EWR-LAX (UA2403)
787-10
12/18/2024
6A

This was my first time experiencing Premium Transcontinental Service on UA. Pictures first, followed by observations/notes.


Warm nuts and cranberry/orange juice.


Flat iron steak/potatoes/asparagus, salad, burrata appetizer, and roll.


Sundae+cheese.


Pre-arrival meal of Maryland crab cakes and melon salad.

Observations/notes:

• The whole crew were incredibly friendly and approachable—full of smiles. Impeccable, really. Service was a bit slow, though, not sure why. It took about 1.5-2 hours for the whole service to finish. However, the crew were gracious and helpful, and made sure my needs were satisfied. I was fortunate to get a friendly crew, not the type to just mail it in.
• No table linen. No printed menus, either. Not sure if that's a catering/crew error or if printed menus aren't provisioned on premium transcontinental flights?
• Steak was pretty good. A bit hard to cut through, chewy, and no pink center, but was decent. Sauce was too spicy for my taste.
  • UA should serve the sauce in a ramekin a la DL/AA. They already have a smaller ramekin on the tray for butter; why not use that same size ramekin for sauces? Looks much classier, IMHO.
• Burrata appetizer wasn't bad, maybe a bit too "rich/heavy". Didn't finish it.
• Unlike most who weren't impressed by the roll, I was impressed. The roll was delicious. Would have been even better if it came warmed. I asked for another one, but the crew was so busy that by the time they stopped to pick up my tray, I had finished my meal and had my fill.
• Warmed nuts were pretty good, but IMHO AA has the edge. AA's warm nuts are also more sizable in portion.
• The sundae was so good. Only feedback is to add berry sauce and heat the fudge, like AA does. Otherwise, perfectly decadent!
• Maryland crab cakes were really good. Had a weird smell to it, but was perfectly decent. Watermelon and regular melon slices were fresh and tasty.
• No snack basket observed, is this a feature or bug? Just wondering—had more than enough food.

I also plan to write a full trip report, including my first-time visit to the C123 UC, so will link to it here as soon as I finish.

Overall: impressed. The meal and fixings had an edge over my AA F meal last year on JFK-LAX, but AA had better warmed nuts and sundaes. Overall, a wash, but I was really impressed with the UC and service was definitely better and warmer on this flight, so probably giving this flight a small edge over my AA experience last year.