American Airlines Charcuterie Plate: A Great Pre-Order Option You Should Consider on Your Next Flight

Regular readers know that it’s almost always a good idea to pre-order your meal in American Airlines domestic first class, if you’re in the cabin at least 24 hours prior to departure. They have special meals you can order in addition to the two choices that’ll otherwise be on board. For lunch I’ll often take the kosher meal or the muslim meal (I do not like the kosher meal at breakfast).

Since launching a partnership with Zoës Kitchen American Airlines has introduced a pre-order charcuterie plate.

Here’s how it’s advertised:

I tried it for the first time on Saturday and it was surprisingly good, though it wasn’t served exactly the way it’s supposed to be.

First, we had Mrs. Vicks potato chips instead of Stacys pita chips. That’s not ideal, since there are only four pieces of pita for all of that hummus. Second our flight attendant decided that nuts shouldn’t be their own service, and that it would be easier for them just to hand them out on lunch trays (this is the second meal flight in a row that the first class flight attendant did this). As a result the only way the bag of chips fit on the tray was standing up.

While a very American Airlines presentation, the actual charcuterie plate was a nice choice.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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  1. Compromising how the meal is served is as a half-ass approach as to not placing the cocktail napkin right side up to be read. You won’t find such a slovenly attitude on airlines who take their customer experience, e.g., Lufthansa, Singapore, ME3.

    Even on flights ORD-LAX I had the FA in FC serve cocktail with lunch because I was told she was tired. Why not move her to coach where nobody would notice the difference in service?

    Gather no purser aboard domestic US3 to provide supervision, or, do they hide in the galley too?

  2. This is a good option – except for when it comes out frozen solid – as it did the one time I’ve ordered it.

  3. I have actually had several meals come out frozen the in the past few months. Not sure what is going on.

  4. I’ll give it a try tomorrow with my ORD-DFW dinner. Something different, pre-ordered…

  5. I encountered this, or something quite similar on a BZE-MIA flight in January. It was billed as “antipasto”, and my 12 year old nephews were expecting it to be some sort of noodles.

  6. When services are lackluster like Frozen food, FAs hiding for whatever reason or nuts not served separately, how many of you complain on spot? What about an email or letter afterward?
    Or fully venting on a survey after?

    Just wondering bc I think I would. Dang tickets are expensive n if I’m redeeming miles I feel like I work to hard to earn them to put up with BS like that.
    It’s the details that make it worth it.

    I bet these airlines in US don’t even offer surveys for experience. They know it’s sucks already. Kirby already tried a 737 econ himself.

  7. I agree, Gary. While hardly a culinary masterpiece it is at least better than the regular choices. It’s my go to now when offered as pre-order.

  8. @Gary OK, it’s a First World problem 🙂 Acknowledged.
    I really look forward to the AA FC nut service (seriously). I know I am making myself the but of jokes for this but I actually like the AA nut bowls. When it gets bundled in — rarely in my experience — it feels a bit like when the senior FA sends the trainee down the FC cabin with cups of water for PDBs. Why bother?
    In the latter case I always, as a matter of principal, ask for something else, and get it.

  9. This is a nonstarter if only for F. Most of us are stuck in Y. I would seriously consider American if I could get meals like this in Y.

  10. I found this plate nearly tasteless and profoundly disappointing. How can hummous be so bland? The only edible part was the prosciutto. Thankfully, I had brought homemade egg salad along.

  11. “or, do they hide in the galley too?”

    There really ought to be a blog called F hiding in the galley

    p.s. nice shark plate foto

  12. I have had frozen kosher meals with broken ceramics and two domestic Y flights with no catering in the past month. Definitely something going on with catering. It’s been easy enough to get 2k using aa.com each time but still doesn’t help when you’re flying 1200-1400 miles on a plane that’s supposed to have food.

  13. I just had this meal on flight two weeks ago, and and flight attendant said she’d never seen it before and was very intrigued with my pre ordered “special meal”. She asked more then once how it was. Compared to the standard meal it was way above average, my seatmate wanted it too.

  14. I have had the nuts thing on several flights. Drives me…well, nuts.

    Also more common: FAs putting the cookie on the dinner tray, too, to further minimize the service required.

  15. i have had this twice and it is ordered for my next flight. Way better than the standard meals.

    And the FA is always surprised by the meal. Seems they are not seeing them very often.

  16. As a flight attendant, I have written up the problem with the meal being frozen. It is loading right underneath the ice cream and the dry ice from the ice cream causes it to be frozen. I write it up and write it up and so far no change of procedure for catering. USAirways used to load the ice cream in the bottom of the carts and seperate it from the meals with other service items (dishes and silverware) –I guess American Airlines does not understand that cold air sinks and they continue to load their ice cream on the TOP of carts.

  17. My husband and preordered for our flight from Orlando to Orange County. Then the flight attendant starting serving and after starting with last row he reached us in Row 1. He said oh sorry, did not realize you special ordered and I already served that to someone else. Best laid plans or service is wiped from a customer’s experience by a single employee not doing their job correctly. And BTW, same flight attendant sat doing newspaper puzzle instead of checking on his customers after the food service.

  18. I flew on Business class, I was the 15th out of 16 seats to order dinner, every person ordered the ribs and Mac and cheese and the last 4 passengers only got Falfellel meal or Vegetarian to choose from. I have never even heard of Falfelell? We were told that we can preorder next time! But I have done that before and the stewardess gave mine to another passenger by accident! Seems like the airline would have all 16 dinners of the all- American ribs and only have the other rarer selections if they had been preordered! Also, the nuts were cold, not warm. I have never seen that before!

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