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General discussion of UA's inflight service (Domestic / Int?l, all cabins) {Archive}

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Old May 11, 2022, 1:38 pm
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This us an archive thread, the active thread is General discussion of UA's inflight service (Domestic / International, all cabins)
previous thread: COVID Era UA inflight service changes


Thread is for general discussion of the state of UA in-flight service / catering, comparison to other carriers, past UA offerings and concerns with management decisions.

For a specific post about a recent in-flight food, use the appropriate Let's Eat .... thread.

The current Onboard Service descriptions by UA.com

Long-haul international premium cabin dining
North America, Caribbean and Latin America premium cabin dining
United Economy dining

Since the UA website is extremely vague, I'm looking for a few volunteers to submit data, and I will summarize to complete the wiki. kind regards, phkc070408

Domestic Under 300 Miles

Sample 1
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?

Sample 2
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?

Sample 3
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?

Sample 4
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?

Sample 5
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?


Domestic Over 300 Miles Under 800 Miles

Sample 1
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?

Sample 2
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?

Sample 3
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?

Sample 4
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?

Sample 5
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?

Domestic Over 800 Miles

Sample 1
Route? Morning or Afternoon or Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket?

Sample 2
Route? Morning or Afternoon or Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket?

Sample 3
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening/. or Late Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket?

Sample 4
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Late Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket?

Sample 5
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Late Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket?

P-Tcon

Sample 1
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket/Pre-Arrival?
Any other notes of relevance?

​​​​​​​Sample 2
​​​​​​​Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket/Pre-Arrival?
Any other notes of relevance?

​​​​​​​Sample 3
​​​​​​​Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket/Pre-Arrival?
Any other notes of relevance?

​​​​​​​Sample 4
​​​​​​​Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket/Pre-Arrival?
Any other notes of relevance?

​​​​​​​Sample 5
​​​​​​​Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket/Pre-Arrival?
Any other notes of relevance?

Polaris USA - Europe

​​​​​​​Sample 1
​​​​​​​Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Menu?
Hot Towels?
First Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Appetizer / Desert Info:
Snack Basket/Mid-Flight Snack?
Arrival Meal? Short Description.
Any other notes of relevance?

​​​​​​​Sample 2
​​​​​​​Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Menu?
​​​​​​​Hot Towels?
First Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Appetizer / Desert Info:
Snack Basket/Mid-Flight Snack?
Arrival Meal? Short Description.
Any other notes of relevance?

​​​​​​​Sample 3
​​​​​​​Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Menu?
​​​​​​​Hot Towels?
First Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Appetizer / Desert Info:
Snack Basket/Mid-Flight Snack?
Arrival Meal? Short Description.
Any other notes of relevance?

​​​​​​​Sample 4
​​​​​​​Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Menu?
​​​​​​​Hot Towels?
First Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Appetizer / Desert Info:
Snack Basket/Mid-Flight Snack?
Arrival Meal? Short Description.
Any other notes of relevance?

​​​​​​​Sample 5
​​​​​​​Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Menu?
​​​​​​​Hot Towels?
First Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Appetizer / Desert Info:
Snack Basket/Mid-Flight Snack?
Arrival Meal? Short Description.
Any other notes of relevance?

Related thread: How bad does onboard catering need to get before UA invests in improving it?
​​​​​​​

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General discussion of UA's inflight service (Domestic / Int値, all cabins) {Archive}

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Old Apr 12, 2022 | 11:07 am
  #781  
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Originally Posted by RobOnLI
Yes, printed menus are supposed to be coming back....to offer the same really horrible food choices that have plagued Polaris for years now. I was told they were coming April 1 but I guess they pushed that date back, too.
Actually, the menu choices are being shaken up as well with an entirely new service ... more details and the menu choices in my post upthread Post 3729 . April 1 started the new service on all flights to/from India and Israel - it's actually good to see that picture of the printed menu live, as it proves it happened. Following surveys and refinements the options will be rolled out across all Polaris markets/flights in the coming months.

On the wine list front, I have benefitted so much in the last few flights of a single stray bottle of a good wine - Paul Hobbs, Stuhlmuller, Flowers - that I'd take a random high quality selection rather than a standardized lower quality option!

Looking forward to hearing here or on Let's Eat when someone flying TLV or DEL gets to post pictures of this new service.
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Old Apr 17, 2022 | 8:14 pm
  #782  
 
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Mine as well bring a can of Kroger ravioli and call it a day
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Old Apr 18, 2022 | 4:32 pm
  #783  
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In looking through the pictures, I think the all-in-one casserole dish is killing the appearance of food. If they went back to the previous method of plating the components on the round plate, it will at least look half way decent.

However, nothing can save the greed cube.

Originally Posted by tcdtcd
I don稚 think I致e ever seen 摘WR-based crew and 殿mazing in the same sentence!😱

(unless it was 殿mazingly bad)😂
Well, if they were former-JFK-now-EWR crew, or at least the senior EWR crew, then they can be really good.
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Old Apr 18, 2022 | 5:20 pm
  #784  
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Originally Posted by Cthunder86
Mine as well bring a can of Kroger ravioli and call it a day
It actually looks like those frozen microwave packs of ravioli. The casserole dish cheapens the look.

Having said that I致e been okay with most pasta dishes served on board. And I know I am being kind.
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Old Apr 18, 2022 | 5:26 pm
  #785  
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Originally Posted by bmwe92fan
I might order the UA food just to report on it -- I'll try to skip breakfast in the LHR UC but they do make a mean sausage so no promises....
I would NEVER skip the food in the LHR UC for the slop onboard... (time permitting, of course).
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Old Apr 18, 2022 | 6:03 pm
  #786  
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Originally Posted by seanp7
I would NEVER skip the food in the LHR UC for the slop onboard... (time permitting, of course).
Well unfortunately I値l not be able to choose because UA royally messed up my ticket tonight - I showed up at Bahrain airport to check in for my flight to LHR on GF and they said I have no ticket - I called GS and they said it痴 all good - gulf air said UA is wrong (and gulf air was right) - so I知 now heading to Frankfurt on a narrow body with no boarding pass home - will have to fight my way to the gate - but I will try the meal and post it even if it kills me - if I even make it to the plane - much less into business class!
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Old Apr 18, 2022 | 9:04 pm
  #787  
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Originally Posted by bmwe92fan
Well unfortunately I値l not be able to choose because UA royally messed up my ticket tonight - I showed up at Bahrain airport to check in for my flight to LHR on GF and they said I have no ticket - I called GS and they said it痴 all good - gulf air said UA is wrong (and gulf air was right) - so I知 now heading to Frankfurt on a narrow body with no boarding pass home - will have to fight my way to the gate - but I will try the meal and post it even if it kills me - if I even make it to the plane - much less into business class!
There are plenty of reports from others out of LHR and FRA so no need to be a hero. It is a slightly more "improved" service that they are testing so will look slightly better. Good luck with your flights
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Old Apr 18, 2022 | 10:17 pm
  #788  
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Originally Posted by PTahCha
In looking through the pictures, I think the all-in-one casserole dish is killing the appearance of food.
.
Others have commented upthread that it looks like a dog dish...
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Old Apr 18, 2022 | 10:48 pm
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{T}his LH premium catering is absolute rubbish.
I have flown Air NZ, Qantas, Virgin Atlantic and Singapore in last 2 months - all have Business catering vastly to superior to United Polaris. I think they are treating you collectively like a sure thing and have no motivation to improve because as their HVCs you tolerate it. Its swill .

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Apr 18, 2022 at 11:13 pm Reason: Discuss the issue but not the poster(s) -- FT Rule 12.2
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Old Apr 20, 2022 | 6:30 am
  #790  
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Originally Posted by eng3
Does it really take another FA to use a different plate or having an appetizer plate, or a bowl of ice cream instead of candy bar? There are alot of things that can be done without more labor onboard

I suppose having the sundae cart would require another FA or more time to do the service
Yes.

The casserole dish ("dog bowl") approach takes very little labor. Dishes are just put in oven, take the cover off, and serve. Plated service means individual containers of components are heated, then each component is individually placed onto a plate. Better quality all around.

A bowl of ice cream doesn't really take much more labor, but the former sundae service, with individual toppings on request, does. And again, it is a significantly better, with choice of toppings, warmed (or at least room temp), instead of a frozen block of pre-made serving.

The cut in staffing on Intl flights is the big news story out of all of this. It impacts every part of the soft service, and will not be easily reversed.
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Old Apr 20, 2022 | 2:52 pm
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I am usually a lurker and hardly ever post. I'm flying Polaris on the new route to Amman in June and came on here to see the status of the catering for Polaris. I just have one question. Do United execs ever read this forum? You would think they would be utterly embarrassed. I flew Polaris to Europe twice this fall (IAD-BRU and IAD-BRU, ATH-IAD) and the catering was so pathetic both times that I made a comment to one of the FA's on how bad it was. His response was "well I've been on other carriers and heard that our catering is really quite good." I rolled my eyes and mumbled something like..."well I guess those folks have never flown Qatar or Singapore." His comment back..."well you really can't compare us to government run airlines." Nope, you sure can't.
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Old Apr 20, 2022 | 3:17 pm
  #792  
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Originally Posted by goodeats21
Yes.

The casserole dish ("dog bowl") approach takes very little labor. Dishes are just put in oven, take the cover off, and serve. Plated service means individual containers of components are heated, then each component is individually placed onto a plate. Better quality all around.

A bowl of ice cream doesn't really take much more labor, but the former sundae service, with individual toppings on request, does. And again, it is a significantly better, with choice of toppings, warmed (or at least room temp), instead of a frozen block of pre-made serving.

The cut in staffing on Intl flights is the big news story out of all of this. It impacts every part of the soft service, and will not be easily reversed.
If the food was decent, and not the equivalent of something that would be served in Y, I wouldn't have beef (no pun intended) with the casserole dish. But the portions are smaller (in order to fit in the dish), the food doesn't cook evenly resulting in cold or burnt items (vegetable/sides really should be separate from meat when heated up), and it's by no means a premium offering. The excuse of it being a result of cutting staffing is ridiculous. The FA's still have to pull food out of the ovens and put it on a tray; if they did it the old way by plopping a cup of vegetables and/or side, and then doing the same with the meat/protein/pasta its not going to add 30 mins of extra effort. They've cut so many other elements that the whole service flow drinks/meal/collect could be done in half of the time than it was being done during the BusinessFirst and early Polaris days. They could easily improve what's offered and still have a shorter service flow than pre-CoVid.
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Old Apr 20, 2022 | 7:11 pm
  #793  
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Originally Posted by qukslvr619
If the food was decent, and not the equivalent of something that would be served in Y, I wouldn't have beef (no pun intended) with the casserole dish. But the portions are smaller (in order to fit in the dish), the food doesn't cook evenly resulting in cold or burnt items (vegetable/sides really should be separate from meat when heated up), and it's by no means a premium offering. The excuse of it being a result of cutting staffing is ridiculous. The FA's still have to pull food out of the ovens and put it on a tray; if they did it the old way by plopping a cup of vegetables and/or side, and then doing the same with the meat/protein/pasta its not going to add 30 mins of extra effort. They've cut so many other elements that the whole service flow drinks/meal/collect could be done in half of the time than it was being done during the BusinessFirst and early Polaris days. They could easily improve what's offered and still have a shorter service flow than pre-CoVid.
If I'm in a good mood and want to become depressed instead, I just come to this discussion thread to see how terrible UA Polaris has become. It really is sad as at one time it was usually a good experience. Obviously no one at UA cares in the least and probably never will.
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Old Apr 20, 2022 | 7:25 pm
  #794  
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Originally Posted by kimba1355
I am usually a lurker and hardly ever post. I'm flying Polaris on the new route to Amman in June and came on here to see the status of the catering for Polaris. I just have one question. Do United execs ever read this forum? You would think they would be utterly embarrassed. I flew Polaris to Europe twice this fall (IAD-BRU and IAD-BRU, ATH-IAD)
Even if they read their conclusion would be: these folks are only moaning about the food but still fly with us, so why bother - let's keep the current service standards...


Just saying
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Old Apr 24, 2022 | 9:25 pm
  #795  
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Sofar, we have two reports of menus showing: DEL and TLV, both to/from EWR. Looking fwd to reports from addl routes, incl TATL.
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