United Airlines is investing more into its onboard food and beverage selection with a series of catering upgrades that will begin next month. Later this summer, we’ll even see the popular Italian cocktail Aperol Spritz onboard.
United Airlines Catering Improvements: Aperol Spritz, United Express Meals, Hub-To-Hub Meals, “Caramel Cloud” Ice Cream Sundaes
Let’s take a look a the catering changes coming to United, starting in June 2025.
A Snack Returns To First Class Hub-To-Hub Flights Between 800-900 Miles
Last year, United increased the threshold for a meal in first class from 800 miles to 900 miles. That hit its Rocky Mountain Denver (DEN) hub hardest of all, with many flights losing meal service that had been catered for years, including a trio of hub-to-hub flights. United will elevate the snack offerings on hub-to-hub flights starting in June.
On hub-to-hub flights between 800-900 miles, we’re elevating the customer experience by introducing a warm offering alongside the already featured snack basket. Customers can enjoy a warm apricot sweet roll in the morning and a margherita pizza twist in the afternoon.
That will include:
- Chicago ⇄ Denver
- Houston ⇄ Denver
- Los Angeles ⇄ Denver
While this is a far cry from a return to meal service on these flights, it’s a step in the right direction and means Denver passengers will not totally go hungry.
Improved Meals On United Express Flights
Flights operated by United Express subsidiaries have never fully returned to pre-pandemic catering. While meals were eventually reduced, often the only choice at line stations was a shelf-stable pre-packaged cheese plate similar to what was offered for sale in economy class: hardly a first class meal.
That changes with the introduction of new enhanced meal boxes on these flights with selections including:
Cured meat and cheese box
Cured meat and cheese box with a selection of cured meats, cheese, dried fruits, mixed pickles and salted nuts
Fresh vegetarian box
Fresh vegetarian box with a grilled vegetable wrap, orecchiette pasta salad with olives and apple cinnamon crumble
Cheese platter box
Cheese platter box with varieties of cheeses, dried fruits, thin crisps, mixed nuts and small pickled cornichons pearl onions, and green olives
Chicken box
Fresh lunch dinner box with chicken caesar wrap, poke chicken bowl, and chocolate lava cake
Mediterranean vegetarian box
Mediterranean vegetarian box with quinoa salad, casa milo mini focacce green olive crackers, casa milo focacce sea salt and rosemary crackers, mom almonds, trofico mixed olives, mezete hummus and breadsticks, and mezcla matcha vanilla bar
Tex Mex box
Tex Mex box with Tex Mex salad, mi nina jalapeno agave nachos, mr filberts chorizo salami trofico green olives, mezcla hot chocolate bar, and mom roasted and salted cashews
A preview of what these look like was given on a recent Starlink media flight:
Sky-High Caramel Cloud Ice Cream Sundaes In Polaris This Summer
Per United, a special-edition ice cream sundae will be available in June and July:
A special, limited-time summer sundae – the Sky-High Caramel Cloud – joins our sundae cart for June and July, alongside the signature classic vanilla bean offering. The Sky-High Caramel Cloud features Tillamook’s delicious caramel toffee crunch ice cream, olive oil lemon cake crumbles, glazed pecans and a caramel drizzle, all topped with a dollop of freshly whipped cream and a cherry!
Sounds delicious…
Later This Summer: Aperol Spritz Cocktails Onboard
United has done a great job with onboard beverage menu, adding craft cocktails, improved wine and Champagne, and even cold-brew coffee. Starting later this summer (date still unspecified), United will add Aperol Spritz cocktails to its onboard menu. This was shared with Live And Let’s Fly at the Polaris 2.0 luncheon event in Brooklyn.
This popular cocktail will be available for purchase in economy class and complimentary in premium cabins.
CONCLUSION
Even in the face of economic uncertainty, United continues to invest its onboard product. Together, these changes indicate that United is moving in the right direction with its food and beverage service onboard. I’d love to see a full meal return to hub-to-hub flights, but the improved meals on United Express, Aperol Spritz cocktails, and caramel ice cream sundaes are sure to be a hit onboard.
It’s nice that UA is trying to improve catering instead of racing to the bottom.
They shouldn’t be eliminating full meal service on such important hub to hub routes; their snacks are terrible, in that its all high sodium and high sugar items; they may be getting them for free, as its advertising to a select group of fliers on United.
Pole Chicken? Not really sure if they thought that one through
*Poke
Poke chicken usually means teriyaki sauced on top of rice. It’s served when fish is out of the budget.
@ Mattthew — I imagine those “boxes” are as disgusting and unhealthy as the current boxes.
The new box pictured above looks much better than the old one. Agree the old one is full of processed chemicals I would not feed to my (imaginary service) dog.
Those boxes remind me a bit of what they serve in Gran Class on the shinkansen, although obviously one looks more appetizing than the other.
It’s not full meal service but as someone who flies out of DEN, I’m very happy to see SOMETHING other than that snack basket offered for hub to hub flights. Hope they’ll expand the menu and or do the same for all 800 miles flight. That said, I appreciate this upgrade in snack service.
Is a pizza twist a pretzel? Many of the choices seem carb heavy. Whatever happened to a small plain Caesar salad?
Agreed.
I actually think these little boxes on the Express flights with cheese/meat/nuts would be very nice on these shorter mainline flights.
At least it’s nibbles!
I’ll say it. This is awesome. Aperol Spritz has been available forever as a pre-mixed drink.
Love it.
It doesn’t signify a lot, but it does signify people knowing what their premium customers want, which, in this case, is likely a very l0w-level delicious drink to add
Agreed.
Now can we get some Campari? And maybe espresso? 😉
They’re not adding Aperol, just a canned cocktail. That’s not much to get excited about, but since the entire United States seems to have suddenly discovered the existence of Italy, I’m sure they’ll be popular.
I was specifically told Aperol…but I know that when they had it in the past, it was an off-brand:
https://liveandletsfly.com/united-airlines-spritz/
Hopefully that’s the case. Americans aren’t always very good at these things. I literally just saw somebody walk in to the sauna wearing shoes and socks
I emailed them everyday asking to add Aperol, it finally paid off. Interestingly, AC has offered it for some time but few people drink it
Matthew, I am flying United soon and am wondering if you have an opinion on the Houston Seared Shrimp or the Breakfast Chorizo Tacos.
I remember when UA had lemonade and grapefruit juice pre-9/11.
I’m still excited to see more info about the planned upgrades to Y international meals that is supposed to take place.
United Y was way better than American. Going to the rear galley on a long haul flight on American is like walking down a dark alley alone at night.
Just flew Polaris to AKL from SFO; the Sundae was good, the rest of the catering was truly inedible. It’s UA’s biggest issue, and god was this meal uneatable
Sounds about normal these days, which is so sad.
The main courses are still totally uninspiring.
Aperol spritz on all UA flights?