United to Hawaii in First Class - What to Expect?
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: USA
Programs: UA Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,152
UA 383 (HNL-DEN) on Jan 22 had PDB of either water or champagne. Sadly in the plastic blue cups but it was nice to have.
Dinner meal was chicken katsu with a curry sauce or some cauliflower thing (you can guess what I had). It had a decent side salad and guava cake -- not as good as Liliha Bakery of course but probably as good as anything I might buy at Foodland or Times.
Breakfast choices were Portuguese sausage, scrambled eggs, and rice or a vegan protein bowl. Again, I went for the local food and it was quite good.
The FAs seemed fairly new (one boarding passenger said he was going to need help learning how to use the seat and an FA told him they'd both have to learn together) but were courteous and enthusiastic.
Dinner meal was chicken katsu with a curry sauce or some cauliflower thing (you can guess what I had). It had a decent side salad and guava cake -- not as good as Liliha Bakery of course but probably as good as anything I might buy at Foodland or Times.
Breakfast choices were Portuguese sausage, scrambled eggs, and rice or a vegan protein bowl. Again, I went for the local food and it was quite good.
The FAs seemed fairly new (one boarding passenger said he was going to need help learning how to use the seat and an FA told him they'd both have to learn together) but were courteous and enthusiastic.
#2
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: AA Platinum
Posts: 55
Recent Meal Service, F, HNL-IAD
F dinner aboard UA 344, HNL-IAD. The bread was served warm. I don't know what this salad was. UA piled on the white rice, as they did with the eggs the following morning at breakfast. I was thankful for the broccoli. The chicken was past dry, hence the sauce in the package. Service was efficient, with pre-departure water or champagne, albeit in plastic blue cups. Luggage was waiting for me at the carrousel, which is always welcomed. Prefer AA Flagship Hawaii service but you do have to change planes from Washington for that, and I think the inconvenience is worth it. AA is serving sundaes again on their Flagship Hawaii flights. Such a small, but welcome, thing. You can also pre-order your meal in advance, a feature not yet available to Hawaii (at least on my flights). AA provides menus as well, with nuts. UA had served nuts from ORD, but they were missing on UA 344. If you have to change in DFW, you have complimentary access to the Admirals Club, and after it has reopened, the Flagship Lounge.
Breakfast, F, UA 344, IAD-HNL
Last edited by PACLipper; Feb 6, 2022 at 9:07 pm Reason: error
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: USA
Programs: UA Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,152
F dinner aboard UA 344, HNL-IAD. The bread was served warm. I don't know what this salad was. UA piled on the white rice, as they did with the eggs the following morning at breakfast. I was thankful for the broccoli. The chicken was past dry, hence the sauce in the package. Service was efficient, with pre-departure water or champagne, albeit in plastic blue cups. Luggage was waiting for me at the carrousel, which is always welcomed. Prefer AA Flagship Hawaii service but you do have to change planes from Washington for that, and I think the inconvenience is worth it. AA is serving sundaes again on their Flagship Hawaii flights. Such a small, but welcome, thing. You can also pre-order your meal in advance, a feature not yet available to Hawaii (at least on my flights). AA provides menus as well, with nuts. UA had served nuts from ORD, but they were missing on UA 344. If you have to change in DFW, you have complimentary access to the Admirals Club, and after it has reopened, the Flagship Lounge.
Breakfast, F, UA 344, IAD-HNL
#4
Join Date: Jun 2021
Location: Houston, TX
Programs: UA silver, Bonvoy silver
Posts: 2,807
The above two posts are exactly why I have long wished that United brands the long haul Hawaii flights as Polaris routes. Simply to be competitive with AA/DL.
I have the Club Card, so I have UC access, but having PL access would blow away AA/DL on these routes. Especially since the in flight product closely aligns with Polaris service these days
I have the Club Card, so I have UC access, but having PL access would blow away AA/DL on these routes. Especially since the in flight product closely aligns with Polaris service these days
#5
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: AA Platinum
Posts: 55
The above two posts are exactly why I have long wished that United brands the long haul Hawaii flights as Polaris routes. Simply to be competitive with AA/DL.
I have the Club Card, so I have UC access, but having PL access would blow away AA/DL on these routes. Especially since the in flight product closely aligns with Polaris service these days
I have the Club Card, so I have UC access, but having PL access would blow away AA/DL on these routes. Especially since the in flight product closely aligns with Polaris service these days
Last edited by PACLipper; Feb 7, 2022 at 3:25 am
#6
Join Date: Jun 2021
Location: Houston, TX
Programs: UA silver, Bonvoy silver
Posts: 2,807
I have UA Club Access twice a year due to the Chase Visa affinity card, but after this trip, I am strongly considering blowing my miles and canceling that card. If the F service I had on this trip from Chicago to Honolulu to Washington Dulles is "closely aligns with Polaris service," then my September flight to Munich on UA metal (I am returning via FRA to catch the 747 on LH) is of concern. The catering on this F flight was Gross, and the catering from Chicago O'Hare was not much better (I was served nuts from ORD, but not from HNL). I was looking forward to the sorbet someone had mentioned this past summer in these forums on UA F Hawaii, but it was missing completely. White rice is of poor nutritional value and at breakfast? Gross! It may be popular cuisine in Hawaii, but not for me. Had I known white rice was served with both meals, I would not have selected them. Of course, UA does not provide menus, not in F, and not in its once esteemed Polaris service, either, from what I have read on FlyerTalk. I will not put my $$ toward UA F to HI again. Flagship Hawaii passengers can avail themselves of the AA Flagship Lounge at DFW when it reopens this spring, and access is provided to the Admirals Club in the interim. Would UA ever provide comparable access to the Polaris lounge at either IAD or EWR? AA Flagship Hawaii is superior to UA F on long-distance Mainland routes in terms of both service and catering. Bill Patterson would be ashamed of such service (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A._Patterson).
Going from IAH to HNL, the breakfast was the Polaris choices of french toast or the quiche. Teriyaki burger was also very good pre arrival.
If anything, the food to Hawaii seems > the Polaris food these days
Yes, the lack of the premium lounge is a big deal. AA could make some gains with premium pax at ORD as a result of this
As for William Patterson... this isn't that United. This is Texas International Airlines, dba CO dba UA. Frank Lorenzo is still involved and blocked Gordon Bethune from becoming chairman a few years ago
https://www.thestreet.com/opinion/le...ental-13493307
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: USA
Programs: UA Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,152
I have UA Club Access twice a year due to the Chase Visa affinity card, but after this trip, I am strongly considering blowing my miles and canceling that card. If the F service I had on this trip from Chicago to Honolulu to Washington Dulles is "closely aligns with Polaris service," then my September flight to Munich on UA metal (I am returning via FRA to catch the 747 on LH) is of concern. The catering on this F flight was Gross, and the catering from Chicago O'Hare was not much better (I was served nuts from ORD, but not from HNL). I was looking forward to the sorbet someone had mentioned this past summer in these forums on UA F Hawaii, but it was missing completely. White rice is of poor nutritional value and at breakfast? Gross! It may be popular cuisine in Hawaii, but not for me. Had I known white rice was served with both meals, I would not have selected them. Of course, UA does not provide menus, not in F, and not in its once esteemed Polaris service, either, from what I have read on FlyerTalk. I will not put my $$ toward UA F to HI again. Flagship Hawaii passengers can avail themselves of the AA Flagship Lounge at DFW when it reopens this spring, and access is provided to the Admirals Club in the interim. Would UA ever provide comparable access to the Polaris lounge at either IAD or EWR? AA Flagship Hawaii is superior to UA F on long-distance Mainland routes in terms of both service and catering. Bill Patterson would be ashamed of such service (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A._Patterson).
I agree with you that t would be better if UA provided a menu outlining the meal ocntents, understanding that some details like the nuts may vary based on catering. I have received menus on most (all? I can't remember one where I didn't get a menu) of my flights in Polaris class so I don't know where you're getting the idea that they don't do that.
Frankly, I don't know why United can't get the catering menus uploaded to the app, at least for the front cabin. It could be something that loads an hour before departure when the catering load should basically be finalized. This would give the passengers something to consider and think about before boarding -- last minute changes could be addressed by the FAs.
#8
Join Date: Jan 2007
Programs: UA 1MM, Avis Chairman, Four Seasons Elite, HA Pualani Gold
Posts: 427
I have UA Club Access twice a year due to the Chase Visa affinity card, but after this trip, I am strongly considering blowing my miles and canceling that card. If the F service I had on this trip from Chicago to Honolulu to Washington Dulles is "closely aligns with Polaris service," then my September flight to Munich on UA metal (I am returning via FRA to catch the 747 on LH) is of concern. The catering on this F flight was Gross, and the catering from Chicago O'Hare was not much better (I was served nuts from ORD, but not from HNL). I was looking forward to the sorbet someone had mentioned this past summer in these forums on UA F Hawaii, but it was missing completely. White rice is of poor nutritional value and at breakfast? Gross! It may be popular cuisine in Hawaii, but not for me. Had I known white rice was served with both meals, I would not have selected them. Of course, UA does not provide menus, not in F, and not in its once esteemed Polaris service, either, from what I have read on FlyerTalk. I will not put my $$ toward UA F to HI again. Flagship Hawaii passengers can avail themselves of the AA Flagship Lounge at DFW when it reopens this spring, and access is provided to the Admirals Club in the interim. Would UA ever provide comparable access to the Polaris lounge at either IAD or EWR? AA Flagship Hawaii is superior to UA F on long-distance Mainland routes in terms of both service and catering. Bill Patterson would be ashamed of such service (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A._Patterson).
#10
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.99MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,425
#11
Join Date: Jun 2021
Location: Houston, TX
Programs: UA silver, Bonvoy silver
Posts: 2,807
Will the long haul HI routes be aligned with the Polaris offering, or will be be more like the premium transcon offering?
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Jun 1, 2022 at 10:15 pm Reason: moved to Hawai'i thread
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Honolulu Harbor
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 14,879
It's kind of sad that we're excited about UA getting back to pre-pandemic levels of feeding the passengers, but the food itself hasn't shown itself to be getting back to pre-pandemic "quality". I guess that's something else we can (separately) look forward to in the future. On the other hand, maybe UA will surprise us w/ better food on June 1 coincidental with the expanded catering, too. My guess is UA can only do one thing at a time
Last edited by IAH-OIL-TRASH; May 25, 2022 at 6:08 pm
#13
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: RIC
Programs: UA 1K MM
Posts: 3,383
Nothing that's been announced/seen recently takes any UA route to a higher level than pre-pandemic, but you expect long-haul Hawaii to be somehow treated differently/better? . Long-haul Hawaii will not be treated like Polaris - little competition on routes. UA has competitors on NY-California routes, hence the beefed up offering. Good catering on long-haul Hawaii went out with Continental in 2012 (and was already on downward path). One might expect warm nuts again - eventually. Long-haul Hawaii will continue to be domestic First food with an extra meal due to length and a snack basket.
What "beefed up offering" on PTS? There is none currently.
Warm nuts have already been restored.
Long-haul Hawaii meals have more closely resembled Polaris meals vs. domestic F or PTS J over the past 2 years - for example: fish and beef entrees.
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Honolulu Harbor
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 14,879
I'm saying eventually, UA will restore to pre-pandemic p.s. catering. I fly long-haul Hawaii almost monthly - the catering is EXACTLY the same as domestic F with the mid-flight burger/asian noodles added because of flight length. Last week Tuesday HNL-SFO on a 737 breakfast was exactly the same as breakfast IAH-HNL and EWR-HNL. It is not Polaris catering.
#15
Join Date: Jun 2021
Location: Houston, TX
Programs: UA silver, Bonvoy silver
Posts: 2,807
Nothing that's been announced/seen recently takes any UA route to a higher level than pre-pandemic, but you expect long-haul Hawaii to be somehow treated differently/better? . Long-haul Hawaii will not be treated like Polaris - little competition on routes. UA has competitors on NY-California routes, hence the beefed up offering. Good catering on long-haul Hawaii went out with Continental in 2012 (and was already on downward path). One might expect warm nuts again - eventually. Long-haul Hawaii will continue to be domestic First food with an extra meal due to length and a snack basket.
It's kind of sad that we're excited about UA getting back to pre-pandemic levels of feeding the passengers, but the food itself hasn't shown itself to be getting back to pre-pandemic "quality". I guess that's something else we can (separately) look forward to in the future. On the other hand, maybe UA will surprise us w/ better food on June 1 coincidental with the expanded catering, too. My guess is UA can only do one thing at a time
It's kind of sad that we're excited about UA getting back to pre-pandemic levels of feeding the passengers, but the food itself hasn't shown itself to be getting back to pre-pandemic "quality". I guess that's something else we can (separately) look forward to in the future. On the other hand, maybe UA will surprise us w/ better food on June 1 coincidental with the expanded catering, too. My guess is UA can only do one thing at a time
See this breakfast post from Syf/SFO in Polaris. The quiche is the EXACT same thing that was served for breakfast on my Dec IAH/HNL flight. The other option was french toast, same french toast that has been served in Polaris
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/34270120-post579.html
As for west coast to Hawaii, it has been receiving the same product as the premium transcon routes in terms of food (and I believe amenity kits). Same first meals and same cheese tray prior to landing
Last edited by Unitedloyalflyer; May 25, 2022 at 6:23 pm