Beware no meals or snacks on AA to Hawaii
 

I found out by chance by looking at my flight details on line that since I purchased my plane tickets American Airlines stopped serving snacks and meals on domestic flights but will sell you a couple of dismal looking sandwiches. I called and confirmed this was true.I can't believe they are doing this even on 9:19 hour long non-stop flights to Hawaii! I wonder how many people will board not knowing this. No way would my twelve year old (or her Mom ;)) have eaten a hard boiled egg sandwich with Rasberry butter Yuck..

It's true, but it was highly publicized in the papers here in Dallas. We had the misfortune of flyng home on the first day of the new policy. Having been forwarned, we had a big meal before boarding. The snack pack wasn't too bad - we didn't try the sandwich.

Hopefully they would have some kind of a pre-boarding warning to passengers, so you could at least buy something at the airport?? I think people who travel frequently have already been packing snacks or a meal for awhile now, but a family on vacation might be caught off guard.

BTW, there are some great bakeries in Hawaii that would be perfect for stashing your own food for the meal on the flight home.

As was mentioned on a similar thread, it has become a cultural phenomenom that the flights to Hawaii can be identifies by the number of passengers eating or carrying L&L Hawaiian Barbeque Plates in the passenger waiting area.

In Honolulu, there is a L&L near the airport on Paiea Street, 839-1111, and the airport is literally surrounded by other fine take-out restaurants because it is an industrial area.

This new practice may be a blessing in disguise. You have the opportunity to incorporate one last memory of your visit to Hawaii as you savor your plate.

I'll have to check that out. At least I found out ahead of time. It can't be hot food because I doubt they heat up for you plus 5 hours later it wouldn't be safe. I wonder if they allow extra carryons for a small cooler? I hope they still give beverage service. i heard no more pillows either.

I have never heard of an airline allowing extra carryon's. Best to just pack something eatable that will not require refrigeration.

Isn't flying fun!

Another option to the plate lunch is a bento - which are typically eaten at room temperature.

If you're not familiar with them, these are basically boxed meals w/rice and various meats. Typically some fried mahi-mahi, Korean BBQ meat, a fried chicken cutlet, fishcake - sometimes even a slice of spam.

Easy place to find one is at Zippy's - they call them Zip Paks.

The food dept. in Shirokiya at Ala Moana have my favorite ones - some have salmon, some have tempura, some have chicken - a huge variety.

Monarch Seafood in Kalihi has a pretty good bento - comes with mochiko chicken, crab cake and ahi katsu. The ahi katsu is really good.

Growing up, anytime we had a field trip and had to bring lunch, I got a bento. It was easy and above all, portable.

Good thinking, Chepar! The bento box was designed for travel. Some plate lunches meet the criteria, many don't.

I would say, in general, that you should avoid gravy dishes and carry dry, acidic foods. That's what the bento box is all about.

I never heard of a Bento it'll be something to check out for the way back. That's for the tips.

That should have been Thanks for the tips. Is there any way to edit messages on Fodor's?

wauhob, when you type your message you can click on "Preview My Reply, read it and if you want to make corrections click "Edit". You can then make any needed correction and then click "Post My Reply".

But once you click on "Post My Reply" you cannot make any changes.

But don't worry everyone from time to time needs to do a follow up post to correct or explain what they meant in their first post.

Thanks LoveItaly :) I guess I was too hasty and didn't preview.

FWIW United did the same to us on our flight from Chicago to Kona last summer. Also we recently flew Uniteds star alliance partner Lufthansa from Chicago to Frankfurt, then Frankfurt to Delhi. On the return we also had Luft. fro Delhi to FRA. but had UAL form FRA. to Chi. What a difference! The alcohol was gratis on Lufthansa but not on UAL and the level of service, courtesy and professionalism on Lufth. far exceeded UAL, sad to say. It seemed the flight crew on UAl were more adversaries than attendants. It was a very poor showing really.

wauhob, it happens to almost all of us.

Sometimes I "cringe" because I click "Post My Reply" before I click "Preview My Reply".

Don't worry about it, honest!

I can understand questioning the wisdom of a 9 hour flight with no meal service, BUT for shorter flights is this really a hardship? I have heard some people (NOT wauhob3) complain because their 4 hour flight didn't have meal service - can't we go 4 hours without cramming food into our mouths? And let's face it, considering the quality of some of those meals, AA did us a favor by discontinuing the services. Last time I flew to Italy (8 hours +) I ate dinner before we left, declined the in-flight meal (couldn't tell what it was anyway) and had the coffee service in the am. We landed and ate a nice breakfast with real food. No one died from starvation. Bring a light snack with you if you must eat every 3-4 hours, but carting a full blown meal with you is not necessary.

Oh, and the pillows were not the cleanest of items - be glad they got rid of them!

You can always fly first class and get a meal. Does anyone really eat airline food anymore?
I always bring my own food.

As this thread originally started off regarding flights to/from Hawaii - at the minimum, it takes almost 5 hours flight time to get to California.

Add in security/check in time at the airport, you're talking another 1.5 - 2 hours, so that's maybe 7 hours total to the closest mainland destination.

Night flights are not a problem for me, as I'm trying to sleep and I don't eat in the middle of the night, anyway. Any other time, I'll be in flight during my regular lunch or dinner time.

So far I've always received an in-flight meal (for what it's worth), but I would probably consider bringing a bento or such if the meals were stopped. I don't consider that to be "cramming food in my mouth".

I always bring something to eat on flight of any length - helps when you are stuck on the pre-runway for 2 hours and then go on a 3 hour flight.

Length of flight is not an issue - with airport delays at check-in, security after a drive to even get to airport, it can take far longer than length of flight between opportunities to refuel a person. So I just assume food will be unavailable or inedible and bring my own - easy when departing from home, takes more creativity on return trip. Issue is not starving to death on flight, but one of comfort. Who needs the discomfort of hunger to be added to noise, seat size, temperature discomforts of flying.

For Margie, what an insulting and judgemental post. First off, we ARE talking about a 9+ hour flight. And secondly, if I feel the need to be "cramming food into my mouth" and "carting a full blown meal" to take care of my own well being... I don't see what business it is of yours anyway?

Margie said: "Can't we go 4 hours without cramming food into our mouths?"

For myself, I can answer this with an emphatic NO. I eat every 2 to 3 hours. I'm hypoglycemic and I'm a weight lifter. My metabolism is speedy, and if I don't eat on time, it's a very bad thing.

The past several trips I've made, my carry on has been a small cooler full of nuts, fruit, soy milk, etc.

Thanks for the tipcs on bento boxes, sounds like a great plan.

-Sandra

Hmm seems like a cranky Monday! suze before you start name calling if you had read a little more carefully you would see that I stated in my FIRST sentence, "I can understand questioning the wisdom of a 9 hour flight with no meal service, . . . " See?? I said no meal service for 9 hours is NOT a smart thing.

And I could care less about what someone else is or is not eating on a flight, I just find it a little sad that some seem to get so upset about the prospect of not being fed airline food on a SHORT flight, or feel that we must bring the refrigerator with us so no one dies on the tarmac!

And I find it a little sad that others feel they have the right to offer judgment on other people's choices.

So what if someone wants to bring "a refrigerator" of food?

Why does it upset YOU so much that you have to comment on it?

On a lighter note, the mental picture of someone trying to carry on a refrigerator gave me a chuckle.

Good for you KathrynT, you have a sense of humor! I guess I touched a nerve here with some others - oh well! Happy travels to all . . .

Just a note, with security, plane delays, delays when the plane lands etc. I would sure encourage anyone with a diabetic condition or any other medical condition to bring needed food with them.

And with the "food" that airlines serve I have started putting something decent to eat in my carryon along with a bottle of water.

Where are you flying from? I didn't realize that American even flew nonstops from the East Coast to Hawaii, but really...that's a longer flight than most transatlantic flights from the East Coast.

Oops, posted before I was finished. Meant to add: So does this mean transatlantic flights will be the next to have meal service eliminated?

Thanks for asking KT. I've been curious too where you get a 9:19 hour flight to Hawaii from.

Prices have dropped? Round trip, Newark to Honolulu on AA for $550 per person, leaving late May. Not a bad price. ((b))

AA73 ORD-HNL, 9:19 in winter, 9:09 in summer.

The HNL flights from both ORD and DFW are very long. The "buy-on-board" options are indeed dismal from recent reports. Apparently the gate agents are going out of their way to announce the fact pre-boarding so that pax have time to scurry to one of the airport outlets to get their hot-now-not-later grub. Remember, though. Beer is food.

Myself, I'm thinking a homemade snack pack that not only I, but my fellow travelers will enjoy. A nice Limburger spread on an onion bagel comes to mind, or, since it's Hawaii, maybe something with seaweed and fish. Kimchee. Got to be lots of fun things to share...

We just got back from Hawaii on AA this weekend. Before boarding, they announced that meals would be for sale in-flight (exact change preferred of course) and then directed us to the location of the nearest airport snackbar. I bought the meal in-flight, which turned out to be a great turkey and spinich wrap for $5.00. It was huge and I actually didn't think it was a bad deal. They also had snack packs for sale with cheese, crackers and cookies for $3.00, and free soda and pretzels. The only problem was that they announced in-flight that they don't always necessarily have enough sandwiches for everybody that wanted one! So if you are really hungry, don't assume that they will have enough meals to go around!

Relax, everybody. We're just problem-solving here...

Regardless of your own preferences, there are those who venture on both sides of your choice spectrum.

We're looking at the needs of the CONSUMERS. The travelers who stand in awe of the Hawaiian Plate Lunch establishment "Kanak Attack", with its motto "Eat Till You Sleep." For them, we have suggestions that fill the bill.

Everybody else, grab your fruit baskets and lavosh, and just relax... relax...
relax...

Kathryn & PakePorkChop, I like your attitude. Thank you for lightening up the situation.

I have a question about bringing the refrigerator on board. First, how does it get thru the metal detector? Second, what type of converter must one bring to plug it into the plane. Do they only have plug-ins in first class? Is it OK to bring an extension cord and run it up the aisle to plug it into an outlet in the cockpit?

And finally, is it necessary to share your food with your row-mate if you bring the refrigerator on board. Thank you.

rkkwan~You're correct flight 73 is the one I'm taking. 9:19 hrs doesn't even count the boarding or deplaning time not to mention that I have to catch a connection to Kauai which I guess is a little far from where we land because they have us flying on Hawaiian Air for that segment. I'm going spring break and the prices were high although they are lots more now. Last time I checked they were $2200 coach just for the ORD to HNL segment but I'm going on to Kauai. I was thinking about volunteering to get bumped but it looks like every flight on every airline is oversold until Easter Sunday so I won't volunteer afterall.

Gardyloo~I have been wondering how the plane is going to smell with your limburger on onion bagel and someone elses chinese and anothers BBQ... all in a closed air system. I don't agree beer is a food but Mai Tai's have vitamin C I'm sure ;)