Most coach passengers on US domestic flights don't get meals included in the fare, and there are limited options for sale. But they still serve food on intercontinental flights. Here's an example from my 2017 trip to China on United Airlines:
This was lunch/dinner out of Dulles. I think the meat was chicken. They had open bar service of beer and wine. You had to pay for the hard stuff. The beer selection was decent and included some craft brews. The wine was plonk, but a glass or two helped relax me enough to get some sleep on the 12 hour flight.
This was the midnight snack. Thinnest slice of turkey I've even seen.
They served a breakfast when it started getting light. I didn't take a picture. It was a sort of omelet, which was barely edible, which is more than one can say about the "breakfast" they served before arrival on the return trip.
This is what they served us for dinner on departure during the return trip. It was barely edible, and it was clear that the commissary that United uses in Beijing provides worse food to the coach passengers than what was provided by the commissary at Dulles. Fortunately, one of my colleagues on this trip, who did the trip a lot and had status and thus was sitting up front, had a bunch of extra free drink coupons that he passed around to us. This allowed me to get a few shots of the hard stuff and anaesthetize my senses. The "breakfast" they served us on arrival (local time was about 6 PM) was some sort of egg and sausage concoction that was so indescribably bad that I didn't bother to eat it, something I've never had to do with flex food on Amtrak. (Though I did pass up the omelet when I had that kosher meal on the Lakeshore Limited.) I wasn't too hungry for long, though. After we landed, I spent the night at the on-site hotel at Dulles Airport (A throwback 1970s style motel with reasonable prices for it being on-site at a major airport) and had a good stiff Manhattan and the humus plate at the bar.
Here's my first-ever flex meal, on the Capitol Limited at the end of October 2019. Despite the unappealing presentation, it was OK, though I was starting to develop Bell's palsy, and thus the tastebuds in half my mouth weren't functioning properly.
Here's the flex dinner (lunch and dinner the next day) on the Cardinal on my return trip in November 2019. The attendant tried to make presentations as good as it could possibly be under the circumstances. Of course, even before flex, the Cardinal always had a simplified menu, as it was prepared in an Amfleet cafe car.
The was the Cajun shrimp main course. It was surprisingly spicy. On this trip, I found out that the flex passengers only get one free wine for the whole trip, so not wine for me for lunch and dinner the next day. Notice that they had nicer looking plastic fake silverware than what was served up on the Capitol, and these trips were taken within a week of each other.
Here was the flex breakfast on the Cardinal. A fruit cup, oatmeal and yoghurt, which is not bad, except that they portion sizes were ridiculously small. Fortunately, the sleeper was half full (or maybe less), so the attendant let me have seconds on everything.
Pandemic -era flex breakfast on the Capitol in November 2021. Not the best French toast I've ever had, it was a little overcooked and tough.
Flex dinner on the Capitol, November 2023. I had spent the two weeks on the Canadian with real old-fashioned dining car food and the Empire Builder with Amtrak Traditional dining. This was a bit of a letdown, but still better than what United Airlines served me on the Beijing flight.
Here was my last meal on my Canadian trip, the Amtrak flex pancakes on the Capitol Limited. Don't get too excited about the 100% maple syrup. That was from the previous morning, as I was given access to the "elite" lounge at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Chicago on the basis of my Bonvoy Gold membership level. (It pays to get their credit card, I got 3 free nights, which saved me about $700 in hotel bills on the trip, plus enough credit "nights" added to my hotel stays to bump me up to the Gold level. I've also noticed they've been giving me slightly better rooms, too.) The pancakes were a disappointment, as they sort of crumbled, not what you expect from a pancake. I mean, it was edible, but a bit weird.
Now I haven't flown overseas since 2017, but on my experience, I think the flex meal beats the stuff United Airlines was feeding us. Just my opinion.
This was lunch/dinner out of Dulles. I think the meat was chicken. They had open bar service of beer and wine. You had to pay for the hard stuff. The beer selection was decent and included some craft brews. The wine was plonk, but a glass or two helped relax me enough to get some sleep on the 12 hour flight.
This was the midnight snack. Thinnest slice of turkey I've even seen.
They served a breakfast when it started getting light. I didn't take a picture. It was a sort of omelet, which was barely edible, which is more than one can say about the "breakfast" they served before arrival on the return trip.
This is what they served us for dinner on departure during the return trip. It was barely edible, and it was clear that the commissary that United uses in Beijing provides worse food to the coach passengers than what was provided by the commissary at Dulles. Fortunately, one of my colleagues on this trip, who did the trip a lot and had status and thus was sitting up front, had a bunch of extra free drink coupons that he passed around to us. This allowed me to get a few shots of the hard stuff and anaesthetize my senses. The "breakfast" they served us on arrival (local time was about 6 PM) was some sort of egg and sausage concoction that was so indescribably bad that I didn't bother to eat it, something I've never had to do with flex food on Amtrak. (Though I did pass up the omelet when I had that kosher meal on the Lakeshore Limited.) I wasn't too hungry for long, though. After we landed, I spent the night at the on-site hotel at Dulles Airport (A throwback 1970s style motel with reasonable prices for it being on-site at a major airport) and had a good stiff Manhattan and the humus plate at the bar.
Here's my first-ever flex meal, on the Capitol Limited at the end of October 2019. Despite the unappealing presentation, it was OK, though I was starting to develop Bell's palsy, and thus the tastebuds in half my mouth weren't functioning properly.
Here's the flex dinner (lunch and dinner the next day) on the Cardinal on my return trip in November 2019. The attendant tried to make presentations as good as it could possibly be under the circumstances. Of course, even before flex, the Cardinal always had a simplified menu, as it was prepared in an Amfleet cafe car.
The was the Cajun shrimp main course. It was surprisingly spicy. On this trip, I found out that the flex passengers only get one free wine for the whole trip, so not wine for me for lunch and dinner the next day. Notice that they had nicer looking plastic fake silverware than what was served up on the Capitol, and these trips were taken within a week of each other.
Here was the flex breakfast on the Cardinal. A fruit cup, oatmeal and yoghurt, which is not bad, except that they portion sizes were ridiculously small. Fortunately, the sleeper was half full (or maybe less), so the attendant let me have seconds on everything.
Pandemic -era flex breakfast on the Capitol in November 2021. Not the best French toast I've ever had, it was a little overcooked and tough.
Flex dinner on the Capitol, November 2023. I had spent the two weeks on the Canadian with real old-fashioned dining car food and the Empire Builder with Amtrak Traditional dining. This was a bit of a letdown, but still better than what United Airlines served me on the Beijing flight.
Here was my last meal on my Canadian trip, the Amtrak flex pancakes on the Capitol Limited. Don't get too excited about the 100% maple syrup. That was from the previous morning, as I was given access to the "elite" lounge at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Chicago on the basis of my Bonvoy Gold membership level. (It pays to get their credit card, I got 3 free nights, which saved me about $700 in hotel bills on the trip, plus enough credit "nights" added to my hotel stays to bump me up to the Gold level. I've also noticed they've been giving me slightly better rooms, too.) The pancakes were a disappointment, as they sort of crumbled, not what you expect from a pancake. I mean, it was edible, but a bit weird.
Now I haven't flown overseas since 2017, but on my experience, I think the flex meal beats the stuff United Airlines was feeding us. Just my opinion.
