United Airlines has promised more meal service upgrades in 2025. Could one change be the introduction of true a la carte dining in Polaris Business Class? Competitively, it would be a game-changing move, but it also would require staffing adjustments to pull it off well.
True A La Carte Dining Coming To United Polaris?
Jenny Jackson, United’s Director of Food & Beverage Programs, recently teased on LinkedIn:
As we close out 2024 here at the United Airlines F&B team, we reflect on our accomplishments this year and look forward to all that’s to come in 2025…delivering a Food & Beverage Program that our Flight Attendants are proud to serve, and our Guests love to eat!!
In another post:
Flying United Polaris? Indulge in so many exclusive quality wine partnerships it will make your head spin- check out Freemark Abbey, Shafer, Heitz Celler and Laurent Perrier…..and that’s just the beginning!!!!
The implication is that more food improvements are coming and this has been hinted at in internal memos as well.
United also allows you now view menus for your flight several months in advance, and one Flyertalker noticed that for trips from April 2025 and beyond, the following message is included on top of the menu:
In United Polaris, you can order from an a la carte menu designed by chefs who blend global inspirations with seasonal ingredients, ensuring every dish is a refined experience tailored to the altitude.
Does that suggest a move to true a la carte dining? Maybe, maybe not.
It is a change… a new language that was not present before and is not found currently on the Polaris page of the United website.
But one could also argue that a la carte, loosely defined, already exists. Even now, you choose an app, then a main course, then a dessert amongst several options.
And it could also be that the a la carte language is just a placeholder until the final menu is determined. Even PremiumPlus uses this language for flights next summer…I just cannot see United ever offering anything truly a la carte in premium economy class.
Why United Cannot Pull Off A La Carte Right Now (Well)
Here’s the thing: there’s a reason why carriers like Singapore Airlines or Qatar Airways are able to pull off a la carte dining on-demand so well: just count the flight attendants.
United Airlines eliminated a flight attendant position during the pandemic and never brought it back, even as it restored service to pre-pandemic levels.
To offer a la carte service (a wider menu with on-demand dining), you need staff to make it happen. When passengers eat at different times versus all at once, it takes more resources and more people.
Is it possible now? Of course. But I would expect service to be so slow that it would become aggravating.
United needs to add at least one flight attendant to pull this off well and that’s why I suspect it will not happen.
CONCLUSION
United is at least hinting that a la carte dining is coming to Polaris. Offering an on-demand a la carte menu would be a game-changer for US carriers, but is impractical unless United increases staffing onboard to make such a high level of service possible. I’d love to see it, but I’m not holding my breath. In the meantime, United should focus on offering simple food with high-quality ingredients…it’s not rocket science, it’s just budget.
image: United Airlines
Thank you, thank you, thank you for pointing out the obvious flaw in the potential new service: Satffing!!! Yes, more staffing would need to be added plus additional ovens etc. As it stands now, with our current staffing levels, it still takes some time to deliver a professional service that is acceptable to customers. Dining whenever just fouls up the already perilous flow.
UA can deliver a great improvement with the existing staffing. Sure more staff would be welcome as a passenger, but it’s not a show stopper.
It already can sometimes take over 3hrs after takeoff to get done with the meal. If they FA needs to stay seated, it could take another hour or two. This was preCOVID. That’s a big percentage of time on some shorter TATL
If rather they focus on improving the QUALITY of the food and the execution
I think it’s better to just say Dine-On-Demand.
Also, they still need to improve the quality of the food above all else.
Putting the cart before the horse much? Fix your FAs first with the simple things like drink services and such.
Also Matthew your particular ads on this page is autoplaying videos and it’s irritating as shit. What is this, early 2000s geocities?