Despite not necessarily investing a lot in catering, airlines like to get creative with what they serve in first class, as people seem to like that. Perhaps the most talked about example of this is Delta’s partnership with Shake Shack. Along those lines, American has just announced a new catering collaboration, which I’m sure will be a crowd pleaser.
In this post:
American serving Pecan Lodge barbecue platters & brisket
In the coming weeks, American Airlines will begin serving Texas barbecue onboard select flights, in partnership with Pecan Lodge restaurant. The airline explains that Pecan Lodge was founded in 2010, and has been recognized for its Central Texas-style barbecue, which will take to the skies for the first time ever. I know about as much about barbecue as I know about football, so I’ll defer to others as to how well regarded they are.
This catering collaboration will debut between Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) and New York, including flights to LaGuardia (LGA) and Kennedy (JFK). It’ll only be available for pre-order, so you’ll need to reserve it at least 20 hours before departure, via the American website or app. The selection will vary by month, and here’s what’s planned so far:
- In February 2026, passengers can expect the Pecan Lodge barbecue platter, consisting of smoked brisket and smoked sausage, paired with creamy mac and cheese, crisp coleslaw, and a side of pickles, onions, and barbecue sauce
- In March 2026, passengers can expect the smoked chopped brisket sandwich, consisting of chopped brisket on a fresh brioche bun, served with roasted green beans, creamy potato salad, and a side of pickles, onions, and barbecue sauce
I wouldn’t be surprised to see this collaboration extended and expanded, so we’ll see how this plays out. Here’s how Rhonda Crawford, American’s SVP of Customer Experience Design and Strategy, describes this:
“As we celebrate American’s centennial anniversary in 2026, we’re looking forward to delighting our customers in new ways that honor unique regional tastes, beginning right here in our home state through one of the most beloved barbecue restaurants in Texas. Our customers deserve nothing but the best, and Pecan Lodge is certainly that.”
I’m sure people will enjoy this, but it’s not for me
It goes without saying that Texas is known for its barbecue, and it’s something people really love. I like the concept of airlines offering regional and local dishes, so I give American a lot of credit for that, and embracing its biggest hub.
Some people wait in line for hours and plan trips around it. We all have our preferences, and personally, it’s not for me (not that American should plan its catering around my preferences). I suspect View from the Wing will be as excited about this as I was about a signed Shawn Mendes picture in Etihad’s The Residence, so we all need hobbies, eh?
If we’re being realistic about airplane food, it simply shouldn’t be as good as food on the ground, since it’s prepared many hours earlier, reheated, etc. That says nothing of the tiny budgets that airlines have for this. Nonetheless, the reality is that people love comfort food, so anything that’s on the unhealthy side will be a crowd pleaser on a plane (kind of like American’s very mediocre slider & fries).
Personally (again, just my preferences!), I’d love to see the airline actually try to offer simpler and healthier dishes. I have an upcoming American first class flight where the options include a cheese plate, creamy pasta, chicken breast with cheese tortellini, or two types of short rib.
Am I the only one who would love to just see a salad or sandwich that’s half decent on the menu, rather than all of these options that are overly caloric without likely actually being good? For example, the salads in Air France’s La Premiere first class are exceptional. Okay, admittedly that’s among the world’s best international first class products, but in isolation, this really shouldn’t be that hard to replicate.
Like I said, I’m likely in the minority here, so I’ll get off my soapbox.
Bottom line
American Airlines will start serving Texas barbecue in first class on flights from Dallas to New York, as part of a new collaboration with Pecan Lodge. These dishes will be available for pre-order, and you can expect a barbecue platter in February, and a brisket sandwich in March. I’m sure many people will love this, and it’s cool to see American serving up something local, even if I’m not personally a huge fan of this type of cuisine.
What do you make of American’s plans to serve Texas barbecue?
Alaska had a really refreshing turkey salad on SEA-SFO a few months ago! I think they usually have some sort of salad as one of the options in First.
Presumably the American preorder option also includes the grain bowl with salmon - which is pretty good actually. But, yes, people like comfort food when traveling. Ideal is some kind of comfort + healthy combo - half a warm sandwich with a substantial salad.
I had ranch tofu salad and geek chicken salad on Alaska First Class. Both were really bad. I was jealous of the burger my son ordered and landed being hungry.
Nerdy chickens are quite tough but it sounds smarter than my order
As the late Barbara Bush said "It's a step up"
Perhaps the year after COVID, so 2021, I had an AA attendant tell me that the staff did NOT like the merger with USAir - as they went from (their words) from a Cadillac to a Ford Escort.
Pre-COVID, I really enjoyed the James Beard Foundation chef meals and wine selections in Business Class. Afterwards, things seemed to get more pedestrian.
Texas BBQ is delightful if the friend you are visiting drives you out...
Perhaps the year after COVID, so 2021, I had an AA attendant tell me that the staff did NOT like the merger with USAir - as they went from (their words) from a Cadillac to a Ford Escort.
Pre-COVID, I really enjoyed the James Beard Foundation chef meals and wine selections in Business Class. Afterwards, things seemed to get more pedestrian.
Texas BBQ is delightful if the friend you are visiting drives you out to that one place in the Hill country - that place that you would have never otherwise known about and you are completely unwilling to pay Uber to take you there from Austin.
The best meal I have ever eaten on AA was the time I got the gluten-free meal out of LAX - it was amazing Asian - good short grain rice, steamed bok choy, and tasty garlic shrimp. This was 2019 - never to be repeated.
Nobody will choose an airline or flight because of the on board food.
When all things are equal, I do.
This would be something I'd think of try in March out of DFW if it's available. The, they screw it up with potato salad as the side. My lack of inside knowledge may make me look stupid here. But, let me design a healthy, tasty salad and a heated dish. I bet I could do it in a way that meet AA's limits on kitchen prep and cost. Ben and I would be happy.
Same ole same ole out of Mexico City, month after month, so sign me up too and throw in some vanilla Häagen-Dazs ice cream for dessert!
Looks like poop. Hope they keep the bathroom stocked.
This appears to be AA competiting with DL who offers FC passengers the option to pre-order a Shake Shack burger.
Fasten your seat belts for more diversions due to ' fume events' from the smoker ! /s
Not my choice but good to see AA changing things up.
I'll echo the sentiment of "it will be good in a restaurant. It might not be good in the air." My knowledge of Texas barbecue is next to none but I have had Pecan Lodge and I did enjoy it. Might be going back there soon.
A BBQ pulled pork sandwich should be pretty hard to mess up, so nice news there. Though I think I've only ever flown AA first class once in my life and I don't go out of my way to do so being an ATL native and the prior (bad) experiences I have with AA connections from ATL.
I have the same thinking as you. After all, BBQ pulled pork gets better the day after IRL - somewhat similar to how Indian curries heat up well in planes.
Pecan Lodge is awesome. Try it, and then see how you feel!
sign. me. up.
Me too. Love it.
Once you go Black’s (BBQ) you never go back.
But of course if you want the real deal that’s in Lockhart so ‘the widget’ will probably get on that Q train to bolster the most amazing, profitable, definitely not failing focus city on earth.
Travel forecast: sticky seats and armrests.
Thanks, I'll pass. I love bbq. I will make it at home or eat it in a restaurant with actual cooking and smoking facilities.
And a plentiful supply of napkins and wet naps.
Haha - you are correct - I'm sure Gary over at VFTW will be peeing his pants over this one. I will say though, as a life-long Texan, I can say that Gary does know his BBQ!! I'll give him that.
Are these meats beef or pork?
...neither, keep guessing! /s
Texas bbq usually implies beef brisket, which thankfully is typically eaten with a knife and fork, but still can be messy and often involves licking one's fingers. Whereas pork ribs are typically eaten without utensils. If that is what they are serving ..... ew. An airplane is not the place to be serving sticky finger foods.
This is what happens when you have a non Texan running a Texas airline.
The concept is excellent but I doubt any bbq enthusiasts would agree that they can properly reheat and serve Texas bbq in the air.
By the way Pecan Lodge is so 10 years ago and have dropped since.
Personally, I'd've preferred burnt ends
And those French fries... whose bright idea was it to serve *french fries* on an airplane? They're invariably going to be limp, soggy and cold unless they plan to install deep fryers in the galleys.
sinc, the world has moved on don’t you know? Deep fat fryers are so last century, the air fryer has dragged French Fries, etc, into the twenty first century.
Aircraft are equipped with convection ovens, which are [essentially] the same thing as air fryers. I’m not saying serving French fries in domestic first class is the most brilliant idea in the history of ideas, but the equipment is capable of making them crispy.
I had the sliders with fries yesterday in FC to PHX. based on these blogs, I was prepared for soggy fries. Nope, crispyish. Better than I thought it would be.
Last week I had a "Grains Bowl" for lunch in AA F. It would not have been my first choice but it was surprisingly good.
Grains bowl? They should have GAINS BOWL
They do, on their flights out of Gainsbolough.
The grains bowl is one of the better offerings. I’m with Ben, a properly executed cold dish can really hit the spot. The meals served on the longer E175 flights (no ovens on “AA” RJs) are cold and quite tasty IMO.
Pre-merger, AA had some amazing lunchtime salads. There was a steak cobb, a buffalo chicken, and a chicken and beets salad. They were all really delicious, but I'm assuming post-merger AA did away with them because of expense. Good ol' Discount Doug.
I fondly recall pre-ordering on AA in Y back in the ‘90s, as a non-meat special meal, the shrimp salad - beautiful “house” salad with a handful of delicious prawns layed on top. Delicious, healthy and easy to execute. What’s wrong and what’s so hard about that?
Looks like AA is just following Delta's lead here in aspiring to serve moments, rather than just meals ;)
But seriously, this looks decent and I like the creativity. And it's nice to see that the announcement is on planet earth and not full of the embellishment and hyperbole that a certain Atlanta based airline would have certainly included.
In theory, pulled pork BBQ should work pretty well on a flight. It reheats easily, you can drown it in flavorful sauce, and you just serve it with a little potato salad & coleslaw.
The star and biggest concern is the brisket.
Pulled pork should be exceptional.
I'll give a big round of kudos to AA for partnering with a legit local joint to serve something unique and highlights the company's Texas roots. Though personally, I found Pecan Lodge overrated and not worth the wait in line. IMO, there's better BBQ you can get in DFW (go get the beef rib at Hutchins if you want some serious 'cue). But that's just me, and give credit to AA for trying.
My only...
I'll give a big round of kudos to AA for partnering with a legit local joint to serve something unique and highlights the company's Texas roots. Though personally, I found Pecan Lodge overrated and not worth the wait in line. IMO, there's better BBQ you can get in DFW (go get the beef rib at Hutchins if you want some serious 'cue). But that's just me, and give credit to AA for trying.
My only hesitation - the chopped beef sandwich and sides should be pretty easy to pull off, but I do wonder about that brisket. Reheated improperly, it'll get really dry. And there's few things worse in life than dried out brisket...
Didn't they try this like a decade ago? I remember picking up an over-air-fried stale bun and PLOP out goes the BBQ meat on tray. All for something different but this seems like a mess if memory serves
It's less of a *PLOP* and more of a *FUMP*
Excellent use of onomatopoeia, regardless.
American will never serve the likes of this cuisine to me, simply because I am extremely unlikely to grace one of their flights with my presence.
They serve fake meal to fake usernames.
Is this real Eskimo calling out fake Aero, or fake Eskimo calling out fake Aero?
-- O.G. 1990.
Eskimo, darlink, it is a good evening for me, is it a good afternoon for you?
What does it matter to you if it is the real, or fake, username AeroB13a? Whichever it is you will prostrate yourself at the feet of the AeroB. True to form you and your band of fake username users, will troll whomever takes your fancy, yes?
However, Eskimo darlink, one is minded to suggest that Ben’s article about soft and hard products is more your bottom line, yes?
nice to see diamond aeroB is the same personality as the guest AeroB
Both strangely similar in insults hurled as Tim Dunn
And for that, we thank you.
So we bitch and bitch about how AA doesn't try, but the second they begin to make an effort we immediately shit all over it (the screens are in the way! BBQ isn't to my personal taste!)
Here in Texas, BBQ is a classic catering choice for events because it holds up very well. This is a smart choice for a collaboration.
@ BigT3x -- And I think commended the airline for serving local cuisine, and said that most people will probably like this?
@BigT3x, it's not that AA is "trying" (something), but rather it's the longstanding inconsistency with successfully delivering a good product that many here have issue with and frankly, are wary of. I'm in Texas, and I am sure in a restaurant setting, this barbecue is well-executed.
However, I can imagine the following experience unfolding with AA:
OPTION 1: AA: "Uh, Mr. Cesar, we didn't load your reserved barbecue meal. Here's some cheese tortellini."
OPTION...
@BigT3x, it's not that AA is "trying" (something), but rather it's the longstanding inconsistency with successfully delivering a good product that many here have issue with and frankly, are wary of. I'm in Texas, and I am sure in a restaurant setting, this barbecue is well-executed.
However, I can imagine the following experience unfolding with AA:
OPTION 1: AA: "Uh, Mr. Cesar, we didn't load your reserved barbecue meal. Here's some cheese tortellini."
OPTION 2: Mr. Cesar is served the crouton-bun, and the meat portion is either dried to the point of jerky *or* there's a refreshing ice cube in the cold, frozen center of the meat.
They serve the same BBQ in the Admiral's Club at times. Maybe they are just sourcing the AC food same place as the First Class.
As a former Texan and foodie, I can tell you that Pecan Lodge is one of the best barbecue spots in the Metroplex. I have no idea how well it will hold up onboard, but it's a good sign.
It actually shows a lot of care that they chose Pecan Lodge, as I'm sure it would have been easier to organize a partnership with a larger chain or a barbecue spot closer to the airport. Hopefully they're being just as thoughtful with the other product decisions they are making.
Hope this is a test for something bigger. It'd be really cool for AA to partner with a local restaurant at each of their hubs for all flights out of that hub. Would add something unique to the travel experience (of course assuming the quality is reasonably good).
Anything would be an improvement over those AWFUL overcooked sliders.
"Am I the only one who would love to just see a salad...that’s half decent on the menu..."
IME only FC Emirates and Air France can do a decent salad that's...a salad, not limp, cold greens, decent mix of veggies and proteins, and no bugs.
@ TravelinWilly -- Yeah, Air France absolutely does some amazing salads, and I just added a reference to that in the post... thanks! I can't say I've had one on Emirates, though!