New York CNN —If you took an American Airlines flight in the 1960s, you’d be wined and dined from the Coach-class “Royal Coachman” menu. “Meal service was once a point of pride,” said Henry Harteveldt, who covers the travel industry for Atmosphere Research Group. Meal service was a big focus of [competition] because entertainment options were more limited,” Harteveldt said. The September 11 attacks accelerated the decline of free airline meals. Airline meals had been the brunt of jokes and criticism for decades, but now people miss them.

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Persons: you’d, ”, Henry Harteveldt, Peter Stackpole, Robert Crandall, Blaise Waguespack, It’s, Beef, ” Harteveldt, Rob Welham, Molly Brandt Organizations: New, New York CNN, American Airlines, Atmosphere Research, Pan American Airline, Shutterstock Airlines, Carriers, Singapore Airlines, Michelin, Embry, Riddle Aeronautical University, ”, Smithsonian, ” Airlines, “ Airlines, British Airways, Camera, Airlines, Continental Airlines, North America, mojo Locations: New York, Daytona Beach , Florida, Delta, North