Originally Posted by
grapegrower
And going without a meal, if the UA offering was so bad, for 14 hours across the Pacific is not the end of the world.
I think there are few people who would agree with this view. Pay $1500+ (Y) or $3000-10,000 (J) and get served what UA serves. And I have some data to back up that your view is a distinct minority...
JD Power looked at international service ex-USA and released a report in December. It looked at flights to/from Europe/Asia and found this:
"Great food—the spicier the better—plus good customer service and a positive track record are the primary drivers of passenger satisfaction on international airline flights. In a stark departure from the price-driven culture of domestic airline customer behavior, the J.D. Power 2019 Airline International Destination Satisfaction Study,SM released today, finds that cost and fees are notably less important than in-flight services when it comes to delighting passengers on international flights."
adding further:
"“A low fare may be the best way to attract a first-time international passenger,” said
Michael Taylor, Travel Intelligence Lead at J.D. Power, “but retaining passengers on routes to Europe and Asia is all about delighting customers with great in-flight experiences. One of the most powerful ways to do that is with food and beverage offerings that are unique to the airline’s culture and that manage to deliver flavor at altitude, where it has been proven that taste buds grow less sensitive.”
And:
"
In-flight services—especially food and beverage—are key to passenger satisfaction: In-flight services, such as food and beverage and in-flight entertainment, are the primary drivers of passenger satisfaction among international travelers. On flights to Europe and Asia, more than half of the overall in-flight passenger experience is dictated by food and beverage. In-flight services are more important to passengers bound for Asia or Europe; whereas passenger satisfaction with long-haul flights within North America is more of a value proposition primarily driven by cost and fees."
And oh,
United airlines is the absolute bottom for international travel ex-USA of the pacific carriers (I can't find the chart for the European carriers, perhaps someone can):
We can argue all we want about if it matters, but the leading customer satisfaction survey, one that is relentlessly promoted in advertisements, says United is LAST...
link is here:
https://www.jdpower.com/business/pre...sfaction-study