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General discussion of UA's inflight service (Domestic / Int’l, all cabins) {Archive}

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Old May 11, 2022, 1:38 pm
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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?
​​​​​​​

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General discussion of UA's inflight service (Domestic / Int’l, all cabins) {Archive}

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Old Feb 14, 2022, 5:36 pm
  #376  
 
Join Date: Jun 2021
Location: Houston, TX
Programs: UA silver, Bonvoy silver
Posts: 2,832
Originally Posted by fumje
I suppose I should've said no guaranteed hot option on return, and in my experience, usually no hot option. For example, I had snackbox only for return MIA-IAH. Off the top of my head, I can only think of once getting the hot snack sandwich, out of MCO, and also a breakfast croissant. Is it something about breakfast? But anyway, yes, I think definitely more consistent inconsistency.
Isn't MCO one of the catering hubs? I received a hot sandwich from MCO last year
Unitedloyalflyer is offline  
Old Feb 14, 2022, 9:58 pm
  #377  
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Bloomfield, NJ
Programs: UA Gold, Million Miler, Marriott platinum, lifetime platinum
Posts: 974
Originally Posted by Unitedloyalflyer
Isn't MCO one of the catering hubs? I received a hot sandwich from MCO last year
And they're still service the exact same god awful sandwiches a year later...........I can't eat them anymore.....awful.
JerseyCityS is offline  
Old Feb 14, 2022, 10:04 pm
  #378  
 
Join Date: Jun 2021
Location: Houston, TX
Programs: UA silver, Bonvoy silver
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Originally Posted by JerseyCityS
And they're still service the exact same god awful sandwiches a year later...........I can't eat them anymore.....awful.
The sandwiches are not anywhere near as bad as you are making them out to be

Add a bag of chips and you have an appropriate meal for a short haul flight
Unitedloyalflyer is offline  
Old Feb 14, 2022, 10:21 pm
  #379  
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Originally Posted by Unitedloyalflyer
The sandwiches are not anywhere near as bad as you are making them out to be

Add a bag of chips and you have an appropriate meal for a short haul flight
They are. They are terrible.

I had to stop flying two separate times in 2021 after eating those god awful things. Never had Covid even after 122 flights last year (with just a disposable mask no less), but those two "meals" took me out of commission for days.

Never again!
Repooc17 is offline  
Old Feb 14, 2022, 10:24 pm
  #380  
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: SNA (home), LAX, BOM/PNQ, LHR
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Originally Posted by Unitedloyalflyer
The sandwiches are not anywhere near as bad as you are making them out to be...
Maybe not in the moment, but your stomach will pay the price within the coming days and your heart will pay the price within the coming decades...hence why I gave them the nickname the "heart attack sandwiches" when they first entered the rotation. You cant tell me looking at the back side of the sandwich you'd feel fine consuming that.
flyingrohit is offline  
Old Feb 14, 2022, 10:32 pm
  #381  
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SRQ, PDX
Programs: UA 1 MM, AA, DL
Posts: 930
Originally Posted by Unitedloyalflyer
The sandwiches are not anywhere near as bad as you are making them out to be
Add a bag of chips and you have an appropriate meal for a short haul flight
Hard to believe there could be such a wide disparity of opinions of a plastic-wrapped sandwich served inflight on Kirby's UA. I find them inedible. A bag of chips adds nothing. Lipstick on a pig.
artvandalay is offline  
Old Feb 15, 2022, 12:47 am
  #382  
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Programs: united
Posts: 1,636
Originally Posted by Unitedloyalflyer
The sandwiches are not anywhere near as bad as you are making them out to be

Add a bag of chips and you have an appropriate meal for a short haul flight
This.
dilanesp is offline  
Old Feb 15, 2022, 6:28 am
  #383  
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Originally Posted by Unitedloyalflyer
Isn't MCO one of the catering hubs? I received a hot sandwich from MCO last year
Maybe, I wondered if that was the case.
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Old Feb 15, 2022, 12:21 pm
  #384  
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Originally Posted by Unitedloyalflyer
The sandwiches are not anywhere near as bad as you are making them out to be

Add a bag of chips and you have an appropriate meal for a short haul flight
The sandwiches are tasteless aside from being a sodium bomb and a hot mess of slop when heated. I've had a hot sandwich of the same size and type served to me on a mid-haul flight of somewhat similar length on Hawaiian - in coach - which was also heated, but tasted far better, held its shape without oozing everywhere, wasn't a salt lick, and was also served with a bag of snacks and a cookie - again, in coach.

Touting these sandwiches as an appropriate meal in first class on a flight of almost any length beyond an hour just doesn't cut the mustard. It's a major fail for United in quantity, quality and presentation for what should be a premium product.

Ideally, pre-ordering would be system wide by now, so someone who wanted a larger meal could order one, someone who wanted a small cold plate could order one, and someone who wanted a sandwich could order one.

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Feb 15, 2022 at 1:59 pm Reason: discuss the issue, not the poster(s)
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Old Feb 15, 2022, 12:30 pm
  #385  
 
Join Date: Feb 2020
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Programs: United 4MM GS, Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Lifetime Diamond
Posts: 309
Originally Posted by dilanesp
This.
Not speaking for anyone other than myself - the sandwiches are inedible for me. I find them awful, messy, not at all tasty and unbelievably unhealthy. YMMV
LifetimeGS is offline  
Old Feb 15, 2022, 12:40 pm
  #386  
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Originally Posted by LifetimeGS
Not speaking for anyone other than myself - the sandwiches are inedible for me. I find them awful, messy, not at all tasty and unbelievably unhealthy. YMMV
But, apparently, cheap to purchase.

David
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Old Feb 15, 2022, 5:21 pm
  #387  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 687
Am I the only one that thinks it's time for Menu cards to make a return? Other airlines have brought them back, and it's a really small touch. The constant back and forth and "quick descriptions" just don't work the same way.
NikoLGA is offline  
Old Feb 15, 2022, 5:29 pm
  #388  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: SFO / LHR
Programs: UA GS 2.2MM / UC / AS Gold 75K / Bonvoy Plat / Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,028
Originally Posted by NikoLGA
Am I the only one that thinks it's time for Menu cards to make a return? Other airlines have brought them back, and it's a really small touch. The constant back and forth and "quick descriptions" just don't work the same way.
They are available in digital format on the FRA "test markets" detailed in the posts above ... the functionality is there and will almost certainly be rolled out more broadly soon. CO was posting the menus online back in 2003 ...
greenpau is offline  
Old Feb 15, 2022, 5:37 pm
  #389  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 687
Originally Posted by greenpau
They are available in digital format on the FRA "test markets" detailed in the posts above ... the functionality is there and will almost certainly be rolled out more broadly soon. CO was posting the menus online back in 2003 ...
Would it be too much to ask to print it out? Slap a Sunday Riley ad/United Shop on the back of it and make a profit out of it. There's a reason a lot of the places that had QR code menus went back to physical menus. It's just not the same. I'd much rather that than the postcards, etc. that are in the amenity kit.
NikoLGA is offline  
Old Feb 15, 2022, 6:27 pm
  #390  
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: NYC, FLL
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Posts: 6,338
Originally Posted by NikoLGA
Am I the only one that thinks it's time for Menu cards to make a return?
You're not alone. I was re-routed from GRU to NYC via YUL on AC, in J, with a menu. A menu! I had forgotten all about menus after flying mostly UA long-haul during the pandemic.

I do miss the UA's informative Wine List: "Please ask your cabin crew for today's selection". It was always a nice in-flight bingo to see if they said "white", "Pinot....Grigio?", or "I think it's from Italy..."
seanp7 is offline  


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