bocastephen

You have other choices for a comparable seat assuming the nonsense with no lounges or inflight service continues at United - other airlines within *A are still providing a decent service offering, so why would you give UA any money for what is dumbed-down coach service for rapidly escalating business prices? I don't see why anyone would give United their money for business class when you could fly ANA or BR or SQ or LH or OZ, etc etc. Depending on your departure point you may or may not get a lounge, but once onboard you'll have a similar seat (NH/OZ/BR/SQ) and definitely a better inflight experience.

UA_Flyer

Could the meals be better? Would a full service drink cart make a better flight? Having Polaris Lounge open be enhancing the total travel experience?
Yes! Yes, and Yes!

Is it up to United to have all those things read? Yes, but Covid-19 is under control until borders are open to Americans, there is not enough scale of passenger volume to restore those amenity and services. I just read SQ will also reduce its premium cabin meal services too, but others such as LH plans to keep the pre Covid-19 meal services.

I am just hoping I get to travel first and then figure out which airlines offer the flights. No point to pick an airlines that offers a good meals and my favorite bourbon whisky but don't fly to the places I want to go or the countries won't let me in. I have to travel to make a living, so need to put up with the low quality meal offerings.

AndyInSaigon

We should not have to pay the cost of the amenities that we do not receive. Polaris is a product & it is still on the market. However some other product is being substituted with no apology, little explanation and no compensation.

A well composed announcement with a full explanation of their situation, COVID implications, and how they intend to FULLY restore services might help.

halls120

This is why, once I start flying TATL again, I will be flying on LH metal using a UA ticket.

narvik

So, you mean pretty much the exact OPPOSITE of what is happening right now: https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...t/polaris.html

"Restaurant-quality dining
We're proud to offer United Polaris customers a chef-designed, multi-course inflight dining experience.

<snip>

For those mid-flight cravings, we offer à la carte snacks that you can enjoy at your convenience."

thejaredhuang

Glad to see those ice cubes (economy bread roll) got upgraded to the premium cabin. You could use one of those to keep your drinks cold.

jewree

The pies and cheesecake bites are all made by Eli's Cheesecake. They sell full size (excellent) cheesecakes to regular consumers, but the mini pies and little cheesecake bites are just for wholesale. Mini pies come in apple, cherry, pumpkin, pecan and apparently dulce de leche (I haven't had that one though).

If you want a case of the apple pies ... https://www.foodservicedirect.com/el...-21200319.html or, you can get apple and cherry pies, brownie bites, and a full size cheesecake in their Dessert Buffet Tower: https://shop.elicheesecake.com/produ...t-buffet-tower

ordogg

costco sells the mini Eli’s cheese cakes

st530

For about twice the price in J as on LH.com, at least based on a sampling from IAH I did earlier this week for July travel dates. In fact, you can get IAH-FRA-IAH in F on LH.com in July for around $5 K, while J on UA.com for the same flights is priced at around $7 K. (Who knows if these flights will actually take place -- this pricing was for the non-stops.)

bocastephen

Why would you use a UA ticket? You can earn more credit with LH, aside from the fact it's much cheaper - or are you talking about a mileage ticket?

flyingrohit

Wow! Had no idea, and going to these sites (first link doesn't work btw), I see the desserts that I've seen over the years on UA metal. Interesting to see. Do they have locations at each hub? Most to all my UA flights are out of LAX, and some out of EWR, and I've seen these even ex-LAX/EWR.

worldtrav

So United is going to bring their current inflight "meals" in line with LH's current offerings?

Why can't United offer mini bottles of decent wines instead of the current gut rot? Make no mistake, the reductions are about cost not safety.

EWR764

Believe me, I am under no delusions that these changes have anything at all to do with safety. If food service were a vector for transmission, I suspect that would have manifest rather prominently on the ground first, and it hasn't. Meal delivery and customer interaction with masks are also low-risk behavior. The current situation is temporary, but I fear the "revised" long-term catering guidelines may ultimately be an even worse downgrade. The LH announcement gives me some hope, but if there's one thing I've learned in the COVID-19 era, it's that nobody really knows anything.

There's a difference between calling out an airline for shameless cost cutting during times of record profit, and calling out a company for shameless cost cutting during times of record losses. At least United is consistent in its approach!

greenpau

Back to the point above about how poorly UA communicate around topics like this, I was struck by LH’s clear communication around the modified services, and a timeline “through August 31, 2020”. Sure, it could shift, but much clearer. Note also that F has the “usual service”, but is eliminating the on-demand part of the menu to manage galley sanitation. Makes sense.

https://www.lufthansa.com/us/en/curr...board-services

halls120

The flights I have been pricing are just about the same whether the ticket is LH or UA