threeoh

I don't think so, either the flight made up more time than expected or they just didn't plan well. Once you are off-script and making first-time choices it's easy to make mistakes like this that you wouldn't make twice, so I don't hold it against them.

Boofer

Always pack a couple of protein bars and some nuts/trail mix. Even when flying J/F. Especially on UA.

BJfly

My 9am flight from LGA is now scheduled for 3pm due to weather. My question is: The original flight was "breakfast". Do you think they will still serve that meal, substitute lunch or dinner? Nothing? PS if anyone is stuck at LGA right now and wants to be guested into amex lounge, PM me.

Thank you,
BJFly

HNLbasedFlyer

They won't serve breakfast - but practically anything you can eat at the airport will be far better than what is available on the plane

ContinentalFan

My experience is that they cater the meal that’s appropriate for the time of departure.

WineCountryUA

Some of my experiences have been different. If the delay is posted before the aircraft has been catered, perhaps UA will adjust the meal type. But other times for 2-3 hour delays, I have been served the original designated meal.

BJfly

Update: what actually happened is this: The 9am flight finally boarded at 6pm. As soon as the door was closed, the flight attendant told the first class cabin that the catering was still breakfast, that it was no longer edible, and that hence there would be no meal service at all. We were offered free snack boxes, but of course they didn't have all of the options stocked. So it wasn't the best experience after a 9 hour delay. If they had just made an announcement, I could have at least bought something before boarding, So if a 9 hour delay didn't make me grumpy, well this did. Oh well.

BJFly

iluv2fly

They should have provided each F passenger an ETC (miles or money) for this. If they didn't, I would call or write in.

MSPeconomist

However, a voucher later or even a destination airport food coupon upon arrival isn't a substitute for a real FC meal on a 6 pm departure.

My most recent experience with this was a TPAC delayed by about six hours, from a late morning to a late afternoon departure. FAs served the main meal "dinner" at the usual time relative to wheels up and the midflight and prearrival meals were also exactly as usual. In this case, there was an aircraft swap that was announced to be delayed as we waited for catering to be swapped, although amenity kits, menus, etc. weren't transferred to the new aircraft (but there were enough wrapped pillows and blankets, so the lesson learned is that if you deboard, think about taking the small items with you.

BJfly

Update: per suggestion above, I used the website to contact customer service and I was given a voucher for approximately 1/2 of the amount of the cost differential between first and economy for that segment of the trip.

BJfly

Long Zhiren

Does it actually matter? It seems that no matter what flight I take in Y, SFO-HKG or HKG-SFO, regardless of direction, or the time of day, dinner shows up first, followed by a little ice cream, then a sandwich half way through the flight, and then breakfast before landing.
What I want to know is what happens to the food when I almost never eat it anyway? That is I decline the service. Does it re-appear in the next flight for some lucky passenger?

phkc070408

Many countries quarentine certain inbound foods, and that includes any uneaten food served on the plane. I'm assuming that the USA does it, since you're not allowed to bring any produce or red meat into the country. I'd imagine it's easier to just burn everything arriving rather than pic through the rubbish. I don't know about the prepackaged items, such as the snack boxes though.

I'll defer the answer regarding domestic flights to someone else.