Friends,

I am on an AirFrance flight right now that departed just after 4 in the morning. My (former flight attendant for a US carrier) expectation was that a beverage plus breakfast service would shortly follow takeoff. I boarded with a plan for an early breakfast and then work plus rest to follow on this relatively oddly timed flight.

However, we have been enroute for almost two hours now and the crew is just beginning to set up their carts for breakfast. We are scheduled to land in Paris at 7a local time, so this puts the primary service in the last hour of the flight instead of the first. And it makes a lot of sense on paper: it’s at best unnatural (though totally normal in airline world) to serve breakfast to a bunch of sleepy passengers at 4am. 

Our the crew has not been invisible — but there was no onboard communication about the service timing. My point in detailing this is not to complain as much as provide context (though admittedly, I am feeling hungry right now).

While working for United, I spent a month flying Lima from the Houston base — it was a fun trip. Afternoon flight down, a twenty five hour layover, and then a red-eye return to the States. But the flight’s return schedule was also odd like my departure today.

Our service flow followed takeoff — meaning we served dinner at 2am and then did a beverage-only service right before landing. However, most of our passengers had already eaten dinner and just wanted to sleep — it always felt like we were doing no favors by keeping the cabin lights on for the first ninety minutes of the flight.

My belief was passengers would prefer a light service after takeoff with the primary (meal) service to correspond with landing. But I was never able to test this thesis. 

Until today, I guess.

And I think I was wrong.

My expectation as a passenger is that service follows takeoff. The general lack thereof on this flight made the experience feel slight “off” to me — which is hard to recover from on a product level.

But I also could do a better job of asking instead of just waiting expectantly. And I have high expectations for Air France — which were perhaps over the top for a four-hour sector to Paris that departs at 4am.

What do you think? When should a food and beverage service begin on a flight?

Fly well.

Links

Fascinating commentary on the pursuit of commercial service at McKinney’s airport (TKI) by Gary Leff. Given my connection to the D/FW metroplex — I am intrigued.

Wow. Evidently former President Joe Biden now flies United.