American is Considering Eliminating Bread and Butter on Some Long Haul Flights

American Airlines is reportedly considering eliminating bread and butter from Economy Class meals on long haul flights. Not its bread and butter service offerings, but literally the bread and the butter that are served alongside meals.

Galley Space on the A321XLR is Causing American to Consider Eliminating Bread and Butter

While this move may sound shocking, there is a reason behind this potential change. American Airlines currently has 50 Airbus A321XLRs (extra long range) on order. These aircraft will start being delivered within the next year and the carrier will utilize these aircraft on long and lean international routes, especially transatlantic flights to secondary destinations in Europe.

The always knowledgeable xJonNYC has reported that this consideration is due to the fact that the A321XLR has limited galley space when compared against American’s widebody aircraft. In an effort to save space, the carrier is considering eliminating bread and butter from meal service in Economy, and even Premium Economy.

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 5:02 PM

While the A321XLRs haven’t been delivered yet, American will perform a trial run of this plan on flights between Charlotte (CLT), Boston (BOS), and Raleigh/Durham (RDU) and London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR). The carrier will compile passenger feedback before making a decision on whether to roll this out more broadly.

American is Sending Mixed Messages

American Airlines has been somewhat of a rudderless ship over the past few years. While United and Delta were investing heavily in the in-flight experience, American chose to rip out seatback IFE. Former American Chief Commercial Officer Vasu Raja famously declared that the airline’s schedule and route network was the product, indicating that the in-flight experience was secondary.

Recently, with the pivot towards premium offerings in domestic air travel, American is scrambling to retain and grow it’s premium customer base. Back in February the airline announced a pivot back towards premium offerings and recently unveiled a new premium onboard product which will debut later this year on the new, premium-heavy, Boeing 787s.

While I understand that American is looking to eliminate bread and butter in an effort to save space on its cramped A321XLRs, this comes across to me as a cost cutting mood. If you’ve been a longtime reader of this site it’s no secret that I haven’t been happy with the direction the carrier has been headed and, for the most part, I’ve voted with my wallet by taking my business elsewhere.

It seems crazy to me that the airline is hyping up its new Premium Economy cabins and considering removing something like bread with meals in the same cabin. Hopefully this trial is short lived and the carrier walks back these plans based on feedback from customers.

I’m curious what others think about this and whether a change like this would negatively affect your opinion of the Fort Worth based carrier.

Summary

American Airlines is considering eliminating bread and butter from Economy and Premium Economy meals on long haul flights. This comes as the carrier prepares to take delivery of 50 Airbus A321XLRs which will be used on international routes. The A321XLRs don’t have the same amount of galley space as widebody aircraft and American is looking for ways to save space.

The airline plans to trial these changes on flights from Charlotte, Boston, and Raleigh/Durham to London over the next few months. To me, this comes across as cheap and I’m interested to see whether the airline walks this plan back after the trial.