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Combined 2020 AA Domestic Meal / Meals - menu / photos / etc. (master thread)

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Old Jan 1, 2020, 8:30 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: JDiver
AA/US Domestic Dining (including Canada, Mexico, & the Caribbean)

Link to The Official American Airlines Onboard Service Policy Guide, by Gary Leff on January 22, 2020. Comprehensive charts and information.

Link to Combined 2020 AA International Meal / Meals - menu / photos / etc. (master thread)

There is another thread for the contingent that wishes to debate and discuss linens as a primary subject, including related presentation issues: Linens / presentation debate for meal service on AA, US / both.


PLEASE: DO NOT POST OVERSIZED IMAGES; PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE AND REPEAT IMAGES IN YOUR QUOTED POST.

Welcome to the 2020 Domestic Dining thread and the resulting discussion/trip reports/photos/shared experiences. Here, in this wiki post, I'll strive to explain what you should expect on AA flights in First and Business, meals-wise. Keep in mind that there are many domestic flights, so there are quite a few parameters to keep track of.

Basically, in its best condensed form, you should expect to receive a meal between 4:59am - 8pm on flights longer than 900 miles, which equals about two hours in the air. From that point, there are exceptions, and specific timing parameters.

What to Expect - Mainline:
Keep in mind that this list is not entirely inclusive, and there may be certain exceptions and/or abnormalities.
  • Up to 699 miles: Light snacks such as a fig bar, cookies, and/or pretzels
  • 700-899 miles: Warmed nuts, a snack plate (fruit/cheese, pita/hummus, or spinach dip/pita), and a cookie
  • 900-1298 miles: A meal (fruit/breakfast entree; salad/entree) followed by a cookie; no meals between 1:30-4pm
  • 1298-2199 miles: A full meal including an appetizer, with cake for lunch desserts and premade ice-cream for dinner desserts
  • 2200 miles and above: Same as 1298-2199 miles, but consists of made-to-order sundaes or a cheese plate for both lunch and dinner desserts

What to Expect - Regional:
Keep in mind that this list is not entirely inclusive, and there may be certain exceptions and/or abnormalities.
  • Up to 175 miles: A light snack mix along with beverage service
  • 176-899 miles: Sweet and savory, organic/healthy snack choices (snack basket)
  • 900-2199 miles: Warm mixed nuts, two meal options, and dessert. (For flights over 2200 miles, you will receive the same selection of snacks from 176-899 miles as a pre-arrival snack. All regional meal flights leaving after 8:00pm will also receive sweet and savory snacks as the only option. Editor's note: A regional jet for 2000+ miles? Hope that never happens!)
American Eagle flights do not offer pre-ordering of meals.

All of the meal flights that fall under the above timing parameters will receive two choices; normally, one meat and one vegetarian.

Longer westbound flights leaving from the east coast (transcontinental; non-premium) are not officially exceptions, but some flights after 8pm receive a full dinner service (such as the 8:05pm MIA-SAN flight, or the 8:30pm PHL-LAS flight). Additionally, non-premium transcontinental red-eye flights will receive snack basket service upon departure, then a continental breakfast box prior to arrival.

Official Exceptions:
The following flights all fall under 900 miles, but will receive a full meal service, with the exception of flights leaving between 1:31-4pm. Despite some of the listed flights being over 900 miles, they are remaining listed here, based on the AA website for documentation purposes.
  • Chicago (ORD) - AUS/BDL/BOS/DCA/EWR/JFK/LGA/MSY/RDU
  • Dallas (DFW) - BJX/ORD/MEX/QRO/SLP
  • Fort Lauderdale (FLL) - PAP
  • Los Angeles (LAX) - DEN
  • Miami (MIA) - DCA/IAD/PAP
  • New York (LGA) - ATL
  • Phoenix (PHX) - MZT

Additional Information:
  • JFK-LAX/SFO; MIA-LAX are considered premium transcontinental flights, and as such, receives a more refined service with three meal choices, per-course service, printed menus, and tray/tablecloth linens in both F/J. Those flights now are the only domestic flights in the system to offer special meals as another option (which can be reserved by either preordering online, or calling). Red-eye flights will receive a full "supper/snack" meal service, which is basically a condensed dinner service.

  • Hawaiian meal service is very similar to what you'd expect on 2200+ mile flights, but there also will be Hawaiian rolls served, along with a pre-arrival continental breakfast/snack (dependent on the length of the route). Tropical warmed nuts are also currently served.

  • All flights over 700 miles, regardless of a meal being served or not, will receive warm mixed nuts and a cookie.

  • At this time, pre-ordered meals are not available on American Eagle flights.

Disclaimer: The editor of this Wiki does not guarantee the information presented above will always be accurate or properly followed by AA, given catering mishaps, irregular operations, rogue crews, or mismanagement. For the best up-to-date information, it would be prudent to check AA's website constantly for any updates, or call AA. The editors of this Wiki will keep this Wiki updated as often as possible.

Thanks to MrAndy1369 for starting the thread and for the guidelines.
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Combined 2020 AA Domestic Meal / Meals - menu / photos / etc. (master thread)

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Old Jan 1, 2020, 4:43 pm
  #1  
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Join Date: Nov 2007
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Introduction
Welcome to the 2020 version of the combined AA meals thread, focusing on domestic service. Please post your meal/service experiences, including menus, photos, reports, questions, and service anecdotes.

To help give us a clear picture of your experience, remember to include the route, time, and meal designation (breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack/refreshments/none). Photos are welcome and very helpful. Those are rudimentary guidelines, but of course, the format/style is up to you.

Format Sample
This is a format you can use when introducing your meal report. This is just a sample format; deviations are expected.

AA1: JFK-LAX: 3pm
Dinner
A321
First Class, 2A

(from here, share the menu and/or experiences and/or photos)

Historical Meal Reports
Throwback mode? Go crazy!For the 2020 International Meals thread, click here.

Enjoy!

(h/t to MrAndy1369 for the format of this post)

Last edited by JY1024; Jan 1, 2020 at 8:33 pm Reason: Updating first post
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Old Jan 1, 2020, 6:59 pm
  #2  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
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I haven’t tried either of these.
What do y’all recommend?


Last edited by TheFlyGuy2; Jan 2, 2020 at 9:17 am
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Old Jan 2, 2020, 6:27 am
  #3  
 
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Originally Posted by TheFlyGuy2
I haven’t tried either of these. What do y’all recommend?
I've had the short rib twice and it was good both times, properly cooked. Goes well with a Dr. Pepper or red wine!

Haven't tried the southwest pasta, presumably because it's always been a choice along with the short rib. I'd recommend you keep your selection.
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Last edited by Spanish; Jan 2, 2020 at 6:27 am Reason: Deleted Picture, too much quote.
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Old Jan 2, 2020, 8:34 am
  #4  
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Originally Posted by TheFlyGuy2
I haven’t tried either of these. What do y’all recommend?

I have the same options on a DFW-JFK evening flight in a couple of weeks. Have opted for the pasta given experiences of AA’s short rib on similar length flights.


For the curious I have the following on a morning LAX-DFW flight in a few weeks:

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Old Jan 2, 2020, 8:49 am
  #5  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 84
Thanks, guys. I realize the quality of the meal largely depends on how well the meat is cooked, so it’s always a gamble. Either way I’m mainly taking the flight to take advantage of flying the 789 between DFW and ORD. But here’s to hoping our meals are decent enough to enhance the experience rather than detract from it.
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Old Jan 3, 2020, 12:33 pm
  #6  
 
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AA2924 MIA-DFW 752

ordered the chicken salad.

The salad was actually pretty great. Didn’t use that salad dressing they provide. Potatoes had a type of mayonnaise on it.

the chicken however was absolute ..... It’s like it fell out of the container in the freezer for months and just dried up. I mean I’ve had dry chicken before on flights but this just crumbled in my mouth.

still think the bread with butter was the best on the tray tho.
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Old Jan 4, 2020, 9:00 am
  #7  
 
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AA2458 | 1/04/2020 | ORD-DFW | 06:30 Departure - Breakfast Pre-ordered





It’s eggs on a plane, so if you have reasonable expectations, you’ll be pleased. It was very similar, perhaps slightly better, than what I’ve had on United’s Polaris Trans-cons.
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Old Jan 4, 2020, 11:00 am
  #8  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
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LAX-LIH
A321neo

Hawaiian Breakfast, bagel came a few minutes later to fill the empty plate.


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Old Jan 4, 2020, 11:05 am
  #9  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
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LIH-LAX
A321neo

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken. No preselection was available for this flight and the BBQ chicken went fast. Luckily for me I was sitting in row 5, and the FA took orders from the back first. Overall the flights were great but I really hate how AA is removing PTVs and not installing them on new planes. I normally fly Delta so I've come accustomed to the convenience.


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Old Jan 6, 2020, 11:59 am
  #10  
 
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Location: Kamuela, HI
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Meal Choice = 0 / PHX - KOA Flights

I understand that the KOA-DFW flights on the 777 do not offer a meal choice as it is locally catered, but within the 30 day window from PHX-KOA the select an entree pops up but the meal choice = 0. Does anyone have an idea why this particular flight does not offer a selection?
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Old Jan 6, 2020, 2:13 pm
  #11  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
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ORD>PHX 1/6

snickerdoodle cookies are back (only flavor served)
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Old Jan 6, 2020, 2:46 pm
  #12  
 
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Originally Posted by chicagoflyer1976
ORD>PHX 1/6

snickerdoodle cookies are back (only flavor served)
I empty things from the back of my freezer every January 1 as well.
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Old Jan 6, 2020, 8:30 pm
  #13  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
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Any idea of what to expect in J for a 12:30am departure LAX-JFK? No option to pre-order.
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Old Jan 7, 2020, 7:27 pm
  #14  
 
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DCA to DFW, 4:15 pm
First, 2D

Choice was some kind of beef or this "southwestern pasta." What it was was a surprisingly tasty, vegetarian lasagne. And amazingly for airplane food...it actually had a kick!

I'm usually a DL guy so appreciated the warm nuts, which is not a DL thing, ever. All in all, quite enjoyed this flight on the A321


Last edited by koreanair720; Jan 7, 2020 at 8:20 pm
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Old Jan 8, 2020, 9:53 am
  #15  
 
Join Date: May 2008
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Any thoughts for an upcoming LAX-ORD flight, I seem to remember the diabetic meal being a good option if the mains didn't seem appealing.
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