep 20, 2009, 6:12 am
#12
Join Date: May 2006
Location: NYC
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Posts: 1,934
If a hot breakfast in F is that important to you, why not connect in a different hub? DTW, CVG, ATL and SLC will all include a longer flight with a hot meal.
Sep 20, 2009, 7:06 am
#13
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Sep 20, 2009, 4:00 pm
#14
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Uhmm... not really. Only mainline flights, and ERJ-175 + CRJ 900 have FC and thus food offered. To get a > 1500 mile flight, with NW is very difficult, thus very few NW flights now offer hot breakfast. This is vs nearly all prior NW FC flights.
Sep 20, 2009, 4:44 pm
#15
Join Date: May 2006
Location: NYC
Programs: Delta DM/2MM, Flying Blue Gold, Hertz Platinum
Posts: 1,934
DL1951, DCA 6AM ATL 749A (snack basket)
DL1025, ATL 835A PHX 955A (full breakfast)
DL6449, DCA 610A, CVG 745A (Comair CR7)
DL1211, CVG 905A, PHX 955A (full breakfast)
NW1223, DCA 630A, DTW 801A (snack basket)
NW121, DTW 910A, PHX 1028A (full breakfast)
All three of these itineraries include a flight that's over 4 hours/1500 miles, and serves a full, hot breakfast.