Although it is not a return to hot meal service, first-class passengers flying 900 miles or more in economy will once again receive something beyond a shrink-wrapped turkey sandwich and cheese sandwich beginning July 14.Hot meals are available on premium transcon flights, such as New York JFK Los Angeles or San Francisco. There are also some Miami Los Angeles and New York JFK Orange County flights. Non-premium cross-country flights that last longer than Charlotte Los Angeles receive cold Fresh Bites boxes in place of sandwiches.Plastic-wrapped Turkey Cheese Croissant Austin Charlotte (I declined the return).This month, these meal boxes will be expanded to include flights over 900 miles in first class.TheFlyGuy2 - American Airlines Internal F&B DocumentTheFlyGuy2 - American Airlines Internal F&B DocumentTheFlyGuy2 - American Airlines Internal F&B DocumentAmerican Airlines asked me if there were any shorter exception markets that would receive these meals in addition to flights over 900 miles. Some routes, such as Chicago OHare Washington National, have received meals despite being shorter. This is a very competitive route hub-to-hub and a large business market in normal times. According to Fresh Bites, the return on Fresh Bites is based strictly on distance. There are no exception markets at this point.I was frustrated by the lackluster meal service. Covid-19 is blamed for the insufficient hot meals. It seems that ovens are a major vector of the virus spreading, or that New York flights are more susceptible to the virus than other routes. American Airlines did more for passengers than Delta during the pandemic.
