Skip to content
Go to Home Page
News

American Airlines will soon let you pre-order meals on regional flights

Zach Wichter
Zach Wichter
Aviation Industry Reporter
Zach has been interested in things that go since he was a kid. He previously worked at The New York Times and spent much of his time there covering the aviation industry, including contributing to the paper’s reporting on the 737 Max crisis at Boeing. He grew up in Bethpage, on Long Island, and graduated from Northwestern University in 2013 where he majored in journalism and gender and sexuality studies.
Feb. 19, 2020
•
2 min read
American E175
American Airlines will soon let you pre-order meals on regional flights
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don’t cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.

American Airlines' premium-cabin passengers will be able to pre-order their meals on more flights starting next month.

Beginning March 11, American will expand its pre-order option to include American Eagle flights that have a first-class cabin and fly on routes of 900 miles or more.

American said the move will make it the first airline to allow passengers to pre-order meals on both regional and mainline routes.

Sign up for the free daily TPG newsletter for more airline news.

"Ordering meals in advance is important to our customers, and we're excited to bring this option to more flights," Raphael Girardoni, American's managing director of food and beverage services, said in a statement. "The culinary experience is an important part of travel that we will continue to invest in."

The addition of applicable American Eagle flights mean there will be almost 1,900 daily departures in American's network that allow for pre-ordering meals.

Daily Newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts

According to the airline, pre-order options on American Eagle flights will include a charcuterie plate, a Tex-Mex salad with adobo chicken, a Mediterranean turkey club sandwich, hot smoked salmon with everything-bagel seasoned potato salad and curried chicken salad on a croissant.

Yum!: Frequent flyers dish on ordering special meals on flights

For longer-haul flights, American will also update the Flagship First and Business food offerings on March 11. Departures from the U.S. to South American and Europe will include a chicken cobb salad on the pre-order menu, and the return flights will offer a charcuterie plate.

American's expansion of the pre-order meal program come as rivals Delta and United have also recently tweaked their programs. In November, Delta extended the ordering window — allowing passengers to select their meals 21 days in advance, up from just a few days before departure. And late last year, United began allowing its premium passengers to pre-order meals on select flights.

More: The 10 longest (and 10 shortest) American Airlines flights

Featured image by ROBERT ALEXANDER/GETTY IMAGES