tale

So I was going on a trip WAS - SLC to catch some decent snow and brought my wife which still nurses our infant son.

Thinking to enhance her comfort I got her F class seat expecting a bit of a better treatment then in Y.

Dinner was served (barely edible) and water was replenished 4-5 times. Midway through the flight she was informed that F class was out of water rations, and that they needed the rest of the water for the return trip (which was not until the next day).
How is this possible. It is hard to imagine that plans carry RT catering for 2K miles distance, the cost of fuel alone would prohibitive.

Truly disappointing experience

redwoman

That's a new one for me. It seems that in general UA is trying to cut costs everywhere. There is a Byzantine schedule for food; there are about 8 or 9 buckets stratified by miles flown and time of day, further subdivided by route, that dictate what type of food F/C pax can expect, and each extra 50 miles or so you are doled out an extra bag of pop chips or get to have a hot meal instead of cold pasta salad. There is another thread in which a passenger was told that a UX flight had "no alcohol due to the merger" (perhaps the previous day's passengers on the inbound flight had consumed it all to drown their sorrows). They have done away with special meals except for intnl flights AND to add insult to injury, if you're vegetarian/Kosher/Muslim/Hindu or just a garden variety WASP or atheist who is sick and tired of the dried out chicken and green beans, they won't even get you a snack box from Y. Well, they will, you just have to pay $9 for it now, as if you're in Y anyway.

When I was a student, I was poor and i was used to stuffing my backpack full of food so I wouldn't pass out from low blood sugar and bringing my drink of choice. Now I have a nice job that allows me to fly paid or unpaid in F cabin and... it's the same thing. I have to stuff my designer tote bag instead of a beat-up backpack with food and extra water.

aluminumdriver

Yep, just another Smisek improvement.

MThompson

They weren't actually out, water is just one of the new elite benefits.

redwoman

Love it.

Perhaps I've misinterpreted the food vs. mileage list that seems to have more layers than a piece of baklava, or the number of boarding groups. It's just another mileage scheme. Fly 200 miles or less and you get a bag of snack mix. Fly 201-300 miles and assuming it's between 6 and 10 AM, you get a scone. Fly <2299 miles at dinnertime, you get a hot meal but no snack basket. >2299 miles you get a hot meal plus a bag or two of pop chips. BUT the 2299 miles must only be between IAD-SFO or ORD-HNL , SFO-JFK, then you earn a GPU and by GPU we mean a sundae.

emanon256

I would guess they don't cater out of SLC, not uncommon to not cater at a non hub. In those cases they stock the plane for departure and return. I had a not to pleasant return from SLC once where the plane was somehow disconnected from electric overnight and we were told that everything including soda and water were all frozen, and there would be no service. They did tell us before we boarded at least.

Still, if I worked for UA, I would have served tomorrows water and went and bought a few water bottles at the airport and tried to expense it in the name of customer service, but the way United runs things now, that would probably get a co-worker fired.

TWA Fan 1

Or you can use your miles to "upgrade" to a glass of water...

5,000 miles per cup (saver)
15,000 miles per cup (standard).

I hope they have availability...

Who knows? might have to book a flight on TK just to qualify for a water award.

MThompson

A correction since my last post..

I've been informed that United is planning on rolling out flights with water on board, to up to 200 domestic aircraft starting next year.

This is in line with their innovative marketing strategy of advertising premium amenitites that they "might" offer in the future, or that can already be found on every other airline - except United.

redwoman

I'll have to put on extra eye cream tonight to stave off the eye crinkles I just got laughing at your posts.

chrisny2

I wonder if shortages have anything to do with all of the crew that stick the bottles into their carry on luggage to take home.

emanon256

Maybe they are rationing less water because they want to save it for the humidifiers in the 50 787s they plan to buy?

AlanInDC

My how far we've fallen on this board. I remember years past when the raging argument was whether nuts were served warm enough or not, and whether you could get nut refills. Now it is a question whether you can get water in first class.

mre5765

Indeed, we were laughing so hard we forgot to welcome MThompson to FT.

Welcome MThompson and I look forward to more of your posts.

familyflier

Or for TODs on checkin?

aluminumdriver

Good grief. Do you have anything to prove that crew are stealing water now? Is water the new gold market?

AD