May 11, 2022, 1:38 pm
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}
Dec 19, 2022, 12:30 pm
#1981
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: AS 75K, DL Silver, UA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Platinum + LT Gold
Posts: 10,515
At this point, with some very minor exceptions, UA from top to bottom just don't care about customer inflight experience anymore.
Dec 20, 2022, 7:04 am
#1982
Join Date: May 2010
Location: AVP & PEK
Programs: UA 1K 1.9MM
Posts: 6,360
So they CAN do it, if they want to....they just don't want to most of the time!
Dec 20, 2022, 11:35 am
#1983
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
Dec 25, 2022, 7:48 am
#1984
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: IAH & CMH
Programs: UA GS, UA MM, Marriott Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, Uber Platinum :)
Posts: 773
Dec 25, 2022, 10:09 am
#1985
Join Date: Jan 2019
Programs: DL, UA
Posts: 60
Yup, they simply said no. Can't do it. Butter was catered on trays as I had some with my dried, rock hard, cold bread with my main.
I was going to argue with them that there must be unused trays with butter on them but they had such an attitude I didn't bother.
Never had this request denied before, but to me it epitomizes how far United service has fallen.
And yes, the butter itself is trivial, it's the attitude/service that is annoying - remember this (Polaris) is supposed to be a Premium service.
I later asked for the flight attendant's name and the purser refused. She gave me her name but said she couldn't give me his name as it was a security risk.
Tired of this made up on the spot BS >> was going to ask how it was a security risk to give me his name, but it wasn't a security risk to give me her name.
Thought better of it and cut my losses and let it drop, admonishing myself for the stupidity of asking for extra butter - what was I thinking?
I was going to argue with them that there must be unused trays with butter on them but they had such an attitude I didn't bother.
Never had this request denied before, but to me it epitomizes how far United service has fallen.
And yes, the butter itself is trivial, it's the attitude/service that is annoying - remember this (Polaris) is supposed to be a Premium service.
I later asked for the flight attendant's name and the purser refused. She gave me her name but said she couldn't give me his name as it was a security risk.
Tired of this made up on the spot BS >> was going to ask how it was a security risk to give me his name, but it wasn't a security risk to give me her name.
Thought better of it and cut my losses and let it drop, admonishing myself for the stupidity of asking for extra butter - what was I thinking?
Ahh, the old security trope again. If it was a security risk to give the FA's name, then how could the purser's name, right? And company ID tags, readily seen at many times, clearly have the first name on them, even when they try to turn them around. This is simply trying to cover up for another employee and demonstrative of the lack of accountability at UA and, frankly, manly businesses around the US. Service is a dirty word it seems, and most people have just settled back and accepted it.
This may seem like a minor point - and in some ways it is indeed - but it perfectly illustrates the state of domestic airlines and business in general. Employees across the board are now given minimal training, are expected to "pick it up on the job" (which often means learning the bad habits and "short cuts"), and there is little to no accountability. Was it the FA's fault the butter wasn't catered properly? Of course not, but their manner of responding is 100% on them, I was an FA for five years on UA and I know it can be a struggle to balance subpar catering and frustrated customers, but that still doesn't excuse surly snark. Customer service training for FA's is minimal at best, and when post-merger UA dropped the CO practice of dedicated international flight attendant bases the service started to drop accordingly, especially in the premium cabin. Add in COVID and the cutbacks beloved by management (with a convenient built in excuse) further eroded it all.
Yea, I get it, it's just a meal on a plane and many of you don't care one way or the other, but when a business charges a premium price for a service they tout then it is not unreasonable to complain when it fails to deliver. Management is, of course, free to do as it will for they never face the wrath of the customers. So the FA's in particular bear the brunt of it, from delays to missed connections to crappy catering. It gets tiresome and embarrasing for those who really do care and try to tend to their passengers. Unfortunately you might as well get used to it because I don't see any improvement on the horizon on this or any other industry in the US.
Dec 25, 2022, 12:16 pm
#1986
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,746
Ahh, the old security trope again. If it was a security risk to give the FA's name, then how could the purser's name, right? And company ID tags, readily seen at many times, clearly have the first name on them, even when they try to turn them around. This is simply trying to cover up for another employee and demonstrative of the lack of accountability at UA and, frankly, manly businesses around the US. Service is a dirty word it seems, and most people have just settled back and accepted it.
This may seem like a minor point - and in some ways it is indeed - but it perfectly illustrates the state of domestic airlines and business in general. Employees across the board are now given minimal training, are expected to "pick it up on the job" (which often means learning the bad habits and "short cuts"), and there is little to no accountability. Was it the FA's fault the butter wasn't catered properly? Of course not, but their manner of responding is 100% on them, I was an FA for five years on UA and I know it can be a struggle to balance subpar catering and frustrated customers, but that still doesn't excuse surly snark. Customer service training for FA's is minimal at best, and when post-merger UA dropped the CO practice of dedicated international flight attendant bases the service started to drop accordingly, especially in the premium cabin. Add in COVID and the cutbacks beloved by management (with a convenient built in excuse) further eroded it all.
Yea, I get it, it's just a meal on a plane and many of you don't care one way or the other, but when a business charges a premium price for a service they tout then it is not unreasonable to complain when it fails to deliver. Management is, of course, free to do as it will for they never face the wrath of the customers. So the FA's in particular bear the brunt of it, from delays to missed connections to crappy catering. It gets tiresome and embarrasing for those who really do care and try to tend to their passengers. Unfortunately you might as well get used to it because I don't see any improvement on the horizon on this or any other industry in the US.
This may seem like a minor point - and in some ways it is indeed - but it perfectly illustrates the state of domestic airlines and business in general. Employees across the board are now given minimal training, are expected to "pick it up on the job" (which often means learning the bad habits and "short cuts"), and there is little to no accountability. Was it the FA's fault the butter wasn't catered properly? Of course not, but their manner of responding is 100% on them, I was an FA for five years on UA and I know it can be a struggle to balance subpar catering and frustrated customers, but that still doesn't excuse surly snark. Customer service training for FA's is minimal at best, and when post-merger UA dropped the CO practice of dedicated international flight attendant bases the service started to drop accordingly, especially in the premium cabin. Add in COVID and the cutbacks beloved by management (with a convenient built in excuse) further eroded it all.
Yea, I get it, it's just a meal on a plane and many of you don't care one way or the other, but when a business charges a premium price for a service they tout then it is not unreasonable to complain when it fails to deliver. Management is, of course, free to do as it will for they never face the wrath of the customers. So the FA's in particular bear the brunt of it, from delays to missed connections to crappy catering. It gets tiresome and embarrasing for those who really do care and try to tend to their passengers. Unfortunately you might as well get used to it because I don't see any improvement on the horizon on this or any other industry in the US.
Dec 26, 2022, 6:25 am
#1987
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: IAH & CMH
Programs: UA GS, UA MM, Marriott Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, Uber Platinum :)
Posts: 773
As data point - KLM flight attendants all used to have name tags with their last names (and I believe first initial), but that ended some time ago. I was told it was security related, but I took that to mean they didn't want disgruntled (or gruntled ) passengers to be able to track down flight attendants IRL.
Dec 26, 2022, 11:46 am
#1988
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
Does nobody think in these days of the internet that giving your name for praise versus someone who is angry/agitated is different? I could see why a FA - especially female - would find that uncomfortable to give a name to agitated and confrontational passengers.
Dec 26, 2022, 12:23 pm
#1989
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: IAH & CMH
Programs: UA GS, UA MM, Marriott Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, Uber Platinum :)
Posts: 773
you weren’t there. I was neither agitated nor angry. The purser willingly gave me her name but said it was a security risk to give me the sulky flight attendant’s name (who was male). I realize in your eyes United can do no wrong, but blindly defending them in a situation where you weren’t there seems a bit silly. Unless you can come up with a logical explanation why one FA’s name is a security tisk, but others are not.
Dec 26, 2022, 12:36 pm
#1990
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
you weren’t there. I was neither agitated nor angry. The purser willingly gave me her name but said it was a security risk to give me the sulky flight attendant’s name (who was male). I realize in your eyes United can do no wrong, but blindly defending them in a situation where you weren’t there seems a bit silly. Unless you can come up with a logical explanation why one FA’s name is a security tisk, but others are not.
If people have it out for a FA - you have the date - the flight - the seat number. Nobody needs more than that.
Dec 26, 2022, 12:55 pm
#1991
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: IAH & CMH
Programs: UA GS, UA MM, Marriott Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, Uber Platinum :)
Posts: 773
id love to hear a logical answer as an alternative to my assumption it’s just made up rubbish to protect her disinterested colleague.
is it a documented policy not to give out first names? If that’s the case then she was violating the policy, as are half the domestic flights I’m on where the FA’s are introduced prior to departure “in the back we have Johnny, Jimmy, Jenny, and Janice, some of the finest flight attendants in the sky”
and please don’t accuse me of “having it out for an FA”… again, you weren’t there. Look at it as providing constructive feedback.
Dec 26, 2022, 12:57 pm
#1992
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
The FA - especially a female FA - has no idea if you are some internet stalker.
Dec 26, 2022, 2:33 pm
#1993
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.997MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,859
Let's please return to the discussing UA's inflight service. The argumentative exchange on providing of names, personal security, etc. is not the subject of this thread.
WineCountryUA
UA coModerator
WineCountryUA
UA coModerator
Dec 27, 2022, 6:06 am
#1994
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 71
Normal for United Polaris??
Hmm never flown Unted before but on Xmas eve was on a 9am flight from Paris to San Francisco ( 11.5) hours. Was given a breakfast shortly after takeoff then the lights were turned off and not offered even a drink from then until they hurriedly served a burger within last hour before landing. Seriously is this normal for them?
Dec 27, 2022, 6:23 am
#1995
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: AS 75K, DL Silver, UA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Platinum + LT Gold
Posts: 10,515