XLR26

I'm guessing meal service has been reduced/cut as a cost savings measure by mgmt, not because the FA's won't serve the food.

FriendlySkies

+1

When I flew IAD-ORD in 2010, they were offering the old fruit and cheese plate..

rch4u

What do you mean, there's no time for a meal service? Up until about 2 years ago, the flight attendants had no problems pulling off a full lunch and dinner service on the 777s that used to operate on the route.

After that, the meal was downgraded to the fruit and cheese snack - again, no problems serving it. Now, it's just the snack basket.

Uaflyer710

So what's the deal with the UX F snack box , my flight to ord is 3+hours long , I would think we would get a snack box , also can I expect pre departure drinks ? On UX as well?

MarkedMan

Indeed, just did FRA-LHR on BA C last week, about a 60 minute flight, seafood cold meal tray served (I have a standing seafood special meal pref on BA) with two drinks rounds, 24 people in the C cabin. Completed with plenty of time to spare.

catocony

To clarify:

Foreign airlines do it because they value service. I've had meals on LHR-FRA quite a few times, as well as FRA-CDG, GIG-POA, short flights in and out of NRT.

As far as US airlines, is there time? Sure, there used to be. Before your average FA age crept well over 50 years old, it was common. Today, I haven't seen a real meal service on a short flight in several years. The excuse I get is "security" or some such crap.

You can say it's to cut back, but how much does a meal cost the airline? A few bucks? It's simply a sign that good service is not high on the list of things a US airline provides anymore. A cheap ticket is what you pay for and it's what you get, and it's people who pay for Y tickets or paid F and C who get reamed.

flugvergnugen

.....

ORDnHKG

It was a partial full meal, lunch or dinner serve the same thing, and it was a cold meal. And the meal only exist on flights during meal times. I remembered sometimes it was cold chicken breast plate with potatoes (I specifically remembered that on the schedule 744 flying on this route for a short time), and sometimes it was the salad (original salad, no warm steak or chicken as topping, just basic chef sald or cobb salad)


There is always a meal even on short flights with UA back then or currently, it is just about domestic or international. As short as ICN-NRT-ICN, it has a meal on UA in F and C. You said you had done short flights out of NRT, then you should already known about that.



So what's the problem ? Can you be courteous to others and wait til the second round ?

I would be mad when the snack basket come to me and no more toblerone or pop chips left because of pax in front take 2 or 3 servings to themselves.

Madisonman39

I came back home from NRT yesterday through ORD to DCA, not IAD, but still WAS. If you are going to Washington, DCA is much easier to get in and out of than IAD. Normal seats, snacks in a basket--but a great flight crew--on this two class plane. I was using an SWU and was upgraded on my last leg at the gate.

exerda

You get a special "ExPlus" snack box in F on a UX flight of that length typically (IIRC, it needs to be ~2.5+ hours for the snack box in F to be offered, though YMMV). It's nothing special (very similar contents to the BOB boxes offered in Y on mainline flights), but beats getting nothing.

PDB on UX in F is typically a midget water bottle IME. You can always request something else, but the FA may not even be able to easily get to the drink cart during boarding on the CR7 and E170s.


Depends on the foreign airline. I've been impressed by some domestic service on foreign carriers (LH's subsidiary EN comes to mind, and LH themselves to a degree), yet on others (yes, SN and JK, I am thinking of you), the domestic experience is poor, with Y pax having to pay for everything (even a cup of water) and C--typically just Y seats with the middle seat blocked anyway--maybe offering a stale snack baggie and a soda.

TWAB747nomore

The route is nothing to ride home about it is max a 2 hour flight you get your beverage and maybe a light snack.

standard shorthual first.


You want more Fly AA they do real service on DCA to ORD routes. but frankly that is a short enough flight i don't need meal service.

and besides the domestic food is only OK

ande777emt

SQ can do a meal service on SIN-KUL, a 55 minute 196 mile flight in an A330; granted this is UA we're talking about, I wouldn't expect them to be capable of pulling it off these days.

NRT-ICN comes in about 200 miles longer, but compared to OZ and NH on the same route, their meal service is light and disappointing.

SkyTeam777

Why does the web site and mobile site say light snack instead of refreshments in first on some of these routes then? Seems very misleading. If you want to degrade the product then fine, but communicate that to the customer. Even IAD-BOS says light snack in first instead of refreshments.

Ari

What do they actually do on the IAD-BOS flights?

atcguy

IAD-BOS is Scones in the am, and Popchips/Nuts/Toblerone basket in the afternoon/evening.