Celebrating its centennial anniversary this year, American Airlines is planning to introduce regional delicacies for a lucky few passengers. Starting next month, the carrier will be offering Texas barbecue onboard to first class passengers on certain routes to and from the airline’s home base in Dallas, Texas. This will be in partnership with Pecan Lodge, a recognized restaurant brand with locations across the country.
Offerings will include a chopped brisket sandwich, with roasted green beans and a creamy potato salad, replicating one of the staples of Texan cuisine. These new additions, paired with other recent partnerships, will elevate the in-flight experience for passengers flying with American Airlines in their special year.
New Texan Delicacy In First Class
American Airlines has announced that starting February, first class passengers flying onboard select services from its home base at 
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DWF) will be able to enjoy traditional Texas Barbecue in partnership with Pecan Lodge restaurant. The restaurant is known for its Texas Barbecue and will provide passengers with a unique dining experience in the sky.
Next month, this will feature brisket and smoked sausage, served with creamy mac and cheese and crisp coleslaw. In March, it will start serving another special delicacy in the form of a chopped brisket sandwich, roasted green beans, and creamy potato salad. With either meal option, passengers will also get a side of Pecan Lodge’s popular and famous barbecue sauce. The airline has stated that these dishes will only be available by pre-ordering them online through the American Airlines website or mobile app.
The airline press release states that these delicacies are being introduced to honor the regional tastes of the airline’s home state of Texas, as American Airlines celebrates its centennial anniversary this year. The airline’s SVP of customer experience, design and strategy, Rhonda Crawford, stated,
« Our customers deserve nothing but the best, and Pecan Lodge is certainly that. »
Which Routes Will See These Meals?
As per the airline’s press release, these meals will only be available to first-class passengers flying on services connecting DFW with 
New York JFK Airport and 
LaGuardia Airport (LGA). American Airlines serves both these routes primarily with its Boeing 737-800 fleet (flights to LGA occasionally see the Airbus A320), with multiple daily frequencies.
As per the airline’s website, the 737-800s have a single consistent configuration, with the aircraft designed to accommodate a total of 172 passengers. The first class section has 16 seats laid out in a 2-2 configuration, while the remaining 24 main cabin extra seats and the 132 main cabin seats are configured in a 3-3 layout. As for the A320 and A321 aircraft within the fleet, these have varying configurations, with first class ranging from 10 seats up to 20, depending on the aircraft type and configuration.
It is possible that throughout the course of this year, the airline might make these special meals available on more routes from its base in DFW or perhaps even introduce them on services from a number of other bases American Airlines has across the United States.
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Other Recent Upgrades Onboard
Apart from the newly announced partnership with The Pecan Lodge restaurant, American Airlines, in recent months, has introduced several other partnerships. These include deals with brands such as Champagne Bollinger and Lavazza Coffee, for new champagne and coffee offerings onboard the carrier’s flights. Additionally, these products will also be made available to American Airlines’ customers at the airline’s lounges at various airports.
Additionally, the airline is also currently rolling out free in-flight WiFi services to its AAdvantage members, and these services are being sponsored by the American telecommunications company, AT&T. Furthermore, in the past few weeks, the airline also began commercially operating its brand-new aircraft type, the Airbus A321XLR, on transcontinental routes such as JFK to Los Angeles (LAX) and these new aircraft feature the airline’s brand new Flagship Suites as well.
With this being the airline’s 100th year, American Airlines will be flying to several new destinations later this year, and will continue taking delivery of more new aircraft, and several other announcements and investments can be expected this year.