Are all in flight meals only for purchase now?

[5 Disney Fans]

Not that I love airline food or anything, but I was surprised when I just booked a rather long flight from East Coast to West Coast on Continental and it stated that there is no meal served. I'd probably rather get something "to go" in the airport terminal than pay for crap food on the plane. But it just had me curious wondering if they just did away with meals regardless of the amount of time the flight takes.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

No meals are served in economy class on domestic flights and have not been for some time. You do sometimes get meals in business and first and you can purchase "snack boxes" on some airlines in all classes. Bring your own food.

 

[DebbieB]

Not that I love airline food or anything, but I was surprised when I just booked a rather long flight from East Coast to West Coast on Continental and it stated that there is no meal served. I'd probably rather get something "to go" in the airport terminal than pay for crap food on the plane. But it just had me curious wondering if they just did away with meals regardless of the amount of time the flight takes.

See these links for info:

http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/travel/inflight/economy/dining.aspx

http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/travel/inflight/economy/menu.aspx

 

[bumbershoot]

Bring your own food unless you will truly eat anything and have no problems with low blood sugar if nothing is left.

We were sitting in the back of the plane on United (and a recently retired United Flight Attendant told us that even though it seems United is on top of this Continental merge, it's actually Continental calling the shots...which was somewhat verified by other active FAs telling us that the changes in the coffee served was b/c they are going to the Continental model instead of the United model) and by the time the cart got to us there were literally TWO items left. Neither of which were acceptable to us. Thankfully it was a short flight. For the longer flight we connected to, we just bought food in the airport and brought it on (OK, ate it at the gate).

 

[alaska8]

Most airlines now sell competively priced food (I know on XXXX Airlines one of the products is cheaper on the plane than in the grocery store) and frequently its a better deal than buying in an airport. With competition between airlines more resources are spent developing good quality competively priced food. However, its always challenging catering the right quantity of fresh meals (you want enough to sell but not too many that you are throwing items away) especailly when the dynamics of flights change daily (for example lots of families traveling one day yet the same flight the next day could be filled with business travellers)So bear in mind that your first choice might not be available. Also the catering companies do make mistakes and it has been known for aircraft to leave without being catered (rather than delay)

 

[Tinknalli]

I don't think we have had a comp meal on any airline since about 2001. What a shocker for us that American doesn't even have comp snacks on our April flights. We are used to JetBlue with their unlimited free snacks.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

With competition between airlines more resources are spent developing good quality competively priced food. However, its always challenging catering the right quantity of fresh meals (you want enough to sell but not too many that you are throwing items away) especailly when the dynamics of flights change daily (for example lots of families traveling one day yet the same flight the next day could be filled with business travellers)So bear in mind that your first choice might not be available. Also the catering companies do make mistakes and it has been known for aircraft to leave without being catered (rather than delay)

Most of the food for purchase on domestic flights is not worth the cost. Even the "free" snacks and light meals in business/first are not as good as something you can bring from home or often food you can buy at the airport. It's always better to bring your own, except for McDonalds (low quality anyway). Their fries stink up the whole plane.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

If it is a short flight we bring snacks from home such as, pop tarts, 100 calorie snack packages, crackers and cheese snack packages, banannas, apples. We always avoid taking stuff with peanut butter or nuts in case someone on the flight has a nut allergy. The other reason I pack our own snacks is if there is turbulence the flight crew may not be able to service beverages and snacks during the flight. We grab a bottle of water before boarding that way we will have something to drink if the crew can't serve drinks and its in a bottle so you eliminate the chance of a spilling the contents of a cup/glass.

If it is a longer flight we grab a sandwich or something in the airport.