Yeah whats up with the meal thing

[jlp651]

Lst time I flew I didnt get a meal...this time I wont either-at least it isnt stated on our tickets...since when to airlines get so cheap-grant it the food wasnt always the best but when you're flying out at 0700 you tend to get hungry...and sorry but the places where you connect dont always have the best food...
Any insight?

 

[sgtdisney]

Airlines did away with meal service on most flights a number of years back. It was a cost cutting measure. The airlines claim that most people are price sensitive when flying and weren't willing to pay for the food. Some airlines do offer meals now that you can buy on board, but to me, they tend to be expensive. I know some of the airlines are even taking out parts of the galleys since they add weight, etc., and they are primarily planes that are used on shorter flights where there will not be meal service any longer.

 

[jlp651]

oh ok...well I guess we'll eat fried chicken when we connect in atl. then...

 

[helenk]

You are allowed to take food on the plane with you. When we leave in the morning we stop and get muffins from the bakery nearby. When we leave Orlando, we either get sandwiches from the resort or pick something up at the airport. We then eat when we are hungry.

 

[NotUrsula]

I have a deli near my home that I like, so a few hours before our flight, I call them up and order sandwiches and have them wrapped to go. We pick them up on the way to the airport and take them with us. We eat comfortably on the plane at a normal time and are not rushed. DH likes to joke that judging by the envious looks of the other passengers, we could recoup the cost of the flight just by bringing along a few extra sandwiches to auction off! (We do make sure not to bring anything with a strong odor, BTW.)

For kids, if you allow them, Lunchables make a good inflight meal.
(DS is not normally allowed to have them, but I make an exception only for flights. That makes it a treat in his eyes.)

 

[sgtdisney]

That is funny about re-selling the sandwiches.. Something like that actually happened to me on a flight a couple of years back. We were flying home from Orlando and everytime the flight attendants would get out the drink carts, the pilots would announce turbulence ahead and tell them to sit down. (Thinking back we never did hit any turbulence but maybe this flight crew was being extra careful) Anyway, well over an hour into the flight the F/As still hadn't gotten to us and as everyone knows you get dehydrated while flying. Luckily for us, we packed some spare bottled water in our carry ons and popped them open. I had no less than 3 people nearby offer to buy a bottle of water from me! Unfortunately, we only had the two that we had already started to drink or I could have made a couple of bucks!! LOL! They literally served us our drinks about 20 minutes before we landed. No sooner than they served us the F/As were rushing through the cabin asking for the cups.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Some airport eateries offer specially boxed meals so you can take them on the plane with you. I know Philadelphia does this and I'm sure a lot of the bigger airports do as well.

 

[jlp651]

anyone know if orlando or atlanta boxes lunch?

 

[BrerMama]

Bumping up to find out if Atlanta does box lunches. We have a 25 minute connection and that's our only time to eat until late afternoon. I'd love to know if I could just grab some box lunches for the plane. I'll be worried enough about making the connection, I don't want to try to eat during that time.

 

[tjmw2727]

If you only have 25 minutes it may be best to pack a lunch just in case your first flight is delayed. Even with the full 25 mintues it can take a while to get of the airplane or you may have a long walk to the second gate and in my experience the lines at the counter places are LONG.

I always pack a medium size soft sided cooler with snacks, water bottles and sandwiches for our family. We have what we like and IMHO just one less thing to worry about.

TJ

 

[Luckymommyx2]

I can't specifically answer your question but here's the link to the restaurants at the Hatfield Int'l Airport. It lists all the shops and restaurants according to concourses. At least this will give you an idea what is available and you can plan ahead of time. Hope this helps.

http://www.atlanta-airport.com/Default.asp?url=sublevels/shops_n_restaurants/shop_page.cfm

 

[mcnuss]

We have a 25 minute connection and that's our only time to eat until late afternoon.

WOW! That's a crazy connection! Is there anyway you can change it? ATL is huge and notorious for the gates being far apart. You will need to be really organized to get off the plane and to your next flt. I don't think you'll have even a second to buy food. Remember, they close flts 10 mins. before take-off now, so if you are not at the gate by then, you could have trouble. I agree with the PP that you should buy your food before your first flt.

 

[CarolA]

Atlanta has several places that will box. One that comes to mine is called something like "Plane Connection". They sell sandwiches to carry on the plane and they are fairly good.

For the 25 minute connection, what airline are you on? On Airtran this is much more doable the Delta. If you are on Delta, I can't believe they booked that! I do Atlanta all the time and I thought their minimum was something like 30 minutes.

 

[goofy4tink]

With a connection that close, I would tell the flight attendents that you have only 25 minutes to make it to the next gate. They, most likely, will let you off quickly. This has happened on several flights we've been on. Once it was us making the 'airport dash'!! We always bring a bottle of water for each person. On the early a.m. flights, we bring muffins and bagels. If it's later in the day, we eat at the airport before boarding. This is one reason I pay more for those direct flights...can't stand rushing around airports looking for either the next gate or some food.