Kacee

The F/J breakfast has to change. It's always the same on all my flights (int'l and ps). Why can't they rotate in a couple of different choices?

They're doing something right with the fish in BF. Don't mess this up, these are the only edible entrees IMO.

Upgrade the ice cream quality. I won't eat the sundae. That's not real ice cream.

Dare I even mention the coffee? Please please please change to something drinkable. Have you tried WN's coffee? It's awesome.

mahasamatman

Are you one of the judges on Chopped? Trying to turn airline meals into fine dining is really puuting lipstick on a (dead) pig. If United spends even one penny on any of these items, it's too much.

Not just on p.s. This applies to all flights in all classes of service.

Personally, I'd like to see healthier options - United's meals tend to have a full week's supply of sugar, fat, and salt.

eng3

In general, just more variety. ie. I hate the burger, but some people love it.

Also, focus on foods that can be reheated well. Alot of asian food, fried food will severely degrade in quality when reheated. Steak and potatoes, braised meat, pasta, meatballs, etc can fair pretty well. Basically, if you can't do it well, don't try. Season food more.

Hill713

Finally. Every trip survey I fill out I mention food offerings.

Ordering online or through the App would be great, especially if this keeps them from running out or not stocking the only thing on the menu you are interested in.

Personally when I am in economy, I prefer sandwiches. More options and better portions would be great. I don't need a 40 oz bag of chex mix, but a sanwhich that is on par with a Jimmy Johns/Subway would be nice. Especially if you have a 3 hour flight and worked all day with no food breaks.

If not upgraded, I always end up spending $15 and carrying something on, I would gladly buy from United... IF I knew what I wanted would be available.

eunduklee

i think its time for a change. everything in the menu should be changed quarterly. -.- even the army provides more varieties daily.

demkr

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 7_0_6 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/537.51.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.0 Mobile/11B651 Safari/9537.53)

Please start allowing 1Ks to get a free snack and drink since we're in the back most of the time now.

It'd go a long way.

Basically what everyone else said: a little variety would be grately appreciated and noticed.

Breakfasts: Portion is too small- snack basket should be added to some of these meals.

Lunch: The meals are not complete now that you got rid of fruit and salad. On main salad entrees, one tiny dressing is not enough.

Dinners are actually pretty decent. Please just note that competitors are not doing things like cutting appetizers and cashew sizes.

Oh, and how about actual meals on regional jet F? (Like your competitors serve)

eng3

and/or allow the drink chits to be used for snacks.

zebranz

The management should have to eat the meals for a week.

They might understand a bit more of what the business traveler has to "accept."

Their truthful comments will tell them what is needed.

One can only hope.

qukslvr619

With all due respect, how is the feedback from this thread going to get back to the bean counters? I mean you could have 300 responses of bringing back proper transcon meals, actual food on Express, etc. but in reality how much weight does UA put into responses from Flyertalk anymore? Wouldn't a survey sent out to a large sample of F flyers be more approrpriate?

I just don't see how the managing director of global catering (which incidentally there is a VP of Food Services and underneath that a Mng Dir Food & Beverage Planning/Design) would actually care about any feedback from here in light of the fact that we've been complaining for 3+ years and any changes are part of $2B in cost reductions.

And if I am wrong about any of that and they are actually listening.....if they could at least restore quality/standards/menu options to pmCO I would be happy.

JT_BOS

Is this supposed to help the $2B+ cut? If they "improve" the menu, something else has to give...

golfingboy

What is a good airline meal by domestic standards? The CO transcon meal offering for flights over 2,300 miles.

For breakfast meals, which IMO is UA's worst mainline offering, offer roasted red potatoes cooked with rosemary, real scrambled eggs [none of that liquid stuff] or omelet with peppers, onions and sharp cheddar, greek yogurt along with the bread basket.

Some other ideas for the main:

Vanilla french toast slightly sprinkled with powdered sugar along with sausage links and squash or sweet potatoes on the side and a bottle of maple syrup.

Zucchini stuffed pancakes with a nice side.

That would be a decent breakfast offering as long as fresh ingredients are being used.

I have a couple more ideas for Lunch/Dinner flights, but got to get back to work.

Another issue with UA F service that I will keep hitting is the pathetic UA Express F service. Booze selection can be improved, we do not need 4 similar whisky based options [Jim Beam, Jack, Dewars, and Crown Royal]. Look at Delta's onboard booze selection, that is a very good and diversified booze list.

cwgators22

Agreed.

I'm also not a fan of any of the recent soups.

cerealmarketer

First and foremost - Be creative - the best food doesn't cost substantially more than otherwise mediocre. It's the combinations that make it interesting.

1. PS. Take a good hard look at what Delta is doing in its Business Class cabin on the JFK-SFO/LAX/SEA flights. They offer at least one $20/bottle grade wine and offer a menu that is distinct from the international flights. Filled with bold flavors like garlic dipping sauce and large format appetizers that probably don't cost much more to cater than what UA does today. These are also now their most profitable flights.

2. International. Gold standard for cost vs quality appears to be Alitalia in my experience (don't laugh unless you've flown it). Yes they serve from the cart, which may save on cost, but do a nice job of offering something substantial but elegant in an efficient manner. Wines again, have at least one red in the $20/bottle range. Main courses on United are good, but there is not enough rotation.

3. Domestic 1,200 mile+ flights. This is the toughest nut to crack, and the most dismal today. At minimum provide soup at both lunch and dinner. It's a low-cost crowd pleaser. Then, fix the main courses. Burrito just looks cheap. As does a salad that's nothing but basic tomatoes, shrimp, and cheap lettuce. It might taste okay but looks just dreadful. At minimum AA provides some variety and attempt at 'this is a dinner' for the main courses. And offer something more substantial for non-PS transcons. People spending $2,000RT for SFO-BOS deserve better.

What can be cut?

Maybe take some away from the 'snack' service presentation and put that money into the mealtime meals. This Cathay snack is low on portion size but high on aesthetic using the same grade of ingredients United uses today:

http://www.airlinemeals.net/img/ligh...haypacific.jpg

Though my guess is setup is more labor intensive which may be the cost issue.

A fascinating experiment would be to try the kind of meals served on intra-Europe business class. Light but well presented. But I suspect that will go down poorly with the heartland flyers, though you could try American-palate friendly foods like Southern / TexMex inspired dishes.

Pat89339

Does anyone eat that cooked tomato on the breakfast plate? Ugh. Get rid of them and you'd save a hefty chunk of the $2B.

I think there should be a greater differentiation between domestic first and international first/business food. Looking at the menu, it seems to be the same offerings for the mains. Nothing more disappointing than being handed a menu that describes the food you've been eating on domestic flights week in and week out.

I have to order a special meal on my flights this month because of the one choice in business is the peppercorn steak. I don't eat beef. Sunday's Hindu meal was spaghetti with carrots and broccoli They need to get a handle on the special meal catering.

UA-NYC

Or how about offering up the (very nice looking) breakfast that's only available as BOB on flights to/from Hawaii?

https://hub.united.com/en-us/news/pr...oice-menu.aspx
https://www.united.com/web/en-US/con...nomy/menu.aspx

In addition, a bistro scramble – featuring scrambled eggs, potatoes, ham, bell peppers and cheddar cheese – and a lunch and dinner chicken stir fry – made with chicken breast, zucchini, carrots and green onions over steamed rice – are available on flights between Hawaii and Chicago, Newark, Houston and Washington, D.C.