jrquad

I get it that they have to eat. But up and back in first EWR to ATL not even a pretzel for the cabin while the flight attendants enjoyed a very nice steak dinner. It was like where are they? Walked up to see them enjoying a nice salad with their seasoned steak. Smelled great in the cabin? Im starving.

Is this a new thing where they eat and we don't?

bmwe92fan

Yeah I get it -- those were probably crew meals and I won't complain about that -- they need to eat and I'm betting that was their only UA provided food for the day.... What does drive me crazy is when I write in to UA about the awful service and quality of food -- especially compared to other carriers -- they write back and tell me that the reason is that the crews are too scared and worried about social distancing and COVID to serve their passengers food like they did pre COVID -- and that other carriers - since they are funded by governments -- don't have to worry about it so they can give proper service....

DenverBrian

It's certainly not a new thing that "we don't eat" on lots of flights on lots of domestic airlines. Were you not advised of the food options when you booked your flight in the details? Did you not grab something at the airport to alleviate your starving before boarding the plane?

(I really don't think most of us understand the concept of what it's like to experience starvation.)

WineCountryUA

Always has been true. Crews usually don't have time between flights to go grab lunch or dinner. Domestic they may be doing 2,3,4,5,.. flights in a day and are tightly scheduled. and if one of those flights is a customer non-meal flight, are you suggesting they should skip their meal in solidarity with the customer (and UA would be violating their contract and most basic labor policies)? They don't get meal breaks but rather eat on the job.

Yeah it might feel odd for your hungry self, but you have more options than the FAs.

HNLbasedFlyer

Even Southwest has crew meals.

Bear96

Domestically, crew meals are only provided when a crewmember is on duty for more than a specified length of time and when there is insufficient time between flights to grab a bite to eat at an airport. And remember, F/As have to be the last ones off and the first ones on the plane.

In addition to what WineCountryUA said, I guarantee you this "very nice steak dinner" only met the "business class or better" union contract meal requirement that people here complain about all the time. Although granted it is still probably better than just pretzels. It is not like UA is loading chateaubriand for the crew to carve up for themselves with a bunch of fancy sides while passengers are dying of hunger in the aisles.

UA_Flyer

I see noting wrong with crew having their meals based on what they negotiated in the contract. UA has been transparent to the passengers if any meals will be served on each route. We purchase those tickets knowing what will or will not be served. The fact crews haivng their entitled meals should not impact passenger expectation which has been communicated by the airlines.

Agree with what WineCountryUA and Bear96 have articulated.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

I’ll never, ever begrudge any flight crew having a decent meal. Just today I saw one crew rush from one plane to the next plane and almost immediately have to start boarding. Plus, I really don’t think they get paid enough for what/who they have to deal with sometimes.

Complain about UA not giving you a meal - not that the crew got one.

EWR764

No concerns about crew meals for me. I am more frustrated with the once again dead-last quality of United’s domestic F catering for pax.

LarryJ

I don't know the specifics of F/A crew meal requirements. For us pilots, it is based on the length of the leg or, if no leg is over 4:00, the length of the duty day without a 1:30 break between flights.

Passenger meal service is based on the length of the flight so no food on short flights. If a crewmember has multiple short flights it's likely that a crew meal will be required on one of them because they aren't getting breaks over 1:30 between flights.

The food itself is the same food that would be catered for passengers on flights with food service though it is loaded separately and doesn't affect the available choices.

mahasamatman

My only comment other than what's already been said is that "nice salad" and "seasoned steak" don't sound like UA at all. My experience has been more like "wilted salad" and "bland hockey puck".

critten

I dream of throwing a cold hard united roll. I'm happy the flight attendants had a good meal. While on the subject, I wouldn't care so much for meals on a plane, but the gouging prices at airports these days (4$ for a small cup of coffee non-starbucks, OTP or whatever place is just getting out of hand) really makes me wish for a meal on a plane. I got a veggie fried rice at IAH and it cost me 16 bucks! Now that's criminal.

AADFW

You must not have tried the jail chow on AA domestic F during the pandemic.

EWR764

That was then, this is now. AA has surpassed United's domestic F catering.

worldwidedreamer

First off let’s have some empathy for the OP. Someone with a $1,000 ticket and then no service rightly should feel scammed by the airline. A big part of why I happily pay for F tickets on Alaska and Delta is that they tend to have friendly service and seriously good food, even on short flights. United management seems to have a philosophy that they have a monopoly on many routes, so a dollar spent hurts earnings per share. (Versus realizing they have a relationship with people and is in reality an investment in future revenue.)

This said: it is my perspective that most United employees want to deliver a great customer experience, and work in hard, low paying, demanding, jobs that keep them away from family and friends…and more than earn their benefits including crew meals and NRSA and more.