Last edit by: WineCountryUA
This us an archive thread, the active thread is General discussion of UA's inflight service (Domestic / International, all cabins)
previous thread: COVID Era UA inflight service changes
Thread is for general discussion of the state of UA in-flight service / catering, comparison to other carriers, past UA offerings and concerns with management decisions.
For a specific post about a recent in-flight food, use the appropriate Let's Eat .... thread.
The current Onboard Service descriptions by UA.com
Long-haul international premium cabin dining
North America, Caribbean and Latin America premium cabin dining
United Economy dining
Since the UA website is extremely vague, I'm looking for a few volunteers to submit data, and I will summarize to complete the wiki. kind regards, phkc070408
Domestic Under 300 Miles
Sample 1
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Sample 2
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Sample 3
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Sample 4
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Sample 5
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Domestic Over 300 Miles Under 800 Miles
Sample 1
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Sample 2
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Sample 3
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Sample 4
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Sample 5
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Domestic Over 800 Miles
Sample 1
Route? Morning or Afternoon or Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket?
Sample 2
Route? Morning or Afternoon or Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket?
Sample 3
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening/. or Late Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket?
Sample 4
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Late Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket?
Sample 5
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Late Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket?
P-Tcon
Sample 1
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket/Pre-Arrival?
Any other notes of relevance?
Sample 2
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket/Pre-Arrival?
Any other notes of relevance?
Sample 3
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket/Pre-Arrival?
Any other notes of relevance?
Sample 4
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket/Pre-Arrival?
Any other notes of relevance?
Sample 5
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket/Pre-Arrival?
Any other notes of relevance?
Polaris USA - Europe
Sample 1
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Menu?
Hot Towels?
First Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Appetizer / Desert Info:
Snack Basket/Mid-Flight Snack?
Arrival Meal? Short Description.
Any other notes of relevance?
Sample 2
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Menu?
Hot Towels?
First Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Appetizer / Desert Info:
Snack Basket/Mid-Flight Snack?
Arrival Meal? Short Description.
Any other notes of relevance?
Sample 3
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Menu?
Hot Towels?
First Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Appetizer / Desert Info:
Snack Basket/Mid-Flight Snack?
Arrival Meal? Short Description.
Any other notes of relevance?
Sample 4
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Menu?
Hot Towels?
First Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Appetizer / Desert Info:
Snack Basket/Mid-Flight Snack?
Arrival Meal? Short Description.
Any other notes of relevance?
Sample 5
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Menu?
Hot Towels?
First Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Appetizer / Desert Info:
Snack Basket/Mid-Flight Snack?
Arrival Meal? Short Description.
Any other notes of relevance?
Related thread: How bad does onboard catering need to get before UA invests in improving it?
previous thread: COVID Era UA inflight service changes
Thread is for general discussion of the state of UA in-flight service / catering, comparison to other carriers, past UA offerings and concerns with management decisions.
For a specific post about a recent in-flight food, use the appropriate Let's Eat .... thread.
The current Onboard Service descriptions by UA.com
Long-haul international premium cabin dining
North America, Caribbean and Latin America premium cabin dining
United Economy dining
Since the UA website is extremely vague, I'm looking for a few volunteers to submit data, and I will summarize to complete the wiki. kind regards, phkc070408
Domestic Under 300 Miles
Sample 1
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Sample 2
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Sample 3
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Sample 4
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Sample 5
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Domestic Over 300 Miles Under 800 Miles
Sample 1
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Sample 2
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Sample 3
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Sample 4
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Sample 5
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Bagged Snack? Yes/No
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Domestic Over 800 Miles
Sample 1
Route? Morning or Afternoon or Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket?
Sample 2
Route? Morning or Afternoon or Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket?
Sample 3
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening/. or Late Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket?
Sample 4
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Late Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket?
Sample 5
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Late Evening?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Served Snacked? Yes/No. Hot/Cold. What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket?
P-Tcon
Sample 1
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket/Pre-Arrival?
Any other notes of relevance?
Sample 2
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket/Pre-Arrival?
Any other notes of relevance?
Sample 3
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket/Pre-Arrival?
Any other notes of relevance?
Sample 4
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket/Pre-Arrival?
Any other notes of relevance?
Sample 5
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Snack Basket/Pre-Arrival?
Any other notes of relevance?
Polaris USA - Europe
Sample 1
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Menu?
Hot Towels?
First Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Appetizer / Desert Info:
Snack Basket/Mid-Flight Snack?
Arrival Meal? Short Description.
Any other notes of relevance?
Sample 2
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Menu?
Hot Towels?
First Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Appetizer / Desert Info:
Snack Basket/Mid-Flight Snack?
Arrival Meal? Short Description.
Any other notes of relevance?
Sample 3
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Menu?
Hot Towels?
First Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Appetizer / Desert Info:
Snack Basket/Mid-Flight Snack?
Arrival Meal? Short Description.
Any other notes of relevance?
Sample 4
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Menu?
Hot Towels?
First Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Appetizer / Desert Info:
Snack Basket/Mid-Flight Snack?
Arrival Meal? Short Description.
Any other notes of relevance?
Sample 5
Route? Morning or Afternoon/Evening or Red-Eye?
PDB - Yes/No? What was offered?
Menu?
Hot Towels?
First Meal Served? Yes/No. Short description.
Appetizer / Desert Info:
Snack Basket/Mid-Flight Snack?
Arrival Meal? Short Description.
Any other notes of relevance?
Related thread: How bad does onboard catering need to get before UA invests in improving it?
General discussion of UA's inflight service (Domestic / Int’l, all cabins) {Archive}
#1651
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: AS 75K, DL Silver, UA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Platinum + LT Gold
Posts: 10,514
Premium transcon J, UA food and inflight service lag behind all, AA, AS, DL, B6. You know it's bad when UA couldn't even serve ice cream/sorbet correctly, now it's just packaged cheesecake forever. No food rotations, just the same cafeteria chow.
If you actually think the kit is worth $30+
Last edited by Repooc17; Oct 14, 2022 at 2:09 pm
#1652
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
It’s not a narrow case. If I buy F to/from HNL it’s on a UA lie flat to Western US. Only HA with in my opinion awful lie flat - terrible FF program - horrific irrops - etc is the only other option which is way off the table.
Today I flew the only nonstop ORD-HNL very comfortably on a 787-10 and would not connect on another airline.
Today I flew the only nonstop ORD-HNL very comfortably on a 787-10 and would not connect on another airline.
#1653
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 11,468
It’s not a narrow case. If I buy F to/from HNL it’s on a UA lie flat to Western US. Only HA with in my opinion awful lie flat - terrible FF program - horrific irrops - etc is the only other option which is way off the table.
Today I flew the only nonstop ORD-HNL very comfortably on a 787-10 and would not connect on another airline.
Today I flew the only nonstop ORD-HNL very comfortably on a 787-10 and would not connect on another airline.
#1654
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Bucks County
Programs: UAL GS & Million Miler; Delta Lifetime Gold; Hilton Diamond; Marriott Platinum; Legion Etrangere
Posts: 1,609
There has to be some internal incentive program at United which rewards the person who can drive the cost of food to its lowest possible level. Dried cranberries? Desiccated cheesecake? Beyond parody
#1655
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,421
It’s not a narrow case. If I buy F to/from HNL it’s on a UA lie flat to Western US. Only HA with in my opinion awful lie flat - terrible FF program - horrific irrops - etc is the only other option which is way off the table.
Today I flew the only nonstop ORD-HNL very comfortably on a 787-10 and would not connect on another airline.
Today I flew the only nonstop ORD-HNL very comfortably on a 787-10 and would not connect on another airline.
#1656
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,467
Depends how you define "better service." UA has the worst soft-product by far. We had a lovely experience in July flying AS SFO-OGG. Amazing FA and excellent food (including a caramel ice cream I still recall wistfully).
#1657
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2003
Programs: UA 1K 1MM (finally!), IHG AMB-Spire, HH Diamond
Posts: 60,174
Well, everyone is entitled to an opinion. But it is better with calm facts.
Now if the response is “but but hard product not soft product” then you have answered the mystery. It’s an overall basket of service.
Give me a full plane of Polaris seats and school lunch food than a all chair 737 anyday. Others will reach a different conclusion.
Yeah the food should be better and can be. Yet OTOH nobody’s upgrade clears and premium cabins fly out full.
So thankful the hard product investments were priority 1. Much harder to roll those back.
#1658
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 11,468
Sorbet and duvet in a lie flat v ice cream on a 737?
Well, everyone is entitled to an opinion. But it is better with calm facts.
Now if the response is “but but hard product not soft product” then you have answered the mystery. It’s an overall basket of service.
Give me a full plane of Polaris seats and school lunch food than a all chair 737 anyday. Others will reach a different conclusion.
Yeah the food should be better and can be. Yet OTOH nobody’s upgrade clears and premium cabins fly out full.
So thankful the hard product investments were priority 1. Much harder to roll those back.
Well, everyone is entitled to an opinion. But it is better with calm facts.
Now if the response is “but but hard product not soft product” then you have answered the mystery. It’s an overall basket of service.
Give me a full plane of Polaris seats and school lunch food than a all chair 737 anyday. Others will reach a different conclusion.
Yeah the food should be better and can be. Yet OTOH nobody’s upgrade clears and premium cabins fly out full.
So thankful the hard product investments were priority 1. Much harder to roll those back.
#1659
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: LAX/TPE
Programs: United 1K, JAL Sapphire, SPG Lifetime Platinum, National Executive Elite, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 42,211
Sorbet and duvet in a lie flat v ice cream on a 737?
Well, everyone is entitled to an opinion. But it is better with calm facts.
Now if the response is “but but hard product not soft product” then you have answered the mystery. It’s an overall basket of service.
Give me a full plane of Polaris seats and school lunch food than a all chair 737 anyday. Others will reach a different conclusion.
Yeah the food should be better and can be. Yet OTOH nobody’s upgrade clears and premium cabins fly out full.
So thankful the hard product investments were priority 1. Much harder to roll those back.
Well, everyone is entitled to an opinion. But it is better with calm facts.
Now if the response is “but but hard product not soft product” then you have answered the mystery. It’s an overall basket of service.
Give me a full plane of Polaris seats and school lunch food than a all chair 737 anyday. Others will reach a different conclusion.
Yeah the food should be better and can be. Yet OTOH nobody’s upgrade clears and premium cabins fly out full.
So thankful the hard product investments were priority 1. Much harder to roll those back.
The delta here between usually unacceptable and mostly wonderful is not expensive, but it does require training, updated quality standards and a vicious adherence to standards monitoring and enforcement the demands remediation or eventual termination for those who refuse to deliver quality service. It requires a dollar here and there to create a more appetizing menu domestically and a few more dollars into each Polaris customer.
The failure here rests with Kirby, taught the industry by someone almost as sinister as Lorenzo, who doesn’t care one iota about real service quality, only the advertised PR-driven fantasy of it, because margins matter more than anything, except executive bonuses and helping out his institutional shareholder buddies.
I’m on JAL right now where I can’t tell if any of the flight attendants are having a bad day, or don’t get along, or any other personal challenge, we’re all getting totally consistent service of the highest quality, and that costs nothing except effort and pride.
#1660
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
Plenty of lie flats to and from Honolulu including 777-300’s of which I’ll be on one Tuesday night. I can’t think of a single soft product I could or would enjoy on a 10:10pm departure - the only thing that could possibly disturb my sleep by 10:45pm is the clanging of silverware when I shake my head when I wonder why people eat any food at that hour and of the 60 people in F likely 100% of them already ate dinner at home or in Waikiki or wherever they were.
#1661
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: AS 75K, DL Silver, UA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Platinum + LT Gold
Posts: 10,514
Sorbet and duvet in a lie flat v ice cream on a 737?
Well, everyone is entitled to an opinion. But it is better with calm facts.
Now if the response is “but but hard product not soft product” then you have answered the mystery. It’s an overall basket of service.
Give me a full plane of Polaris seats and school lunch food than a all chair 737 anyday. Others will reach a different conclusion.
Yeah the food should be better and can be. Yet OTOH nobody’s upgrade clears and premium cabins fly out full.
So thankful the hard product investments were priority 1. Much harder to roll those back.
Well, everyone is entitled to an opinion. But it is better with calm facts.
Now if the response is “but but hard product not soft product” then you have answered the mystery. It’s an overall basket of service.
Give me a full plane of Polaris seats and school lunch food than a all chair 737 anyday. Others will reach a different conclusion.
Yeah the food should be better and can be. Yet OTOH nobody’s upgrade clears and premium cabins fly out full.
So thankful the hard product investments were priority 1. Much harder to roll those back.
United has invested in the hard product, no doubt, mostly its widebodies, but has all but stopped trying on inflight service.
#1662
Join Date: May 2010
Location: AVP & PEK
Programs: UA 1K 1.9MM
Posts: 6,357
It's good to see how other airlines are every now and then, just to be able to have something to compare United against.
And I have had good experiences with United recently, but dang, they are trailing in service...
Last edited by narvik; Oct 15, 2022 at 3:32 pm
#1663
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,421
There is much better competition from the West Coast, but from e.g. MSP or DTW there are many more options on UA than DL. If DL even bothers to serve Hawaii from an inland (not ATL) hub it's HNL only, daily if you're lucky, and a tiny F cabin that sells out fast. Meanwhile UA has comparatively excellent connectivity to KOA/OGG/LIH via ORD and DEN flying 4x the seats DL would offer.
To the West Coast you can take a daytime flight eastbound, so recliners are a much more realistic option and you get a lot more competition from AS and even AA/DL at LAX/SEA/PHX so I'm mostly talking from east of the Rockies.
#1664
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: LAX/TPE
Programs: United 1K, JAL Sapphire, SPG Lifetime Platinum, National Executive Elite, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 42,211
A minimum-stop routing with a lie-flat seat, no HA segment, and not in full J. I'm not necessarily trying to say the onboard experience on UA is superior, but just chiming in that there are routes where UA's schedule superiority is a strong reason to fly them regardless of the state of soft product....
Kirby doesn't seem to recognize a delta exists between "promised and delivered" and seems to care less what anyone else in the industry is doing.
Let's forget comparing ANA, SQ, etc - last Thursday I flew Delta LAX-JFK on a 764 in regular coach, with much larger seats than UA, more basic legroom, better service and don't get me started on the two Sky Clubs I visited at LAX and JFK where the former had the LAX UC beat by a mile, and the JFK location actually surpassed the Polaris buffet experience.
I get the focus on upgrading the hard product, and that's great, but doing so in the absence of any improvement in the soft product, or worse, additional cuts, seems to ring hollow.
A bluetooth connection to the IFE is great, but that is not going to sell me on buying a ticket on United if I know the inflight service trails far behind every other option.
#1665
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: East Coast
Programs: AA CONCIERGE KEY & 1MM, HILTON DIAMOND
Posts: 11,970
Or perhaps the total lack of talent that has plagued UA for ages... doubt UA staff would be able to negotiate decent catering contracts