2022 Let's Eat - United First, United Business, & Premium Transcon Service
#901
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Bounding Around The Good 'Ole USA In My Chevrolet
Programs: UA Gold
Posts: 381
Full PDB offered by the excellent UX FA serving F. How long has UX had bubbly? That’s what I got. Never saw if it was a full bottle or minis.
Choice of chicken zatar or cheese plate. Went with the zatar and I am an enthusiastic fan. Not at all dry as described in other recent posts. Flavorful, lemony, fresh-tasting etc. Also had roll and butter, packaged cup of tropical fruit, and a pie in the sky.
Refills offered throughout. Really a terrific flight.
Choice of chicken zatar or cheese plate. Went with the zatar and I am an enthusiastic fan. Not at all dry as described in other recent posts. Flavorful, lemony, fresh-tasting etc. Also had roll and butter, packaged cup of tropical fruit, and a pie in the sky.
Refills offered throughout. Really a terrific flight.
#902
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: IAH/EWR-LGA/MIA
Programs: UA Global Services 3.2 MM, Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium Elite, AA Exec Plat
Posts: 2,505
#904
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Saipan, MP 96950 USA (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands = the CNMI)
Programs: UA Silver, Hilton Silver. Life: UA .57 MM, United & Admirals Clubs (spousal), Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,049
Reconstituted Chicken on United Airlines
This topic may well deserve its own thread, but I will leave that decision to our esteemed moderator.
How prevalent is reconstituted chicken (compressed chicken parts in the form of a chicken breast) on United Airlines (UA)?
I have read several such complaints over the past months, but nary a close-up photo to document the faux chicken.
At the same time, I read posts praising UA chicken to the sky, which comports with my own MNL-GUM experience last month in business class.
Does UA have multiple caterers, some using real, and some fake?
We have enough FlyerTalk participants that we should be able to get to the bottom of this.
However, bandying about evidence without firm, physical or documentary evidence and analysis does not enhance our credibility.
Perhaps someone could even bring a piece off the plane (not through customs) for professional culinary or scientific analysis?
I was offered the Chicken Za’atar on my flight IAD-GUA on 6-13 and it was even worse than described. I didn’t take a pic, but essentially it was the old “chicken with orzo” except the chicken was in little crumbles - yes, crumbles - of the reconstituted stuff, despite being described as “sliced chicken breast”. I was starving so I ate it.
Choice of chicken zatar or cheese plate. Went with the zatar and I am an enthusiastic fan. Not at all dry as described in other recent posts. Flavorful, lemony, fresh-tasting etc. Also had roll and butter, packaged cup of tropical fruit, and a pie in the sky.
Refills offered throughout. Really a terrific flight.
Refills offered throughout. Really a terrific flight.
How prevalent is reconstituted chicken (compressed chicken parts in the form of a chicken breast) on United Airlines (UA)?
I have read several such complaints over the past months, but nary a close-up photo to document the faux chicken.
At the same time, I read posts praising UA chicken to the sky, which comports with my own MNL-GUM experience last month in business class.
Does UA have multiple caterers, some using real, and some fake?
We have enough FlyerTalk participants that we should be able to get to the bottom of this.
However, bandying about evidence without firm, physical or documentary evidence and analysis does not enhance our credibility.
Perhaps someone could even bring a piece off the plane (not through customs) for professional culinary or scientific analysis?
#905
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 1,620
Reconstituted Chicken on United Airlines
This topic may well deserve its own thread, but I will leave that decision to our esteemed moderator.
How prevalent is reconstituted chicken (compressed chicken parts in the form of a chicken breast) on United Airlines (UA)?
I have read several such complaints over the past months, but nary a close-up photo to document the faux chicken.
At the same time, I read posts praising UA chicken to the sky, which comports with my own MNL-GUM experience last month in business class.
Does UA have multiple caterers, some using real, and some fake?
We have enough FlyerTalk participants that we should be able to get to the bottom of this.
However, bandying about evidence without firm, physical or documentary evidence and analysis does not enhance our credibility.
Perhaps someone could even bring a piece off the plane (not through customs) for professional culinary or scientific analysis?
This topic may well deserve its own thread, but I will leave that decision to our esteemed moderator.
How prevalent is reconstituted chicken (compressed chicken parts in the form of a chicken breast) on United Airlines (UA)?
I have read several such complaints over the past months, but nary a close-up photo to document the faux chicken.
At the same time, I read posts praising UA chicken to the sky, which comports with my own MNL-GUM experience last month in business class.
Does UA have multiple caterers, some using real, and some fake?
We have enough FlyerTalk participants that we should be able to get to the bottom of this.
However, bandying about evidence without firm, physical or documentary evidence and analysis does not enhance our credibility.
Perhaps someone could even bring a piece off the plane (not through customs) for professional culinary or scientific analysis?
He said he is almost entirely sure that UA's spec does not call for restructured or reformed chicken, but that catering units on their own (to save money) are subbing out fresh who muscle chicken breast for the science compressed chicken breast.
While his unit has never catered UA he said it is his understanding from talking to other catering units that do cater UA that their spec is not as tight as other airlines (he did add that most US based airlines spec is not super tight), he said that Emirates has some of tightest specs he has ever seen and that if UA got wind of the compressed chicken they would tell the catering unit to knock it off.
Most likely UA is contracted for chicken breast and the price went up and certain catering units to show profitability to Corporate are subbing out ingredients to save money where they can and UA's chicken is one of the items being subbed out.
#907
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: No. California
Programs: UA MP HH LTD
Posts: 2,040
Had an interesting food situation on UA 351, DCA-SFO on June 12. Pre-order food selection was just 2 items (chicken and vegetarian), after having a choice of 5 items on the SFO-DCA flight. When on board, the purser came around, said there were no pre-ordered food and offered a verbal list of 5 meal choices, including a hot turkey sandwich (which DW and I had, nothing spectacular, slightly better than the Covid sandwiches, with fruit, a roll and pie in the sky ), a chicken dish, a dish that sounded like a meatball dish with impossible meat, a vegetarian dish and what appeared to be a left over waffle from the previous SFO-DCA flight the plane had just completed.
Overall, the result was better than the pre-order option, but just odd.
Overall, the result was better than the pre-order option, but just odd.
#908
Join Date: Aug 2002
Programs: UA 1K & 1MM/AA Gold & 1MM/HH Gold/Marriott Titanium
Posts: 2,924
Brekkies on RNO-DEN
0829 RNO-DEN on A319
only choice for breakfast
only choice for breakfast
#910
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: San Francisco
Programs: UA MM Plat, UA 1MM, Hilton Lifetime Gold, Marriott Gold, Hertz Gold, CLEAR, AS MVP Gold
Posts: 3,620
#911
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: IAH/EWR-LGA/MIA
Programs: UA Global Services 3.2 MM, Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium Elite, AA Exec Plat
Posts: 2,505
EWR-MIA 15 June 730 pm 738 seat 2B
PDB of water or sparkling wine presented on a tray.
Choice of beverage before main.
Main was choice of za’atar chicken or Impossible meatballs. Went with the latter. Really tasty. Both of these new mains are home runs IMO. Bread and pie in the sky were warmed. Fruit bowl tasted very fresh.
Another excellent crew that worked the whole flight.
Choice of beverage before main.
Main was choice of za’atar chicken or Impossible meatballs. Went with the latter. Really tasty. Both of these new mains are home runs IMO. Bread and pie in the sky were warmed. Fruit bowl tasted very fresh.
Another excellent crew that worked the whole flight.
#912
Join Date: May 2007
Programs: UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 5,453
It's all prepackaged and not super appetizing though. RNO must be an outstation where UA doesn't have a catering contract for whatever reason, necessitating the need to provision shelf-stable food on the inbound the night before. Was that the case pre-pandemic?
#913
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 1,620
I was able to pre-order on my MCO-EWR flight coming up in a few days, was a first for me, so maybe it has expanded to non-hub flights now too.
#914
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,018
SAT-ORD today:
PDB = water or O.J.
breakfast flight - I had pre-ordered "Waflle with banana foster sauce".
F.A advised that catering had not loaded the waffle ....instead he had a bagel with cream cheese option (vegetarian option).
I said yes to that......and then I discovered that was the famous "Heart-Attack Cream cheese thingy" with 1400mg salt.
I did not eat.
The only other item on the plate was a fruit plate (2cm piece of watermelon, 5 blueberries, one thin slice pineapple; one thin slice melon)
Other food option was a packaged (hot) ham/cheese croissant.
Luckily I got my own food from home; I also got my own tea from home.
The food situation at UA is getting worse each day!
P.S Catering forgot to load water as well. Luckily FA's discovered that and the station folks got them the water.
PDB = water or O.J.
breakfast flight - I had pre-ordered "Waflle with banana foster sauce".
F.A advised that catering had not loaded the waffle ....instead he had a bagel with cream cheese option (vegetarian option).
I said yes to that......and then I discovered that was the famous "Heart-Attack Cream cheese thingy" with 1400mg salt.
I did not eat.
The only other item on the plate was a fruit plate (2cm piece of watermelon, 5 blueberries, one thin slice pineapple; one thin slice melon)
Other food option was a packaged (hot) ham/cheese croissant.
Luckily I got my own food from home; I also got my own tea from home.
The food situation at UA is getting worse each day!
P.S Catering forgot to load water as well. Luckily FA's discovered that and the station folks got them the water.
#915
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2019
Programs: AA: CK
Posts: 2,230
SFO-MEX lunch. Impossible meatballs, which really do taste like meat! The sauce looks frozen on top, but it was hot, and everything was good. PDB of water/OJ/bubbly. Drink before the meal (no nuts, no snack.) Fruit was a weird side. Shoulda been a salad. Bread warmed. Decent service.