Airlines don't serve meals!?

[bigsky]

Gosh..where have I been?! Does all airlines not serve meals anymore? I just got our tickets in the mail and saw that we just get a snack for a 6 hr. flight! I guess that means you have to pack a lunch or try and fill up on peanuts. How cheap are they getting!
Is that what all of you do when you fly now? Everyone has to brown bag it? Or am I missing something?
Gosh, we pay enough for our tickets. You think they could afford to give us some "food".

 

[inkkognito]

This is very common since 9/11. I would either bring on some food or buy something at the airport to bring aboard.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[michygoomy]

Well, a "snack" usually means something a bit more substantial than peanuts or pretzels, not that that will help much for a six-hour flight.

 

[DebbieB]

USAir is now selling a bag lunch for about $10 on it's longer flights.

http://www.usairways.com/travel/inflight/inflight_cafe/index.htm

I grab something before getting on the plane.

 

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by bigsky
I just got our tickets in the mail and saw that we just get a snack for a 6 hr. flight!

Hot meals in economy class are generally limited to long flights (such as cross-country or Midwest-to-California) that operate at meal times.

An airline "snack" is a cold meal, such as a small sandwich, chips, raisins, and a candy bar. The quality and quantity depend on the airline, the time of day, and the route. Some snacks can be quite good, while others are best left mostly uneaten.

On those flights where you only get pretzels (or nuts) and a beverage, your itinerary should indicate "beverage service only" or could be blank where a meal would otherwise be listed.

Actually, you're lucky to get a snack. Connecting passengers may have five or more hours of travel time, but if neither segment is particularly long, there's only beverage service on both segments.

The good news is that many (but not all) airports now have reasonably decent food — with sit-down restaurants like Chili's and Wolfgang Puck, national fast food chains, and food courts.

 

[CarolynK]

We have witnessed firsthand what happens to an airline when they have to cut costs. We have flown exclusively Midwest Airlines out of Milwaukee for the past 4 years. When we first started flying with them, they gave a snack with a drink right after takeoff, then a bit later in the flight you got a very nice hot meal (not your typical airline food) with your choice of red or white wine or soft drink, all complimentary. Then you got baked-on-board chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

Since September 2001, we have flown eight times on Midwest. They have been slowly changing their meal/drink service. They still provide the cookies and soft drinks, but alcohol and meals are extra. On our flight in June, we purchased the meal.

Overall, we are still fairly happy with this airlines. For us, the big plus is flying out of Milwaukee (vs. Chicago's O'Hare).

 

[Tina]

I don't mind, since I never ate much of what they served anyway. I usually stick to the snacks I pack or eat in the airport.

 

[SueM in MN]

USAir is now selling a bag lunch for about $10 on it's longer flights.

Northwest is too. We've flown to and from Minneapolis to Orlando twice since March and I flew to and from San Antonio in June. All the flights just served pretzels, but all offered a bag lunch (actually a very nice looking bag lunch from a well known Twin Cities restaurant) for (I think) $10. They had pictures of the lunch and you could pre-order at the gate or order in the air before the beverage service. I only saw one family buy them.
There was an interesting asortment of food that people carried on though. All the way from full McDonalds' meals to Cinnabuns.

 

[laurie31]

I thought the reason for no meals was due to not being able to have knives and forks, but I'm sure it saves money as well.

We will be bringing sandwiches for our flight. It's only 90 minutes, but it leaves at 1pm, which means we have to be at the airport by 11am, leave our house not long after 10am, and we won't get to our resort until around 4pm our time. A bit long for little ones to go without "real food."

Laurie

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by laurie31
I thought the reason for no meals was due to not being able to have knives and forks, but I'm sure it saves money as well.

We will be bringing sandwiches for our flight. It's only 90 minutes, but it leaves at 1pm, which means we have to be at the airport by 11am, leave our house not long after 10am, and we won't get to our resort until around 4pm our time. A bit long for little ones to go without "real food."

Laurie

Only first Class had metal knives and forks, even before 9/11. If a coach meal required utensils, they were always plastic. At least that is how I remember flying "in the good old days", LOL!

I believe that meal elimination was strictly for cost savings. Most (if not all) of the major "hub and spoke" airlines are still losing money. I don't look for free meals to return anytime soon. Those who think they will get hungry or are traveling with children should plan to bring their own food aboard.

 

[NotUrsula]

Time to find a good deli! (Preferably one that is en route to the airport for you.)

I have a relationship with my local deli, and before a flight, I order a couple of nice box meals for myself and DH. I order and pay for them in advance by CC, and then I just stop the car and pop in to pick them up on the way to the airport. DS gets a Lunchable (the ONLY time he is allowed to have those things is on an airplane.) I carry the meal on in a small collapsible cooler.

On the way home, we either have the hotel make us up a box meal, or if that won't be workable, we stop someplace like Subway to pick one up. I usually *do not* depend on being able to get food in the airport; the lines can be long and the prices tend to be high.

PS: Out of consideration for the hungry folks around you, it is best to try to select foods that do not have strong odors.

DH and I often joke that we could easily recoup the cost of the trip by auctioning off food on the flight down!

 

[diane1102]

For years I have always packed my own food when we fly. Even when the airlines served 'real' meals, I would turn it down and pull out my own. And it always looked better than whatever they were offering. I once had a guy in the next seat offer to buy it from me!! (I had made a chef salad, and it looked better than the rubber piece of chicken he had). We bring a medium sized soft-sided cooler that fits in the overhead bin. We pack a meal for the plane and few extra groceries for our destination (favorite things that we may not be able to find in local stores).

I don't think you should be too disappointed. Whatever you bring on board is better than what they would have served!!!

 

[beccasmom]

We sort of miss the big breakfasts served by Eastern when we started traveling to Orlando in 1981, even though they tasted only so-so.. Of course, the plane itself was also big….L1011’s with 10 or 11 seats across! I’m really going down memory lane and those days are long gone!

We fly USAirways exclusively now to Orlando since that airline pretty much monopolizes PHL airport and Delta does not offer very many non-stop flights. We had a noon flight in June and did not receive anything more than a small bag of pretzels (no surprise; I’d already checked). On our return flight from Orlando at 8:00 am, the same thing. We had the time to grab some baked goods at the airport and ate them on the plane. Having been up since 4:30 that morning, we were ravenous! However, our flights only last a little over 2 hours, so although it is a nuisance, it’s not a huge burden for us. We do usually have a meal when we arrive, though……traveling always makes us hungry!

 

[dcfromva]

Originally posted by bigsky
Gosh..where have I been?! Does all airlines not serve meals anymore? I just got our tickets in the mail and saw that we just get a snack for a 6 hr. flight! I guess that means you have to pack a lunch or try and fill up on peanuts. How cheap are they getting!
Is that what all of you do when you fly now? Everyone has to brown bag it? Or am I missing something?
Gosh, we pay enough for our tickets. You think they could afford to give us some "food".

I guess this could be good news or bad news.... Airlines have been searching ways to cut costs for years and the trend to cut back on the inflight meal service started years and years ago. I believe the first time I noticed this was on American Airlines on a connecting flight to Seattle (must have been 6 or 7 years ago). They had lunch bags that passengers could pick up on their way onto the airplane. I believe it was a sandwich and chips and fruit--something like that. I really liked that approach--it wasn't fancy and what they did serve was pretty good.
Some of the other hot entrees that I have been served in recent years have been pretty bad and that is why I think not serving meals could actually be good news. It has gotten to the point where the only thing that was remotely edible was the salad and the cookie (coach AND first class). If you know to plan ahead and bring something yourself, you might be better off.
Another trend I noticed was on our last flight on USAir, they offered inflight snacks for an additional charge. I ordered one just to see how good the food was (this was an evening flight). I was not impressed. The breakfast menu looked like it might be better, though. The other downside to this is that they only had a "limited" number of snacks--so, if you were really counting on it and they ran out--that wouldn't be very good.
-DC

 

[LIFERBABE]

We were just talking about this very subject!!

Not serving meals could become a liability for the Airlines, in that it is a closed space and with everyone bringing their own food there will be a myriad of smells and not all of them good. Add a little mild turbulence and it won't be pretty. When they served meals, they could somewhat control the smells.

And what do you do if the person next to you doesn't have anything to eat? I would feel bad eating in front of them! LOL
Maybe we will pack a little extra just in case. We are not frequent flyers as you can tell.

Think of the "world revolve around me" people that will bring the smelliest things they can find to eat on the plane.
Multiply that by even 10 and I think it will be worst than someone using cheap nail polish and remover on the plane.

There will be people eating slabs of ribs (sauce everywhere), Pizza with anchovies, Philly cheesteaks with extra onions, garlic Bread, seafood, wild boar, you name it they will be eating it on the plane!

We will have to pack our lunch also so Im considering what to bring as we have connecting service and no meals. (the Wild Boar sounds good!!)

 

[BeachTink]

I have NEVER EVER heard of anyone "brown bagging " it on an airline! How FUNNY, BigSky!

We just got back from our third trip to Hawaii (once this past May 2003, Late June 2002 and in December of 2000) and all three times we had meals coming and going. So maybe it is just the airlines that are different. I could even request what type of meal I wanted.

I do know that they have discontinued use of the regular silverware in business and economy class, but sometimes still use it in first class. The only way to travel by the way if you are going any real distance!!

So, enjoy your "brown bag" breakfast, lunch or dinner! LOL That is so funny.

 

[alexturner74]

Don't know specifically about other airlines, but for example...Delta does serve meals in coach on flights longer than 1750 miles (about 4 hours) and 700 miles in First (about 2 hours). Of course, time of day that your flying also determines whether you get a meal or not.

 

[Eeyore1954]

Why anyone would want the airline "food" (and I consider it extreme abuse of the word "food") that is typically served in economy/coach class is beyond me. Blecch! I think the elimination of this was a great first step in the right direction.

I usually eat before boarding the plane, if possible. If not, and it's a long flight, I try to grab something to eat. At least that way, I have a better choice of what to eat -- not what some company prepared days or weeks ago.

 

[mcnuss]

I have NEVER EVER heard of anyone "brown bagging " it on an airline! How FUNNY, BigSky!

Really??

Wow.

I brown bag it all the time on planes - in fact, will do so in about an hour. If you're a business traveler, chances are you are going to bring food on your flight at some point. There will be no time to eat before going to the airport, and I won't land until 8ish. Not going to wait until then for dinner.

The elimination of food service has been a hot topic for years. 9/11 and the subsequent bad economic times gave the airlines the perfect excuse to do away with meal service. (It really didn't have anything to do with the knives & forks.) Although, on most long-haul flights like yours, you will usually get something more substantial than pretzels. Depends on the airline. You should call and ask. You could also ask if they sell meals on board like US Airways & others do. I don't remember if you said which carrier you're flying, or if it's 1 six hour flight, or six total hours of flying.

 

[tn4mickey]

This has been a complaint of ours in the last year. We moved from TN to WA. We have to fly from a small airport to a small airport, so we have at least 3 connections. There have been several trips that said snack on our e-ticket from Delta.com, but they do not serve anything. When you leave home at 4:30 AM and have 1 hour or less between connections it's a problem to get something to eat. My sister flew out to see us last fall. Flight left at 4PM eastern and landed 11PM pacific (felt like 2AM to her), without food. Her ticket said snack, so she didn't have anything with her. The scary thing here is she is diabetic and needs to eat regularly. Long story short, we've learned to be prepared.