Coffee, Tea, or Envy

At last, the airline industry has figured out a way to make the in-flight meal seem highly desirable. The secret: Let us see it, but don't let us have it.I was the victim on a recent six-hour American Airlines flight from New York to San Francisco. The 767 aircraft had a first-class section, a business-class section, and a coach section, and food for the swells in business class was being prepared in a galley located in the coach section. My coach seat, 20B, was right outside the tiny kitchen.

The menu for business-class passengers: Warm mixed nuts (smelled great), seasonal mixed greens (okay, even desperate travelers don't want airline lettuce), assorted "gourmet" breads (yeah, I'm sure that's what they were), grilled chicken breast sandwich with barbecue sauce (more good smells), and "freshly baked on board" chocolate-chip cookies (I really resented not getting those).

The menu for starving coach-class passengers: Nothing. Not a cracker, a pretzel stick, or a leftover crumb from the "gourmet" breads. No solid food for the likes of us.

When I asked one of the attendants for a cup of hot tea—that, indeed, is free—she told me to go to the coach-class galley in the back of the plane and get it myself. I now know the meaning of a soft job: Become a flight attendant in the coach section of an aircraft on a six-hour flight. (Tasting note: Tea has never tasted more metallic.)

I have to say, this represents a new low in customer courtesy for the airline industry. Or maybe that came when American Airlines began selling its crackers and cheese in coach.