UA Meal Cutoff Times for Lunch and Dinner?
#16
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: DCA, ex-IAH
Programs: nada
Posts: 1,368
No, LAS is about the same distance as SLC (and DC area, too), so they get the "half-assed" menu option and don't follow the guidelines exactly.
#17
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Has anyone ever had one of these "light and refreshing" snacks? Because nothing I've ever been served on United fits that description
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: LAX IAH AMS
Programs: UA GS 1MM
Posts: 1,267
One other note.... if there was a choice last night, i certainly wasnt offered one. I thought I saw some salads come out a little later, but that wasnt even a choice for me. Nice to be a GS member!
#19
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: LAX
Programs: UA MM | BA Silver
Posts: 7,193
I really don't understand why they don't serve lunch at lunchtime (1pm) and dinner at dinnertime (8pm) - particularly on westbound flights where their early times exaggerate the time difference. Rushing from the office in NYC or Washington to get the last flight to the west coast, it would be nice go be fed in First.
I was surprised to be served a snack during what I assumed where dinner hours on IAH-LAX in November. I had just come off FRA-IAH and was hungry. Oh well.
#20
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#21
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: NYC
Programs: UA1K - SPG Plat
Posts: 921
Both flights should have been under these parameters
Onboard Meal Service
Less than 220 miles
(Approximately 1 hour or less) Biscoff® cookies or pretzels served with the beverage of your choice
220–899 miles
(Approximately 1–2.5 hours) Warmed, all-natural breakfast scones or a selection of premium snacks and fresh fruit
Note: United will serve meals or snacks on flights longer than 700 miles in the following markets:
Chicago O'Hare to/from Boston, Denver, New York LaGuardia and New York/Newark
Denver to/from Houston Intercontinental and Los Angeles
900–2,299 miles
(Approximately 2.5–5 hours) Full meal service during traditional meal times or a light and refreshing snack in between traditional meal times
Longer than 2,300 miles
(Approximately 5 hours or longer) Full meal service followed by a pre-arrival snack or a light and refreshing snack on late night departures followed by a pre-arrival warm scone
On United Express® flights longer than 700 miles (approximately two hours), United First® and United Business® customers will enjoy complimentary snackboxes featuring high-quality, brand-name foods.
I have been on SLC-IAH quite a bit recently - a lunch time departure just had the snack plate instead of the full lunch (the twitter team said it must have been a catering mistake) and a 9pm departure just had the snack basket.
Last edited by OMAguy; Feb 21, 2014 at 11:56 am Reason: clean up
#22
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS/ BOM
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Gold, HHonors Gold
Posts: 1,567
If your flight was after 7pm, you would get a snack basket. I remember in April last year, same case. I was hoping for food and ended up with chips or bananas!
#23
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: BOS
Programs: MP,MR Silver,Avis
Posts: 848
IAH-BOS in December, dinner was served for departures up through 1914, snack (cold plate) for 1915 and later. Unfortunately, my flight was 1920. The same flight the previous day was 1910.
#24
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#25
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 923
Originally Posted by lhrsfo:22389076
I really don't understand why they don't serve lunch at lunchtime (1pm) and dinner at dinnertime (8pm) - particularly on westbound flights where their early times exaggerate the time difference. Rushing from the office in NYC or Washington to get the last flight to the west coast, it would be nice go be fed in First.
#26
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: GS, Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, *gold
Posts: 121
Was on a 7PM departure from DEN today in F and got the mediteranian cold plate instead of a dinner. It was good, I did enjoy it but it was not enough food! Had I known I would have brought a meal on board with me.
#27
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 638
United First: Dinner
United First: Snack
United First: Refreshments
"Snack" means the cold plate or something similar. "Refreshments" means chips and candy bars from the basket. I agree that the Mediterranean plate is tasty. Combined with a yogurt/granola/fruit Parfait from one of the stands in the terminal it makes for a pretty good meal.
#28
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To me, F on UA is now simply about the bigger seat/more space. And that's why UA can sell upgrades for $100 on a PDX-EWR flight.
#29
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Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 10,969
Just got off a 2000 mile west bound flight out of IAD that departed 7:20 PM. Wow, snack plate only Website does not say what "traditional meal time" is but I guess from this thread, the cutoff is 7 PM. I wonder why UA does not say the 7 PM on the website. I think many would still think 7:20 PM is "traditional meal times".
#30
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Hoboken, NJ; Pembroke Pines, FL
Programs: CO Gold, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,939
I'm of two minds here:
1. On the one hand, I'd like to see F meals improve to the point where they are comparable in quality to food I eat on a normal day. I don't care about quantity, just quality.
2. On the other hand, I think there are a couple of negative influences. For one, food in the airline terminal is an order of magnitude better than it was 10-15 years ago. Airlines may just not be able to compete with this. The *choices* available in the terminal is also a factor. The limited choices available in the air will never be enough to provide "what I'm in the mood for", at best, it will be "something I could be satisfied with".
The other factor is that on average, passengers have a lot more time in the terminal. This means that they have the time to eat a superior meal in the terminal. This reduces the utility of the onboard meal.
I'm not happy with these changes, but I can see why they might be happening.
1. On the one hand, I'd like to see F meals improve to the point where they are comparable in quality to food I eat on a normal day. I don't care about quantity, just quality.
2. On the other hand, I think there are a couple of negative influences. For one, food in the airline terminal is an order of magnitude better than it was 10-15 years ago. Airlines may just not be able to compete with this. The *choices* available in the terminal is also a factor. The limited choices available in the air will never be enough to provide "what I'm in the mood for", at best, it will be "something I could be satisfied with".
The other factor is that on average, passengers have a lot more time in the terminal. This means that they have the time to eat a superior meal in the terminal. This reduces the utility of the onboard meal.
I'm not happy with these changes, but I can see why they might be happening.