Amid all the hassles of flying these days, it can be easy to overlook the nuggets of good news for air travel passengers tucked in among all the headaches. For instance, American and JetBlue recently announced substantial new perks for frequent flyers as part of its partnership, as did Delta. Now, American is offering even more appealing perks for its passengers. Read on to find out the changes the carrier has already rolled out.
RELATED:Delta Just Made This Permanent Change for All Passengers, Starting Now.
American will now let premium cabin domestic passengers choose personalized courses from printed menus.
ShutterstockAmerican Airlines made major upgrades to its in-flight catering program, which took effect on April 13. The first of these upgrades is a better dining experience for passengers in the premium cabin on domestic flights of longer than 2,200 miles, according to The Points Guy. During these flights, the carrier will now provide passengers with printed menus—a touch that evokes an older and more glamorous period of jet travel—from which they can select their own personalized choices for appetizer, salad, entree, and dessert.
American flight crew members will also serve these meals in three distinct courses, for an experience more akin to a fine-dining restaurant—or even like the in-flight experience more common for long-haul international routes in premium cabins but rare on domestic legs.
American now allows domestic first-class passengers to order their meals ahead.
ShutterstockFurther, as of April 13 American now allows first-class domestic passengers to order their meals ahead of a flight. Travelers with an existing reservation for a flight longer than 900 miles are now able to select and reserve their choice of entree ahead of time. The option is available as many as 30 days and up to 24 hours before scheduled departure. (Special meals will also be coming back as an option on domestic flights beginning next month.)
American has also restored its second beverage service on domestic flights over 1,500 miles.
iStockIn addition to those upgraded dining perks, on April 13 American rolled out the restoration of its second beverage service on domestic flights longer than 1,500 miles. This service had previously been standard until it was eliminated in a push to reduce the number of touchpoints between crew members and passengers amid ongoing pandemic concerns.
As well, the airline will make beer, wine, and spirits available for coach passengers to purchase on flights longer than 250 miles beginning on April 18. It will also make packaged snacks available for purchase on flights over 1,500 miles.
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American airlines will offer free on-board WiFi (at least for now).
iStockAlong with the food and beverage upgrades, American has rolled out another perk this week that is sure to delight many flyers: It is now offering free in-flight WiFi. The major carrier will provide the complimentary service over several weeks until May 25.
According to the airline's announcement, passengers flying aboard narrowbody aircraft in American's fleet will have access to the newly installed Viasat network. These connected travelers will have access to the airline's streaming entertainment library of movies and TV shows to watch on their personal devices—and that's a big bonus considering these planes don't typically have the seatback entertainment systems found on larger aircraft, so the boredom is real.
Customers will get access to the free WiFi for a limited session after they watch an advertisement (but it's not clear how long that session will be).
RELATED: United Is Finally Bringing Back This Service for Travelers, as of April 14.
