American Airlines Heathrow catering is finally getting back to normal. Starting Wednesday, Oct. 28, every American flight from London to the US will have its food loaded in London again, according to an internal update to staff. For the past eight months, the meals passengers ate on the way home were packed in the US, flown across the Atlantic and kept on board for the return trip.
That arrangement is called double catering, and it's why so many people flying American out of Heathrow this year got fewer choices, missing preordered meals and, early on, what the airline's own message to staff called a "bare minimum" service.
What Happened in February
On Feb. 28, American suddenly ended its contract with Dnata, the catering company that had been preparing its meals at Heathrow. The airline has never publicly said why, though reports pointed to food safety concerns.
The problem was that nobody else at Heathrow had room to take on American's operation overnight, which runs as many as 19 flights a day to US cities. So American did the only thing it could: it started loading food for both directions before planes left the US.
How Double Catering Works
Normally, a long-haul plane gets catered at each end. Food for the flight to London is loaded in New York or Dallas, and a fresh set is loaded in London for the trip back. Plane galleys are built around that. They hold carts, ovens and storage for roughly one flight's worth of meals, not two.
Double catering means squeezing the return trip's food into that same space and keeping it safe for many hours longer. Something has to give, and in this case it was the menu. In the early weeks, American's message to crews described just one protein or vegetable option, even in premium cabins, and no ice cream. Preordered and special meals often weren't available, and economy was hit especially hard.
It also made the flight attendants' job harder. Crews routinely spent time before Heathrow departures sorting out catering problems, moving carts around to reach the right food and, at first, even handling the trash. Their union reached a settlement this month that pays them up to $169 extra for each Heathrow trip they worked during the worst of it.
Why It Took So Long
American signed a new caterer, Do&Co, in May. Business class meals were back to being loaded in London fairly quickly, and British Airways, American's partner at Heathrow, lent some help over the summer. But Do&Co didn't have enough of the specialized trucks that lift food carts up to a plane's door, and those trucks aren't something you can buy off the lot. American told staff the switch had "largely been driven by the availability of catering trucks."
With 17 trucks now in place, the last flights are switching over this week. Flights from the US stop carrying food for the return trip on Tuesday, and every Heathrow departure is catered locally from Wednesday.
American Airlines · London Heathrow
Your Meal Home From London Is Back to Normal
- Full meal choices in every cabin
- Preordered meals (reportedly)
- Special meals, like vegetarian (reportedly)
- Beer and liquor
- Premium cabin wines
Book your preferred meal in the American app if you've skipped it this year.
Contrail
What Changes on Your Flight
If you're flying American from London from Wednesday on, you should get the same meal service you'd expect on any other route, with full choices in every cabin. Preorders and special meals, like vegetarian or gluten-free options, are reportedly back in economy and premium economy too, so it's worth booking yours in the American app if you skipped it this year because it never showed up.
A couple of things will still come from the US. Beer, liquor and premium cabin wines will keep being loaded on the American side for both directions, which is normal for the airline's international flights. And Do&Co will keep a coordinator on board every Heathrow departure until boarding starts, checking that the crew has everything before passengers get on. After the year London flyers have had, that's probably not a bad idea.
