American Airlines lets passengers book a seat and reserve a meal
The chicken or the fish.
Only a few years ago that was the only choice of reheated meals available when you flew first-class.
But now airlines are tapping celebrity chefs such as Suzanne Goin at Singapore Airlines, Michelle Bernstein at Delta Airlines and Sam Choy at American Airlines to cook up the kind of meals you don’t expect at 30,000 feet.
And last week American announced that it was going a step further by letting first- and business-class passengers review and reserve their in-flight meal via the airline’s website. Passengers may choose from a menu of two or three entrees — the same choices as when they board the plane.
The advantage of the program, according to the airline, is that you are guaranteed the meal you ordered rather than risk being stuck with whatever is left when the flight attendant gets around to serving your row.
“This means you are assured to get the meal you ordered,” said spokesman Allan Phillips. American, which is not charging an extra fee for the service, says it is the first domestic airline to offer the option.
The meal reservation option is already available for flights between Los Angeles International Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, among a few other routes. The service will be expanded Nov. 15 to flights between San Francisco International and JFK and between LAX and O’Hare International in Chicago, among others.
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Follow Hugo Martin on Twitter at @hugomartin
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