Me too. Plus, some of the descriptions are weak and a second choice may turn out to be better. The FA's often give me a big smile and a thank you (and maybe a little extra vodka in my drink?) :)

The UA way is better, especially with CO's proclivity toward having one choice be red meat. I don't want to end up with nothing to eat, especially since $MI/J took away the option to get BOB brought up for free along with our pillows.

Also, even the cheese lasagna option wasn't particularly good - sickly sweet tomato sauce.

In my experience, all the hype about CO's food is just that - hype. UA has been consistently better and I often have no choice anyway on CO, as one of the choices is usually red meat (which is not usually the case on UA).

^^^^^^

I love that chicken. It is one of the best airline food dishes on any carrier in any class on any route. Just lovely really.

"Fair" is in this as in most cases subjective.

To someone with no status or little status who buys up to 1st (TOD, Miles, etc) only to learn they are still second class fliers could very well deter them from the marginal spend in the future. To them "Fair" might be for TOD to get meal choice before Elite (since they "paid" for it with tens of dollars).

Before I flew regularly I did not think 1st worth it. The occasional upgrade as a Silver led me to appreciate it. That aspiration works wonders.

I dont think meal order is the biggest deal, but IMO front to back seems a pretty good way of doing things (actual AA's F-B & B-F by direction might be best).

Risk losing a few tens of dollars over the significant revenue paid F and proven repeat revenue that high status pax bring? That's an easy choice every single time. @:-)


We'll have to agree to disagree on that, as front-to-back seems a silly, arbitrary way of doing it.

I believe that United's method is preferable. I just don't see the logic of seat location taking preference over the higher revenue customers.

I have usually gotten my choice but occasionally have to deal with no first choice. As I am more intolerant of the cheese-based dishes than the OP, I occasionally have to just tell the FA "in that case, nothing, thank you." I always have a granola bar or something in my carry-on and can survive a few hours without being fed. The first class FAs often scramble to find something to substitute. The last time it happened, they had an extra crew meal that was going unused so I got that. It was the best meal I have ever had on a domestic flight. :p

The point is, we are talking about a <$10.00 microwave meal during a 4-5 hour flight. Missing it is not a tragedy.

The only way a Star Allinace Gold or Silver (Not counting CO) would be in F is on a paid or award ticket.

United's procedure works best, when executed correctly.
 

It just makes more sense to honor meal requests based on status. However, I totally understand not wanting to have status revealed in an awkward manner. It's absurd to jump around the cabin to obvious super elites when taking meal orders (try flying AC); it also wastes time. It's much nicer when FAs take meal orders in order by row, but prioritize discreetly by status. That way, no one knows for sure who received their first choice and who didn't.

I really hope the new United doesn't decide to go with CO's style of order taking. Like several other wonderful CO procedures that were attempted to be imposed upon us, this would be another change that I'd complain about until they changed it back.

The ONLY way -- no, the most likely- yes.
With *A elites are not eligible for UDU, they can do *A mileage upgrades and do occasionally get op-ups. Plus they can be sponsored with SWUs/CR1s.

There are a half-dozen threads on this already...And they all fall along party lines. Most CO flyers prefer the egalitarian CO way, and UA flyers prefer the UA way.

I'll put my $0.02 in again, in as simple terms as possible:

I like row 6 on the 757. I like row 10 on the 747, and the last row on just about every aircraft. Should I never get my meal choice because I like the back of the cabin?

While we are talking about a crappy meal at 30,000 feet...There are people that aren't going to get their choice. Shouldn't there be something more to it than the arbitrary seat you were assigned to (or chose for yourself?)

I don't mind at all 'losing out' to GS or paid F when I'm upgraded (I too occasionally fly paid C or F). However, I do think there should be some preference given to the most frequent flyers or those that pay the most...To me, that is the fairest way.

I'm not sure I agree with this. On the contrary, it gives them a reason to shoot higher, if they think they're going to be a semi-regular flier. A no-status flier who TOD buys up and thinks they're equal, or not equal, to everyone else may not understand the system, but that doesn't mean the system is broken. The sort who blows up over that is probably not the type who would play the game anyway.

I do agree there. Giving away a little piece of the good stuff - once in a while - does more to drag people in than any marketing pitch will. It worked on me. :D CO certainly doesn't seem to get that (plus they don't seem to want to reward those at the top, anyway)

I've never understood why the AA way is so celebrated. Is it an attempt to mix things up, re: who often gets their first choice? As in, the frequently fliers are not always going to be in row 1 on F-B flights, because people who don't know the game might pick their favorite row out of habit? It seems like those in the know will pick a seat that puts them in the front of the line regardless.

I agree. The flights I am generally on (TPAC on UA) are done where the FA's go front to back and sort out the status in the galley. Seems pretty painless to me and while a small perk to be assured of getting your first choice meal, it is nice for those that are spending a lot of money with the airline.

In almost every UA flight I've taken since the start of the year that had meal service in F, it's been front to back. A handful have been back to front.

None from what I can tell have gone by status/fare paid.

Now this of course is anecdotal - they could be organizing the choices later by status/fare paid, but I've seen multiple GS miss their meal selection when sitting next to me in row 5 on a 757.

That's how it was done on my flight the other evening, and it is the subject of a long thread in the UA/CO forum on the MilesPoints BB started by Tommy (of the STAR MegaDo fame). Was taken that way on another flight on the same route (SFO-YYZ) a month earlier too.