No more coffee to-go cups in UCs {temporary??}
 

The DEN UCs haven't had to-go coffee cups for a couple of weeks, even though other clubs I've visited had. I scratched it up to supply, but they still didn't have them today.

I went to the desk and the guy behind the desk confirmed that it was not a supply issue and that it was a conscious decision to keep people from taking a cup of coffee with them. When I told him that other clubs have cups, he was surprised


High gate number UC, white guy at the end of the desk at the right, right now.

He said that they have been getting complaints, but I guess it won't matter.

After the initial new menu and the recent pull back in offerings, this would be the last straw for me on UCs. I'm not going to budget time so that I can sit in the club to get coffee. With the boarding lines, especially for BG1 so screwed up.

You can put this in the new food UC club thread, but I thought this deserved a thread of its own.

Sorry, haven't had my coffee yet and I'm going to have to chug it.

Or just take the mug with me.

Same thing in the IAD clubs starting last week - only ceramic coffee cups available. Big downside to the ceramic mugs is they take much of the heat out of the coffee.

Just like they do on the plane, you can fill the mug with hot water, let it heat up, pour out the water, and then fill it with coffee.

Yes, it's wasteful, and it takes a lot longer than just pouring a cup, but it's pretty normal with UA for things to take longer than they should.

If you want to do the right thing for the environment, you can bring your own Thermos or other container to the club. So instead of United giving you 10 oz of coffee, you can fill it with 24 oz or more, all under the guise of protecting the environment.

Just buy yourself a fifty-cent cap for the mug and walk out with it. Leave it with the GA when you board.

Remember when United was playing up the eco benefits of their takeaway cups?

InCycle Cup info from United Hub

So, I guess that Eco-Skies commitment was just talk...

This is pretty funny because Lucky over at One Mile at a Time was pretty excited when AA added to-go cups to their lounges recently.

http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.c...e-coffee-cups/

This is the solution. It will stay hot AND contain more than a few sips of coffee. This is definitely not the end of the world, nor should you give up your club membership because of it. Later in the day, you can fill up with water (or your other favorite beverage) and keep it cold.

That's an odd thing to cut out of the clubs

Except the change is to stop people from leaving with coffee. I went from the big to the in ear Bose headphones to save space on my carry-on.

Just shows that they don't understand travelers. Considering that most of my flights are on RJs in the high gates, this is a major Pita.

This is the final straw, that made me laugh so hard this morning. Of all the things in the world, with Clubs, seats, lines, CPU's, MileagePlus, over crowding, etc, this IS the last straw, no to go cups, lol.

I was with a buddy who took me into the United Club as a guest and we were watching the goings on while we chatted and we watched a Gentleman start to fill up a mug with some sort of chocolate covered cookie thing (maybe Graham Crackers??) and then just walk out of the club with the filled Ceramic mug.

Was sort of awesome, anyway fast forward to my flight and Ceramic mug dude is my seatmate and I said to him, "I have to ask, what is with taking a mug from the lounge, I am not about to report you, but I am curious".

His answer spoke to this thread, United is trying to save money by not offering me a disposable cup that I can take with me, so I will cost them more money by taking a ceramic mug. Apparently he has done this a few times as he said that he now has a collection of United Club mugs at home as he travels weekly. I said more power to you and that was basically the end of the conversation, he put on his headphones and proceeded to play on his phone.

BTW, I have a sense that he was a high elite as the Flight Attendant offered him a meal choice before anyone else in the cabin.

Personally, I could care less, the coffee was not so great in the club and the food offerings were not up to DELTA's level especially at certain clubs now where DELTA is offering hot food gratis. As for taking alcohol, I have been known to order a beer and then pour said beer into my water bottle, United's beer is not worth the effort.

Any time a corporation uses words like "going green" or "eco-friendly", they are code words for cost-cutting. It's never about the environment (with a few possible exceptions for companies with a real conscience). You can bet on that.

That was my thought too! The OP had no problem with the price increase but to-go coffee cups were the last straw?

For some reason, United seems to want to limit the ability for members to carry food/beverages outside the club, i.e. to take on the plane.

The bean counters probably took away the potato chips and the pepperidge farm cookies, and all of those things awhile back for that reason - extra revenue on the plane

For now the coffee in the clubs remains FreshBrew, so in reality, no one should really be taking a cup to go. It's just as bad on the ground as it is in the air.

I totally understand and I'm now leaving my huge Bose headphones home half of the time now, but bringing a travel mug has become the norm for me and I strongly suggest people try it. You can pack other things inside when you aren't using it ... and having it handy for coffee, water, etc. to keep things cold/hot during travel is just awesome. FAs are (for the most part) happy to fill up mine instead of giving me luke-warm coffee in a UA mug, I can close the top so I don't end up wearing my coffee during turbulence, and a quick rinse and I'm good to fill it up with water once I'm off the plane.

It won't be the solution for everyone, but if you haven't tried it...I would strongly suggest it. The one I use is fairly tall, but super skinny. Bought it at Target for $10 and it seals like a champ.