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It's a long, long, long flight from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to
Seattle, Washington. Makes for a very long day — especially when
you are heading home from some fishing destination. Why?
Because most of us fishermen are not flying executive or first
class.
So here we are packed into coach seats like sardines, trying to
have some modicum of comfort, and the carts appear in the aisles.
Food! Oh boy, a break from the tedium. Something to break up the
flight. A pleasant diversion.
You want to bet? The tip-off should have been I could not smell
food. Good food usually smells good. Even before you see it on
your plate — you can smell it. The juices start flowing with
anticipation. Ya right.
On other trips breakfast has been a little slim, but passable.
Breakfast on this particular flight bordered on the weird. You
picked up a miniature shopping bag (very clever artistic design in
metallic purple — great marketing) from a cooler placed in the
boarding passage. Now I'm bright enough to know this will not be
a hot meal. The fact that it is 6:00 a.m. obviously hasn't occurred
to anyone in the airline business. Once investigated, 'breakfast'
consists of a small granola bar, a small container of yogurt, a small
plastic bottle of orange juice, and (hurrah) a banana. Hey, some
will say what's the problem? If you had to get up at 4:00 a.m. to
catch the 6:00 a.m. flight, it may not have looked like a real
breakfast to you either.
But what the hey, I toughed it out ... after all, eventually lunch
would be served. Eventually it was — sort of! A flour tortilla-type
thing with a razor thin slice of meat and some stringy cheese. But
it was warm at least! That came with a bag of Sun Chips and a
sugar cookie.
Westward we flew. Into the dark. Somewhere between Dallas
and Seattle the dinner bell rang. The flight was scheduled to land in
Seattle about 6:00 p.m. It had already been too many hours on a
plane. I didn't want any more coffee. I didn't want another glass of
Coke (ice seemed to be rationed, I guess.)
I didn't eat it. JC did open his, poked at it a bit, and put the
cookie in his pocket. I brought my "dinner" back with me. We opened it
up, put in on a plate, and took some pictures. Then we cut it up and
took some more pictures.
Why did it occur to us to take pictures? Are we nuts? Or weird?
Perhaps; or we are just people who thought
what American Airlines was passing off as
"Dinner" was ridiculous. We photographed it
because I sure wouldn't have believed it if I
hadn't seen it. Even sadder was the huge
number of uneaten "Dinners" I personally saw
thrown into the very large black garbage bags
the cabin personnel dragged through the aisles
after "Dinner." What a shame.
Just in case you can't figure out what
"Dinner" was in the photographs, it was a
"Gourmet Calzone", more of the Sun Chips, and
surprise — another sugar cookie.
I understand there is a lot of competition for customers on the
airlines. Why don't they try serving real food? A few years ago the
food was much better - not gourmet but hot, with some semblance
of a balanced meal. One of the small western airlines, Frontier,
actually had really good food. It appears those days are over.
Maybe packing people on over-booked flights, and serving
ghastly food is what the quality of service is now about in this
county. I am sure some "cost accountant - type" in an American
Airlines office is pleased that he has saved the airline so much
money.
Well buster, get off your flat backside, out of your high-rise
office, onto an American Airlines coach flight and YOU choke down
that stuff.
PS I really felt sorry for the Flight Attendants who had to
"serve" it.
PPS Our dachshund did find it palatable; but then, he thinks
'fast-food' is gourmet stuff. Perhaps he should apply as a "taster"
for American Airlines? There; now I feel better. ~ LadyFisher
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