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COVID Era UA inflight service changes {Archive}

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Old Apr 18, 2020, 1:31 pm
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Last edit by: WineCountryUA
This is an archive thread, the active thread is https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...ll-cabins.html


Updated posting July 2020 - Ice, tea and coffee returns and some small food enhancements.
Safety updates to inflight dining
Your safety and the safety of our employees is our highest priority. To try and further limit potential exposure to coronavirus (COVID-19) on board, we’re temporarily adjusting our inflight service as of March 29 and will be moving to primarily pre-packaged foods and sealed beverages. Preorder meals and food for purchase will not be available. We’re also unable to offer special meals except for Kosher meals on flights to and from Tel Aviv.

Beverage changes for all flights
We will be offering sealed beverages on all flights. If you’re on a flight under 1 hour, you’ll receive beverages on request. We’ll also offer coffee and tea on domestic flights departing before 9:45 a.m. and on all international and premium transcontinental flights. Non-alcoholic beverages are complimentary, and alcoholic beverages are complimentary in premium cabins. Wine and beer are also complimentary in United Economy® on long-haul international flights.

Food changes for domestic flights
We won't have snacks available in United Economy for flights under 2 hours and 20 minutes or in United First® for flights under 1 hour. As always, you're welcome to bring snacks on board. For flights between 1 hour and 2 hours and 20 minutes in United First, you'll receive an "all-in-one" snack bag with a wrapped sanitizer wipe, 8.5-ounce bottled water and two snacks.

For flights 2 hours and 20 minutes or longer, you'll receive an "all-in-one" snack bag with a wrapped sanitizer wipe, 8.5-ounce bottled water and two snacks in United Economy. In the premium cabin, you'll be offered a snack box.

Food changes for premium transcontinental flights
If you're flying in United Economy or Economy Plus®, you'll receive an "all-in-one" snack bag with a wrapped sanitizer wipe, 8.5-ounce bottled water and two snacks. Customers in the premium cabin will receive their meal with their entrée choice covered and will be offered a packaged snack for pre-arrival.

Food changes for international flights
In United Economy®, you’ll receive an entrée, a snack and packaged dessert, as well as pre-packed mid-flight and pre-arrival items on select flights. Everything is served packaged or covered for you to unwrap.

In United Premium Plus® and United Polaris® business class, your entrée, dessert and bread will be served together. Everything is served packaged or covered for you to unwrap. You’ll receive a pre-packaged snack for midflight and a fresh packaged meal for pre-arrival on select flights.
orignal posting
Safety updates to inflight dining
Your safety and the safety of our employees is our highest priority. To try and further limit potential exposure to coronavirus (COVID-19) on board, we’re temporarily adjusting our inflight service as of March 29 and will be moving to primarily pre-packaged foods and sealed beverages. Preorder meals and food for purchase will not be available. We’re also unable to offer special meals except for Kosher meals on flights to and from Tel Aviv.

Beverage changes for all flights
We will only offer sealed beverages and we will no longer offer ice, coffee and tea service, and poured alcohol. Instead of pouring you water from a large bottle, we’ll provide sealed individual water bottles. In premium cabins, we will offer beer and individual wines. Flights under 2 hours and 20 minutes will only have beverages on request.

Food changes for domestic flights
For flights under 2 hours and 20 minutes, we will not offer a snack service in any cabin. As always, you’re welcome to bring snacks on board.

For flights over 2 hours and 20 minutes, you will receive your choice of pretzels, a stroopwafel or cookies in United Economy®. In the premium cabin, you’ll be offered a snackbox.

Food changes for premium transcontinental flights
If you’re flying in United Economy or Economy Plus®, you’ll be offered a snack choice. Customers in the premium cabin will receive their packaged meal with their entrée choice covered and will be offered a packaged snack for pre-arrival.

Food changes for international flights
In United Economy®, you’ll receive an entrée, a snack and packaged dessert, as well as pre-packed mid-flight and pre-arrival items on select flights. Everything is served packaged or covered for you to unwrap.

In United Premium Plus® and United Polaris® business class, your entrée, dessert and bread will be served together. Everything is served packaged or covered for you to unwrap. You’ll receive a pre-packaged snack for midflight and a fresh packaged meal for pre-arrival.


crew meals, covered by contract, appear minimally changed
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COVID Era UA inflight service changes {Archive}

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Old Jun 17, 2020, 12:38 pm
  #406  
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Originally Posted by ainternational
Very unimpressed with UA838 NRT -> SFO today.

- Told PDB no longer offered
- Sat adjacent to someone in C despite 90% of the seats being empty
- No menus
- C food option: Chicken, fish or beef (I kid you not)
- Told no snacks, no bread
- Beer and wine only
- Absent FA’s
- Same old skanky wet bathrooms with shared amenities

And I’m just an hour into the flight. Thankfully it did leave quite early. GS service at NRT was excellent though.

With such reduced service, they need to reduce ticket prices. I paid $8,600 round trip.

Unbelievably poor experience.
Why in the world did you pay that much? You don't have access to any discounts or a travel agent? Or not willing to consider another airline?
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Old Jun 17, 2020, 12:39 pm
  #407  
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Originally Posted by UAflyer93
Everyone seemed a little puzzled and my seat mate pointed out to me that he was surprised that there was no hot meal.

What was most bizarre is that the FAs simply disappeared to the galley to chat amongst themselves after handing out the boxes. It happened so quickly that everyone was a little confused as to whether the snack box was a replacement for the welcome nuts or the meal itself.

I had to press my flight attendant call button to get the attention of one of the flight attendants. When I asked if the snack boxes she handed out constituted our full inflight meal she simply said “that’s all we have.”

After the FA left, my seat mate told me that he had brought his own meal anyway because the food on “UA was so bad that he always bring his own food; it’s always a hockey puck of a chicken thing..”
I would definitely write in for compensation, that's a violation of the published service standards. I wonder if the crew was finishing off those hot meals while chatting in the galley.
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Old Jun 17, 2020, 12:42 pm
  #408  
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Originally Posted by UAflyer93
Everyone seemed a little puzzled and my seat mate pointed out to me that he was surprised that there was no hot meal.

What was most bizarre is that the FAs simply disappeared to the galley to chat amongst themselves after handing out the boxes. It happened so quickly that everyone was a little confused as to whether the snack box was a replacement for the welcome nuts or the meal itself.

I had to press my flight attendant call button to get the attention of one of the flight attendants. When I asked if the snack boxes she handed out constituted our full inflight meal she simply said “that’s all we have.”

After the FA left, my seat mate told me that he had brought his own meal anyway because the food on “UA was so bad that he always bring his own food; it’s always a hockey puck of a chicken thing..”
It's supposed to be Premium Service. Remember back around the time UA and CO were integrating and pax in First Class requested snack boxes from Y (because the catering was so bad) and were actually getting charged for them? Now it's the exact opposite. I would request a massive amount of compensation for this from UA.
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Old Jun 17, 2020, 12:43 pm
  #409  
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I might have to fly ex-EWR and am for the first time on at J-ticket seriously contemplating bringing my own food as well.
What are the options to buy anything decent these days at EWR, since I understand most food places are closed?
(Due to connection I won't have time to go outside of EWR)
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Old Jun 17, 2020, 1:20 pm
  #410  
 
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Originally Posted by LAX_AUS_DL_FLYER
It's supposed to be Premium Service. Remember back around the time UA and CO were integrating and pax in First Class requested snack boxes from Y (because the catering was so bad) and were actually getting charged for them? Now it's the exact opposite. I would request a massive amount of compensation for this from UA.
AA is offering a modified but full service, and JetBlue is offering pre-packaged but fresh foods and slightly trimmed beverage offering. UA has ditched the lot. I imagine that much of this has to do with UA running its own catering operation with Chelsea - at the moment they are loading up the carts with snack boxes and wine/beer, and doing little to no replenishment between sectors. UA tries to do as much in-house as possible on the catering front, so clearly they are trimming this cost as much as possible - we've already seen multi-sector/roundtrip catering from them, this is the next step. Very sad.
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Old Jun 17, 2020, 1:55 pm
  #411  
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Originally Posted by st3
CNN ran an article yesterday about Booze getting cut by the airlines. Notably absent on the list was UA (although we all know what has been cut)

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/a...-19/index.html
With regards to DL and AA, this wasn't new information at all. DL stopped serving basically everything ages ago as did AA in the Y cabin. AA continues to offer a full beverage service on demand in F.
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Old Jun 17, 2020, 2:20 pm
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Delta also has no food. We are in a major health crisis--maybe time to think about health and safety of all involved. This is not. June 2019
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Old Jun 17, 2020, 2:30 pm
  #413  
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Originally Posted by trk1
Delta also has no food. We are in a major health crisis--maybe time to think about health and safety of all involved. This is not. June 2019
Food service has absolutely nothing to do with the virus at all - there is no way to catch it from things you are eating, and the trays can be prepared and sealed at the catering facility with a hot entree, sealed in its wrapping, delivered at the seat to minimize who is touching the containers holding the food.

This is everything to do about money - at least Delta was upfront about it, but are you suggesting American is dangerous to fly because there is some degree of normal cabin service in F?
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Old Jun 17, 2020, 2:35 pm
  #414  
 
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Yes--would not eat food served on an aircraft--bad enough to be on an aircraft
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Old Jun 17, 2020, 3:11 pm
  #415  
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Originally Posted by trk1
Yes--would not eat food served on an aircraft--bad enough to be on an aircraft
Why would you not eat food served on an aircraft if there is zero chance of transmission by food and the virus cannot survive through the GI system?
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Old Jun 17, 2020, 3:25 pm
  #416  
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Originally Posted by cmd320
With regards to DL and AA, this wasn't new information at all. DL stopped serving basically everything ages ago as did AA in the Y cabin. AA continues to offer a full beverage service on demand in F.
Right, I don't think it covered any new news/changes. I was more surprised that UA wasn't mentioned at all and "superior" DL was pretty drastic with their cuts.
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Old Jun 17, 2020, 4:25 pm
  #417  
 
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Originally Posted by bocastephen
Why would you not eat food served on an aircraft if there is zero chance of transmission by food and the virus cannot survive through the GI system?
I don't think it's the food itself at all. Instead, it's the fact that someone has to prep the fresh food, package it, and then flight attendants have to offer a service which requires close contact with people, and that's an unnecesary number of trips through the cabin.

I get that it sounds convenient, but the pandemic is getting better, and demand is increasing. Give it another month or so, and see what happens.
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Old Jun 17, 2020, 4:29 pm
  #418  
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Originally Posted by NikoLGA
I don't think it's the food itself at all. Instead, it's the fact that someone has to prep the fresh food, package it, and then flight attendants have to offer a service which requires close contact with people, and that's an unnecesary number of trips through the cabin.
Hate to say it but someone had to prep the meals on AA also. This is a dodge by UA. And DL.

I get that it sounds convenient, but the pandemic is getting better, and demand is increasing. Give it another month or so, and see what happens.
Hopefully those GSs and 1Ks take their money elsewhere to get the service they want. This is not service - especially on the routes they call "p.t.s.".

David
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Old Jun 17, 2020, 4:35 pm
  #419  
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Originally Posted by DELee
Hate to say it but someone had to prep the meals on AA also. This is a dodge by UA. And DL. ,,,,
Same for AS, HA, B6, ... all touting safety as the reason.
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Old Jun 17, 2020, 4:37 pm
  #420  
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Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
Same for AS, HA, B6, ... all touting safety as the reason.
Ditto.

David
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