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}
Apr 11, 2022, 4:09 am
#766
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PHL
Programs: UA Plat, 2MM
Posts: 1,860
"To protect the health of the employees?" Good of management to warn them not to eat the food in premium. It could be bad for their health.
Apr 11, 2022, 7:54 am
#768
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: 6,310
"Hi bmwe92fan,
Thank you for your email. I was sorry to hear your were disappointed in your recent flight.
Our crews have still been concerned about social distancing so we have been returning slowly to our Pre-Covid inflight service. In our second quarter we will be returning to many of our onboard meal offerings. We have already expanded these offering on many of our domestic routes. The safety of our crew and passengers will always be our first priority.
Other partners are owned and operated by local governments, so their onboard return to service does not depend on the same factors as United or other airlines operating as US Flagship carriers. I will certainly pass along your feedback to our management team. I hope you will give us another chance to provide you with the service you have come to expect on United. Your business and loyalty to Global Services is appreciated."
Apr 11, 2022, 8:16 am
#769
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton ♦ , Hyatt Carbonado, Wyndham ♦, Marriott PE, "Stinking Bum" elsewhere.
Posts: 4,998
Theoretically, by minimizing direct customer interactions. The silliness with this idea is that a good crew will offer drink refills and interact with pax and touch their cups (where their lips have been) dozens of times over the course of a long flight. The real reason is cost. Kirby is struggling with increasing operating costs and, with no relief on the horizon due to spiraling inflation, he's cutting (or delaying return to previous service levels) where he can. Unless the airlines can increase average airfares and have them stick, there will be some serious bloodletting to come.
Last edited by zombietooth; Apr 11, 2022 at 10:00 am
Apr 11, 2022, 9:32 am
#770
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SRQ, PDX
Programs: UA 1 MM, AA, DL
Posts: 930
Here is the response from GS when I wrote in to complain about other airlines offering much better food and service than UA:
"Hi bmwe92fan,
Our crews have still been concerned about social distancing so we have been returning slowly to our Pre-Covid inflight service. The safety of our crew and passengers will always be our first priority.
"Hi bmwe92fan,
Our crews have still been concerned about social distancing so we have been returning slowly to our Pre-Covid inflight service. The safety of our crew and passengers will always be our first priority.
Apr 11, 2022, 9:35 am
#771
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: DAY
Programs: UA 1K 1MM; Marriott LT Titanium; Amex MR; Chase UR; Hertz PC; Global Entry
Posts: 10,159
Theoretically, by minimizing direct customer interactions. The silliness with this idea is that a good crew will offer drink refills and interact with pax and touch their cups dozens of times over the course of a long flight. The real reason is cost. Kirby is struggling with increasing operating costs and, with no relief on the horizon due to spiraling inflation, he's cutting where he can. Unless the airlines can increase average airfares and have them stick, there will be some serious bloodletting to come.
They can improve things a bit by increasing catering budget, which could result in better food quality. But without the correct staffing levels, things like a sundae cart, extra passes of bread basket, timely drink refills and multi-course serving rates, etc are all going to struggle.
And some portion of customers are going to blame the FAs.
Apr 11, 2022, 9:52 am
#772
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: UA MM
Posts: 4,123
Here is the response from GS when I wrote in to complain about other airlines offering much better food and service than UA:
"Hi bmwe92fan,
Thank you for your email. I was sorry to hear your were disappointed in your recent flight.
Our crews have still been concerned about social distancing so we have been returning slowly to our Pre-Covid inflight service. In our second quarter we will be returning to many of our onboard meal offerings. We have already expanded these offering on many of our domestic routes. The safety of our crew and passengers will always be our first priority.
Other partners are owned and operated by local governments, so their onboard return to service does not depend on the same factors as United or other airlines operating as US Flagship carriers. I will certainly pass along your feedback to our management team. I hope you will give us another chance to provide you with the service you have come to expect on United. Your business and loyalty to Global Services is appreciated."
"Hi bmwe92fan,
Thank you for your email. I was sorry to hear your were disappointed in your recent flight.
Our crews have still been concerned about social distancing so we have been returning slowly to our Pre-Covid inflight service. In our second quarter we will be returning to many of our onboard meal offerings. We have already expanded these offering on many of our domestic routes. The safety of our crew and passengers will always be our first priority.
Other partners are owned and operated by local governments, so their onboard return to service does not depend on the same factors as United or other airlines operating as US Flagship carriers. I will certainly pass along your feedback to our management team. I hope you will give us another chance to provide you with the service you have come to expect on United. Your business and loyalty to Global Services is appreciated."
Apr 11, 2022, 10:09 am
#773
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: AS 75K, DL Silver, UA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Platinum + LT Gold
Posts: 10,501
Apr 11, 2022, 11:26 am
#774
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: DEN, ORD
Programs: United 1K, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Gold, Hertz PC
Posts: 46
It appears in-flight menus may be back soon? This was posted on Twitter from United in-flight ops supervisor in SFO. While this is just a trial, these meals look like an improvement to want is currently be served.
Apr 11, 2022, 12:11 pm
#775
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2003
Programs: UA 1K 1MM (finally!), IHG AMB-Spire, HH Diamond
Posts: 60,172
Wait - slippers and especially the gel pillow aren’t provisioned standard at every seat? You have to ask nicely now?
And no mention of mattress pad or PJs at all?
And no mention of mattress pad or PJs at all?
Apr 11, 2022, 2:16 pm
#776
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Houston
Programs: UA GS 2.6MM & Lifetime UC, Qantas Platinum, Hilton Lifetime Diamond, Bonvoy Platinum, HawaiianMiles
Posts: 8,694
I did both TPAC and TATL roundtrips in past 2 weeks, all had gel pillows on seats on boarding. TPAC had slippers at seats too, had to ask for pyjamas, although they were likely going to be offered. TATL had to ask for slippers, although was already offered by purser on return leg, and PJs aren't available on TATL anyway, brought my own. Basically same as before COVID. I saw mattress pads in overhead bins on TPAC, I don't use them and wasn't offered.
Apr 11, 2022, 2:19 pm
#777
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Floating around
Programs: UA 1K (1MM), DL Gold (1MM), Marriott LTT
Posts: 10,344
It appears in-flight menus may be back soon? This was posted on Twitter from United in-flight ops supervisor in SFO. While this is just a trial, these meals look like an improvement to want is currently be served.
https://twitter.com/aviatordave/stat...hL5-mBIfYUQ1nA
https://twitter.com/aviatordave/stat...hL5-mBIfYUQ1nA
-RM
Apr 11, 2022, 9:35 pm
#779
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Programs: JAL Global Club & oneworld Sapphire, ANA SFC & Star Alliance Gold
Posts: 3,746
That will come as a surprise to many foreign carriers.
Even leaving this point aside, I've seen numerous reports of significantly better catering on AA and DL in comparison to UA.
Edited to add: sorry, bmwe, the way I quoted you made it sound like you said this yourself, when you were just quoting UA's letter to you.
Last edited by Unimatrix One; Apr 12, 2022 at 5:01 am
Apr 12, 2022, 6:17 am
#780
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: DAY
Programs: UA 1K 1MM; Marriott LT Titanium; Amex MR; Chase UR; Hertz PC; Global Entry
Posts: 10,159
It appears in-flight menus may be back soon? This was posted on Twitter from United in-flight ops supervisor in SFO. While this is just a trial, these meals look like an improvement to want is currently be served.
https://twitter.com/aviatordave/stat...hL5-mBIfYUQ1nA
https://twitter.com/aviatordave/stat...hL5-mBIfYUQ1nA