It’s been some time since I’ve flown domestically in the United States and I had forgotten about the problem they have with dinner. You see, you book a first class ticket and on flights after 8pm you’re not getting dinner at all.

This is in stark contrast to the people at British Airways who serve you food all day in Club Europe. Is your flight departing at 10:25pm? No problem, dinner will be served!

Why Pay Extra When There Is No Dinner?

I have a flight departing at 8:20pm from Chicago to Denver coming up which is scheduled for 2 hours and 38 minutes. Unfortunately it is outside the dinner window. What if I don’t have time to eat beforehand at home or at the airport?

Considering you can pay hundreds of dollars extra for first class, I think it’s pretty parsimonious not to be given a full meal throughout the day. Having the seat and free drinks does not make it worth it.

All Major US Airlines Are The Same

Whether you are flying with Delta Air Lines, United Airlines or American Airlines, it’s all the same. You would think that in order to actually compete, one of them would come to the party and actually do something different. Perhaps it is an issue of food waste and people being offered food and not eating it?


Well, I have a solution! Airlines let you choose your main dish before you fly. Now how about making people choose whether they do or do not want a meal on a late flight? Those that do want one get to eat, the others don’t and everyone’s happy.

Is It Just Me?

Quite frankly, I love eating when I am flying. Reading my flight reviews clearly show I am all over all of the food all of the time. Airline food is generally good quality and I enjoy it.

The other major aspect is the time. Eating makes the flight pass a lot quicker… and when you’re jammed into 1A on an ex-US Airways A321 any distraction from that godawful cabin is welcome!

Overall Thoughts

While British Airways give you dinner all night, the people at Qantas switch from dinner to refreshments. Their take on refreshments is usually a hot meal of some kind. They realise people pay a lot to sit up front and treat them accordingly.

Airlines in the USA should have a meal service on flights after 8pm. I could probably understand more it if it was restricted on flights after 10pm because there’s no real excuse not to have eaten beforehand by that hour of the night. Unless you’re Spanish, where that could well be dinner time!

What do you think? Is it fine to pay extra for first class in the USA and not get fed? I’m overlooking the whole distance issue, which is an entirely different kettle of worms. Thanks for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

To never miss a post, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
All my flight and lounge reviews are indexed here so check them out!

Feature image by BriYYZ from Toronto, Canada via Wikimedia Commons.