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Changes to special meals (no more special meals on domestic flights after 10/1)

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Changes to special meals (no more special meals on domestic flights after 10/1)

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Old Aug 13, 2011, 10:40 pm
  #31  
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AA doesn't offer special meals on domestic flights. UA did.

There goes the UA aadvantage!
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Old Aug 13, 2011, 10:47 pm
  #32  
 
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Originally Posted by fsfsfsfs
AA doesn't offer special meals on domestic flights. UA did.

There goes the UA aadvantage!
I definitely had a GF meal on an AA flight it was in 2010 sometime more or less around the summer on an transcon LAX to BOS. I was in F and I remember all the cool stuff with the meal like the special bottle of salad dressing. Way way above the GF product on UA. Has AA stopped offering this? I have not flown them too recently.

I'm not desperate for GF - not celiac - but there are times when wheat bothers me if I eat too much so I had been ordering those meals but no more because the UA product was so incredibly bad you would not want anyone to eat that stuff.
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Old Aug 13, 2011, 11:49 pm
  #33  
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Originally Posted by entropy
No, CO claimed that their First and Business class meals are so delicious you'll want seconds.

How about a trip down memory lane? Its only about 2 years old:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjaFRiWCUMg
"everything you should expect from an airline" -- except the pillow is gone from even F now.
This video needs to be reposted everywhere so people can riot about all the $MIJ changes that "we will like" My back still hurts from my F flight last week because I really rely on that pillow for extra back support. Blankets? please - those paper towel blue things are not blankets. Meals - now in F the meals are even worse. There's a whole thread about CO charging for snackboxes in F. This is ridiculous!
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Old Aug 14, 2011, 10:24 am
  #34  
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As a matter of convenience for the corporation and as part of the ongoing “harmonization” between the UA and CO subsidiaries.....
In order to cut costs and further $crew the loyal customer.......
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Old Aug 14, 2011, 10:54 am
  #35  
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This flies in the face of the international premium traveller. e.g. a pax who spends tousands of $ on a ticket BOM-EWR, or DBX-IAD, then on a connecting mid-con, trans-con flight he can not even get a meal conforming with his faith's dietary requirements!

So, much for the international airline with worldwide service!
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Old Aug 14, 2011, 10:56 am
  #36  
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Exclamation Hold On A Second There Buckwheat...

Originally Posted by Joshua
US Airways recently improved their First Class meals (albeit they were horrifyingly bad before the improvements) and they've been unlimited for preferreds for over a decade.
IF your flight is over 3.5* hours only!!!

*w/the exception of Phx>ORD
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Old Aug 14, 2011, 11:02 am
  #37  
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Originally Posted by cesco.g
This flies in the face of the international premium traveller. e.g. a pax who spends tousands of $ on a ticket BOM-EWR, or DBX-IAD, then on a connecting mid-con, trans-con flight he can not even get a meal conforming with his faith's dietary requirements!

So, much for the international airline with worldwide service!

It's not worldwide service, it's "...great service along the way. All thanks to my more than 80,000 co-workers who are the FINEST people in the business."

I don't think we should be so quick to second-guess this decision. Perhaps their market research indicates that their Indian or Muslim customers would rather have great service from the FINEST people in the business over something to eat. After all, they could always pick up a veggie burger or some falafel on their connection or at their final destination. But "great service along the way?" That's tough to replace at a food court.
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Old Aug 14, 2011, 11:08 am
  #38  
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Originally Posted by MBS PremExec
Why does where I'm from have any effect on this applying or not?
Because they discontinued special meals out of MBS several weeks ago?

I suspect part of the reason to discontinue the special meals is all the people who would order them for the sole reason of getting compensation when they weren't loaded (just read the compensation thread).
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Old Aug 14, 2011, 11:25 am
  #39  
 
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I finally pulled the trigger and had my corp travel match my status with DL and US. Since I know I will be flying at least another 150K domestically this year (often in paid F) and if I can't a KSML meal on any of the flights I take and I'm sure the GS perks are going to go down, goodbye UA.

This was the straw that broke this GS 1.75 million milers back...

BTW I've already flown over 100K full fare miles on UA and CO already, with a spend upwards of $75K. Adios.
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Old Aug 14, 2011, 11:31 am
  #40  
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Originally Posted by zambonisk
I finally pulled the trigger and had my corp travel match my status with DL and US. Since I know I will be flying at least another 150K domestically this year (often in paid F) and if I can't a KSML meal on any of the flights I take and I'm sure the GS perks are going to go down, goodbye UA.

This was the straw that broke this GS 1.75 million milers back...

BTW I've already flown over 100K full fare miles on UA and CO already, with a spend upwards of $75K. Adios.
to UA. Fully understand your decision. At least, let them know by shooting an email go GS (if you're still up to it)!
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Old Aug 14, 2011, 1:39 pm
  #41  
 
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Originally Posted by mahasamatman
I suspect part of the reason to discontinue the special meals is all the people who would order them for the sole reason of getting compensation when they weren't loaded (just read the compensation thread).
Highly doubt that. FTers and other frequent flyers who game the system by requesting special meals and then get skykits for them not being loaded most likely do make up the majority of the people requesting special meals on domestic flights.
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Old Aug 14, 2011, 1:45 pm
  #42  
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Originally Posted by weirdlyndon
Highly doubt that. FTers and other frequent flyers who game the system by requesting special meals and then get skykits for them not being loaded most likely do make up the majority of the people requesting special meals on domestic flights.

Heck, they don't even represent a minority of folks. And to resolve that problem, you just have to look at special meal compensation history and address it there.

That said, I agree with mahasamatman that the abuse of special meals was one of the reasons that they've been discontinued. It would go along with CO's tendency to use a canon to kill a mosquito.
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Old Aug 14, 2011, 2:10 pm
  #43  
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Funny thing. I often read on FT that were are such a small percentage of the customer base, not the average customer, we don't have sufficient pull as a group with UA, what we do/say/think matters little to UA and a variety of other statements along those lines. Yet, when a bad change is made, full credit/blame is given to FTers gaming the system for one thing or another and in this case ecerts.

I see this as yet another--what's the new buzzword--"harmonizing" move in the race to the bottom just as we were harmonized out of pillows, decent blankets and probably a variety of things we haven't even thought of yet.
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Old Aug 14, 2011, 5:00 pm
  #44  
 
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Originally Posted by zambonisk
I finally pulled the trigger and had my corp travel match my status with DL and US. Since I know I will be flying at least another 150K domestically this year (often in paid F) and if I can't a KSML meal on any of the flights I take and I'm sure the GS perks are going to go down, goodbye UA.

This was the straw that broke this GS 1.75 million milers back...

BTW I've already flown over 100K full fare miles on UA and CO already, with a spend upwards of $75K. Adios.
^ Haha I guess I didn't need to send you that email this afternoon about the change
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Old Aug 15, 2011, 9:06 am
  #45  
 
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Originally Posted by Pat89339
Funny thing. I often read on FT that were are such a small percentage of the customer base, not the average customer, we don't have sufficient pull as a group with UA, what we do/say/think matters little to UA and a variety of other statements along those lines. Yet, when a bad change is made, full credit/blame is given to FTers gaming the system for one thing or another and in this case ecerts..
Haha - that is true!

Not to mention that if FTer order special meals and UA bungles loading them, it is still UA's fault, not just someone tricking them!
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