prestonh

I got food poisoning from the polaris SFO lounge last time I ate there. So maybe they are soul mates?

MostlyUA

I stopped flying South African Airways when Mendela left office. I fly BA/LH into RSA.

My son is a seasoned traveler, and he likes Ethiopian Airlines. The service is sup excellent.

As for other African carriers, I have been on Royal Air Maroc, Tunis Air, and Kenya. Not great experience

LH/BA/CX/JL/SQ/KE/OZ are what we should compare UA against. Against them on international flights, UA doesn't measure up.

ilcannone

So, 3 easy solutions to this:

1) Don't eat food on board
2) Bring your own food
3) Both 1 and 2 together.

Simple.

gglave

Because North American passengers don't vote with their wallets. They don't en-masse take their business away from a North American carrier when they get poor service or poor food. They don't spend $50 more to fly a carrier with a higher standard of service.

seat38a

Shame? Whats shame?

mozilla

Yes, it's cyclical. However what is weird is that in this very rare period where quality is at an all-time low AND demand at an all-time high, no one sees a new opportunity to create a better air travel experience while also being price-sensitive, challenging the legacies. Post-deregulation, a cyclical height of the economy always saw the creation of at least 1 successful new airline with this exact mission. In recent times, 2000 saw Jetblue and 2007 saw Virgin America. Both created ripple effects in the industry and set standards that the legacies were (or are) compared to. The worst is yet to come if we go into the next recession without a new airline.

Additionally, in the hypothesis that the next recession is still a few years away and demand keeps increasing, I wonder if we will reach a point where demand will severely exceed capacity, and the industry - faced by a lack of new airlines - will keep increasing fares back to pre-deregulation levels, making air travel cost-prohibitive for many, while maintaining a steady decrease in quality. If the next recession doesn't hit soon, something has to break, as both the aging domestic commercial fleet and several airports are reaching saturation levels.

Going back to the original subject, how many Middle Eastern airlines* consolidated over the last decade, and how many American airlines did so? In America, the decrease in quality came with the airline consolidations and lack of new players. In the Middle East, airlines still have to, you know, compete.

* I know Ethiopia is in Africa, it borders the Middle East though

StingWest

True! I might add that airline consolidation and other anti-competitive actions such as monopolizing gates and slots at major airports have not helped the consumer! Airlines that offer a superior service in all classes (eg: JetBlue) are not allowed to grow because of these limitations, and so the effect of any competition is negligible.

mellon

I flew a bunch of BKK-YYZ fare errors on ET, in business class, and for the price it was great however the seats in most cases sucked but the meals were great and the service poor. ADD airport was about as bad as it gets.

Bear96

Kelleher? LOL yeah cuz the meals on Southwest's three-hour flights are, like, AMAZE-balls!

david_oz

BBSHOPSINGER

Food "quality" is completely subjective. You can bet that if United hired the best chefs and had only gourmet meals, there would still be plenty on this forum who would complain about the mediocre food.

rankourabu

Actually I am guilty of automatically assuming the other way

Exterous

So I don't have a ton of experience flying ET but have done 4 flights with them in the past 30 days. 2 in Y and 2 in J. Both J flights had excellent service and food. However the Y flights had very disappointing food and consistency. The pasta in one chicken dish was a sticky, mushy mess and my other chicken dish still had pieces that were not completely warmed up. For the first meal 2 of us in our row of 3 didn't get the bread roll we were supposed to get. For the second meal I didn't get the packet of crackers that was supposed to go with the cheese. No salt or knife in the second set of packaged utensils either.

So small sample size but I was not impressed

mduell

If UA could get ET fares and wages, they might reconsider their choices.

Mikey Mike Mike

There is a recent precedent for the reversing of poor quality meals in coach and it bizarrely comes in the form of British Airways. (I never thought I'd defend my own flag carrier). After scrapping the second meal on US / Canadian flights and substituting breakfast with a cereal bar / cream cheese pretzel (was really foul) on East Coast flights, BA faced a backlash. The main meal also dived with a poor salad, meat slop with gravy and frozen veg or a veggie pasta meant a lot of disgruntled customers. Even the bag of pretzels was dropped from the pre lunch / dinner drink!! Their share of the market went down, and satisfaction went to an all time low. One of the most relevant markers for a company about future business and market share is a market research question on recommending a company to colleagues, friends and family. This has also dropped and is a clear indicator that you're losing business. Admittedly, Virgin has given BA a run for their money and set the bar high in coach. The online forums and reviews slated BA for food and frankly it was becoming embarrassing for BA to read.
However in the last 6 months or so, BA have reintroduced the second meal on daytime flights - albeit half a sandwich and a chocolate biscuit. Also the main meal has gone four course with cheese and biscuits added, better quality entrees, a better desert etc etc And mid flight, a (small) ice cream is offered.
Small steps costing a few quid per pax, but enough to stop the slide and start some positive reviews
It's not a great improvement but it was at least recognition of an issue and that people will vote with their feet!