UA 863 SFO - SYD
April 16 J class

Meal quality went down noticeably for me since my previous flight on this route in January.

Last trip, I had a steak tenderloin with Sauce Delmonico that was tender and tasty. The red wine served was awful. The bottle had gone off, and the crew didn't seem to understand or care.

This trip, the beef option was short ribs that were fatty and had bone splinters in the meat. The mashed potatoes had a bad aftertaste, like freezer burn, and the string beans were very overcooked. The
Chateau Martinot 2010 Bordeaux red was quite tasty this time, and flight crew was excellent.

I find that if I combine the good parts of every three to five trips, UA comes off as an excellent carrier. But if I focus on combining the bad experiences on every three to five trips, then UA is pretty awful. Most trips appear to combine some aspects that are very good with others that are very bad, and this includes meal services.

To the earlier poster who asked whether the Int. J menus were different from other W. Coast to Pacific J food, I would say the difference is that Asian dishes are not offered on the Oz menus.