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}
Nov 27, 2022, 10:31 pm
#1891
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
Instead of difficult or impossible PP or CPU's - if things were so bad I'd suspect they would be plentiful. If UA is so terrible - how are the competitors not taking serious advantage with their superior offerings? Who else does so bad but performs so well?
Nov 28, 2022, 1:02 am
#1892
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2000
Location: TPA for now. Hopefully LIS for retirement
Posts: 13,702
Good God people, if UA is that bad, DON'T FLY THEM! Simples.
My next two significant personal trips in the next few months are international to Europe and domestic to SFO. For personal travel I pay $ (as in not miles or points) for the premium cabin.
To Europe I will avoid UA and have chosen other *A carriers because of UA's meager onboard service offerings.
To SFO I will choose UA because of the nonstop schedule convenience from my home airport of TPA. I will not wail and gnash my teeth that I could have gotten a slightly nicer main course by connecting through ATL with DL. I will want to avoid that hassle.
Choices. If UA doesn't provide what you want and someone else does, you have them.
My next two significant personal trips in the next few months are international to Europe and domestic to SFO. For personal travel I pay $ (as in not miles or points) for the premium cabin.
To Europe I will avoid UA and have chosen other *A carriers because of UA's meager onboard service offerings.
To SFO I will choose UA because of the nonstop schedule convenience from my home airport of TPA. I will not wail and gnash my teeth that I could have gotten a slightly nicer main course by connecting through ATL with DL. I will want to avoid that hassle.
Choices. If UA doesn't provide what you want and someone else does, you have them.
Last edited by Bear96; Nov 28, 2022 at 1:19 am Reason: To clarify personal travel is paid with cash instead of miles or points or whatever
Nov 29, 2022, 3:28 pm
#1893
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Bucks County
Programs: UAL GS & Million Miler; Delta Lifetime Gold; Hilton Diamond; Marriott Platinum; Legion Etrangere
Posts: 1,609
EWR-FCO- PAX asked Purser what went with the pasta. Answer? “Sauce”
Nov 29, 2022, 4:10 pm
#1894
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: NYC / TYO / Up in the Air
Programs: UA GS 1.7MM, AA 2.1MM, EK, BA, SQ, CX, Marriot LT, Accor P
Posts: 6,314
My wife tried the beef mid flight -- not great. The "Mackerel" arrival meal was truly awful -- my wife sent it back and they brought her the omelette - which wasn't much better.... I got an earful all the way to Manhattan about UA -- Oh - two of the four bathrooms in J were out of service for the flight -- and wifi didn't work -- just more fodder for my wife -- and another typical UA flight -- they just don't care any more....
Nov 29, 2022, 6:06 pm
#1895
Join Date: May 2012
Location: ORF, RIC
Programs: UA LT 1K, 3 MM; Marriott Titanium; IHG Platinum
Posts: 6,958
My wife tried the beef mid flight -- not great. The "Mackerel" arrival meal was truly awful -- my wife sent it back and they brought her the omelette - which wasn't much better.... I got an earful all the way to Manhattan about UA -- Oh - two of the four bathrooms in J were out of service for the flight -- and wifi didn't work -- just more fodder for my wife -- and another typical UA flight -- they just don't care any more....
Nov 29, 2022, 7:12 pm
#1897
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 1,620
My wife flew MCO-EWR and for the first time the FA proactively offered the snack box as a third option to each FC passenger.
After lunch, my wife went to lav and on the way back to her seat, she asked the FA about the snack box and what exactly is UA policy regarding comping snack boxes in FC.
The FA said that she didn't know if there was actually a policy and said that she has some discretion with regards to comping out snack boxes.
The FA added that she has worked flights with FAs who don't want to comp snack boxes in FC which she personally didn't understand. She said that she had learned you have to go along to get along, so she doesn't argue with them and does as they want.
However, when she is in charge or the person in charge doesn't care, she is happy to comp them in FC.
After lunch, my wife went to lav and on the way back to her seat, she asked the FA about the snack box and what exactly is UA policy regarding comping snack boxes in FC.
The FA said that she didn't know if there was actually a policy and said that she has some discretion with regards to comping out snack boxes.
The FA added that she has worked flights with FAs who don't want to comp snack boxes in FC which she personally didn't understand. She said that she had learned you have to go along to get along, so she doesn't argue with them and does as they want.
However, when she is in charge or the person in charge doesn't care, she is happy to comp them in FC.
Nov 29, 2022, 11:10 pm
#1898
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 11,468
I'd recommend any vegetarian to order a special meal - I'm assuming they would find something from the back otherwise.
Not having a vegetarian meal does go against what united.com says: We are working hard to offer special meals on more flights across United. Standard vegetarian options are offered on all flights that have meal service, without your having to make a special request.
Not having a vegetarian meal does go against what united.com says: We are working hard to offer special meals on more flights across United. Standard vegetarian options are offered on all flights that have meal service, without your having to make a special request.
Nov 29, 2022, 11:42 pm
#1899
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2003
Programs: UA*Lifetime GS, Hyatt* Lifetime Globalist
Posts: 12,332
My wife tried the beef mid flight -- not great. The "Mackerel" arrival meal was truly awful -- my wife sent it back and they brought her the omelette - which wasn't much better.... I got an earful all the way to Manhattan about UA -- Oh - two of the four bathrooms in J were out of service for the flight -- and wifi didn't work -- just more fodder for my wife -- and another typical UA flight -- they just don't care any more....
Hope it is not the mid-cabin bathrooms, otherwise the front two will get blocked off when flight crew want to use the bathrooms.
WIll you be on NH for the return trip? I am booked for "the Room" for the return flight.
Last edited by UA_Flyer; Nov 29, 2022 at 11:47 pm
Nov 30, 2022, 12:01 pm
#1900
Join Date: Apr 2015
Programs: United Global Services, Amtrak Select Executive
Posts: 4,098
Chelsea produced some of the best domestic premium cabin meals of the era at Continental - lobster bisque soup, an amazing, a delicious cheeseburger, lobster mac'n'cheese, and delicious desserts. I have fond recollections of many of a FLL-IAH flights with that delicious bowl of soup, or the FLL-EWR dinner and lunch flights with an ice cream sundae or a big slice of cake for dessert.
Dec 1, 2022, 4:12 pm
#1902
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 1,620
So when the FA listed the entree choices, I made the mistake of asking how the beef was prepared.
The FA's answer was, "it's cooked, now do you want the beef, I have other passengers to get to".
Dec 1, 2022, 4:59 pm
#1903
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: TOA
Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott LTPP/Platinum Premier, Hyatt Lame-ist, UA !K
Posts: 20,061
Years ago now I was flying LAX-NRT in PMUA International First Class and menus were not loaded for whatever reason.
So when the FA listed the entree choices, I made the mistake of asking how the beef was prepared.
The FA's answer was, "it's cooked, now do you want the beef, I have other passengers to get to".
So when the FA listed the entree choices, I made the mistake of asking how the beef was prepared.
The FA's answer was, "it's cooked, now do you want the beef, I have other passengers to get to".
David
Dec 1, 2022, 6:28 pm
#1904
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: 42,201
Years ago now I was flying LAX-NRT in PMUA International First Class and menus were not loaded for whatever reason.
So when the FA listed the entree choices, I made the mistake of asking how the beef was prepared.
The FA's answer was, "it's cooked, now do you want the beef, I have other passengers to get to".
So when the FA listed the entree choices, I made the mistake of asking how the beef was prepared.
The FA's answer was, "it's cooked, now do you want the beef, I have other passengers to get to".
Dec 3, 2022, 12:24 am
#1905
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: SFO
Programs: Marriott Ti/LTP
Posts: 1,329
Good to see the appetizer is back on more flights too.