American Airlines reduced inflight service during the Pandemic. They blamed Covid, but it was more about cost. Premium business was not much to compete for.
Alaska Airlines brought back food. United Airlines is doing well. American Airlines has done more for passengers inflight than Delta.
The American blamed the supply chain. The flight attendants union doesn't want cabin crew to heat meals. They said that galley ovens were a source of the virus.
We were supposed to see improvements this fall. They put the meals on the trays. Hot meals have been seen by pilots on domestic flights, but not by customers.
I can only look at shrink-wrapped turkey sandwiches. The vegetarian option is worse than the one I usually pass on.
This seems to be on the verge of changing. A person tells me that they are close and that they will have more to say on the dining room table after the first of the year.
The airline's Senior Vice President of Flight Service said during the summer of 2020 that old-style meals would never return and that the Pandemic was an opportunity to introduce something "more modern" but still has a premium feel.
The executive is no longer employed by American. The CEO is stepping down. Oscar Munoz traveled the system to listen to employees and introduce product improvements when he took over at United. Illy coffee and stroopwafels were quick wins and there were long-term promises like greenlighting a huge investment in their business class.
The new airline CEO could use a meal. This has not been a focus in the past, but doing a nice job now would help with the narrative of finally focusing on customer needs.
American Airlines doesn't offer a first class product, and it's often not worth the price increment that's asked. The value proposition of the product needs to be fixed. They need to figure out how to make the cabin configuration of their A321s work best. They have less space up front.
They can solve a customer pain point by offering something that customers traditionally expect from a first class product, such as airport food vendors, short connections and delays, and not enough time for customers to get a decent meal on their own.
The meals are cold and can be used on flights over 900 miles. In an employee meeting last week, the Managing Director of Onboard Dining argued that this is a return to pre-covid meal service. When service returned, American planned for cheaper food. Lets hope these are boxed...
July 21, 2021.
"Airlines"
I reported a few weeks ago that American Airlines was working to bring back hot meals to domestic first class. It takes time to ramp up the supply chain after not having offered real food.
August 11, 2021.
"Airlines"
There is a plan for first class meals. They are going to be smaller. I'm not sure how they expect you to spread butter on rolls that haven't been warmed. That's according to the explanations.
May 15, 2021.
"Airlines"
