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American Airlines' First-Class Regional Breakfast Contains 70+ Grams of Sugar

Dec. 02, 2016
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3 min read
AA Embraer 175 first class
American Airlines' First-Class Regional Breakfast Contains 70+ Grams of Sugar
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Last week, I took an early-morning flight from Charleston, South Carolina (CHS) to Dallas (DFW) on a regional Embraer ERJ-175LR American Airlines jet operated by Envoy. Although there was plenty of first-class space, upgrades weren't processed until four hours before the flight. Thankfully though, this was at least enough of a heads-up to know that I'd be getting a meal on board, so I wouldn't have to eat before the flight.

A surprisingly good lunch from another American Airlines regional flight.

According to a couple of flight attendants I asked, while these jets can service an onboard heating element, American didn't elect to install ovens on these regional jets. That said, I've had some surprisingly good lunches and dinners on past first-class regional flights. So, I was interested to see what was on offer for breakfast.

When breakfast was served, I was initially struck by the number of packaged items. However, at first glance it looked rather healthy; there are fruits, low-fat milk, low-fat granola, "FlyFit" yogurt and a tasty cinnamon roll for dessert.

American Airlines' cold first-class breakfast.

As I'm on a low-sugar diet, I turned to the nutritional labels. That's when the issue came to light:

  • Granola: 18 grams of sugar
  • Yogurt: 14.2 grams of sugar
  • Banana: 14 grams of sugar (sugar content for a medium banana)
  • Milk: 12 grams of sugar
  • Grapes: 4 grams of sugar (sugar content for 10 grapes)
  • Crackers: 0.2 grams of sugar
  • Cheese: 0.1 grams of sugar
  • Cinnamon roll: unknown

Even before we added the roll, the subtotal is already 62.5 grams of sugar. Considering how sweet it tasted (after all, I had to take a bite for research), the cinnamon roll conservatively puts the total over 70 grams — although the total is likely closer to 75 grams of sugar. And that's just the food; if you add a cup of orange juice, your total quickly approached 100 grams. That's a ton of sugar to start your day off.

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The good news is that if you skip the roll and the granola, most of the sugar in the meal would be considered by the FDA as "naturally occurring sugars" — rather than "added sugars" now targeted by the FDA.

Coming soon to a first-class cabin near you? Image courtesy of American Airlines.

Since we have seen plenty from American Airlines about improving its first/business-class meals, we reached out to AA about this meal. While we know that it's impossible to have meals that fit everyone's diet and taste, we wanted to ask about the amount of sugar in these meals and check if improvements were going to be made. The good news is that, yes, AA is working on improving breakfast meals on these regional jets, although there's no guarantee that they'll have less sugar. According to a spokesperson:



We’re working to refresh our regional menu offerings in spring 2017. As with all of our menus, we’re consistently evaluating how we can update our food offerings while providing the highest quality, most nutritional and tasteful meals that our customers will enjoy.

Bottom Line

If you're on a low-sugar diet, you're going to want to make other breakfast plans when flying first class on American Airlines regional jets — at least until AA refreshes its menu in the spring. Hopefully then AA will add some less-sugary options to breakfast onboard regional jets.

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Why We Chose It

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  • Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
  • Solid welcome bonus

Cons

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  • Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
  • You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
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  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
  • Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
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  • $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
  • $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
  • $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
  • $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
  • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • Annual Fee is $325.
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