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}
Aug 23, 2022, 1:13 pm
#1411
Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: DL PM, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 8,414
Fixed the Delta typo. I am well aware that price and quality are not always connected, but it's also not true that they have nothing to do with one another. And the wines that are in that $12 range tend to be larger commercial wines that are just OK.
Aug 23, 2022, 1:28 pm
#1412
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: PHL
Programs: UA 1K 1MM, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum, Raddison Platinum, Avis Presidents Club
Posts: 5,276
Nice - thanks for posting - this was an automatic choice for me when it was offered.
Now my dilemma: make the meal and reminisce about how good the meals in Polaris were the first year or two, which will then only heighten the disappointment of today's Polaris cafeteria level rubbish.
Now my dilemma: make the meal and reminisce about how good the meals in Polaris were the first year or two, which will then only heighten the disappointment of today's Polaris cafeteria level rubbish.
The presentation of the current food has improved but the quality has gone down.
Aug 23, 2022, 1:29 pm
#1413
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: IAH & CMH
Programs: UA GS, UA MM, Marriott Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, Uber Platinum :)
Posts: 776
Aug 24, 2022, 6:20 pm
#1414
Join Date: May 2006
Location: GSP
Programs: UA Gold; 1MM; Marriot Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 401
Just did SIN-SFO yesterday (August 22). Really disappointed despite the good services.
1. No PDB
2. No Menu
3. Main dish of Haddock was dry
4. Ice cold and hard bread
5. Mid-flight snacks are the usual sodium or suger filled pre-packaged junk food.
6. 2 egg choices for pre-arrival meal: Omelete or frittata. The size of frittata is smaller than the breakfast pastry and served with a soft fatty bacon strip.
7. No lemon or Lime (I thought they were back)
Probably one of the worst meals in my 30+ years of flying United between US and Singapore.
Where is the improvement we keep hearing about that is coming?
After this year, I will be flying on my own dimes and not be restricted by corporate contracts. If things don't improve, as one of the original 1Ks and GSs when both programs were founded, I may just file for separation.
1. No PDB
2. No Menu
3. Main dish of Haddock was dry
4. Ice cold and hard bread
5. Mid-flight snacks are the usual sodium or suger filled pre-packaged junk food.
6. 2 egg choices for pre-arrival meal: Omelete or frittata. The size of frittata is smaller than the breakfast pastry and served with a soft fatty bacon strip.
7. No lemon or Lime (I thought they were back)
Probably one of the worst meals in my 30+ years of flying United between US and Singapore.
Where is the improvement we keep hearing about that is coming?
After this year, I will be flying on my own dimes and not be restricted by corporate contracts. If things don't improve, as one of the original 1Ks and GSs when both programs were founded, I may just file for separation.
Aug 24, 2022, 7:47 pm
#1415
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Latin America and USA
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Gold
Posts: 459
Oh how I long for the days of the pre-covid chicken curry bowl and wine flights on the TPE-SFO flights! Hearing lianluo's report of SIN-SFO makes me wonder how UA will possibly compete against SQ on that route in the long run, unless they make some changes.
Aug 24, 2022, 8:50 pm
#1416
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 4,775
The handcuffs that Mileage Plus has so successfully created means United doesn't give two hoots about the awful onboard product, they simply don't care because it's not affecting the bottom line.
Aug 24, 2022, 11:25 pm
#1417
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2003
Programs: UA 1K 1MM (finally!), IHG AMB-Spire, HH Diamond
Posts: 60,191
SQ is shakier on that SFO-SIN route. UA does very well.
Aug 25, 2022, 9:41 am
#1418
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
Aug 25, 2022, 10:49 am
#1419
Join Date: May 2010
Location: AVP & PEK
Programs: UA 1K 1.9MM
Posts: 6,388
To answer the question, as others have said, UA will probably continue to do well: [misguided?] loyalty will help them.....that 0.27% chance the upgrade will actually clear is powerful motivation! 🤣
Aug 25, 2022, 10:51 am
#1420
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: San Antonio, TX
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton Honors Diamond, Starwood Platinum Preferred
Posts: 296
And the seat. The SQ seat is way too firm for me to comfortably sit/sleep for 17 hours. As a side sleeper, I find the angle that my body can stretch out on United to be much more comfortable than the angle I have to put my body on SQ.
Aug 25, 2022, 3:45 pm
#1421
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2003
Programs: UA*Lifetime GS, Hyatt* Lifetime Globalist
Posts: 12,358
Aug 25, 2022, 8:29 pm
#1422
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 2,281
As I understand it, prior to the pandemic UA still had a handful of their own flight kitchens. The bean counters decided to outsource the remainder of those last year, prior to the return of the " hot meals", and much like they seem intent on doing with multiple other facets of their operation. Not much of a surprise that when you outsource to get lower costs that what is then being offered on board also reflects the cheaper product (even with "hot meals" returning).
Aug 26, 2022, 8:36 am
#1423
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,539
Outsourcing per se is not the problem.
Some of the best airline catering is the world (TK, QR, OS) is outsourced to Do&Co.
Some of the best airline catering is the world (TK, QR, OS) is outsourced to Do&Co.
Aug 26, 2022, 8:40 am
#1424
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: 42,262
Aug 26, 2022, 10:53 am
#1425
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: DAY
Programs: UA 1K 1MM; Marriott LT Titanium; Amex MR; Chase UR; Hertz PC; Global Entry
Posts: 10,178
Had a quick back and forth domestic trip this week to Newark, both segments on United Express, in First Class.
No PDB on either flight
Blue plastic cups on both flights. No glassware at all.
Decent snack basket on the flight out.
Return flight had the "Bag of Despair"...seriously. They can't even offer a snack basket consistently?
Feel lucky I did not end up in any of the chaotic days at EWR this week, but even still both flights were delayed.
No PDB on either flight
Blue plastic cups on both flights. No glassware at all.
Decent snack basket on the flight out.
Return flight had the "Bag of Despair"...seriously. They can't even offer a snack basket consistently?
Feel lucky I did not end up in any of the chaotic days at EWR this week, but even still both flights were delayed.