American Airlines wants to see if it can get away with cutting bread and butter on long haul flights. However, it’s not quite the cost cutting exercise that one might assume.
In this post:
American runs trial in preparation for A321XLR service
American has 50 A321XLRs on order, which should start to enter service for the carrier within the next year. This plane is long overdue for American, as it’s Airbus’ new long range, narrow body jet, which opens up all kinds of markets for the airline.
While the ability to operate long haul flights on small jets is great in terms of opening up new markets, there are definitely some compromises when it comes to the passenger experience (as I recently discovered, when I flew the Aer Lingus and Iberia A321XLRs).
@xJonNYC reports how the limited galley space on the A321XLR is causing American to run some trials, ahead of the plane entering service. Specifically, American is looking at eliminating bread and butter with the meal service in both economy and premium economy, due to the limited galley space.
The airline isn’t necessarily sure how passengers will respond, though. So ahead of the A321XLR entering service, the airline is trialing getting rid of bread and butter on comparable routes on some existing wide body aircraft, to see if passengers notice. American is expected to run this trial on routes from Boston (BOS), Charlotte (CLT), and Raleigh (RDU), to London (LHR). Then based on the feedback, the airline will decide how to move forward.
AA: So the A321XLR is obviously not going to have as much space as a widebody.Some amenities are going to suffer. AA is testing getting rid of bread and butter in coach and premium economy, on widebody flights from CLT/BOS/RDU to LHR to see what that does for the footprint vs the customer experience
— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) May 7, 2025 at 6:02 PM
American’s concerns about galley space are legitimate. That being said, I imagine that if the airline gets a lot of negative feedback about this change, it’ll look to cut somewhere else. I think what’s most surprising here is that the airline may not even offer bread in premium economy — that seems especially cheap.
Airline survey results really matter
This is a reminder that filling out post-flight surveys is time well spent. I think many people assume that these surveys are useless and no changes happen based on them, but that’s simply not the case. Airlines really care about their net promoter score (even if the score is sort of depressing), and which direction it moves. Airlines absolutely do make changes based on how customers perceive aspects of the experience.
So if you really like that an airline is making an investment in a certain area, fill out the survey, and make sure you give the airline credit for that. Meanwhile if you don’t like an aspect of the experience, also mention that.
As airline customers, we have two ways we can vote — with our wallets and with our surveys — and both are considered heavily.
Bottom line
American will start flying Airbus A321XLRs later this year, and it’s an important addition to the carrier’s fleet. Being able to fly smaller jets on long haul flights is useful, though it also presents some new challenges. Given the limited galley space, American is reportedly looking at cutting bread and butter service in both economy and premium economy.
With the airline not sure how passengers will react, American is first running a trial on select routes to London, to see if passengers notice.
What do you make of American potentially cutting bread and butter on some long haul flights? Do you think people will notice enough to provide feedback?
If space is an issue, block off a lav and throw the stale buns in a bag and place on the pot !
"Less is more" .. AA's 'premier gaslight' service !
I never eat that stale lump, anyway. Might as well save the food, space, and money.
All these comments and no joke or pun about where AA gets its bread buttered... I'm disappointed :p
Unless AA is changing the size of the meal trays they use, bread roll and butter pat does not matter. There is already space on tray for these items. AA is just using this as an excuse to get even cheaper.
Ok, was it just me that read the title as AA cutting staple "bread and butter" routes?
I thought flights to LHR/MAD/etc. were going away for some reason. And then I realized it was about the literal bread and butter LOL
I find the bread service inconsistent. On United, economy class bread is pre-placed on the tray, while meals are oven-warmed. Polaris bread is already stored ina designated oven for the first service, however, is bagged and stored in carriers for the second meal service, then oven-warmed as needed. American Airlines' current operational procedures require review.
It's been more than a decade since I've been on a long haul flight in economy but from what I remember the bread came pre packaged in plastic wrap. Maybe that's changed. I get that for PE that would appear really cheap.
"I think many people assume that these surveys are useless and no changes happen based on them,"
If they start making positive change from surveys not some bogus 'enhancements based on feedbacks' excuse to cut even more.
I'm not surprised if they cut bread and butter based on customer feedbacks.
Yet another reason to avoid A321XLR.
Sorry A321XLR apologists, you're just simping for an awful plane.
Thanks AA for testing this additional worsening of your passenger experience on those of us in CLT. Next time, test this type change on your DFW passengers.
I suspect to see an upcoming test of charging for bread and butter because "that's what passengers requested".
I'll miss those frozen pats of butter.
Not having all that excess weight onboard should help with fuel economy.
For everyone saying “it’s already on the tray, it doesn’t save space.” The only way to fit enough trays in the aft galley is to actually serve everything on a smaller tray. Delete the stale plastic wrapped bread that 90% of people throw away anyway, and it all fits on the slightly smaller tray now.
American will be eliminating alcohol and most soft drinks in the main cabin because there is not enough room on the beverage cart to fit in the galleys on their new planes .
Has the seating plan been released for AA’s A321XLR? I’m wondering if they decided to put in a 1/2 size galley in the back like IB, with spaceflex lavs
This sounds like a miserable passenger experience
Is that not the case with all AA flights Chris?
At least according to SkyTrax an JD Power customer surveys it is …. :-)
Huge mistake! Passengers don’t like to get Nickel on dimed… especially by a major airline where it’s executive brass is earning tons of millions of dollars every year
The 'limited galley space' is American's chosen specification. Airbus can make the galley as large as the customer wants. What American is saying here is 'we have chosen to prioritise the revenue from an extra three economy seats over your bread service'. Come clean, don't blame Airbus.
Did AA selected the Space Flex galley like Iberia?
Amen to that dude. More cheap nonsense from American.
As others have pointed out, seems more like cost cutting then saving space since breads are already placed on the tray (which takes up an allocated space on the trolley to fit in all the food on it) and is not served separately in some bread basket. I don’t remember enough to know if AA serves warm bread but I doubt they do and even then, they can just serve the normal stale plastic wrapped bread every other airline offers on the tray
AA to economy passengers: " Let them eat cake "
For those who remember AA cutting an olive.:=)
And also, Rob Crandall proudly told reporters in an interview that after his five consecutive years of reviewing an overseas operating warehouse in the Caribbean, the full-time night guard position was eventually replaced by a barking dog sound.
Nothing to do with "galley space". American Airlines has no interest in providing a true premium service or product. It never has. When it runs well, it does well, but overall, this is an airline that is simply too large for its cost structure and perpetually looks for ways to pinch pennies. It removed one olive from salads in the 1980s and proudly proclaimed that saved it one million dollars. Those new premium cabins on...
Nothing to do with "galley space". American Airlines has no interest in providing a true premium service or product. It never has. When it runs well, it does well, but overall, this is an airline that is simply too large for its cost structure and perpetually looks for ways to pinch pennies. It removed one olive from salads in the 1980s and proudly proclaimed that saved it one million dollars. Those new premium cabins on AA look mediocre at best. Wear and tear will show quickly and that too will degrade the experience.
Agree it looks like a cost cutting move.
I won't miss the shelf stable dry bread in a plastic bag, accompanied by rock hard butter.
Seriously, in the rare cases where I'm even eating the economy/premium economy meal (eat in the lounge/airport) the bread goes back to the garbage cart uneaten.
I don’t understand how this saves space when the bread and butter are already on the tray
This has nothing to do with galley space, it is 100% about cutting cost. Bread and butter are catered on the meal trays which are inside the carts. Whether you have it onboard or not takes up no additional galley space, the meal trays stay the same, albeit a bit emptier now.
It's not about the lack of space, it's about the lack of ovens to heat the bread.
Not all breads are heated, only few airlines offer that in their Y cabins. many of them come in plastic wrappers to begin and they are served room temperature or cold
The test is actually about a smaller tray, and what element can be cut to make everything fit on the tray.
Never had nice, fresh bread/roll in Y or PE. It's just there as a filler IMO. If they increase the size or the "Beef or chicken....sir?" portion then maybe they can do away with the starch side.
BA serves a bread roll and crackers on the same tray in World Traveller, so maybe the stale roll isn't needed.
Well nobody is gonna increase the portion size, especially AA, so the bread stays. Anyway you should try bread rolls on MU, they do serve warm bread rolls in Y and they also butter it a little when heating up. You can smell it halfway away in the cabin and it is one of my fav things flying MU. Though i only ever got it on flights form their hub