Making things up now. Lovely.

UA2136 IAH-BOS. Water or sparkling wine offered. It's been a while since I've flown in F on United. The sparkling wine tastes like someone spilled a tiny bit of alcohol into some seltzer. Almost like a carbonated soju.

To my surprise, on a recent EWR-LAX, the person behind me asked for sparkling water as their PDB and the FA told them they'd be happy to oblige [only] once in the air. :rolleyes:

Domestic -- none. A few international locations, perhaps.

PDX-SFO, delayed over an hour due to ground control in SFO. Originally announced delay awas an hour. When asked about water or PDBs FAs said when a flight is delayed they cannot serve anything or offer PDBs. We sat on the ground well over an hour before moving. Laziest FAs I have seen on any airline in a long while. They talked to each other about their contracts and domicile issues the entire time we were aboard.

It seems unremarkable that coworkers at work talk to each other about their workplace.

And still not provide any service.

David

Perhaps to people who expect no service. But this conversation between two FAs was in place of offering PDBs during the hour long delay or anything other than one round of drinks airborne. After which their conversation continued and empty glasses were only collected just before landing.

April 16. UA 1980. No PDB

Lots and lots of time as we boarded early and left on time.

Love the inconsistency and the day I needed some water. Old couple behind me on the flight are not happy!

I always give out gift cards to attentive, motivated cabin crews. I flew 12 segments on UA over the last week and only 1 crew earned GCs - they proactively offered PDB of choice and delivered outstanding service throughout the 4-hour flight. On the other 11 segments, there were no PDBs of choice and only 4 trays offered, even during extended boarding/delay periods, and the meal services were lackadaisical. IME service has gotten worse in the last few months.

April 16: UA 2194. PDB of water or sparkling wine.

I agree with you, something has changed recently. Maybe there are a lot of recently graduated FAs who have not found their groove yet. I find the experienced FAs providing much better and consistent service.

IAD to LHR this week. FA came and asked if I wanted water or sparkling. Thanks to this thread, I decided to be brave and asked if I could have G&T instead. The FA cocked her head, paused, and then said “ok. A few minutes later I was smiling ear to ear and thinking of you all. thanks.

I tried that on my recent flights and got the, "We're not allowed to do that until we're in the air" or "These are the only beverages available until we're in the air", BS most of the time.
Contrast that with DL where, even on short 1 hour flights, I always get my PDB of choice. I wish UA would at least establish a consistent service protocol. I always preemptively carry a beverage in my backpack when flying UA because I have no idea what service I'm going to get.

its sad that consumers are kind of taken hostage on this topic. I’m scare to ask for a PDB and when I’m rejected that could lead them to being hostile.

I see Kirby on tv a lot answering softball questions. I’d love for them to ask why this PDB is such an issue… which leads to the devaluation of the loyalty program. However, Kirby acts like a politician and likely dance around those questions.