bhunt

This downgrade in service can be summed up by the gummy bears in snack basket. lol

Use to have the red/white packages with a fair amount. Now get those little gold packages that literally only have 3 or 4 gummies.

bocastephen

Just had memo circulated in my agency - United domestic F is blocked for bookings unless it is the lowest fare, or the customer requests it specifically. We are now sending out disclosure notices with UA tickets informing customers of significant service degradations and onboard meal service of any kind in first class is not guaranteed. Domestic business is being steered to Delta, American or Alaska.

fumje

Where have you seen gummy bears at all? I have been on a lot of snack basket flights recently, and it has been chips, pretzels, turkey stick, maybe Oreos. Those red/white ones (Albanese) I am pretty sure I haven't seen in 2018 at all, let alone any gold (Haribo?) package.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

A couple of these from some large agencies/companies copied to UA may help.

This new policy seems like it's put on place by someone with blinders on. The biggest catering cuts are being inflicted on the cabin UA wants full of paying customers. I guess UA thinks route captives and FFP loyalty is enough to fill the cabin in spite of the cuts. A lot of business travelers (like me, at one time) depend on a meal being available in order to maximize the efficiency of the time available on a work trip. I'm flying LAX-IAH at 6am in two weeks with a one-hour connection from OGG. I'm almost hoping NOT to get upgraded so I can get the chorizo and egg tacos in coach.

kevanyalowitz

I've been sending photos of the disgusting non-PS transon meals to the GS email. Doubt it will make a difference, but agree a few memos like this would help.

findark

I saw the red/white Albanese bears on ORD-DCA this week, although I generally abhor the snack basket.

bocastephen

I've been working with UA as an agent for quite a long time - I can tell you they just don't care unless there is an incident that involves public shaming, or there is future quarter data that shows desirable revenue booking elsewhere in traceable numbers. Kirby certainly doesn't care, and given where he came from and his known reputation, most likely relishes the cuts as a way to punish customers who expect too much. While agents, travel managers, GS and 1Ks sending emails won't hurt, what would help is a public shaming project where people post photos of their "meals" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with appropriately negative comments and make sure UA is tagged with each photo, and perhaps create a common hashtag to links the posts across the internet and different platforms....something a little catchy like #PrisonersEatBetter .

I think the issue here is product dyslexia. Delta is trying to be a premium product to premium customers and letting low fare discretionary customers fly along as a courtesy but without any hope of great service or products, and they're winning. United is trying to fill aircraft with low fare discretionary customers using cheap fares and minimal service, and cobbling together a lackluster premium product (already subject to feature cuts) without premium service to simultaneously chase after premium customers - the majority of whom are either hub hostages with limited options, or who buy based on significant volume discounts.

You're either a premium product or you're a LCC product - but trying to be both at the same time by using nickel and dime "streamlining" exercises, coupled with insulting and ridiculous PR statements about giving customers what they want, is not going to make either customer type happy when what you're selling isn't what anyone wants aside from a decent price.

qukslvr619

It just goes to show the ignorant, bone-headed mentality that seems to be reappearing at UA. It feels like 2010-2015 all over again. Post-merger it was literally a copy/paste of the worst of pmCO and pmUA......and the attitude that somehow the "new" UA was offering what passengers wanted and asked for whether that meant moving ps to EWR (passengers wanted the convenience of EWR and the ability to connect), cutting back on catering or offering few if any meal options (premium customers wanted "lighter" options), etc. It wasn't a focus on service or long-term returns, it was a focus on costs and short term gains. They not only drove high-value flyers away, they ended up with a disgruntled workforce that still wasn't integrated. And then Jeff was out and Oscar showed up....and there was some light at the end of the tunnel. Admitting they needed to run a better operation, improving meals in domestic F, introducing the Polaris concept (I say concept because the idea was great; the execution was botched), reducing reliance on 50-seat flying. But now it seems that we are back to a point where the employees just don't care. Polaris has been slow to get off the ground...sure they changed the inflight product but how much of it has been cut in the past 1.5 years? Cutting back F meals to something akin to what US was offering when they first merged with HP (and then subsequently improved). Management is making changes....but not communicating it with the front-line which is very similar to many of the issues a few years back. It's come full circle.....all that's missing is Jeff, the chicken bouquet, and pmUA 757s, and more frequent SHARES meltdowns. They are only looking at the bottom line again.....the much maligned revised employee bonus program speaks volumes about the lack of direction that is going on right now at UA. Sorry its time to say Adios to Oscar and kick out Kirby.

fumje

Hm, just my luck it seems. I kind of hate the snack basket as well, especially now that its contents are unvarying and uninteresting—pretzels in Y, pretzels in F, ...—but I know someone who intensely likes gummy bears and collect them when I can.

zymm

The price isn't even that decent anymore. I'm finding about half the routes I fly, AA has better prices, and I'm out of SFO. I'm certainly never bothering to pay for F nowadays, and it's not like I'm getting any upgrades as a Plat in GSville! I'm really not sure what they're trying to compete on. Differentiating yourself by offering a worse product for a higher price doesn't seem to be a reasonable business strategy :P Though unless they nerf SDC I'll be sticking around.

EWR764

The four-hour cutoff for midday F meal service is uncompetitive and cheap. Full stop. Welcome back to the days of Project Quality United... where the overarching directive is to cut costs at all costs!

The cuts not only reverse all of the progress made to F cabin meal service just two years ago, but reduce the service standards BELOW the pre-2015 level, which were inadequate then and remain inadequate now.

The company really doesn't care about how its customers feel, though, and will only take notice if there is a demonstrable revenue impact. Clearly, they are betting on no such consequences. As such, among our options, are:

1) Take your business elsewhere
2) Order hot food from Y lieu of the paltry F offerings (watch how quickly that 'benefit' goes away...)
3) Write to appropriate CS contacts after each trip with a succinct complaint about the substandard product
4) Negative responses to the post-flight surveys

United is the airline of one step forward, two steps back. The inability to get out of its own way is so deeply ingrained in this company's culture that I doubt things will ever really change.

samjnz

I wish there were better options out of SFO, but I'm often stuck on UA and they know it.

This was the meal I was served the other day ATL->SFO -- a sad looking burger with nothing on it. I feel the $8 economy buy-on-board would have been much better (which makes me feel like a fool for buying in the First cabin to begin with).

Benj K

I sent in a complaint about the F meal changes today. I didn't ask for a response as I doubt I'd receive anything of substance anyway. I do think that the only things UA cares about are post-flight surveys and loss in revenue. I've never gotten satisfactory reply from a complaint sent, but I have received unsolicited compensation from a poor survey. I've got three booked trips with UA this year (two are paid international F) and won't be booking anymore absent a compelling reason to. I've already booked three new trips, 2 on DL and 1 on AA. While this cut in meals isn't the sole driving factor, it certainly helped push me there.

dll

I've been bouncing around a bit this year with carriers, spending most of my time and $$ on AA but I've booked and flown several trips on UA, too (LAX-based), based on schedule/price. Most were in paid F.

They're definitely going back to my last choice position. It's not that food is my first reason to book one carrier over another, but frequently I'm running directly from a client meeting to the airport to grab my flight home and may not even have a chance to eat before boarding the flight. Yes, I can purchase something in the terminal. But that doesn't create much incentive book in a premium cabin, does it now?

AA's food service has vacillated between embarrassing and decent the last 18 months. I feel like they've settled into a decent place right now. Warm nuts. Warm cookies. Sensible meal choices, for the most part. And the benefit of pre-order so you'll always have a good idea if buying something in the terminal is truly your best choice, after all. That they offer special meals domestically continues to be a bonus for me, too.

bocastephen

I want to maintain 1K - but with cheap Asia business fares I can fly on NH or AC and earn 200% PQM, getting there is easier without the stress, and once I hit my 100K PQM target, I am just going to be a free agent given that I am using credit card points to buy down First Class fares to equivalent coach fares and I can now just choose the cheapest F option between UA, DL and AA - except as a free agent, I will be more inclined to spend based on the product value I am receiving, which tips the hat towards Delta and American.

Since I am getting the equivalent free food in coach as a 1K, there is really no reason for me to buy F anymore when I can buy two ultra-cheap coach seats using the EXTRASEAT option and have more space, better food with the same priority for everything else. I have a feeling Kirby doesn't even know 1K and GS members get a free food or beverage item when flying coach, and if true, once he finds out, I'm sure that will be cut off as fast as he can type out the email to the VP of inflight services.