bocastephen

1. you have your eye mask - I can have my dinner and stay up as late as I want - not as late as others in the cabin dictate for me
2. maybe you don't need a meal, but it's possible others do
3. I don't consider a pack of potato chips and some candy a "meal" on my inbound connection that is either outside the distance or time frame for hot meal service, which Kirby already slashed - so now to accommodate your personal preference, I need to force a long connection so I can use the Polaris Lounge to have my dinner?

None of your points are fair to other customers.

fezzington

UA crews will never be able to provide the level of service as SQ/EY/EK. SQ has 2-3 more FAs on each plane, who spend double the amount in training than UA FAs. SQ's premium cabin positions are staffed by people with extra training, while a new hire UA FA can work anywhere on the plane, even the Purser position.

dilanesp

Well there's two separate issues here. If they are serving the same meal faster, you are losing nothing except symbolism. You can stay up as late as you want eating your meal.

On the other hand, if they are using this as a stalking horse to cut the meals, you are right.

bocastephen

We've received confirmation that it's just that - a stalking horse to not just cut, but slash Polaris meal service. While others may not agree, I further suggest this will become the norm systemwide regardless of flight length - that Polaris inflight meal service will be cut to the point it's near par with domestic PS, and portions are near par with domestic F (with PS portions cut to match).

Here is my 12-18 month forecast - and by no means do I want to be right about this

1. appetizer salad size now matches domestic F with prepackaged cup dressing - basically a bowl of shredded dry cabbage similar to domestic F
2. one type of bread roll served on a tray with a packaged butter pat
3. choice of 3 hot entree items or a special meal (but say goodbye to our beloved Japanese bento set)
4. final course is a sundae served with a single serving of a small pasty item - no cheese, fruit or port
5. midflight hot snack is gone systemwide and only cold packaged junk food items served in a basket
6. pre-arrival is a cold snack plate (think cold cuts+cheese, noodle salad) or cereal depending on time of day and route

This is classic cocktail of Baldanza/Parker served with a twist of Escarra

The only thing left from the original Polaris will be the seat, mattress pads and gel pillow - I see pajamas going away systemwide as well

Boraxo

Fantastic news. More time to sleep, less time to serve food that I don't really need. Wish they would do this on the West Coast flights as well. Would prefer not to get up for ice cream sundae but I can live with that especially if it means less noise and light out faster.

transportprof

I've eaten lots of small pasty items in United front cabins over the years, and not only during dessert.

zeer0

No hot breakfast is simply pathetic. Polaris meal service is such a joke... Death by a million cuts indeed.
I knew when I saw UA was doing "express service" there would be cuts involved. Too predictable.

tarheelnj

Slightly off-topic question. One of the purposes of this change is to increase the amount of time the cabin is dark, so people can sleep, correct?

I had a situation once where my seatmate (didn't know him) put his flatbed seat in sleep position and fell asleep, leaving the overhead light on. Even with a sleep mask on, I was aware his light was on and found it annoying that he didn't turn it off first. What's the etiquette on turning your seatmate's light off? If it's a smaller plane with the button overhead, it's no big deal, but on a flatbed seat, it takes very good aim to turn your own light off on the handset, much less your next door neighbor's. Can the FA turn the light off remotely?

It could be dicey if he wakes up just has you're reaching over....

fezzington

On most planes, yes. Not everyone knows how (especially on "newer" planes like the 787) , so try the purser if the aisle FA doesn't.

cmd320

I think it's perfectly acceptable to reach over and switch off the overhead light if the other party has fallen asleep. In the off chance they should happen to wake up at the exact moment you do that, I would explain the situation accurately and say it seemed they fell asleep without realizing they left their light on.

This thread makes me feel better about how poor of a sleeper I am though. I have to be fully flat, have it dark, and only white noise to sleep. Yet I have no problem sleeping on flights with flatbed seats so long as there is an eye mask and either earplugs or headphones. Never had an issue with cabin noise or anything of that nature on an eastbound overnight flight.

SFO777

+1

1P

Some of us have melatonin-related conditions that mean we have to sleep with the light on. Turning off one's neighbor's light is a selfish act which can make the person feel nauseous and ill for up to 12 hours or more. Perhaps those who do this don't mind having their neighbors vomit all over them..... eyemasks are your friend, but the person with the condition has no easy solution.

1P

Returning to the question of express meal service, and speaking as one who prefers a more leisurely full service, if I know in advance that a flight will be making express dining compulsory, I will book a different one. I'd like to suggest that United indicate in the booking machine which flights have this restriction so that those who don't want it can book with confidence.

transportprof

One learns something new about illness every day, but I don't believe there is any condition that compels someone to vomit all over a person sitting adjacent to them.

If I had the condition described above, I would certainly explain it to my seatmate, and to the FA to avoid the inadvertent de-illumination of my overhead light. I've seen FAs turn off those lights above sleeping pax many times, but fortunately, I've never seen the subsequent projectile vomiting.

tarheelnj

Sorry, I was unaware of this condition. Keeping the discussion to Polaris/lay flat seats, would the night light (if it is a seat with one) suffice for what you describe? Unless you tell the FA and your seatmate, it's possible that you may find yourself with the light off by a proactive FA anyway. Given the seriousness of your condition, do you ever bring a battery-powered light (like the type that attaches to a book)? Just wondering if there is a compromise solution that meets your needs as well as the passenger who needs a dark environment to sleep.