Alaska Airlines is restoring first class service to most flights effective immediately, a welcome move for flyers who may not have the time or inclination to pack their own food or eat in advance.
Alaska Airlines Restores First Class Meals On Many Routes
When the pandemic began, Alaska Airlines followed its peers by eliminating most food and beverage onboard. Gradually, it has restored service, first with snacks and fruit & cheese plates and more recently with full meals on Hawaii flights.
Last week, many travelers noticed that meal choices reappeared on many Alaska Airlines routes in first class. However, when I reached out to Alaska to confirm, I received a very short response: “Nothing to report right now.”
However, this morning Alaska Airlines sent me an update, noting that it is “gradually, thoughtfully and safely reintroducing onboard food and beverage services.”
Alaska Airlines First Class Meals On Transcontinental + Hawaii Routes
First class passengers will receive a choice of two hot meals (or a fruit and cheese platter) including an appetizer, bread, and dessert. The meal will be served on a single tray. Choices include miso-marinated cod or black bean cilantro ravioli.
All soft drinks, juices, coffee, tea, beer, wine, and spirits will also return. Plastic water bottles have been replaced with paper containers. Alaska highlights local beer and wine, including:
- Lush IPA
- Golden Pilsner
- El Pasado Red Blend
- The Exploration Chardonnay
Alaska Airlines First Class Meals On Flights Longer Than 1,100 Miles, But Not Transcon
On flights over 1,100 miles but less than a transcontinental flight, Alaska Airlines will offer first class passengers a cold meal, with choices including:
- Asparagus Tillamook cheddar frittata with fresh fruit
- Beef entrée salad with ancient grains
- Bristol Bay smoked salmon platter
- Garlic marinated sirloin sandwich
- Guajillo lime entrée salad
- Mojo chicken sandwich with jicama & citrus slaw
Alaska Airlines First Class Meals On Flights Between 670 miles – 1,100 miles
On shorter flights between 670 and 1,100 miles, first class meal selections will include:
- Breakfast
- Croissant breakfast sandwich
- AM protein platter
- Lunch/Dinner
- Banh Mi sandwich
- Mojo chicken sandwich
- PM protein platter
Alaska Airlines First Class Meals On Flights Under 670 Miles
On its shortest flights, Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air will offer a snack basket with beverages.
CONCLUSION
It is lovely to see Alaska Airlines bring back meal service on more routes. While the current meal program still represents a cutback from pre-pandemic days, the new cold entree selections all sound tasty and I look forward to trying them. Alaska Airlines will also restore buy-on-board service to economy and Premium class and introduce contactless payment options.
It’s interesting because this also seems to be the direction AA is moving (cold meals on non-transcon domestic flights), although what AS is serving sounds much better than what I think AA could ever come up with.
This is a welcome change. After 4 fruit & cheese in 4 days this past week, the “no meal” option was beginning to make sense.
We just flew Alaskan airlines and the food was awful and hardly anything on the plate. I got a salad with some lettuce and three of these miniature tomatoes and some weird dried crackers. That was it! No roll. No sweet chocolate no nothing. It was a huge insult to first class passengers. It literally was the size of a saucer h by owl for a baby kitten.
What route did you fly?