While virtually all airlines cut inflight service during this pandemic we have seen more service restored. This trend will continue for first-class passengers on domestic and international short haul flights.Americans demand first-class cateringFor context, let's first look at what the service is like in American Airlines domestic First Class.American offers drinks but no food on flights up to 900 miles.American offers drinks on flights under 900 milesAmerican offers a sandwich, yogurt & granola, or a cheese plate or sandwich on flights between 900 and 2,200 miles.American offers some food on flights between 900 and 2,200 milesAmerican offers a Fresh Bites Box on flights over 2200 miles. This is a tapas-style meal that includes a variety of options such as cheese, fruit, vegetables, and more. You can generally expect:Breakfast sandwiches, yogurt, fresh fruit and yogurt are all options.Sandwiches, salads, and fresh appetizers are all available for lunch or dinner.American offers snackboxes for flights over 2,200+ MilesAmerican offers snackboxes for flights over 2,200+ MilesAmerican offers hot meals on transcontinental premium flights, including from New York to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Orange County and Miami to Los Angeles.Hot meals are available at American on certain premium transconsAmerican improves first class meals on certain flightsView from the Wing reports that American will expand the Fresh Bites boxes on flights exceeding 900 miles starting July 14, 2021. This means that flights between 900 and 2,200 miles will receive a better meal service.Don't get too excited. TheFlyGuy2 has some screenshots that show what you can expect. There will be two types of Fresh Bites boxes. You can expect the following for flights between 900 and 1,499 miles.For flights over 1,500 miles, the box will be slightly larger.This is an improvement but not something to be excited about. Moreover, Americans who ate pre-coronavirus foods weren't much to be excited about.This will be the new norm for domestic first-class catering.It is interesting to note that United Airlines has restored hot meals for all 1,500+ mile flights and even for 800+ mile hub-to-hub flights. American is just introducing cold food boxes. What is the real story?It seems increasingly likely that first-class meal service cuts will be permanent. The following was stated by the American SVP of Flight Service in August 2020 about the future of airline catering:We are not going to immediately bring back full tray services. Some interim steps will be necessary. There is an opportunity to rethink it. It's been very similar over the years when you look at the footprint of meal service and the way we served. Is there a way to restore something that is still premium but modern? Or can we make incremental changes that are more effective?Bottom lineAmerican Airlines continues to offer more substantial meals in domestic first-class, but there is still little to be excited about. American will begin offering Fresh Bites boxes to first class passengers on flights over 900 miles starting July 14, 2021. One selection will be available for flights between 900 and 2,199 miles, while flights over 2,200 miles will offer a larger selection.It is becoming more obvious that American has no plans to restore all pre-coronavirus food.What do you think of Americans' domestic first-class meal changes?
