We hardly just offer a tray to every pax. The pax also chooses from a beverage, which isnt as simple for most people as you may think
, mainly because when people are getting something for free they tend to take a bit longer to decide.
In the case that its a non breakfast service, we follow the "tray delivering service" with tea and coffee, whilst juggling numerous 2nd drink requests, and then the desert service. On a 737 with just 2 crew "handing out trays" this can take up to 1.5 hours. Clearing in, which is usually done before ice creams, is done with up to 3 carts.
Im not saying any service is easier than the next but dont brush off the fact that a full service carrier just hand out meals to everyone which would make it easier. I also rearrange the tray with small gestures, eg moving the tea cup handle outwards. Every second counts when you're on a full flight and you're still clearing in when top of decent comes!
