dilanesp

More expensive food often requires more expensive logistics as well....

uastarflyer

98% fixed. Doesn’t matter if they poured in some Rao’s v Prego in the kitchen.

By your logic however definitely you should favor removing all alcohol. All that cost, all that empty calories, in glass!

1kBill

This doesn't make sense to me, so please explain. A USDA prime steak costs more than a USDA choice steak, but after that, I don't see how the logistics costs would vary.

dilanesp

Not everything is steak?

Let's put it this way. What incurs more transportation, storage, preparation, and cook training costs? A fast food dish, a packaged snack food, or a high end restaurant meal with high quality ingredients?

spin88

They don't change. There are only two sources of savings. The first is to reduce the ingredient costs. Rather than a piece of fish that costs $2.80, you serve one that costs $2.00.. Same with wine, rather than a $30 retail bottle of wine, you serve one that costs $13.50. The second is prep/plating costs either on the ground or in the air. Having a single plate with everything on it and you just heat it up (what UA does) is cheaper than having everything separate, then heat it right, and put it all on several plates, or one plate together, but correctly heated, then sauced.

UA cheaps out on both accounts.... cheap ingredients and cheap preparation/service.

UA_Flyer

I think this is an excellent summary for the cost differentials.

A number of us on this forum visited the GateGourmet facility at SFO a few years ago and we noted GateGourmet prepared inflight meals for CX, SQ, BR, UA and others. The differentiation is other airlines paid more to have enhance dining experience for their premium cabins while UA went cheap on theirs.

UA_Flyer

Meal photos from recent Turkish flights.
Nice hot soup, quality ingredients used in entree and amazing deserts:

goodeats21

UA-FLYER- great photos. Makes me recall your frequent posts in the UA Let's Eat forum, where you made even UA meal service look good...

I need to try Turkish out soon. Just about the only major *A airline I haven't sampled yet.

halls120

Make sure you allow for some time in the TK Business lounge at IST. It's amazing.

kevanyalowitz

What a wake up call my AS SEA-BOS flight was this weekend. Far better food that I’ve had on UA domestically in years, and frankly better quality than any recent Intl F/J flight on UA in years. To top it off, the 16 passengers in F were being served by one FA. While the service was a tiny bit slow, the service was fantastic.

dilanesp

I will take fast service of adequate food over slow service of fine food any day of the week. More time to work or sleep.

cmd320

This really depends on what your definition of adequate is. I personally can’t remember the last meal I’ve had on a domestic flight which I would have considered adequate. This route isn’t lie flat on AS either so I wouldn’t be doing any sleeping anyway.

nomad420

I fly both AS and UA and while yes I agree AS food is hands down better it isn't fine dinning by any stretch of the imagination.
UA lie-flats on the TCON routes are incredibly hard to upgrade into (instrument) and while I'll pay for J on longer international runs I typically don't pay J for TCONs but try to upgrade into J on virtually every TCON flight I take with only minimal success. If you compare non lie-flat F AS to UA I'll take AS any day. I find that in general there F product is better.

spin88

As I keep saying, this is why Kirby gutting MP is so dangerous of a move. It is causing a lot of traffic to look around, and realize that other carriers are just flat out better than is UA. Food is just one example. AS has good food, better wine, better service. And oh, their planes are being retrofitted to have 41" pitch in F, not UA's 37" (which feels like 36"). So yes, the few lie flat routes on UA are nice, but absent a red-eye, which I just avoid absent about once a year when need strikes, the lie flat is not worth paying for.

Food is just part of the package of what you buy, and absent keeping your "CO/UA is great" blinders on, UA really is behind the curve here, badly in domestic F and international Y, but also substantially inferior in J. Add in surley service, and some seats that are clearly inferior to OALs, and it is not a good package...

fumje

Recently I went DEN-ORD, and the FA was still bringing out row 5's meal service after the captain turned the seatbelt sign back on for initial descent.