American Adds First-Class Meals on More Flights, Upgrades Other In-Flight Offerings

A first-class meal on AA before the merger

American Airlines announced additional changes in its meal service, after having significantly modified its offerings on September 1. The current round of changes will begin on October 16.

The Fort Worth-based airline said it would restore meals on some flights where they had been eliminated, reintroduce certain items that had been eliminated, and improve the quality of what is being served.

The minimum flight time for a meal will change from two hours and 45 minutes to two hours and 30 minutes. The airline is also adding three new routes to the list of what American calls “exception markets,” i.e. flights that are too short for a meal but need one for competitive purposes. The new routes are Chicago-Austin, Washington, D.C.-Miami, and Dallas/Fort Worth-Mexico City.

On flights lasting between two hours and two hours and 30 minutes, American is bringing back warmed mixed nuts and redesigning its snack basket to add what it calls “higher quality sandwiches” as well as Milano cookies and bananas. It is adjusting the snack basket for early morning flights to have items appropriate for breakfast, including breads, fig bags, apples, and bananas.

Finally, the carrier is reinstating its ice cream sundae dessert service on flights lasting over three hours and 30 minutes. The airline said it had been a “signature element” of its service and was bringing it back “to match the prior standard.”

The meal service on the Chicago-Austin, Washington, D.C.-Miami, and Dallas/Fort Worth-Mexico City routes will be available starting October 16. All of the other changes will be phased in starting November 1.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)