United Airlines will expand first class meal pre-selection, offer additional choices, and offer more plant-based and healthy food in 2020.
#1 – More Plant-Based + Vegetarian Options
Expect dishes onboard including vegan chili, stuffed grape leaf with dolma infused yogurt, red beet hummus with roasted vegetables, and roasted curry cauliflower with whipped hummus and pomegranate as United plans to offer more plant-based options both on its premium class and economy class buy-on-board menu.
#2 – Pre-Order Meals In Domestic First Class
Speaking to media at its Flight Plan 2020 day last Friday, Toby Enqvist, United’s Chief Customer Officer, outlined not only the new plant-based choices, but plans to expand pre-ordering of meals to all domestic first class flights in 2020.
#3 – Additional Meal Choices
This will include not only the typical two choices found on domestic first class flights, but an expanded menu with additional choices. Beyond special dietary-based meals, staples like buffalo mac & cheese or hamburgers (the two most popular United meals) as well as vegetarian or vegan choices will be offered up to 24 hours prior to flight departure on united.com or the mobile app.
A slide for a Los Angeles to Chicago flight featured four menu choices, including:
- Ginseng chicken bowl
- Seared chicken
- Vegan chili
- Flat-iron steak
United CEO Oscar Munoz later added, “You eventually are going to see an ordering system where you will be able to secure the options that are available on your flight so you get your choice and we get to figure out the inventory better.”
Munoz’s statement is exactly why meal service pre-order is helpful both to consumers and to airlines; it cuts down on waste and provides a helpful metric in gauging customer preference.
United already trialed meal service pre-orders in domestic first class on select departures from Los Angeles and Washington Dulles earlier this year.
> Read More: United Airlines Testing First Class Meal Pre-Ordering
CONCLUSION
No date in 2020 has been announced for the rollout nor do we know exactly how many choices will appear per flight. Nevertheless, that United has both trialed this technology and now publicly promised to expand it is good news.
American Airlines and Alaska Airlines already offer pre-selection of first class meals up to 30 days in advance. Delta has also experimented with pre-reserving meals. United’s move is innovative not in the pre-order technology, which was long overdue, but in its potential to offer a broader a la carte menu to customers onboard. Now it needs to offer this on international flights as well, at least departing from U.S. hubs.
Bless their hearts for trying. Half the jets they use for 3 hours flights don’t even have ovens. Half the time I fly in first for over 3 hours they don’t have the full meal service (two choices) even when they should. Last time I got cold cereal and fruit instead of a choice of two hot breakfasts- I checked beforehand online to make sure it would be a hot meal and didn’t buy anything at ABIA (which if you’ve been, you know it has amazing breakfast options) and was once again disappointed. Blech United.
The only aircraft that do not have ovens are the “United Express” aircraft which are run by regional jet companies. Every united mainline aircraft has ovens.
That being said, there are still mainline flights that have ovens but don’t offer hot meals even though it falls into the parameters. Flights that are double catered typically will only offer shelf stable foods if its an originator the next day. Example is the STLSFO morning flight. The inbound aircraft flies SFOSTL and arrives late the previous evening where it sits until operating the return flight the next day. Usually breakfast is granola, shelf-stable milk, and dried fruit. On other flights that are double catered and don’t sit overnight, typically the return flight will have hot food (entrees are kept frozen) but not any fresh offering like salads.
I had a fight DEN-LAX where they sent me a pre-order link…they only had 1 option available to select. Still some kinks to work out obviously. But you can thank me for the expansion of healthy options, I constantly leave surveys telling them to add more healthy options with tons of vegetables. It’s hard enough to eat healthy on the road, I don’t need a hamburger or Mac and cheese on the plane when I’m going to be at a steakhouse with customers the next night!
One could argue that American’s special miles which can only be preordered are a broader a-la-carte menu.
meals
Will be interesting to see what’s left for last minute upgrades to choose from.
An empty bowl to collect the mouth water when you look at your neighbor’s plate.
I don’t think it’s still a trial with Delta? On my all my routes to/from BOS so far I’ve had the option to preorder for a bit over a year.
Great if you’re on a revenue ticket…..what about non-revs ?…( I can just hear it now – we have no more meals left)……and is United going to have a “plan B” in place when a flight get’s cancelled or there is an equipment change, throwing the seat assignments out of whack? Are they prepared for the inevitable responses – “I definitely did (or didn’t) order that”. ?
Slightly un-related but I took a United survey recently that asked in general what kind of compensation I would like if I was ever downgraded – either on a paid first class ticket or after receiving a complimentary upgrade. I expect they might be planning on some kind of reimbursement system for when this happens (obviously with lower reimbursement if you only got a complimentary upgrade, which seems fair).
You don’t matter. Non revenue is just that. What makes you think your entitled to anything. Buy a ticket, then complain.
“Vegan chli”? “Flat iron streak”? (sic and sic)
Funny.
But tragic that I missed both of those.
No one’s infallible.
Appreciate your blog.
Good on them for trying to keep in touch with changing community preferences….it’s a good change.