Earlier I wrote about Singapore Airways’ E book the Prepare dinner program, which is the very best meal pre-order program within the airline business. Whereas it doesn’t supply practically as a lot selection, on this put up I wished to speak about American Airways’ meal pre-order program.
As an AAdvantage Govt Platinum member, that is one thing I take advantage of virtually each time I fly American in a premium cabin, so let me clarify why.
Reserve your meal earlier than you fly American
There aren’t many areas the place American surpasses Delta and United with regards to tech, however meal pre-ordering is certainly one of them. American has been providing the choice to pre-select your primary course on many first and enterprise class flights for over a decade, effectively forward of its friends. So, how precisely does this work?
For which flights are you able to pre-select your meal?
American permits first and enterprise class passengers to pre-select their meal. That is accessible for all first and enterprise class flights the place a meal is served. This is applicable on each American Airways and American Eagle flights, however doesn’t work on codeshare flights on different airways. It additionally doesn’t work on flights the place simply refreshments are served.
When are you able to pre-select your meal?
You’ll be able to pre-select your American meal between 24 hours and 30 days previous to departure of a specific flight phase. So simply earlier than the check-in window opens, you can also make your choice.
How do you pre-select your meal?
Pre-selecting your American meal is simple. Simply go to aa.com and go to the handle your reserving perform. You are able to do this both by coming into your six digit document locator, or by logging into your AAdvantage account.
When you’ve got an eligible ticket, you’ll see that on the backside of the itinerary it states “reserve a meal.” Simply click on that hyperlink, and then you definitely’ll see the choices accessible to you.
What are the pre-select meal choices?
Are American’s meal pre-select choices merely what you’d in any other case be supplied onboard, or do you get entry to extra choices? It will depend on the flight. The pre-select choice will all the time provide you with entry to the choices that might in any other case be accessible onboard.
Nonetheless, in some circumstances you additionally get entry to at least one or two additional choices, which will probably be famous as such throughout the choice course of. This might embrace a charcuterie plate, or one thing from American’s wellness menu.
One other good factor is that the meal pre-order web page really explains the main points of every dish. While you’re onboard, a flight attendant may solely describe a dish as “lasagna,” or one thing, whereas you will get a greater sense of what’s being served on-line.
How does this examine to ordering a particular meal?
Separate from American’s choice to pre-select your meal, the airline additionally has particular meals for passengers with dietary restrictions. This may be reserved by the identical technique as above.
Particular meals can be found to all passengers on lengthy haul worldwide flights. It’s additionally accessible for first and enterprise class passengers on choose home flights. I haven’t absolutely found out the sample as to which flights have particular meals, as a result of generally you’ll discover it accessible on a two hour flight in a single market, however not on a flight of an identical size in one other market.
If you choose a particular meal, that may embody the complete meal, together with any appetizers, desserts, and many others. Whereas the first intention is that that is for these with particular dietary wants, I do generally order particular meals simply to combine issues up from American’s in any other case boring decisions. Particularly, I’ve had fairly good experiences with Asian vegetarian and Kosher choices.
Why I all the time pre-select my meal with American
In contrast to some overseas airways, American typically masses precisely as many meals in premium cabins as there are passengers (particularly in home first-class). For those who don’t choose your meal upfront, anticipate that you just’ll get what’s left over, and never your first selection.
That’s as a result of a big variety of individuals pre-order meals, and until you’re the primary to be requested in your meal choice, they might have already run out of your selection by the point they get to you.
American’s catering is nothing to get enthusiastic about (to place it mildly), however there are undoubtedly some choices which can be higher than others (or at the least much less dangerous).
Backside line
For those who’re flying American in first or enterprise class, you possibly can pre-select your meal between 24 hours and 30 days of departure. Whereas American in any other case isn’t nice with tech, it’s superior for the way lengthy American has supplied this characteristic. It’s one thing I’d extremely advocate benefiting from, because you’re in any other case not very more likely to get your first selection onboard.
For those who’re an American flyer, do you all the time choose your meal upfront?
