American Will Begin Offering Pre-Ordered Food in Main Cabin This February

Beginning in a few days, American Airlines will soon be trialing a pre-order system for buy-on-board fresh meals for customers seated in Main Cabin.

American will be trialing this in three markets to start:

• Dallas to La Guardia and back.
• Dallas to Philadelphia and back.
• Dallas to Seattle and back.

The pre-order option will be available up until 24 hours prior to flight departure, and will be available for sandwiches, wraps, breakfast bags or fruit and cheese plates.

The pre-orders will be above and beyond the standard provisioning of meals, so in these test markets there should theoretically be more food than usual available.

Here’s the cool thing: you won’t need to pay for the food after making your selection — all payment will continue to be made onboard the aircraft. So, if you’re an Executive Platinum or Concierge Key member, you will be able to pre-order your fresh meal in advance, without having to pay, thus guaranteeing that meal onboard (I know many EPs who have been seated in the rear end of Main Cabin where all of the fresh food has run out by the time the cart gets to that section). Plus, you’re not required to actually buy it even if you pre-order it — it can then be sold to someone else.

My Take

This is an awesome new benefit — and for me, I really like it because if I’m seated in Main Cabin and I know my upgrade won’t clear, I at least know they’ll have my preferred fresh meal onboard.