Multi-million dollar investment in onboard food and beverage options
Aug 21, 2014, 8:05 am
#1
Company Representative, United Airlines
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Chicago, Houston, or somewhere in between
Posts: 2,176
Multi-Million Dollar Investment in Onboard Food and Beverage Options
Hi everyone,
We’ve heard you loud and clear, so we’re cooking up a new and improved onboard dining experience. After a thorough menu review and extensive research, we will be making a multi-million dollar investment in our onboard food and beverage options through mid-2015, introducing improvements in all of our cabins. We’ve already begun to make immediate changes to menu items that you’ve told us need to be addressed. See below for the full details.
Mainline premium cabins within the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and most of Mexico:
United Express premium cabins:
United Economy on long-haul international flights:
We’ll keep you posted through the coming months as you begin to see these investments in the onboard dining experience come to fruition.
UA Insider
We’ve heard you loud and clear, so we’re cooking up a new and improved onboard dining experience. After a thorough menu review and extensive research, we will be making a multi-million dollar investment in our onboard food and beverage options through mid-2015, introducing improvements in all of our cabins. We’ve already begun to make immediate changes to menu items that you’ve told us need to be addressed. See below for the full details.
Mainline premium cabins within the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and most of Mexico:
- New short and mid-haul salads and sandwiches: Between August and September we are introducing all-new gourmet salads and sandwiches, which will be served chilled or warmed depending on flight distance and departure time. These new meals will be offered during lunch and dinner times on flights between 900 and 1,299 miles, and during lunch time on flights between 1,300 and 2,299 miles. Prior to your meal we will continue to offer our signature warmed nuts with a beverage of your choice. All freshly prepared salad and sandwich entrees will be paired with a gluten-free soup, bread, and a warmed cookie for dessert.
- Sparkling wine in North America: Beginning this fall, we will introduce Prosecco sparkling wine in our North America mainline premium cabins.
- Refresh for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack flights: Through 2015 we will be changing the menus for remaining markets.
- Expansion of meals to shorter-haul flights: Stay tuned for more information as we will be reintroducing full meal service on additional shorter haul flights during meal times. We will continue to offer full meals on flights that currently receive a full meal service in the following markets which are less than 900 miles: Chicago to/from Boston, Denver, New York/La Guardia and Newark, Denver to/from Houston Intercontinental and Los Angeles, and Newark to/from Atlanta (effective November 2014).
- Increased menu variety: We will be increasing the frequency of menu changes so that you see new options more often.
United Express premium cabins:
- Significant improvements on the way: While we can’t share the full details yet, let’s just say there will be a nice upgrade to premium cabin dining on United Express in 2015 by introducing fresh meal options.
United Economy on long-haul international flights:
- Enhanced food and beverage options in 2015: More details to come, but we’ll also be improving the food and beverage experience in United Economy on long-haul international flights as well.
We’ll keep you posted through the coming months as you begin to see these investments in the onboard dining experience come to fruition.
UA Insider
Last edited by UA Insider; Aug 21, 2014 at 8:11 am Reason: Title
Aug 21, 2014, 8:12 am
#2
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: DC|NYC
Programs: UA GS, DL Plat, Marriott Bonvoy LIfetime Titanium/SPG refugee, Hertz Prez, Amtrak Select
Posts: 3,201
Glad the airline is listening and look forward to experiencing these changes.
Will try to remain hopeful and positive with my expectations of how it will be executed.
(Sounds like they're finally waking up and smelling the Delta coffee!)
Will try to remain hopeful and positive with my expectations of how it will be executed.
(Sounds like they're finally waking up and smelling the Delta coffee!)
Aug 21, 2014, 8:17 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: DEN
Programs: UA MM Plat; AA MM Gold; HHonors Diamond
Posts: 15,866
This is really good news...especially the consideration of the expansion of meals on some short-haul routes. I'm still refusing to buy FC fares between DEN and YYC (898 miles/2.5 hours) due to the meal cutbacks. I'm certain that will be the first route that UA reinstates. Right?
I'm also very glad that there will be real meals in the premium cabins on the super-RJs (especially the -700s and -170/-175s). I fly those a lot.
Hey UA...thanks for listening and responding. Much appreciated.
I'm also very glad that there will be real meals in the premium cabins on the super-RJs (especially the -700s and -170/-175s). I fly those a lot.
Hey UA...thanks for listening and responding. Much appreciated.
Aug 21, 2014, 8:18 am
#4
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 397
Hey, that's a change I'll like! Especially the prosecco - sparkling wine is my favorite pre-takeoff drink option by a long shot.
My issue with economy longhaul food wasn't really the quality of the main dish, it's pretty much the standard pasta/chicken/beef thing you get on many other airlines. It was the pre-arrival breakfast consisting of the world's smallest roll/croissant and a single piece of melon.
Enhanced food and beverage options in 2015: More details to come, but we’ll also be improving the food and beverage experience in United Economy on long-haul international flights as well.
Aug 21, 2014, 8:19 am
#5
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: PHL
Programs: NEXUS, UA Club
Posts: 641
This is great news. These are positive changes and definitely a step in the right direction. Hopefully a sign of things to come :-)
Aug 21, 2014, 8:22 am
#6
Join Date: Jan 2007
Programs: UA 1k
Posts: 507
Good, my last UA flight from ORD-LAX had choice of beef salad, or beef wrap.
And I don't eat beef. And your pasta needs to go.
And I don't eat beef. And your pasta needs to go.
Aug 21, 2014, 8:30 am
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Northern Calif./Eastern Ida.
Programs: Amethyst Premier Plutonium Medallion
Posts: 20,628
i will be interested to see how this pans out. unfortunately since i've diversified to AS and DL it might be too little too late for me, but i'm glad to see that at least some attention is being paid to the issue. it would be hard to make it worse than it is currently, so i hold out a small degree of hope that this will be an actual enhancement for once.
funny to hear it took "extensive research" to realize that UA was trailing badly in this regard relative to pretty much every domestic carrier that offers an F cabin
funny to hear it took "extensive research" to realize that UA was trailing badly in this regard relative to pretty much every domestic carrier that offers an F cabin
Last edited by PV_Premier; Aug 21, 2014 at 8:35 am
Aug 21, 2014, 8:32 am
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: DEN
Programs: UA MM Plat; AA MM Gold; HHonors Diamond
Posts: 15,866
Aug 21, 2014, 8:35 am
#9
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: BWI, PHL, IAD
Programs: Marriott LT Titanium; Mileage Plus 1K, 1 MM; Global Entry
Posts: 1,516
Don't suppose this will include at least occasional access to a nice malt forward porter or stout? 
Aug 21, 2014, 8:38 am
#10
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, Virgin Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 204
Yessssssssss!
Aug 21, 2014, 8:39 am
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Bay Area, CA
Programs: UA Plat 2MM; AS MVP Gold 75K
Posts: 35,067
Aug 21, 2014, 8:39 am
#12
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Indianapolis, IN USA
Posts: 2,065
Thank you for the updated meal options!
Aug 21, 2014, 8:40 am
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: DEN
Programs: UA MM Plat; AA MM Gold; HHonors Diamond
Posts: 15,866
Aug 21, 2014, 8:40 am
#14
Join Date: May 2006
Location: STL
Programs: UA Platinum, AA Platinum Pro, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 1,429
While its frustrating that things got so bad before they got better (and my stomach suffered through years of chicken parm/bouquets/wraps/whatever horrible offerings were endlessly rotated), this has to be some of the better news to come from UA in a long time with respect to premium cabins.
Granted I'll believe it when I see it....there is always the fear that investment/enhancements always come with some sort of cut; the warm sandwiches served warm or chilled seems to mirror BOB offerings in Y (leftovers?), but expansion of meals to shorter flights (although DEN-West Coast still seems to get the shaft), increased variety, and United Express improvements should allow UA to offer a competitive product.
Granted I'll believe it when I see it....there is always the fear that investment/enhancements always come with some sort of cut; the warm sandwiches served warm or chilled seems to mirror BOB offerings in Y (leftovers?), but expansion of meals to shorter flights (although DEN-West Coast still seems to get the shaft), increased variety, and United Express improvements should allow UA to offer a competitive product.
Aug 21, 2014, 8:42 am
#15
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: BWI, PHL, IAD
Programs: Marriott LT Titanium; Mileage Plus 1K, 1 MM; Global Entry
Posts: 1,516