Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day so I thought it would be fun to compare three recent domestic first class breakfasts on the three US “legacy” carriers, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines.
First Class Breakfast: American, Delta, United
I’m an egg person for breakfast (or lunch) and there is rarely a day that goes by in which I do not have eggs. That makes it virtually guaranteed that I will order the egg dish when it comes to an airline meal (in any class of service).
For international readers, US carriers refer to their domestic front cabin product as “first class” even though it would be referred to as business class in much of the rest of the world.
American Airlines First Class Breakfast
On American Airlines, I ordered frittata, described as:
Mushroom, Leek and Asparagus Frittata
Honey roasted sweet potatoes, blistered tomatoes. Created and inspired with wellness in mind by James Beard Award winning author and nutritionist Ellie Krieger.
I happen to love leeks and found the leeks quite flavorful in the eggs.
I also loved the sweet potatoes and tomatoes on the side, as well as a warm buttermilk biscuit and fresh berries. A great breakfast.
Delta Air Lines First Class Breakfast
On Delta Air Lines, I ordered a quiche:
Three Cheese Quiche
Canadian bacon, onion jam, fontina, roasted tomato
The quiche was solid: filling, warm, and flavorful. It was also heavy…I generally prefer an omelet or pure egg dish than one like this with so much crust. On the side was a hot croissant (with delicious Banner butter), a fruit bowl, and Chobani Greek yogurt.
United Airlines First Class Breakfast
Shakshuka is one of my favorite egg dishes of all and so when I saw it on the menu of my United Airlines flight, I had to order it.
Egg shakshuka
Chunky tomatoes bell peppers, and spices
Of the three breakfasts, this was the most unsightly and the spices seemed more Italian than Maghrebi/Ottoman. Even so, it was good…just not quite what I expected.
It was served with Chobani Greek yogurt, a croissant, and a fresh fruit bowl.
Winner? American Airlines
My pick is American Airlines. The frittata had a pleasant taste and the breakfast was neither too heavy nor too light. But honestly, all three were quite enjoyable.
Next time I’ll have to include JetBlue and Alaska Airlines as well.
My Meal of the Week feature examines an airline meal from my travels over the years. This may be a meal from earlier in the week or it may be a meal served over a decade ago.
Nice article. However, it has the potential to invite rage and jealously because economy class passengers can read and see how they only get soft drinks……
Tax the domestic first class passengers and make them pat their fair / fare share. They should have a $250 tax to pay for the meals of 10 passengers in back. They can afford it.
(I am derek and I don’t approve this message)
Your rage is your problem kid. Who do you get to pay for your therapy?
I cannot go to therapy or I will have to reveal how you r a p e d the entire class, including me, when you were the teacher
Just turn yourself into the police and make it easier on everyone. Be a man. Admit it.
Was DP involved? Sandpaper condoms and parental forced entry, of course with fathersvl approval
Winner? My cappuccino with a pastry. That’s all I need to get the day going. That US breakfast looks disgusting. It seems they threw 3 egg bites into a soup. Quiche was heavy? Oh well, it is a quiche.
@Santastico … I have two 9r three glasses of champagne along with a large piece of German breakfast cake . The champagne is the healthy part .
I was thinking the same this morning about my breakfast routine. Just give me a croissant, banana and coffee for breakfast.
None of the above.. Jetlbue..BY FAR!
Poached eggs were perfect.. maybe it was baked.. French Toast , fruit and a perfect croissant with a Cappuccino
Neither. JetBlue or Alaskan are clear winners.
I dont like eggs so fo me United’s First class French toast breakfast is really delicious.
The meal in your Delta pic looks like it is missing the yogurt.
I will give props to AA for throwing in the buttermilk biscuit instead of the standard croissant.
I do not know what they do but the croissants on JetBlue are actually amazing and look nothing like the croissants in that picture.
The worst airline breakfast I’ve ever had was on Alaska. It was some chorizo hash that looked just awful and tasted like it came from a can. I’d take any of those over that!
I recently had UA’s shakshuksa. Mine had more tomatoes/pepper mixture. I was pleased with the breakfast.
Alaska Airlines is the best…..
Delta generally offers better food than the ME3 and SQ. Sure, you can “book the cook” or dine on demand, but with Delta you get a crusty calorie bomb, and you eat it knowing that more premium passengers book this experience. When I think of global culinary hotspots, I think of Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Detroit, and Amsterdam. DL is lucky to have the influence of these gamma world cities to influence the culinary treats served onboard their outstanding product as you fly a 30 year old B717 from Atlanta to Kansas City.
Thanks Tim.
I really wish United made some changes to their breakfast. The sugary yogurt and awful croissant are not good choices. Growing up in Europe and knowing what a good croissant is, I simply cannot eat the croissants that United serves.
I would agree…would be so nice to have some decent yogurt and a real croissant.