American Airlines Passengers Can Guarantee Their Meal Choice Again As Preorders Return Next Week

Published Oct 6, 2026, 5:01 PM EDT Journalist – Aaron is an aviation and travel journalist with 14 years of experience in the travel and tourism industry. His background spans airport operations, aviation infrastructure, and travel consulting, having worked with global organizations across New Zealand, Europe, and North America. Combining industry expertise with firsthand travel experience across more than 52 countries and five continents, Aaron covers airlines, airports, aviation policy, and the wider travel sector. He is based in Canterbury, New Zealand. His work has been published in Simple Flying and featured by MSN, SAM CHUI Aviation & Travel, EIN News, Pakistan Defence, and Climate Depot. Fort Worth-based American Airlines plans to reintroduce the option for travelers to preorder food in economy on select flights. This program was previously offered, and as analyzed by Upgraded Points, the reintroduced offering is part of an overall attempt by American to improve the onboard experience and to more efficiently stock onboard meal options. The change will be available on select flights between Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) from October 20, and will provide passengers the ability to preorder meals prior to the flight departing. The meals can be preordered after October 13, a week prior to the first flight. The Ability To Preorder Snacks And Meals On Select American Airlines Flights Credit: Alejandro Gonzalez M | Shutterstock American is the largest airline in the world when it comes to flights operated and passengers carried, with a strong domestic and short-haul network, with a modest but growing long-haul footprint. For passengers on domestic flights to Los Angeles, they will now be eligible for the 'reserved buy on board' program. Eligible flyers will receive communications from the airline in the week leading up to travel that they are now able to pre-order meals or snacks via the airline's website or app. The order can be placed up to seven days prior to 20 hours before the flight's scheduled departure time. This will see passengers' orders reserved and loaded specifically for the flight, taking away an operational burden for the airline in its meal planning. Passengers will only be charged once the food is delivered to their seat, meaning that if the meal is unavailable, or flights are changed, it is not charged to the customer and saves trouble with chasing refunds. Free Meals For AAdvantage Executive Platinum And ConciergeKey Credit: GagliardiPhotography | Shutterstock For the airline's most loyal passengers, who hold AAdvantage Executive Platinum or ConciergeKey, they will be able to pre-order their meals at no cost, using the same reservation process as all others onboard. To begin the trial this October on flights to Los Angeles, the airline has launched a modest menu, with a range of snacks to full meals as listed in the table below. It remains unclear if this menu will remain or be expanded as the program is rolled out onto other routes within the airline's network. Fruit And Cheese Plate $13 Chicken, Turkey, Bacon And Ranch Wrap Served With Pasta Salad And Churro $14 Inflight Bites Snack Box $10 Doritos Minis (Cool Ranch) $6 Nuts On Clark Roast And Salted Mixed Nuts $11 BoomChickaPop Kettle Corn $5 Initially offered on its route from Dallas/Fort Worth to the City of Angels, the airline has plans to expand the eligible route list after a month of trial and error on the Los Angeles route. Many major airlines offer pre-order menu selections for passengers, primarily for premium passengers, including Singapore Airlines' famous 'Book the Cook', Emirates, and Qatar Airways. United Airlines offers pre-ordering for meals across its cabins, including expanding fresh food options. These can be booked on the airline's United Preorder Portal. American Continues To Improve The Customer Experience Credit: Wenjie Zheng | Shutterstock American continues to invest heavily in improving the customer experience, and is doing so through upgrades to its app, enhancing premium travel cabins, and smarter self-service tools. The airline has expanded its payment platforms, so passengers can use Venmo and Apple Pay to make booking quicker and easier. The airline continues to invest heavily in improving the onboard experience, including the elevated 787-9P, which includes lie-flat seating and privacy doors, with faster WiFi and specialized dining menus. American is also scaling up its lounge network, including new Admirals Club locations and improved Flagship dining options. A plan to roll out Starlink to its entire mainline fleet has also been suggested, a change from the initial rollout to the Airbus fleet of narrowbody aircraft only. This will now see the oneworld carrier add onboard connectivity on its Boeing narrowbody and widebody aircraft, providing more opportunities for passengers to remain connected to those at work and home while they wing their way to their next destination.