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UA preorder premium cabin meal, Y snacks/drinks {Archive}

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Old Feb 3, 2024, 12:18 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
This is an archive thread, the active thread is UA preorder premium cabin meal, Y snacks/drinks - all >800 (900?) mile

united.com/preordermeals
Fall 2022 -- Only rare occasion widebodies and still hit or miss on narrow bodies.


Originally Posted by bsb7140
Signature preorder is expanding starting May 1st.

SFO/LAX/IAD narrowbody flights +1500 miles and flights between hubs over 800 miles. ORD also has signature preorder on narrowbody flights over 1500 miles.
Anticipated 1 June enhancements - UA bringing back hot meals to domestic first class -- 800 mile threshold, preorder still narrowbody only

uncomfirmed but source of earlier changes
Originally Posted by bsb7140
Beginning August 1st pre-order will expand to ALL flights over 800 miles in the premium cabin (including widebody and Intl) excluding flights from Europe.



UA is offering pre-order first class meal selection for selected domestic departures.
You receive, 4-5 days in advance, an individualized link to a selection of meals (with a caution these are not guaranteed)
generic link -- https://united.com/preordermeals
You have up until 24 hours prior to the flight to make a selection.
Note if the FA does not look in the right place on their iPhone, they may not see the pre-selection.
You can change your mind on the plane and make a different selection
If you change flights, the request is canceled and not transferred to the new flight

Initially offered on select departure from LAX (in Aug 2019) and then IAD
Some x-DEN flights started to appear in Jan 2020


Sample email
Hi there,

We're happy to offer a variety of meals that you can preorder for flight UA XXXX on YYYY ZZZZ from AAA to BBB. Visit our meal selection page at united.com/preordermeals to choose your meal preference* from our menu of available options.

You can select your meal preference starting five days before your departure and up to 24 hours before your flight(s). If you don't want to choose a meal right now, you can let us know what you'd like to eat when you're on board.

Thank you for flying with us.

*After you select your entree, we'll do our best to reserve it for your flight(s). We try to serve you the meal you chose, but we can't guarantee it since availability of meal options may change. If you choose a meal and then decide that you'd like something different, we're happy to offer other meal options on board.

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UA preorder premium cabin meal, Y snacks/drinks {Archive}

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Old Nov 13, 2019, 5:40 am
  #91  
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Originally Posted by oopl
AA offers a dim sum breakfast in economy.


Has the HKG UC always offered an a la cart menu?
Menu looks like a less fancy Polaris Lounge menu.
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Old Nov 13, 2019, 8:16 am
  #92  
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Originally Posted by CPH-Flyer
Wh is chirashi sushi amazing to be able to deliver? That's bound to be one of the easiest dishes to serve. Everything can be prepared in the catering facility, and just make sure it is not served freezingly cold. Done and dusted.
Perhaps you should try to order one on SQ before assessing it. My view is if it is one of the easiest dishes to serve, why the Japanese airlines or any other airlines have not been able to serve it.

I guess I can also make a blanket statement (like yours) that salad or bread are easy to serve, but some airlines have made messy of them.
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Old Nov 13, 2019, 8:57 am
  #93  
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Originally Posted by UA_Flyer
Perhaps you should try to order one on SQ before assessing it. My view is if it is one of the easiest dishes to serve, why the Japanese airlines or any other airlines have not been able to serve it.

I guess I can also make a blanket statement (like yours) that salad or bread are easy to serve, but some airlines have made messy of them.
I don't know why JAL and ANA almost never serve sushi, chirashi or otherwise. That is actually a quite good question. I never really thought about it, but I think I have only had it once to GMP. Sashimi any number of times. So it is not raw fish and airplanes that are the issue.

I don't dispute airlines ability to ruin chirashi, salad, or bread. I would say it is amazing that they are capable of ruining things so simple, rather than it being amazing that an airline can serve them well.
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Old Nov 13, 2019, 9:03 am
  #94  
 
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Originally Posted by CPH-Flyer
I don't know why JAL and ANA almost never serve sushi, chirashi or otherwise. That is actually a quite good question. I never really thought about it, but I think I have only had it once to GMP. Sashimi any number of times. So it is not raw fish and airplanes that are the issue.

I don't dispute airlines ability to ruin chirashi, salad, or bread. I would say it is amazing that they are capable of ruining things so simple, rather than it being amazing that an airline can serve them well.

Japanese airlines have very high standard for sushi. if they don't think they can do sushi right, they won't do it on board. that is what they said last time.
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Old Nov 13, 2019, 9:26 am
  #95  
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Originally Posted by oopl
AA offers a dim sum breakfast in economy...
UA offers sometin' in economy for breakfast.
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Old Nov 13, 2019, 12:44 pm
  #96  
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Originally Posted by CPH-Flyer
Wh is chirashi sushi amazing to be able to deliver? That's bound to be one of the easiest dishes to serve. Everything can be prepared in the catering facility, and just make sure it is not served freezingly cold. Done and dusted.
Having proper rice is pretty difficult to achieve if you aren't serving it fresh. Hold it too long in a refrigerated state and it will go hard and clumpy in a bad way. There's no recovery from that until you bring it all the way up to a fairly hot temperature - which is going to be cooking fish at that point.
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Old Nov 14, 2019, 6:28 pm
  #97  
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Originally Posted by CPH-Flyer
Wh is chirashi sushi amazing to be able to deliver? That's bound to be one of the easiest dishes to serve. Everything can be prepared in the catering facility, and just make sure it is not served freezingly cold. Done and dusted.
Several years ago I flew in F on UA when HND-SFO was a midnight departure. The meal service was a light (*very* light) snack after departure, and then a full lunch a few hours before arrival. The lunch had a garden-variety sushi appetizer, but it was inedible (and I'm not a sushi snob) after sitting in the chillers for about eight hours. It was not only super cold, but hard and had a strange taste. The Japanese guy across the aisle took one taste and spat it back on the plate.
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Old Nov 15, 2019, 10:23 am
  #98  
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Originally Posted by seat38a
Menu looks like a less fancy Polaris Lounge menu.
I replied to a picture of a la carte menu for pre flight Polaris at HKG that was posted and now my reply was moved here from the Polaris meal post???
Talk about off topic.
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Old Nov 17, 2019, 4:32 pm
  #99  
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Originally Posted by UA_Flyer
Perhaps you should try to order one on SQ before assessing it. My view is if it is one of the easiest dishes to serve, why the Japanese airlines or any other airlines have not been able to serve it.

I guess I can also make a blanket statement (like yours) that salad or bread are easy to serve, but some airlines have made messy of them.
To do it right requires a lot of time from a crew member - the rice needs to be heated slightly from room temperature, but not hot, and the fish needs to be chilled for transport, but then brought to just under room temperature and then everything needs to be assembled and served without looking like a dump of leftover poke from Alberstons. Doing all of this in a snug galley plus the time constraint would be a real pain for the crew.
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Old Nov 17, 2019, 7:34 pm
  #100  
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Originally Posted by bocastephen
To do it right requires a lot of time from a crew member - the rice needs to be heated slightly from room temperature, but not hot, and the fish needs to be chilled for transport, but then brought to just under room temperature and then everything needs to be assembled and served without looking like a dump of leftover poke from Alberstons. Doing all of this in a snug galley plus the time constraint would be a real pain for the crew.
You explained the process that is the reason in my original post to describe SQ has done an amazing job in serving the Chirachi sushi on board with the freshness and presentation.

It has become my "book the cook" choice for the past several SQ flights.
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Old Nov 21, 2019, 9:19 am
  #101  
 
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I'm flying LAX-IAD on Saturday. I did not receive a notification to pre-order my meal. I'm wondering if the latest trial is over? I'm incredibly disappointed that I am not able to pre-order, and I'm wondering if pre-ordering will ever be officially rolled out. I guess I'll see if I get a notice for my return flight on November 29.
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Old Nov 21, 2019, 9:41 am
  #102  
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Originally Posted by SS255
I'm flying LAX-IAD on Saturday. I did not receive a notification to pre-order my meal. I'm wondering if the latest trial is over? I'm incredibly disappointed that I am not able to pre-order, and I'm wondering if pre-ordering will ever be officially rolled out. I guess I'll see if I get a notice for my return flight on November 29.
I wonder if UA's killed the pre-ordering due to the possibility of a catering strike? I don't think LAX was one of the airports where UA has a kitchen, though.
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Old Dec 3, 2019, 9:25 am
  #103  
 
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Originally Posted by IAH-OIL-TRASH
I wonder if UA's killed the pre-ordering due to the possibility of a catering strike? I don't think LAX was one of the airports where UA has a kitchen, though.
I didn't get a notification for my flight home, either. But...I found out that I got upgraded on LAX-IAH on Thursday when I saw an email from United asking for my meal order. So, I guess they're running the trial on this route.
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Old Dec 8, 2019, 9:38 pm
  #104  
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I got a notification for my upcoming flight LAX - IAH and pre ordered the Thai Chicken Meal.
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Old Jan 2, 2020, 7:09 am
  #105  
 
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Finally get the chance to pre-order a meal from IAD and keep getting an error message after I select my meal "Were unable to display trip information at this time."
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