Feb 22, 2015, 6:28 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
AA/US Domestic Dining (including Canada, Mexico, & the Caribbean)
Note: this thread is about meals served on AA-US. There is another thread for the contingent that wishes to debate and discuss linens as a primary subject, including related presentation issues: Linens / presentation debate for meal service on AA, US / both.
PLEASE: DO NOT POST OVERSIZED IMAGES; PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE AND REPEAT IMAGES IN YOUR QUOTED POST. /Moderators
Welcome to the 2015 Domestic Dining thread and the resulting discussion/trip reports/photos/shared experiences. Here, in this wiki post, I'll strive to explain what you should expect on AA flights in First and Business, meals-wise. Keep in mind that there are many domestic flights, so there are quite a few parameters to keep track of. This Wiki covers both AA and US flights, but as of September 2014, AA and US offers identical meal service domestically, so that part of the merger has its' harmonization completed.
Basically, in its' best condensed form, you should expect to receive a meal between 4:59am - 8pm on flights longer than 900 miles, which equals about two hours in the air. From that point, there are exceptions, and specific timing parameters.
What to Expect - Mainline:
Keep in mind that this list is not entirely inclusive, and there may be certain exceptions and/or abnormalities.
- Up to 699 miles: Light snacks such as a fig bar, cookies, and/or pretzels
- 700-899 miles: Warmed nuts, a snack plate (fruit/cheese, pita/hummus, or spinach dip/pita), and a cookie
- 900-1298 miles: A meal (fruit/breakfast entree; salad/entree) followed by a cookie; no meals between 1:30-4pm
- 1298-2199 miles: A full meal including an appetizer, with cake for lunch desserts and premade ice-cream for dinner desserts
- 2200 miles and above: Same as 1298-2199 miles, but consists of made-to-order sundaes or a cheese plate for both lunch and dinner desserts
What to Expect - Regional:
Keep in mind that this list is not entirely inclusive, and there may be certain exceptions and/or abnormalities.
- Up to 175 miles: A light snack mix along with beverage service
- 176-899 miles: Sweet and savory, organic/healthy snack choices (snack basket)
- 900-2199 miles: Warm mixed nuts, two meal options, and dessert. (For flights over 2200 miles, you will receive the same selection of snacks from 176-899 miles as a pre-arrival snack. All regional meal flights leaving after 8:00pm will also receive sweet and savory snacks as the only option. Editor's note: A regional jet for 2000+ miles? Hope that never happens!)
All of the meal flights that fall under the above timing parameters will receive two choices; normally, one meat and one vegetarian.
Longer westbound flights leaving from the east coast (transcontinental; non-premium) are not officially exceptions, but some flights after 8pm receive a full dinner service (such as the 8:05pm MIA-SAN flight, or the 8:30pm PHL-LAS flight). Additionally, non-premium transcontinental red-eye flights will receive snack basket service upon departure, then a continental breakfast box prior to arrival.
Official Exceptions:
The following flights all fall under 900 miles, but will receive a full meal service, with the exception of flights leaving between 1:31-4pm. Despite some of the listed flights being over 900 miles, they are remaining listed here, based on the AA website for documentation purposes.
- Chicago (ORD) - AUS/BDL/BOS/DCA/EWR/JFK/LGA/MSY/RDU
- Dallas (DFW) - BJX/ORD/MEX/QRO/SLP
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL) - PAP
- Los Angeles (LAX) - DEN
- Miami (MIA) - DCA/IAD/PAP
- New York (LGA) - ATL
- Phoenix (PHX) - MZT
Additional Information:
- JFK-LAX/SFO; MIA-LAX are considered premium transcontinental flights, and as such, receives a more refined service with three meal choices, per-course service, printed menus, and tray/tablecloth linens in both F/J. Those flights now are the only domestic flights in the system to offer special meals as another option (which can be reserved by either preordering online, or calling). Red-eye flights will receive a full "supper/snack" meal service, which is basically a condensed dinner service.
- Hawaiian meal service is very similar to what you'd expect on 2200+ mile flights, but there also will be Hawaiian rolls served, along with a pre-arrival continental breakfast/snack (dependent on the length of the route). Tropical warmed nuts are also currently served.
- All flights over 700 miles, regardless of a meal being served or not, will receive warm mixed nuts and a cookie.
Disclaimer: The editor of this Wiki does not guarantee the information presented above will always be accurate or properly followed by AA, given catering mishaps, irregular operations, rogue crews, or mismanagement. For the best up-to-date information, it would be prudent to check AA's website constantly for any updates, or call AA. The editors of this Wiki will keep this Wiki updated as often as possible.
Last updated: 7/26/2015 2:33pm, MrAndy1369
2015 Combined AA/US Domestic Meal / Meals - menu / photos / etc. (Consolidated)
Sep 30, 2015 | 7:02 am
#2311
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: USA
Programs: AAdvantage, MileagePlus, SkyMiles
Posts: 4,338
Sep 30, 2015 | 8:42 am
#2312
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2012
Location: MCO
Programs: AA, B6, DL, EK, EY, QR, SQ, UA, Amex Plat, Marriott Tit, HHonors Gold
Posts: 12,810
MIA-ORD
Boeing 767 New Interior
Dinner
Despite a 30 minute delay due to T-Storms on the ground, and a light load in F, PDB of only water or OJ
Pre-order meal choice acknowledged. ^
Choices were the Herbes de Provence Chicken or, according to the pre-order system when it functioned, a tamale. Other choice onboard, as per other reports here, was pasta, and not the tamale. Glad I read this thread and chose the chicken!
Drink of choice, hot towel, and hot nuts once in the air.
I found the chicken dish to be quite good. It came with wax green beans and a tasty mushroom risotto. Salad was good with leafs, mozzarella ball, olive, and 2 small tomatoes. Bread choice of pretzel or sourdough roll.
Warm cookies followed.
Overall, a much improved meal, though I agree with others that portions could be a bit bigger. AAverage service with FA's making a loud racket in the galley throughout the flight -- made sleeping in the nice lie-flat seats tough.
Boeing 767 New Interior
Dinner
Despite a 30 minute delay due to T-Storms on the ground, and a light load in F, PDB of only water or OJ
Pre-order meal choice acknowledged. ^
Choices were the Herbes de Provence Chicken or, according to the pre-order system when it functioned, a tamale. Other choice onboard, as per other reports here, was pasta, and not the tamale. Glad I read this thread and chose the chicken!
Drink of choice, hot towel, and hot nuts once in the air.
I found the chicken dish to be quite good. It came with wax green beans and a tasty mushroom risotto. Salad was good with leafs, mozzarella ball, olive, and 2 small tomatoes. Bread choice of pretzel or sourdough roll.
Warm cookies followed.
Overall, a much improved meal, though I agree with others that portions could be a bit bigger. AAverage service with FA's making a loud racket in the galley throughout the flight -- made sleeping in the nice lie-flat seats tough.
That's certainly what it seems like. In the past there had been six unique sets of menus which rotated on a monthly basis and restarted every six months. Now it seems like there's one, and they decide to make "improvements" before they switch it each quarter.
Sep 30, 2015 | 11:37 am
#2313
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 2,040
I maybe completely wrong, but if memory serves, wasn't there going to be some period between when the frozen entrees would be exhausted and only fresh entrees would be offered?
Is is possible that the pasta is still leftover and the tamale (which sounds new to me) is not being catered until all the frozen entrees are depleted?
On a separate note, have the rolls shrunk in size as of late? The Wife said her pretzel roll (as well as all the rolls in the basket) was significantly smaller than in past memory.
Is is possible that the pasta is still leftover and the tamale (which sounds new to me) is not being catered until all the frozen entrees are depleted?
On a separate note, have the rolls shrunk in size as of late? The Wife said her pretzel roll (as well as all the rolls in the basket) was significantly smaller than in past memory.
Last edited by kmersh; Sep 30, 2015 at 5:30 pm Reason: corrected to add the word when and add a question mark
Sep 30, 2015 | 4:01 pm
#2314
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA- EXP UA - Silver SPG- PLT Marriott- PLT
Posts: 868
I maybe completely wrong, but if memory serves, wasn't there going to be some period between the frozen entrees would be exhausted and only fresh entrees would be offered.
Is is possible that the pasta is still leftover and the tamale (which sounds new to me) is not being catered until all the frozen entrees are depleted?
On a separate note, have the rolls shrunk in size as of late? The Wife said her pretzel roll (as well as all the rolls in the basket) was significantly smaller than in past memory.
Is is possible that the pasta is still leftover and the tamale (which sounds new to me) is not being catered until all the frozen entrees are depleted?
On a separate note, have the rolls shrunk in size as of late? The Wife said her pretzel roll (as well as all the rolls in the basket) was significantly smaller than in past memory.
Sep 30, 2015 | 6:26 pm
#2315
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: ASE
Programs: UA 1MM, AA1MM PLTPRO, Hertz PC, National EXC, Hyatt Explorist, Hilton/Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 3,414
ORD-DEN
Boeing 737 BSI (No AVOD)
Breakfast
No PDB
Once in the air, drink of choice followed by hot towels and a tray breakfast. Pre-order choices were (when the system was still functioning) the omelette or French Toast Strata. I chose the French Toast. Onboard, choices were the omelette or the steel-cut oatmeal. FA got to me, greeted me by name, and asked if I pre-ordered the omelette...sure, I said, not wanting to be stuck with the oatmeal (I know that people here like it generally...just personally not much of an oatmeal fan).
The omelette came with the turkey sausage (yuck) and the potatoes. While the potatoes weren't awful like some here have said, they sure weren't great, either. On the tray was a fruit plate, as well. The fruit was PERFECTLY ripe, and consisted of: 2 strawberry halves, 2 slices of pineapple, 2 slices of cantaloupe and 2 slices of honeydew melon. Pastry choices were the biscuit or raisin bread rolls. Extra butter and jelly packets were on offer.^
Mints before landing. ^
Overall, a perfectly adequate meal for a flight of this length. I am excited for the supposed upcoming breakfast improvements!
DEN-DFW
Snack
MD-80
AAwesome FA on this flight who earned an AAplause Certificate.
Initial PDB offering of water or OJ. When the FA realized that she had more time after boarding was complete, she offered PDB of Choice!
Once in the air, drink of choice and warm mixed nuts. FA never sat down the entire flight ^
Snack choices were the prosciutto or the cheese and grapes plate. I chose the prosciutto plate and found it very good.
Overall, a great flight, that is a model of what AA can and should be!
Boeing 737 BSI (No AVOD)
Breakfast
No PDB
Once in the air, drink of choice followed by hot towels and a tray breakfast. Pre-order choices were (when the system was still functioning) the omelette or French Toast Strata. I chose the French Toast. Onboard, choices were the omelette or the steel-cut oatmeal. FA got to me, greeted me by name, and asked if I pre-ordered the omelette...sure, I said, not wanting to be stuck with the oatmeal (I know that people here like it generally...just personally not much of an oatmeal fan).
The omelette came with the turkey sausage (yuck) and the potatoes. While the potatoes weren't awful like some here have said, they sure weren't great, either. On the tray was a fruit plate, as well. The fruit was PERFECTLY ripe, and consisted of: 2 strawberry halves, 2 slices of pineapple, 2 slices of cantaloupe and 2 slices of honeydew melon. Pastry choices were the biscuit or raisin bread rolls. Extra butter and jelly packets were on offer.^
Mints before landing. ^
Overall, a perfectly adequate meal for a flight of this length. I am excited for the supposed upcoming breakfast improvements!
DEN-DFW
Snack
MD-80
AAwesome FA on this flight who earned an AAplause Certificate.
Initial PDB offering of water or OJ. When the FA realized that she had more time after boarding was complete, she offered PDB of Choice!
Once in the air, drink of choice and warm mixed nuts. FA never sat down the entire flight ^
Snack choices were the prosciutto or the cheese and grapes plate. I chose the prosciutto plate and found it very good.
Overall, a great flight, that is a model of what AA can and should be!
Last edited by UAPremierGuy; Oct 1, 2015 at 9:14 am Reason: Added DEN-DFW Flight
Oct 1, 2015 | 1:48 pm
#2316
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Empire State
Programs: AAdvantage Executive Platinum; Marriott Platinum
Posts: 461
Just used Twitter to pre-order my meal selection for an upcoming transcon flight in F, JFK-SFO. Friendly response within 10 minutes. Super easy. ^
Oct 1, 2015 | 3:33 pm
#2317
Suspended
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Diamond, AAdvantage EXP, Hyatt Explorist, HHonors Diamond, Avis First
Posts: 7,344
Oct 1, 2015 | 4:30 pm
#2318
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 7,393
PIT-DFW
AA1426
Today's flight had the beef with lobster and Mac or a vegetarian pasta option (penne with olives on top). I went with the beef, while it is an improvement over the previous offerings, my sentiments were mixed. I'll break it down by each dish.
Salad - Wedge salad with one cherry tomato split in half, bleu cheese crumbs, and bacon bits with ranch dressing. Decent overall, but very skimpy when comes to size. I think I ate the whole thing in 3 bites.
Bread- sourdough or multigrain bread. Went with the sourdough and it was warmed up perfectly. Very soft in the middle.
Entree- the lobster and mac was edible. The presentation was a sloppy, but the food was edible. The beef was a huge let down. It was so dry and I had to occasionally drink while I had the beef in my mouth to help me swallow. Disappointing.
Cookie - the choc chip cookie was perfect for me. Wasn't cooked too much to the point where it slowly collapse while you are trying to eat it.
I was looking forward to this dish, but didn't really impress me. I have a couple flights in F in the next couple of weeks and hopefully this one was an off one.
AA1426
Today's flight had the beef with lobster and Mac or a vegetarian pasta option (penne with olives on top). I went with the beef, while it is an improvement over the previous offerings, my sentiments were mixed. I'll break it down by each dish.
Salad - Wedge salad with one cherry tomato split in half, bleu cheese crumbs, and bacon bits with ranch dressing. Decent overall, but very skimpy when comes to size. I think I ate the whole thing in 3 bites.
Bread- sourdough or multigrain bread. Went with the sourdough and it was warmed up perfectly. Very soft in the middle.
Entree- the lobster and mac was edible. The presentation was a sloppy, but the food was edible. The beef was a huge let down. It was so dry and I had to occasionally drink while I had the beef in my mouth to help me swallow. Disappointing.
Cookie - the choc chip cookie was perfect for me. Wasn't cooked too much to the point where it slowly collapse while you are trying to eat it.
I was looking forward to this dish, but didn't really impress me. I have a couple flights in F in the next couple of weeks and hopefully this one was an off one.
Oct 1, 2015 | 5:22 pm
#2319
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold Royal Air Maroc OW Emerald Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 22,531
Embarrassed to say that I was on the same flight as golfingboy and didn't realize it. Agree with his critique. Better than most post 9/1/14 meals but still not very good. Double catering from DFW didn't help. Mac and cheese was passable but the beef, swimming in water, was terrible. Can Hector find a cheaper cut of "meat"? Salad though small was actually pretty good. Cookie was your basic heated Admirals Club quality.
Crap catering aside, multiple wonderful AA employees today. Kudos to a great FA Patti with the only mainline PDB of the trip (and open bar PDB at that) and GA at DFW C31 who got me on the earlier 5:30P DFW-DEN flight just before they closed the door and then chased me down the jet bridge to tell me to take 23AB as those pax were in customs and unlikely to make the flight.
PIT-DFW
AA 1426
M80
3:18P-5:23P (sked)
3:18p-5:05P (actual)
October 1, 2015
And yesterday from DFW-PIT.
DFW-PIT
AA 1252
M80
8:21A-12:00P
September 30, 2015
Breakfast
Choice of quiche or steel cut oatmeal.
Nice renovations and especially the new floor finally finished at PIT.
Crap catering aside, multiple wonderful AA employees today. Kudos to a great FA Patti with the only mainline PDB of the trip (and open bar PDB at that) and GA at DFW C31 who got me on the earlier 5:30P DFW-DEN flight just before they closed the door and then chased me down the jet bridge to tell me to take 23AB as those pax were in customs and unlikely to make the flight.
PIT-DFW
AA 1426
M80
3:18P-5:23P (sked)
3:18p-5:05P (actual)
October 1, 2015
And yesterday from DFW-PIT.
DFW-PIT
AA 1252
M80
8:21A-12:00P
September 30, 2015
Breakfast
Choice of quiche or steel cut oatmeal.
Nice renovations and especially the new floor finally finished at PIT.
Last edited by SFO777; Oct 1, 2015 at 5:27 pm
Oct 1, 2015 | 5:41 pm
#2320
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Everywhere you wanna be
Programs: AA EP | UA 1K
Posts: 1,657
PIT actually looks like a modern day airport now. Very nice.
Oct 1, 2015 | 5:46 pm
#2321
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2012
Location: MCO
Programs: AA, B6, DL, EK, EY, QR, SQ, UA, Amex Plat, Marriott Tit, HHonors Gold
Posts: 12,810
Interesting that they've switched to rolls with breakfast. Not the I miss the terrible post-merger biscuit/thing. Those were the worst 'biscuits' I've ever eaten in my life. While miserably unhealthy, the United cinnamon rolls are rather tasty.
Agree with the above comments about the beef. Put it to bed and just provide a decently moist and not olive-drowned chicken or something.
Agree with the above comments about the beef. Put it to bed and just provide a decently moist and not olive-drowned chicken or something.
Oct 1, 2015 | 6:11 pm
#2322
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 7,393
Embarrassed to say that I was on the same flight as golfingboy and didn't realize it. Agree with his critique. Better than most post 9/1/14 meals but still not very good. Double catering from DFW didn't help. Mac and cheese was passable but the beef, swimming in water, was terrible. Can Hector find a cheaper cut of "meat"? Salad though small was actually pretty good. Cookie was your basic heated Admirals Club quality.
Crap catering aside, multiple wonderful AA employees today. Kudos to a great FA Patti with the only mainline PDB of the trip (and open bar PDB at that) and GA at DFW C31 who got me on the earlier 5:30P DFW-DEN flight just before they closed the door and then chased me down the jet bridge to tell me to take 23AB as those pax were in customs and unlikely to make the flight
Crap catering aside, multiple wonderful AA employees today. Kudos to a great FA Patti with the only mainline PDB of the trip (and open bar PDB at that) and GA at DFW C31 who got me on the earlier 5:30P DFW-DEN flight just before they closed the door and then chased me down the jet bridge to tell me to take 23AB as those pax were in customs and unlikely to make the flight
I agree about the FA. There was one moment when she collected my tray and while trying to sort the contents on my tray, she dropped the knife directly on the power button of 5E's laptop. He was in the middle of prepping a PowerPoint on brain tumor (UPMC doctor) and his computer screen went off. Oops. Other than that, she was definitely a gem.
Oh one detail I forgot to mention, the tablecloth linens. It was way too small for the tray table and I think those black linens were supposed to be pre arranged on the meal tray itself by the caterer. Seems like this caterer issue is still a problem.
Oct 4, 2015 | 6:02 pm
#2323
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: AC SE100K-1MM, NH, DL, AA, BA, Global Entry/Nexus, APEC..
Posts: 18,877
First trip to SXM. Great flights, all on time. New 319s are fantastic. Outstanding FAs on 921, 1369 and 1668.
YYZ-MIA
AA 921
738
Sept 25, 2015
Seat mate's pasta. He said he really liked the flavours.
Excellent lunch.
This cookie was ok.
MIA-SXM
AA 1376
319
Sept 25, 2015
Herbes de Provence Chicken, also excellent.
Maybe one for each hip.
SXM-MIA
AA 1369
319
Sept 28, 2015
Breakfast tray. I was impressed. A lot of choice and great quality.
MIA-YYZ
AA 1668
738
Sept 28, 2015
Herbes de Provence Chicken. Again. Still great.
Blurry salad and pretzel bun
Best tasting cookie of the trip ^
Seems better quality than the outbounds. ?
YYZ-MIA
AA 921
738
Sept 25, 2015
Seat mate's pasta. He said he really liked the flavours.
Excellent lunch.
This cookie was ok.
MIA-SXM
AA 1376
319
Sept 25, 2015
Herbes de Provence Chicken, also excellent.
Maybe one for each hip.
SXM-MIA
AA 1369
319
Sept 28, 2015
Breakfast tray. I was impressed. A lot of choice and great quality.
MIA-YYZ
AA 1668
738
Sept 28, 2015
Herbes de Provence Chicken. Again. Still great.
Blurry salad and pretzel bun
Best tasting cookie of the trip ^
Seems better quality than the outbounds. ?
Oct 4, 2015 | 6:37 pm
#2324
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2012
Location: MCO
Programs: AA, B6, DL, EK, EY, QR, SQ, UA, Amex Plat, Marriott Tit, HHonors Gold
Posts: 12,810
What was the chicken on 921? Some sort of chicken masala derivative or something? Haven't seen that one before but it actually looks pretty solid. Herbes de Provence chicken is decent enough but it's crazy that they use the same menus in both directions on the same route. Really shows a lack of oversight/common sense in the catering/catering management department. That's a simple thing to accomplish.
Those shelf-stable breakfasts are also something I'd love to see go. No legitimate reason why AA is unable to get proper catering in these locations. Plenty of other airlines are able to.
Those shelf-stable breakfasts are also something I'd love to see go. No legitimate reason why AA is unable to get proper catering in these locations. Plenty of other airlines are able to.
Oct 4, 2015 | 8:02 pm
#2325
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: AC SE100K-1MM, NH, DL, AA, BA, Global Entry/Nexus, APEC..
Posts: 18,877
What was the chicken on 921? Some sort of chicken masala derivative or something? Haven't seen that one before but it actually looks pretty solid. Herbes de Provence chicken is decent enough but it's crazy that they use the same menus in both directions on the same route. Really shows a lack of oversight/common sense in the catering/catering management department. That's a simple thing to accomplish.
Those shelf-stable breakfasts are also something I'd love to see go. No legitimate reason why AA is unable to get proper catering in these locations. Plenty of other airlines are able to.
Those shelf-stable breakfasts are also something I'd love to see go. No legitimate reason why AA is unable to get proper catering in these locations. Plenty of other airlines are able to.
Good questions. Here are some answers.
I was not able to pre-order the meal on 921. It was not offered on AA.com. I had no idea what would be served. I'm not a fan of pasta while flying, so I chose the chicken (despite knowing I'd also have chicken for dinner). I don't recall if the FA gave me a description of what it was, but it has great flavour and some spice, so perhaps you are right.
The salad with that meal was nicer than the other 2 meals.
This issue with the Herbes de Provence chicken is that while excellent, the pre-order for the MIA-SXM and MIA-YYZ flights only offered 2 options and I can't eat some items on the second option.
While the breakfast may have been shelf stable, the fruit was perfect, the Dutch yogurt was fine, the Wee Brie was tasty and so it was all good. I kept the cereal for a snack later on.
Here are screen shots of the menu choices for 3 of the flights. I never selected breakfast. I wanted to see if there was another option. Not that I could tell.
