I got the survey and was brutally honest. The way the survey was worded it seemed to be trying to push me to agree that receiving the entire meal on one tray at once was acceptable. I was not having it. I asked what ever happened to the wine flight and when they planned to reverse the (2019-ish) decision to cut a F/A from the Polaris cabin.

I haven't seen the survey, but that doesn't surprise me. It's definitely a thing with surveys sometimes where there's a direction they already want to go, and the survey is a means to justify that decision rather than a genuine attempt to find out what people want. They can also be used for CYA should the decision not work out - "Hey, we polled the customer base and this is what they told us they wanted!"

I definitely like the "express meal" option that various carriers have had from time to time: normal multi-course meal service soon after takeoff as the normal service, but with the option of choosing the "express" option whereby you get the meal all at once, and at the time of your choice. I've used that several times.

I can equally say that someone's desire to stay awake and enjoy a decent meal and beverage shouldn't have precedence over someone else's desire to sleep. In general, airlines don't primarily advertise business class as a ticket for some gourmet dining experience. They advertise it first and foremost as a way to arrive well rested and be productive.

Those don't block the smell of food or the vibration caused by FAs walking up and down the aisle, which can be an impediment to sleep for some.

I'm not saying UA has to be the one to make these changes; I'm merely putting it on the table if they want to cut costs in a way that some pax might find beneficial. I'd be one of them, but equally I recognize there are many who wouldn't.

Honestly -- we can have it both ways -- but that would require UA to increase staffing levels, increase the budget to purchase quality foods and wines, and then uphold and enforce service standards. I won't hold my breath....

Many other airlines do these things, but UA (and most US airlines) do not -- and I do not think that will change any time soon... Fortunately we are mostly sleepers on our flights to APAC and the EU -- but it really would be nice to have decent food and wine when we want it...

Agreed. Also, it would be plenty easy for UA to designate certain zones of the cabin to prioritize sleep. Say the second cabin of the 777-200/300 and 787/8/9/10 and a certain number of rows in the back of the 767s

This comment ignores the fact that the majority of TATL pax are connecting from elsewhere and simply can't get into the lounge between flights in time to eat. The whole point of business class is (a) a better seat, (b) better food, (c) a certain amount of pampering. Those who prefer to sleep can of course do so, but many others want a decent meal.

Vibrations from FA? I think the vibrations from the engine or turbulence is far higher than any vibration from the FA's walking around serving meals. Also, even after the meal service, the FA's still walk around. They eat their own meals too so there's smells too.
I usually sit in the front of the cabin so I often goto sleep before the meal service is over. Or I've skipped a meal service. Other than vibrations from the FA's voices, I've never noticed vibrations from FA's walking around. Maybe it's because I choose the odd numbered seats and they are more insulated from the aisle.

I'm sure the airline would love to just turn off the lights between take off and landing and cut everything else. They already know the savings they had during COVID when they just served Y meals in J.

I know exactly what dkc192 is referring to here, and I agree it can be quite the annoyance if you're trying to sleep. Certainly much worse than engine noise or minor chop. You'll get this on AA as well. By contrast, most asian carriers require their FAs to wear soft sole shoes and you'll never hear (or feel) them stomping up and down the aisle.

I guess I must’ve been dreaming when Polaris was first rolled out and United devoted quite a bit of advertising effort to the soft product Polaris would be. In particular, the food and drink.

maybe United should advertise each Polaris flight upfront as either “no service all sleep” or “full service” flights. Given the number of flights they have from the East Coast to London, they could easily run some tests using live passengers. Make half of the flights full service, and half of the flights no service, and see which flights fill up first?

Think of the advantages. Flight attendants who don’t want to be bothered with serving could bid for the flights that don’t offer service and those flight attendants who are interested in providing a decent experience can bid on the other flights.

Not sure if someone’s desire to sleep should prevent someone else from doing anything else like eating. Or watching a movie, reading a book, working on their computer, etc. that emit light…

There is plenty of room for b;)th. That's why UA distributes eye shades and ear plugs.

I agree with this, which is why, in retrospect, UA should/will never implement such a concept. It worked on BA partly because most of their ex-US pax were originating at that airport and either terminating in LHR or connecting beyond LHR.

I think it’s awful how the FAs in J disappear after takeoff and then go play with their iPhones, and then wake me up walking ip and down the aisles

I did not receive the survey email (and never do) despite I opted for all the United Communications.
Without having the full survey, I am disappointed with what I read so far (based on what have been shared in the thread), the survey seems to focus on how to service the awful food United is currently dish out rather improve the catering.

I have received surveys from other airlines and their focus have been on:

1. Choices of food options
2. Demand for healthier choices.
3. More personalized options (similar to SQ's Book the Cook feature).
4, More regionalized choices from certain local markets
5. Choices of beverages
6. Desert options (whether low sugar and low carb etc) to meet demand for more health conscious passengers
7. Choice of coffee (as more are choosing away from the traditional brew coffee)
8. Express Service (how to structure it better)
9. Timing of the meal services on ultra-long, long, mid and short haul flights

I see UA's focus on improving dinning experience is solely focusing on Express Services, and the survey also has influenced this thread discussion to tilted towards more time to sleep versus onboard dinning experience....may be that is the intend of the United consultants/management :o. Improvement of catering and consistent FA service quality would be my personal focus of the survey and thread discussion.

Really disappointed!
(again my feedback is based on what I read in this thread without seeing the full survey)

Once you have had QRs dine on demand you realized how subpar most non-Asia based carriers are.