Originally Posted by
canadiancow
I'm on board United 217 SFO-SAN. Mechanical delay - 90+ minutes.
I paid for first class. Like 5 of the other people. Unlike 10 of them.
I was not offered a pre-departure beverage.
I was offered one beverage in-flight.
I finally managed to ask for a second one while we are at 30k feet and I was told there was not time.
I live in SFO, spend $25k USD per year on flights, and Air Canada gets the vast majority of my business.
I wonder why.
UA may be slightly less consistent than AC in offering PDB's, but their offerings are better, as you can order anything you want. I've flown a roughly equal split of UA vs. AC over the past year, and I'd say AC is 90%+ in offering a PDB for domestic flights, but it's only water or OJ, and UA is 80%+ but with a wider selection. Sounds like your flight is in the minority.
Both have room to improve on pre-departure beverage consistency, but I'll still take an 80+% chance at any type of drink over a 90+% chance of water/OJ, as I do like being able to get a mimosa, coffee, glass of wine or G&T as a PDB on UA domestic/NA flights.