xxx

Who came up with those things, and do they ever change?

AllanJ

What don't you like about them.<BR><BR>By the way, what are bistro bags?<BR><BR>Travel tips:<BR>http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/travel.htm<BR>

KB

I hate bistro bags too. A bag filled with a wadded up turkey roll, mayo in a packet. Chips I think too. Carrots. And, the only thing worth eating, a cookie. Anyone who doesn't want their cookie pass it to me. Thanks.

xyz

Remember the old days, when airlines actually understood the importance of providing service and meals were served on flights of 2.5 hrs and longer (actually in the real old days, it was 1 hour)....well airlines hit on the idea for flights around that length of hiding their inedible sandwiches of some unidentifiable piece of meat, fit for a dog, a piece of fruit and a cookie in a bag so I guess the FA's would not have to take the abuse when they handed them to pax.<BR><BR>At the boarding ramp, you were told to take your bag which was your meal....these were called on AA bistro bags to make it seem they were giving you something edible.

Patty

You actually prefer their hot meals? At least most of the contents of the bistro bag are identifiable.

Marilyn

Except when the sandwich has mystery meat.<BR><BR>It's gotten so bad that I always take food with me now if I'm flying coach.

x

And, not only do you have to pick up your own bistro bag on the loading ramp, you get to do it with whatever free hand you have (as if). One more reason to limit your carryons to only one bag!

J Correa

When the airlines fed us, we all complained how terrible airline food was. I am happy that the airlines have dropped the pretense of serving food - most of it wasn't edible anyway. I have always brought my own food or stoped at a food vendor in the airport and grab something to go. That way I know I will have something to eat on the plane and am not faced with starvation or eating airline food.

David

The Bistro Bag was as good as many of the meals I was served and in some cases even better. Uusally it was a ham or turkey sandwich and I could eat it whenever I wanted it. And if I didn't want it, I didn't have to take it.

Rich

Patty, I actually DO like the heated meals much better than the Bistro bags. I've had unidentifiable mystery meat sandwiches/wraps WAY too many times in Bistros. The breakfasts are okay, though.<BR><BR>I remember once I was on a flight with a deadheading AA pilot who didn't pick up a Bistro lunch bag as he boarded. The FA came through with a bunch of them to give to passengers who had forgotten to pick them up, and when she offered one to the pilot, he laughed and replied, "No thanks, I'd rather not eat than eat one of those."

sss

we went on AA last feruary to Venezuela. My husband and i flew first class and our teens and a friend flew coach. One of them forgot the Bristo Bag so i took my chiken salad that they gave me in first class and gave it to them. Well guess what? the AA flight attendent asked me a little while later what i did with my salad and i said i gave to my teens. She said that i could not do that because i was un fair to the rest of the coach passengers. Here we are last row of first, the curtains are wide open and coach can see what we are being served anyway and the teens were 3 rows back from first. My money, my food and i can give it to anyone i want.

alan

I hate them so I never bother with them....it's that simple. Here is the real problem. It costs upwards of $50 to cater a hot meal on the airlines (yes $50.) so here is the question. Would you be willing to pay another $35-$60. fare in order to get what is usually a very poor, often lukewarm meal. The answer most people gave the airlines was no-and they voted with their feet. Hence, very few 'hot' meals. I for one would rather save the fare, do without any meal, and fend for myself. At least I will know what I am getting!

bistro bag

So Alan . . . did your ticket price go down when AA introduced their Bistro Bags? I think not . . . it was a cost saving measure for them, not for customers. Youu live in a capitalist world people, get used to it.

Faina

SSS, so following that attendant's logic we can't bring our own food on board - it would be unfair to other passengers???? What about our clothes - if we are not dressed in uniforms it would be unfair to attendants and pilots?

alan

If you think that the airlines are making money hand over fist...then take a look at the financial statements prior to making silly remarks. Suggest that you start with United, the try US Airways.

dave

If you think it costs airlines $50~$60 to cater a meal you must be living on another planet. There have been numerous surveys in the past which revealed the average cost per meal to be around $4. <BR>As far as airlines ever giving the public the options of meals or no meals at a lower cost, that never happened so how could they have voted with their feet for one or the other?<BR><BR>

alan

I can tell you from first hand experience that the actual cost of the food is a very minor cost factor in the total cost of providing a meal on board. The real cost is the catering, the delivery, and the return. I will give you this, since the food cost is such a small percentage of the actual cost I have always been amazed at how the airlines cheap out. Even adding $3. per place will greatly increase customer satisfaction. The real saving is in no meal whatsoever or bisto bags that require no serving dishes and no special catering other than the delivery of a box of bags.

Geez...

What a bunch of babies...<BR>The sooner you people realize that airplanes are transportation - nothing more, nothing less - the better. Eat before you go, take a snack, a bottle of water and a magazine if you want, and quit crying about how things used to be. It's a different world.

I've Seen The Light

"Geez," you're right. I can't believe we didn't see this before. We are supposed to be happy no matter what happens and like whatever they give us. If they take the seats out and make us stand up during the flight, we should like it. If they remove the lavatories because providing toilets isn't cost effective for the airline, we should smile and say thank you.<BR><BR>Get real. Saying we don't like airline food doesn't make us babies. And I don't think anybody here has implied that this is an earth-shattering problem. Why not also say that cars are "just transportation" and therefore we shouldn't care whether they have heat, air conditioning, or padding in the seats?

xxx

Light, I understand your frustration, but I happen to agree with Geez. The thing is that everyone wants to keep all the amenities (food, free drinks, magazines, on board entertainment) and then they don't want to pay more than $158 for a RT ticket. No one is saying you have to like it, but it's reality.