How To Preorder Meals on Alaska Airlines [First Class, Main Cabin]

Alaska Airlines is one of several U.S.-based carriers that offer preordering of meals to passengers seated in the premium cabin. Ordering your food in advance allows the airline to reserve your preferred meal and load it onto your aircraft so you get the meal you’d like.

Alaska’s system allows you to place your request within 2 weeks of travel, so you only have a relatively short window to select what you want to eat. Alaska is also one of the only U.S. carriers to offer a fruit and cheese plate to all customers during all meal windows, allowing you to have this meal no matter the time of day as an alternative to the traditional hot meals.

Alaska Airlines is actually one of the most generous domestic airlines in terms of offering meals. Catering is available on flights that are shorter than those of other airlines, making the preorder benefit that much more important!

Preordering Basics

Alaska’s preordering system allows you to see a menu for your upcoming flight and to reserve that option if you’re seated in first class. This guarantees your meal selection, and Alaska will ensure you are provided with this choice on board. While preordering is great for everyone, it’s especially important for picky eaters, those with allergies, and vegetarians.

If you don’t want to order in advance (or can’t), you’ll be left with a range of options on board, but depending on where you’re seated and when your order is taken, you may not get your first preference.

Preordering in Main Cabin and Premium Class

Alaska does not offer complimentary food in coach, but does offer buy-on-board options that you can preorder prior to your flight, with prices ranging from $8 to $11. These are for flights over 775 miles departing from 5 a.m. through 9 p.m. and include:

• Fruit and cheese platter
• Jetsetter’s Jam Sandwich
• Deli picnic pack
• Mediterranean tapas picnic pack
• Kids picnic pack

You can preorder your Main Cabin selection using the same process as for first class, entering a credit card number to pay for your selection at that time. If you forget to preorder or aren’t sure what you’d like, Alaska will usually have a limited number of items on board during the flight for you to purchase from a flight attendant using a credit or debit card. Keep in mind that supplies are limited, so it’s always best to order something prior to departure so you can ensure your favorite snack is catered.

Alaska does not offer preselection of beverages, so just wait until your plane is up in the air to select your drink of choice from the cart when it comes down the aisle.

If you’re an MVP Gold 100K member, you’re in luck, as you get to choose 1 snack for free from the buy-on-board selection. A flight attendant will know your status based on your seat assignment, and you can select an item when the flight attendant reaches your row.

If you’re in Premium Class, though you get the same paid preorder options as Main Cabin, you do get a complimentary alcoholic drink with your ticket.

Preordering in First Class

A typical first class flight offers 4 meal choices: a fruit and cheese platter, a vegetarian meal, and 2 meat-based entrees.

One of the great things about Alaska Airlines is that no matter the flight you’re on or its destination, you can always select a fruit and cheese platter, a universally popular choice for most customers. I myself am a meat eater but frequently find myself ordering the fruit and cheese plate simply because it is that tasty! This plate has 3 different types of cheese, a selection of apples and grapes, as well as chocolate. Depending on the length of flight, it also may come with a side salad and dessert. It’s a lighter and healthier option than the other entrees, and great if you’re not feeling up for a full meal.

As with most other airlines, when you preorder a meal, you select the main course only. Alaska typically provides the same side salad and bread no matter which main course you order. In addition, you can’t preorder any beverages — you pick these once you’re on board.

Special Meals

Alaska does not offer special meals on board its flights, which can be a disappointment to some flyers. While some airlines offer diabetic meals, low-salt meals, meals with religious considerations, etc., Alaska only offers the standard menu offerings.

What Flights Can You Order Preorder Meals For?

Alaska has a generous meal window on relatively low-distance flights. While it’s certainly not as good as most European or Asian carriers, which offer a meal on nearly every single flight no matter the length, you’ll find the most opportunity in the U.S. for a meal on board on Alaska.

Even the Alaska Airlines Milk Run offers a meal on one of the segments!

One thing to note is that the popular fruit and cheese plate is sometimes available on board your flight as a selection without preordering, but more often than not, only a few of these plates are loaded. Sometimes none are loaded at all, meaning the only meals you can choose from on board are the hot main courses. If you really want a fruit and cheese plate, be sure to select it with your preorder, as they’re hard to come by on board if you don’t.

What Flights Can You Not Select a Meal For?

Alaska is really good about offering preorder options, and you can actually select meals on all meal-eligible flights, even if the flight departs at an odd time or from an outstation. The airline has particularly good catering arrangements in the cities it serves, or double-caters meals on inbound flights (meaning they load meals at both the departure and arrival airports).

Further, Alaska has ovens on all of its jets, even on regional planes. If a meal is offered, there will be a hot option.

How To Preorder a Meal

Alaska’s meal selection system is actually very easy to navigate. Once you log in to your account on the Alaska Airlines website, click on the trip for which you’d like to place your meal order. Keep in mind, this “Pre-order food” button will only appear within 2 weeks of your trip. You won’t see an option before this time.

Once you select the “Pre-order food” button, you’re then taken to a screen where you can choose which flights you want to select a meal for. If you have only 1 flight in the reservation, only 1 flight will appear. If you have connecting flights, multiple flights may appear, depending on if they are meal-eligible.

One thing to note is that if you have a connecting flight and the connecting flight isn’t within the 2-week window, you need to wait until that happens before ordering your meal for that particular segment. It’s best to wait until all segments are within 2 weeks so you can select all your food at once.

Once you select the flight, a menu will appear. You can scroll through all of the options and see a description of each. Once you’ve found a meal that looks good, click the “Select” button, and your preference will be saved. That’s it!

Additional Details

If you want to go back and edit your selection, you can do so, but you need to do so more than 22 hours before your flight. Alaska has actually implemented an ingenious system for the timing for ordering your meals. Most airlines cut off ordering at 24 hours, but Alaska allows you to select a meal within 22 hours, allowing you to choose your food if your upgrade clears at the 24-hour mark, as might happen on some routes and depending on your status.

This is a very customer-friendly move, and you’ll hopefully get your selection of entree even if you clear your upgrade closer to the flight. Unfortunately, if it clears within 22 hours of the flight, you won’t be able to preorder your food at all.

One quirk in the Alaska system is that if you were seated in the Main Cabin, had preordered one of the buy-on-board meals, but then get upgraded to a first class seat, you’re still charged for the buy-on-board meal and have the option of then selecting a first class meal from the options on board. There’s no way to cancel the buy-on-board option, so you can either take it or decline it, but the charge still goes on your credit card.

Final Thoughts

Alaska Airlines offers the most generous meal system in first class of any U.S. airline, and its preordering system is one of the best, too. You can choose from several hot entrees, and a fruit and cheese platter is always available for order on every meal-eligible flight, which is great for those who want something healthier or lighter. Be sure to select your meal prior to 22 hours to departure so you can get your preferred choice!