bluedemon211

NRT and LHR not effected. Catering done prior to arrival in Denver

Two Bee

If one isn't into extrapolating, he can just dream about the good ol' days, and if that doesn't do the trick just pull out a stinky McDonalds like the BG-5 folks do. They don't seem to have as BIG a problem with the catering as other do.

NoLaGent

Although equating BG-5 as strictly a McDonald's eating crowd comes off as incredibly classist, I'm sure that's not what you meant...

My last flight in Y from DIA my seat mates were wise enough to stop at Elway's and get a wagyu burger and a prime rib sandwich to go.

mander

That waygu burger is tasty!

danielonn

Just go to Luthansa or Swiss Air and cater a F meal!

jm0933

I'm not sure, I was on an A319 from DEN-ORD toward the end of December and I had the beef tips with macaroni option. Seems like it might just be luck, or maybe they preferentially stock the real meals on flights to other hubs?

DENflyer3

You were not headed to IAD on that last flight were you? That was our exact take out order last week. I all but gave up on food on an airline a couple years ago, so I almost always order Elways to go if I'm short on time, I have it timed out that I put the order in just before I hit the parking garage and it is almost timed perfectly to be ready right when I get there. Very good in a pinch, but I still prefer to sit down at the bar and have a nice martini or two before I fly.

david_oz

Anybody know when Smashburger is opening?? If they are going to cater burgers they might as well make them delicious!

GMoneyCO

I was on a DEN --> PHL flight last night and had one of the undressed burgers as well. I'll report back once I hear from 1K Voice.

exerda

FWIW, I wrote in and got an ETC in mid-January once I realized the issue was systematic (had missed this thread originally). $125 IIRC.

But they weren't automatically handing them out, nor were they offering other fresh items from the back IIRC.

EWR764

That's the standard hot dinner service ex-DEN now.

FlyfromDenver

You made me look(partly because the coming soon sign seems to have been on B Concourse forever) only to find out one is open on the C Concourse now. But if I am going to C, I'm hitting the Timberline.

P.S. In general, to me the issue is less about the food and totally about communication.

chermorg

It has likely been considered already... but could someone give me the info on the following?

People continually bring up DL/AA handling the Gate Gourmet issue in LAX as reference for how UA is messing this up. LAX has multiple large scale caterers to my knowledge. Am I incorrect in this?

DEN, being a very large UA presence, and smaller but substantial F9 and WN presences, do they have another catering company that could pick up the slack? Granted, UA could likely pre-cater certain flights in other hubs (which to my understanding they are doing as able, especially with the international flights), however, my question here is as to the practicability of them just up and getting a new caterer at DEN.

EWR764

LSG and Gategourmet have kitchens at DEN, and Gategourmet previously supported the UA operation before Chelsea was expanded, so I'm sure something could be arranged. The current Chelsea issues are now construction-related, as I understand, and are not directly connected to the Journey Cuisine listeria contamination from the fall.

chermorg

Having a kitchen is nice and I fully understand that even some outstations have multiple caterers on-site. The issue is trying to cater an extremely large domestic operation, including UX flights, from one of those kitchens. Does Gate Gourmet still have the staffing, facilities, certifications, and logistics necessary to resume supporting the UA operation? Is it possible that the construction issues were supposed to be resolved in a timeframe that GG/LSG could not upkick operations in to make it worth taking out another contract, but have been delayed? Should UA take out a contract with a company that may or may not be able to scale to the UA operation, making quality and consistency an issue, when their current contract may resume operations within the next couple weeks?

At LAX, when DL and AA had issues, DL switched kitchens, and AA relied on other airports when possible with some minor use of other kitchens for international flights. To me, one of the reasons that's possible is that all airlines have a decent presence at LAX, as well as many, many international airlines - all of which can support a larger variety and staffing in kitchens. I am unsure if DEN has the logistics to support a change in the catering for UAs entire operation.