Five Tips To Guide Your Airline Dining

There are still places where the food is interesting

I grew up as an airline child. My papa, Frank H. Maynard, was the director of operations for American Airlines in Detroit. He and my mother traveled a lot and my brother and I occasionally went along.

Airline employees fly non-rev, or non-revenue. Flights are free, except for the tax, and you take open seats. When I was growing up, employees and family members were required to wear business attire. I had beautiful coats with matching dresses from Best & Co. My brother wore suits and toted a child sized briefcase.

Under ideal circumstances, the seats are in first class, and you enjoy a direct trip from Point A to Point B. Under less than ideal circumstances, you end up the back of the plane, or you have to take a convoluted route, or you do not even get on.

We once flew back from California via Dallas and New York, which made for a long travel day. My father and I once tried to fly from Detroit to Austin, where my grandmother lived with my aunt and her family. We got to Dallas, but there were no seats on the puddle jumper, and we ended up taking a bus. I can check Tyler and Waco off my list.

If we were lucky, though, it meant comfortable seats and a gourmet meal.