The meal allowance is exactly that! It is clearly laid out in the manual how it is worked out dependant on time ‘on station’.
My friend in P&L is partially responsible for allowances at some of the hotels. If an allowance drops, it’s because P&L have negotiated a bigger crew discount not because he is feeling tight. Some of our colleagues comments about him and his team are a little disingenuous!!! He has targets set by his boss and the 9th. He either hits his targets or looks for another job!!! What would you do???
Personally, we have a few nationalities for whom the ‘meal’ allowance is considered part of their salary and therefore constantly moan. For me, it’s beer tokens or a duty free allowance provided by EK.
We have far more pressing issues!