Your Next American Airlines Flight Could Be Delayed So That The Pilot Can Buy a Missing Crew Meal

There are all kinds of reasons why flights can be hit by unexpected and frustrating delays, from bad weather in a completely different part of the country to an annoying mechanical problem or, an increasingly common problem, a lack of air traffic controllers to safely manage the airspace without imposing capacity restrictions.

Now, there’s another reason why your next flight on American Airlines could be delayed and it’s down to the fact that pilots might have to join the long lines at food concessions in the airport concourse if their contractually agreed crew meal hasn’t been loaded.

Thankfully, this isn’t an overwhelmingly common problem, but it does happen enough that the airline decided to issue new guidelines last week to pilots, advising aircrew that they should aim to spend less than $30 for a replacement meal and that reimbursement might be refused if they buy the food more than an hour and a half after the flight they were meant to receive a meal has departed.

It’s that last point that might mean that flights are delayed just so that pilots can secure their replacement meals without running into the airline’s newly imposed time limit on buying food.

Until now, many pilots would operate the flight as scheduled even when their crew meal was missing or ‘materially complete,’ but by the time they had got out of the airport at their destination and perhaps made it to a layover hotel, it would be more than the 90-minute time limit.

“By imposing this arbitrary and non-contractual time limit, Flight Offices have created an environment that may result in delays of required pre-departure pilot duties,” the Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents American pilots, has warned.

“In order to comply with this arbitrary time limit, pilots will be forced to focus on securing a timely meal rather than preparing for the performance of their duties,” the recent memo from the union continued.

The union alleges that the new time limit has been imposed just to make it easier for managers to deny legitimate claims.

Although APA says pilots don’t necessarily have to buy a replacement meal before departure, the union does say it’s advisable to secure food before the plane pushes back from the gate.

Just to hammer home the point to its members, the APA memo continued: “Keep in mind that your assessment of fitness for duty includes securing adequate sustenance for your current segment or future segments.”

In other words, the airline might have to accept flight delays if it forces pilots to buy a replacement meal within the 90-minute time limit.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that American plans to drag managers out from behind their desks and onto airport concourses in an attempt to address everyday gripes that are causing delays and hitting customer satisfaction.

For years, American Airlines has relentlessly focused on improving it’s on-time departure performance, seeing this metric as critical to success in winning over customers from rivals like Delta and United Airlines.

The focus on on-time departure means that pilots and flight attendants have been encouraged to get passengers onboard and the boarding door closed even when cleaning standards aren’t up to scratch or when inflight catering is missing.

In a new scheme set to roll out later this year, American intends to introduce a team of managers who will be stationed in airport concourses and tasked with dealing with these kinds of issues.

Matt’s take

There is nothing unusual in airlines providing inflight meals for pilots, especially legacy carriers with unions that have secured contractual benefits like this over many years.

In order to stay alert and refreshed, I don’t think anyone could begrudge a pilot from wanting to eat during a long duty day. But what are flight crew expected to do when the meal they were expecting to be provided by the airline doesn’t show up?

It stands to reason that pilots would then get hold of a replacement before takeoff in the airport, and that, understandably, could result in delays.