Flying from Hartford to Chicago this past week, I ordered a kosher meal. One issue with kashrut is the meat-vs-dairy distinction (all utensils can only be used for one or the other, never both); most airlines solve the dilemma by using plastic utensils.

But United has a better idea: kosher meals come with brand new cutlery! That way it doesn't matter if the current meal is meat or dairy (that is, the "sex" of the cutlery will be determined by the current meal), and after the meal flight attendants will simply mix the cutlery with the rest of the used stuff, which gets recycled to the rest of the flyers who don't care about the cutlery's prior usage. What a great solution to avoid passengers having to use plastic (especially in first class)...and better for the environment, too!

BTW, I usually don't bother ordering kosher meals, but it was Passover and I didn't want to deal with leavened bread products. Imagine my surprise when the meal (breakfast) came with a forbidden bagel. Maybe next United can come up with kosher bacon and shrimp for us?!

[This message has been edited by johna (edited 04-29-2000).]