JetBlue’s New Transatlantic Chilled Menu Beats Expectations…

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Last month I highlighted that JetBlue has–at least temporarily–transitioned to only cold meals on transatlantic flights. I got a chance to try the new cuisine…and still walked away amazed at how fresh and delicious an airline meal can be.

Cold Meals Only In JetBlue Transatlantic Economy Class…Still Delicious

Flying from Paris to New York, I was looking forward to a hot meal on JetBlue in “Core” (economy class). Ever since JetBlue launched transatlantic flights, folks have raved about how great the onboard cuisine is. Last year, when I flew JetBlue from London to New York, I ended up with a last-minute aircraft swap and only wraps and cereal bars served onboard…

It was with some dismay that when I pulled up the menu for my Paris to New York flight, I saw that all options were chilled. I ended up boarding the flight prepared with snacks (fruit, nuts, protein bars), but that turned out to be unnecessary.

> Read More: JetBlue Eliminates Hot Meals On Transatlantic Flights In Economy Class

On JetBlue, you order your meal on your screen, specifying what main course you want. On this flight, there were two appetizers and two main course choices: a pesto chicken salad or mushroom with lentils.

Pesto Pasta Salad
herb chicken, kale pesto, green beans, demi-sec tomatoes

Mushrooms & Lentils
roasted portobellos, herb green lentils, demi-sec tomatoes

both were served with:

Tomatoes & Cucumber Salad
cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, pickled onions, parsley

Buffalo Cauliflower
cheesy cauliflower, scallions, sriracha

I chose the pesto pasta salad and thought it was delicious…the key for me was the quality of the chicken and whether it tasted “manufactured” or fresh. Thankfully, it tasted fresh and the pesto sauce gave it a nice kick. The cauliflower appetizer was excellent (nice kick to it) and the tomato-cucumber salad was very fresh and delicious.

Excellent chicken with pesto

Delicious chocolate ice cream from Beckleberry’s for dessert as well…and I didn’t break any teeth.

#satisfied

For what it is worth, my wife enjoyed her mushrooms and lentils, but my kids did not eat anything…they didn’t like the chicken, salad, or cauliflower (and that’s sad and somewhat surprising because they are usually much more adventurous eaters than their father…).

Truly, the meals were delicious and in terms of airline meals, I love this fresh, cold food (it reminded me of SAS). In fact, this is something I would eat on the ground. But from everything I’ve been told, the hot meals were even better and it seems strange not to offer at least one warm option, especially on breakfast flights (this was a lunch flight).

I spoke to a flight attendant about this who regularly works on transatlantic flights and she said that she and her colleagues want hot meals back…that they never complained in the first place but that (as suspected) the elimination of hot meals coincides with the reduction of one flight attendant onboard. JetBlue made this move proactively to reduce flight attendant workload.

But I do think JetBlue went too far. If you’ve flown transatlantic economy in the past, you know there used to be at least three main courses and three appetizers you could choose from. That did create a lot of work, especially when the main courses and one of the appetizers had to be heated. But the pendulum has now swung too far in the other direction…I hope that JetBlue can find a “happy medium” and bring back some hot dishes onboard, perhaps without offering as much choice as before.

But here’s the important thing: the food was high-quality and delicious. I don’t say this flippantly, but the food in JetBlue Core was better than United Polaris business class…and I truly mean that (especially out of Paris).

JetBlue may have “downgraded” its onboard catering, but it’s still something to look forward to. I hope this feedback does not make JetBlue less likely to bring back hot meals, but I’d be lying if I said that I did not enjoy my cold lunch onboard.

As my Asia trip report grinds on, I’m falling behind on many reports…I hope to catch up soon.

Each week, my Meal of the Week feature examines an airline meal from my travels over the years. This may be a meal from earlier in the week or it may be a meal served over a decade ago.