American Airlines Is Finally Restoring Full Meals 7 Months After Firing Its London Caterer

Credit: The Global Guy | Shutterstock Published Oct 3, 2026, 11:48 AM EDT Jack comes to Simple Flying with a lifelong interest in all things aviation. He holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech, and is a certified private and remote pilot. Beyond these experiences, Jack previously worked for a corporate flight department where he gained first-hand experience in the world of business aviation. Currently, Jack works in the professional services industry and continues to build his flight hours outside of work. Sign in to your Simple Flying account American Airlines is preparing to complete the return of full local catering at London Heathrow Airport (LHR), ending a seven-month period in which the carrier has had to rely on food loaded in the United States for portions of its return operation. The airline now expects all Heathrow departures to be fully catered locally by DO & CO by October 28, according to an internal update shared by aviation commentator JonNYC and reported by View From The Wing. The restoration is being phased in rather than occurring on a single date. American says all Boeing 777-200 flights have already returned to local catering, while Boeing 787-9P aircraft are scheduled to transition on October 13 and 14. The remaining Heathrow operation is expected to move to local provisioning on October 27 for US departures and October 28 for London departures. Specialized Trucks Delayed The Transition Credit: Airlinephoto | Shutterstock The lengthy recovery was not primarily a question of finding a caterer. The internal update identifies specialized catering trucks as the main constraint, describing them as difficult to obtain because they are highly specialized vehicles with limited availability. American and DO & CO have now secured five additional trucks, with seven more expected shortly, bringing the Heathrow fleet to 17 vehicles. The additional equipment addresses the final physical link between the catering operation and American's aircraft. Meals can be prepared at a catering facility, but they still have to be transported to the aircraft and loaded into the galley within the airport's tight turnaround process. The shortage therefore affected the carrier's ability to restore local provisioning even after its new catering arrangement was established. DO & CO Is Becoming The Permanent Solution The move represents the culmination of a change that began after American stopped relying on its previous London catering arrangement. Earlier this year, the airline began carrying food from the United States for the return flight, allowing aircraft departing Heathrow to operate despite the loss of normal local provisioning. That workaround created a significant operational burden because aircraft had to carry supplies for two long-haul sectors. The arrangement also affected meal availability. View From The Wing reported that passengers experienced fewer choices and problems with pre-ordered meals during the period of double provisioning. The additional catering load consumed galley space that would ordinarily be available for a single flight, creating complications for both inventory and onboard service. American subsequently selected DO & CO as its permanent Heathrow catering provider. The Austrian company had already begun improving premium-cabin food earlier in the year, before the broader transition was completed. The eventual move to full local provisioning is therefore intended to establish a normal operating model rather than preserve the temporary arrangement that carried the airline through the disruption. The airline will still load beer, liquor, and premium-cabin wines in the United States. American says this is normal practice for its international operation, so those items will not be affected by the completion of the Heathrow catering transition. American Will Keep Coordinators On Every Flight Credit: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock The most significant change may continue after the food starts being loaded locally. DO & CO catering coordinators will remain aboard every American aircraft departing Heathrow, including after double provisioning ends. Their role will shift as the transition progresses. While aircraft are still carrying supplies for two flights, coordinators are helping reposition catering carts so flight attendants can access the required items. Once local provisioning is fully restored, the coordinators will remain on board from the beginning of catering until boarding begins. Their responsibility will be to verify that the catering required for each flight has been delivered and positioned correctly before passengers enter the aircraft. That procedure addresses a different problem from simply securing enough food. Catering can be prepared correctly in the kitchen and still fail operationally if the wrong quantities are loaded, carts are misplaced, or required supplies are unavailable when the cabin crew begins service. Keeping a dedicated coordinator at the aircraft creates a final verification point while there is still time to correct an error on the ground. For passengers, the change should eventually mean that Heathrow flights return to a more conventional catering process, with meals prepared for the specific departure rather than carrying an additional load from the United States. For American, the permanent coordinator program also provides a mechanism for identifying recurring loading problems before they reach the cabin. The transition remains subject to American's stated expectations rather than guaranteed dates. If the schedule holds, October 28 will mark the end of double provisioning across the Heathrow operation, roughly seven months after the airline's original catering disruption forced the temporary workaround.