Airline food has been a major flash point of discussion for many travelers for many years. Occasionally I have had reasonably good food on international flights, more often as not though it was barely palatable. (The only consistently good airline food I’ve ever eaten was on a domestic line, Midwest Express. It can be done.)<BR><BR>Basically speaking, most airline grub is little more than a glorified (?) t.v. dinner, the truth being that most t.v. dinners are actually better. Airlines keep talking about how they must cut costs, a few years ago one company suggested that they’d saved tens of thousands of dollars by simply taking the olive out of their salads. (Makes one wonder where they were buying their olives and just how much they were paying? Sounds as though some CEO had a brother in the olive biz…)<BR><BR>Anyway, we were talking about this the other night and the general consensus among my group is that we’d much rather see the airlines strike a contract with a good (or even passable) sandwich shop (Pret a` Manger, Mr. Goodcents, Subway, fill in the blank) and leave it at that. The sandwiches could be fixed daily and delivered to the plan an hour or so before takeoff. A passenger might have their choice between, say, roast beef, ham, cheese, turkey, or veggie sandwich, along with a bag of chips and a soft drink. Cheese and condiments could easily be stored on the side. Go all out and offer white or whole wheat bread.<BR><BR>This seems like such a much better idea than trying to serve several “courses”. Next time your flying look at the trays when people are finished. Most passengers seem to find at least half of what’s on their tray unpalatable. Several of my friends are in food service and assure me that the cost of sandwiches, albeit mass produced sandwiches, would be fractional compared to what airlines claim they are now spending on food that the vast majority of their clients abhor. Several mentioned that they have indeed been served sandwiches already on some domestic flights, even though they weren’t particularly good sandwiches, but they generally supported the idea.<BR><BR>How many of you would support the menu change? How many oppose it? Why?<BR>

You go for it. I would support a change like this in a heartbeat. I travel a lot on business and generally actually just pass on the meal. It seems that whatever they serve it all has the same suspicious smell. A ham and cheese would be great. Hold the mayo!

We recently (2 weeks ago) flew from London to Edinburgh on British Air in coach. It was a 12 noon flight and they served lunch, which was excellent. It was basically a sack lunch, served in a nice crisp white sack. Inside the sack was a wonderful bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwhich, but totally different than US versions. The bacon was excellent English style bacon, with sun dried tomatoes, shredded lettuce, and a very mild mayo. A cup of water, a nice package of crisps (tater chips to Yanks), and a huge dessert muffin rounded it off. Of course, the beverage service was done at the same time. This was a very good meal and made more sense than trying to server hot food on this short flight. The sandwich was so large, that it and the crisps more than filled us up, so the muffin went off board with us and served as our in room breakfast the next morning (it was that big)....so yes it can be done.<BR><BR>I also have to compliment Aer Lingus on their food quality and service on our return flight to States from Dublin. One of the better meals we have had in any coach section of any airline. Excellent food.

This has already happend on many U.S. carriers. I fly Alaskan Airlines from Seattle to Mexico twice a year... they do exactly what you describe.

Absolutely! Even for international flights, but most certainly for domestic ones. But you neglected to give info on how to get that practical tasty solution to the airline exec who could actually make a change. Suggestions on that?

If we can get enough positive responses (count me in, I'm all for it, domestic and international), we could copy this thread into Word, then email it to airlines. Might not do any good, but then again...

Uh, yeah, try that. We know that the airlines always listen to their customers.

Yes yes yes!!!

Sandwiches, yes. Chips and soda, no -- nothing but fat, sugar,and salt.

Jeez, Jen, just say "no" to the chips, or give them to someone near you. Don't rattle the cage over minutia. It's a great idea and, yes, SOME people in some airlines might actually listen. Talk about killing two birds with one proverbial stone, you can save them money AND keep their clients happier...that is assuming that more than a few people would be willing to go this route. It sounds fab to me. I'd much rather have a cheese and veggie sub than scorched potato and mystery meat.

Count me in.

Delta already does this, and their sandwiches are nasty.<BR><BR>Actually, the worst food I've received on airlines is usually sandwiches. Typically, they give you some nasty turkey roll, or slimey formed ham.

I agree with Ann. Sandwiches get nasty after sitting around a while. Plus, I dislike Subway sandwiches, the bread is so horrible, so I wouldn't eat that either. And if we are "forgoing" the chips and soda, as someone suggested, how is that different than leaving things on a tray? I agree airline food is often bad, but "sandwiches" as a solution does not offer much improvement. <BR><BR>I always bring my own food. I low-carb, so I wouldn't want all that bread anyway. <BR><BR>My point is just that you can never please everyone...

I'd much prefer sandwiches, salads, a cheese/fruit plate, whatever. ANYTHING cold would be preferable to the hot "meals" they serve, and it would smell better (less) as well. <BR><BR>How about a baguette and some brie or jambon for flights to/from France, substituting the appropriate cheeses and meats for Italy, Germany, etc? Breakfasts could be Contintental.<BR><BR>This would be easier on the flight attendants, and probably result in a lot less waste in terms of packaging as well.<BR><BR>In the interim, I've begun bringing on my own sandwiches and/or snacks.

My TA always compares what airlines are doing now to what SouthWest Airlines has been doing for 35 years.His take is that one of these days there will be one airline left after all the mergers,de-mergers and belly ups.And it will be Southwest.They dont serve meals and they dont have movies/TV either!! And they make profits consistently.I'll vote for your program.<BR>Jason

How about discount the ticket price by $20US and we all bring our own food!!!<BR><BR>

Lesli, your idea is great, make it like a theme menu. I understand that sandwiches CAN be nasty, but the original post made it clear to use a contractor that does this daily and uses quality ingredients. By the way, I ate at a Subway yesterday for the first time in over 2 years and the bread has improved dramatically. I’m still not a fan, but even a FRESH Subway sandwich would beat the Hades out of the rubber chicken I had last flight. The lady next to me was having fish and the smell was so overpowering it literally made me gag. I don’t see how (or why) she ate it!<BR><BR>Anyway, perhaps sandwiches could be one option, or a salad, or a cheese/crackers/fruit tray. Almost anything would beat the status quo. Even with those choice meal prep would be so much faster, better, and surely less expensive for the provider.<BR>

I too would rather have a deduction in the price of the airline ticket and bring my own food.<BR><BR>

Deidre, I doubt seriously that we’re ever going to get a discount in lieu of something resembling food, particularly on flights of 8 hour or longer. I’d gladly settle for cold-cuts over what usually passes for a meal on international flights. Another Poster mentioned Midwest Express and their meals are as good or better than a lot of restaurants. Good food can be served in flight, it is immanently possible. However, I think really it’s a matter of many airlines simply choosing to not make a commitment of serving anything edible. They just don’t care. I vote for the sandwich. If you keep it simple and use quality meats, bread, veggies, and cheese, it’s pretty hard to screw a sandwich up.

Lufthansa has served some really great sandwiches on baguettes on several flights and they were really good. Simple, cheese and meat. I asked for a second and they cheerily gave me another. I support this move big time!!!!