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Home » United Airlines » Fresh Food Returns To United Express
NewsUnited Airlines

Fresh Food Returns To United Express

Matthew Klint Posted onSeptember 8, 2023November 13, 2023 5 Comments

a plate of food and a bowl of salad

Fresh food has returned to premium cabins on United Express, a long-overdue step that will greatly improve catering when flying in the front cabin on a longer regional jet flight.

Fresh Food Now Served in Premium Cabins On United Express After Three Year Hiatus

If you’ve flown first class on a United Express flight over the last couple years, you have may have noticed that the meal was shelf-stable. Think cheese plate in a sealed plastic container with a packaged bread roll, packaged olives, and a sealed fruit cup:

food on a table
image: 1200GS / Flyertalk

Some flights were not catered at all, despite being over 800 miles.

But that has now changed.

Per an internal memo reviewed by Live And Let’s Fly, “fresh food” has returned to premium cabins on flights over 800 miles on the following aircraft:

  • E170
  • E175
  • CRJ700
  • CRJ900

This comes after a three-year absence. Fresh meals were eliminated in March 2020 on United Express and had not returned…until now.

Here’s what to expect for breakfast:

Overnight oats topped with coconut and blueberries
Served with fresh cut fruit bowl, croissant, butter, jam, cinnamon streussel biscotti, and Erin Baker’s oatmeal raisin breakfast cookie

and for lunch and dinner:

Carved roasted chicken on Italian flatbread
Served with grape cluster, mesclun salad, and mini “Pie in the Sky” chocolate chip pie

The pre-packaged cheese plate pictured above will remain a second option.

These aircraft are not quipped with ovens, so hot meals are not possible.

CONCLUSION

I rarely get on a longer regional flight and had forgotten that up until this month, United was still serving pre-packaged meals on these aircraft. The change is long overdue. Prior to the pandemic, there were two substantial options on United Express, one of which was typically a fresh salad. Hopefully the return of the entree salad is not too far off. With regional jets serving longer flights, providing a consistent customer experience with mainline is an important consideration.

top image: CApreppie / Flyertalk

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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5 Comments

  1. NedsKid Reply
    September 8, 2023 at 9:53 am

    The last pre-packaged meal I had like your photo was on a mainline United aircraft early this year. I laugh because Spirit sells that same cheese plate on board for $9 (though I get it free as an elite).

  2. sunvking82 Reply
    September 8, 2023 at 12:07 pm

    AA Eagle, box lunches are fresh and best offered by any regional. Much prefer to a plated cold sandwich on a RJ. UA is trying play catch up but in all the wrong areas. Kirby is destroying this airline like he tried to kill off AA.

  3. viapanam Reply
    September 8, 2023 at 6:17 pm

    Oh Joy. The privileged few get more food while the majority of travellers get zilch.

  4. RF Reply
    September 8, 2023 at 8:26 pm

    This is a small step in the right direction. United’s food offerings are still in need of improvement.

  5. Cr- Reply
    September 9, 2023 at 11:16 am

    Sc**w the food and get rid of those awful CRJ regional jets!

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