I’m called the United Airlines fanboy by some readers, but I’m not an apologist and want to focus on United’s ongoing catering issues in Denver today. In its latest dispensation, premium cabin passengers are now being served shelf-stable, quasi-astronaut food and I’ve got to say…I’ve never seen a more pathetic looking “first class” meal.
United Airlines Denver Catering Issues Lead To Dismal First Class Meals
If you’re flying United Airlines from Denver this week, there’s a decent chance you will not receive a meal at all…perhaps not anything more than a bottle of water, even in first class. And maybe that’s a good thing. A traveler on FlyerTalk shared his recent first class meal served from Denver to Orlando and I’ve got to say the shelf-stable penne pasta looks far worse than anything I have ever seen served in first class before:
And it wasn’t just a one-off. Another traveler received an identical meal traveling from Denver to Los Angeles:
If United is going to serve that, it might as well just scream “COVID-19” and cut meal service altogether…
It seems to me there is a great chasm between United’s budget and the cost of doing business, particularly in Denver, where the cost of living has risen so much over the last few years. Live and Let’s Fly covered United’s decision to close outsource its catering options, which alone isn’t the issue. Indeed, Denver has faced catering hurdles for years. Instead, it seems the problem is unrealistic expectations over labor and cost of goods.
You could say the direct issue is the same reason we have empty shelves in many grocery stores: supply line shortages and delays have snarled commerce. But there’s a reason that goes beyond congested ports and winter weather. Indeed, with a 3.9% unemployment rate, the USA has greatly exceeded full employment (generally classified when the unemployment rate drops to 5%). In this tight labor market, employers are going to have to pay up, because there is a demand for both skilled and unskilled labor. Inflation is also at a 40-year high, meaning the same goods cost more money.
It does’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that United, via it Gate Gourmet contractor at Denver, cannot attract enough labor. That’s a good sign that it’s not offering high enough wages or benefits to workers. While that technically may be Gate Gourmet’s issue, most customers are not going to be blaming Gate Gourmet when this slop is served on United Airlines’ dishes in United’s first class by flight attendants wearing United uniforms.
Furthermore, I wonder how United’s budgets have dealt with rising food prices?
It would be one thing if this was the first such instance of problems in Denver, but they have literally been going on, in different forms, for many years. It’s a mess and embarrassment to United. It’s time for United Airlines to take a serious look a this problem and solve it once and for all. That’s going to take more than outsourcing: it will take strategic vision and more money.
CONCLUSION
Don’t expect much, if anything at all, in terms of catering if you are flying first class on United Airlines from Denver in the coming days. The carrier is struggling to adequately cater flights as its outsourced caterer, Gate Gourmet, faces a labor shortage plus supply line issues.
But shelf-stable food I’d only hope to eat in a nuclear holocaust or war zone or on the moon? That’s an all new low for United first class catering. Stick to the snackbox, at least.
Pilots have been getting these “shelf stable” meals for some time now!
Beware the “Harvest Bowl” on a longer flight! You’ve been warned!
😉
That was going to be my comment. Everything on that tray is unhealthy.
Good grief I am so glad that I hardly ever travel by air these days . . . as for intercontinental travel, the cost of J class is simply not worth it. The major carriers will NEVER get back to even the pre-pandcmic level of catering and service.
I agree. The excuse for food that United provided – Newark to Johannesburg – was poor. It included an unedible stodgy/stale turkey filled bread roll as a “snack”
No toiletry bag, no headsets and no blankets on a long haul flight. The linited entertainment was thus of no use.
They have failed to reply to emails.
Pretty much an airline not worth flying on.
Totaly agree.I wrote to United.Of course no answer. UNITEDS FOOD IS ACTUALLY A TOTAL INSULT,YES INSULT !,TO HUMAN BEINGS. From now I bring my own.
Their own attendants are discusted
I have not flown on United for many decades. Not because of the food but for the awful customer service offered by United. If one got into ANY type of disagreement with their phone reservations cle3rks the clerks would put notes about you in their reservation system and the gate personnel would then mess with you.
What was the price of the ticket? Half of what it was pre-pandemic? the airlines are losing billions but still flying you around on a FRACTION of the price that an airline tkt SHOULD be. They are clearly trying their best. Maybe they should all just fold and everyone bitching about a sh!tty meal can enjoy their own food packed in coolers when they drive in their own cars, buses, trains because you will have plenty of time considering how much longer it’s going to take you. Also, the savings you have made from the ridiculous price of tkts…you can’t BUY a meal in the airport? Or is that too expensive? Bring your own food then.
Just like they will never go back to free checked luggage after the “temporary” baggage fee during the fuel crisis some years back.
UA F food is pretty dismal, when they serve it. Though occasionally they come up with something decent for a short period of time – the cheese enchiladas were actually good. Haven’t seen them in months. Nowadays, you have to expect you are paying for the seat, free drinks and bags, not the food, in F on any US carrier. I hear Alaska is a little better, but I don’t fly their routes often. And I used to fly Virgin America for the better service and F&B until they merged away.
This would actually be considered an upgrade over what America’s Premium Carrier (DL) is serving out of DEN, ATL, SLC, or anywhere.
I flew first on DL from las to bos prepandemic. I got a tepid hamburger with a slice of cold cheese, inedible & incredible
With apologies to Dr. Seuss,
I wouldn’t eat that on a moat.
I would not eat that with a goat.
I would not eat that at home.
I would not eat that on the phone.
I would not eat that on a train.
I would not eat that on a plane. ✈️
Oh. My. God. I can’t even called this as edible – simply gross and I remember UA is going to be a premium airline. Don’t think so!
It’s just DEN – has not hit other stations yet, thankfully.
Not just DEN. A recent 1st class roundtrip ORD to IXT. Ourbound, Nothing but a bottle 9f water served while the attendants sat and read. Returning they said the 1st class food was left at the gate. A snack box was 9ffered. Also UA no longer sends a survey afterwards.
Eek! Not good I’m flying DEN to SJO on the 21st, at least I know to eat before hand so I don’t starve
I don’t believe d it’s a Denver issue only. The airline has take some responsibility for its catering choices . Choosing the cheapest trays to serve etc . The quality of your what choose to serve is part of your product choice. Won’t be in the top tier choosing crap like this.
love your comments. I am a united fanboy too, but lately the food is worse
flew from EWR to FLL yesterday first class. 405-719 pm. No hot meal at all. Just the take off snack box
Also most times now it is just a sandwich, no fruit, no desert, no salad.
it would seem to me that if i can buy a decent $10 sandwich United could give me one in first class
I long for the subway turkey ham sandwiches!
keep up the great reporting
AA’s Pastrami Sandwich/Pimento Sandwich
vs
DL’s sad box
vs
UA’s… this
It’s a sad era.
@Jan: I rarely eat on planes but I would rather have the DL sad box of some “healthier” packaged foods that the AA or UA options. I can tell you that it is safer to eat a packaged snack that whatever that penne pasta is. That is scary. Two months ago I was on UA First in Denver and our flight was delayed for over an hour because they had forgotten to cater the plane. We wasted so much time on the ground to then be served a mini bottle of Dasani water and a stroopwafel. In first class so I wonder what they served in the back. United is a disgrace overall.
I quite like the DL strawberry chicken salad, doesn’t seem as sad as the rest of the options…
I’ve become quite a fan of the DL “Superfood Grain Bowl” even though it isn’t a hot meal it’s pretty tasty.
We in NEW York would never consider dragging out to Noo Joizey to their ridiculous airport in the mosquito-infested swamps.
And be pushed and shoved by Joizey low-rent goombahs.
We have the NEW LaGuardia and Idlewild/Kennedy!!
Yeah, because Kennedy or laguardia are so much better.
Not exactly sure which airport you’re referring to Gilligan but lovey and I really enjoy flying out of Teterboro on our private Gulfstream – The Captain is always a hoot and the caviar & champagne are to die for!
I can’t believe I’m saying this, AA Pastrami Turkey sandwich seems pretty nice now.
Scott Kirby “What we’re doing in the next couple years is going to really solidify our position as the leading global airline… “ — Man, he’s completely out of touch with reality. UA (as well as DL &AA) are so far from being a top tier global airline that it’s almost as if they’re intentionally trying to see how far their actual product and services can diverge from what management is saying. I’m convinced we are being played and Kirby is laughing behind his desk at the Willis towers smoking a cigar dreaming up more service and product cuts.
It’s not just Denver.
I flew Biz Class to Tel Aviv in November. They served a similar coach meal in first class and said “due to covid, we are unable to unwrap your meal for you”.
I have also flown Qatar biz in the last few months. Their service was amazing, the food was fantastic. It wasn’t the same meal you get in coach on United.
We just flew Delta on Delta One cabin internationally to and from South America. There is no Covid BS on Delta. Prior to our flight we received an email to select our entree choice in advance. There were 5 different options and on paper they looked pretty good. We are a family of four and we each made our own choice and when food was served we were all impressed. Delta has moved away from the cart where each part of the meal is served separately but they bring all in once on a tray (they bring soup separate). My wife is very picky and she mentioned to me when we landed that her meal was one of the best she ever had on a plane. On the way back to the US they repeated the process where we were able to order in advance. They usually have options themed on the country of origin and they we all good options. Again, it is not what you eat on a Michelin starred restaurant but they were pretty decent.
Oh yes there is COVID BS on Delta
See the garbage they are serving in the premium select cabin. They used COVID to downgrade the service, which pre pandemic was more aligned with Delta One service, to standard economy service.
Yes, Delta now gives ECONOMY service in a cabin they consider to be a premium cabin, and the cabin that their upgrade instruments upgrade to from economy
This is not getting enough coverage. Int’l Economy is back to what it was though for sure, and D1 is one pre-boarding bubbly away from what it used to be.
yep,
Which is one reason I won’t consider Delta. They are ripping passengers off, charging them for a premium cabin, then giving them bog dog economy service
They truly are the international version of Spirit now.
The compare UA, which upgraded its DOMESTIC PP product to align it with their J product.
That still does not excuse the economy meals being served in J out of Denver. That wouldn’t be acceptable for PP even (except on Delta)
Got bubbly while boarding both ways on my last D1. The only difference from before was that the meal now comes all at once on a tray vs the cart.
@Santastico
What you describe was the PREMIUM SELECT service pre COVID
Delta should dump premium select entirely and call it comfort plus. Call the extra legroom regular coach seta as preferred. Delta needs to stop lying and saying that PS is above Comfort Plus, when it is nothing more than extra legroom coach. By far the worst PE product in the USA and tied for last in the world
I agree Derek, Delta is a complete disaster.
@Derek: my flight didn’t have Premium Select. It was ATL to GRU and only had Delta One, Comfort and Economy. Meal served on Delta Ones was not what they serve in Premium Select. We had 5 entree choices to choose prior to the flight. Yes, it came all in in a tray but it was definitely better that PS. Also, breakfast was normal Delta One with two choices, basket of breads, etc… Not fantastic but not bad at all. I fly Business class for the seat and not for the meal.
@Santastico
Prior to COVID, PS received 2 or 3 of the D1 choices. All was served on 1 tray
In the past year I have flown biz several times on Qatar and Turkish and have had some of the best meals! No covid theater. Just good food, wine and service.
I also want to be a United fan. If only the tulip came back. I consider the current United as actually Continental with a different name.
The meal is ok with me if short haul. DEN/LAX sort of qualifies. MCO/DEN does not because that is long enough a flight.
I see the meal is made in Italy. Did you know that Italy makes canned spaghetti but only for export? Canned spaghetti is, according to a local grocery store in Milan, not sold in Italy. Too gross. Ok, they didn’t say “too gross”.
Presentation matters too, and that is part of the catering problem. Denver is notorious for running out of “real” cutlery and substituting plastic forks and knives instead. Trying eating a chicken breast or turkey sandwich with a tiny plastic fork and knife!
CO was the surviving corporation if you go back through the SEC documents
This modern United is really TEXAS INTERNATIONAL, DBA Continental, DBA United.
It’s still Frank Lorenzo’s airline and his hedge fund has enough influence to keep Bethune off the board of directors
CO’s BusinessFirst had good food (still airline food although) and the FAs in their white jackets provided excellent service. To compare UA to CO is backwards. UA now is UA, the only difference was that UA had the better hard product and CO had the better soft product.
Has same “meal” served to me Den-Lax 1st class…no one ate it in the entire (full) cabin. So happy I spent 3x the coach fare…ate biscoffs as usual. UA needs to step up their act asap!
As a 35 year flight attendant I’ve not seen catering be this bad even during the Lorenzo years. It’s challenging due to catering outsourcing to subvert their first union contract. In the end the customer suffers and another employee loses a living wage career.
Those are the shelf stable crew meals. They’re serving them to passengers now? The harvest bowl is quite tasty.
It makes me laugh when American travel writers critique ‘poor’ food on International airlines that are still far superior to the slop accepted by travelers in the US,
In the middle of a pandemic. Keep your mask on a do not eat. 2 million miler on United
How about not flying if one is scared and does not trust the vaccines?
I once was working a UA flight and we were selling heated up roast beef sandwiches in Economy. These things were gross and we couldn’t pay customers to eat them. Anyway, after the flight one of the flight attendants said she was going to take three of the sandwiches home (no biggie, we had an entire oven full of them). We looked at her in shock and disbelief. She then stated, “my dogs love these sandwiches.” The moral of this story is that US based carriers only serve food that is fit to be consumed by pets.
Well I can’t believe I see some complaints because its the fault of passengers in the US letting the UD airlines get away not serving or serving the slop as you posted. The US airline industry is making huge profits charging for bags as well as all the other fees and the CEO’s and shareholders are reaping big profits. Until we stand up and demand a change they will continue with slop, no service, and continue to squeeze more uncomfortable seats on their planes.
Its time to put a stop to this!
I have had dismal service and food on intercontinental flights with United from Denver and from New Jersey alike. The service has become absolutely third grade and as a loyal million miler 1 K for many years traveller – I have now opted to just be on Lufthansa – at least the European airlines still have way better quality meals and service – way better !!
I can’t believe:
a) That they had to import this from Italy
b) That Italy would let it’s culinary reputation be sullied by this garbage.
I guess you never flew Alitalia?
I was on United Airlines from Washington Dulles to Accra Ghana on Wednesday 5th January 2022 and the dinner that was served was uncooked rice with chicken sauce. The rice was not cooked. All the passengers who opted for the rice dish could not eat and had to return them to the hostess.
The food was horrible.
I wonder how on earth an airline like United Airlines could do such a thing. Management should take this issue up.
My granddaughter and I flew first class to Orlando on Dec. 23. We both had the chicken instead of the pasta. It was delicious. It looks like we dodged a bullet.
compared to my last flight on American that looks great!
The napkins are still nice.
Some days they are.
Flew UA Den to Hi in Sept. Flight delayed 2 hrs then non stop from Den to Hi 7 hrs. About 1 hour in we got pkg of biscotti and pretzels and drink. 1 hour before landing they brought around same biscotti and pretzels and drinks. So with delayed flight and 7 hour flight 9 hours worh NO FOOD.
Call me cray. Ray, but I for one wish regulation came back full force. Not going to happen but a guy can wish. . I started flying in the “golden age” so I’ve witnessed many many changes (and achieved lifetime status several years ago) some better/some worse
1. Why are people traveling in the middle of a pandemic unless a necessity? 2. Why don’t said people eat elsewhere instead of all taking their face diapers off at the same time on a confined plane to consume their food and breathe without their magic face diapers on. I guess thebcooties goes away at meal time on a plane.
3. Why are people not raising hell over food like this? Instead we’re just taking pictures of it… the unhappy customers need to raise hell over this instead of mostly giving them a pass.
“In its latest dispensation, premium cabin passengers are now being served shelf-stable, quasi-astronaut food and I’ve got to say…I’ve never seen a more pathetic looking “first class” meal.”
AA says “hold my beer”.
It’s more of a staffing issue at the Denver kitchen. They board these downline from another station to position them for a flight departing Denver. It would be too risky to board fresh food and not serve it for an extended period of time.
Ahhh power of legal weed!
Honestly look at the ingredients in the penne rigate al pomodoro , no preservatives nothing weird… Probably healthier than the jerkey.
I exceeded 1K again this year and every “first class” meal was the same: microwaved simulated chicken bits in rancid tomato sauce on a 6″ roll in a hermetically sealed paper bag or the same thing without the fake chicken. Of course, more flights had no food, not even the simulated stuff. These were all paid first class tickets since upgrades don’t exist anymore. (Anybody have suggestions for what to do with 400 Plus Points?) I had better seats and much better food 50 years ago in what w all was called coach. Meanwhile, ticket prices have been jacked up in tandem with fewer flights. I have more than 5 million air miles {not frequent flyer points) under my belt and am now feeling nostalgic for Aeroflot.
KLM from Glasgow to Amsterdam only an hr flight and a good size meal. Amsterdam to Mexico City i had 3 big meals, small bottle of wine came with the meal (held enough for 2 glasses) these meals included appetiser, main course, drink and desert.
That’s not supposed to be a first class meal that is actually a crew meal. Maybe it was mixed up by catering or maybe a flight attendant gave a passenger their own meal as an act of kindness in case the plane got under catered.
You are correct that this is a crew meal, but this is what DEN catering has been providing for first class passengers over the last several days on many routes.
This is honestly insulting to the flight crew who get these meals everyday, work long days and eat this for you to come on here and trash it. You could have made your point and observations about catering without insulting the flight attendants and pilots (and doing it during a pandemic where everyone in the US is short staffed and a contagious variant running about). At least one airline has stopped serving meals all together so I guess maybe more should too. Instead you’re not even grateful that people are trying. This article could have been “United is still trying to pull off a full service even with staffing and Covid trouble across the US”
Our church provides community meals once a month. We would be caught dead serving this gruel to the shut ins and homeless. I still think the solution is to cater the next board meeting with that crap. I feel sorry for the crew that has to serve it. Must be embarrassing.
I was the catering purchaser for one of the kitchens before we were outsourced to gate gourmet. I remember getting a bunch of these shelf stable pasta bowl at the start of the pandemic. We served these for like a day before instructed to stop and they just sat on the shelf since. I guess gate gourmet wants to use all that stock lool. GG is terrible, most of the united employees were rehired at GG (with pay and seniority carrying over) and all majority of them quit after a few weeks including me.
Thanks for your comment. What made you quit?
You Americans are funny…. didn’t know that United had a first class? You call it first? did you ever fly Qatar Airways???
It’s nice that my seat is sanitized, but based on the food served by UA and AA, I think we are facing some other health risk. The food served is embarrassing with either airline. The AA pimento sandwich should not be consumed. I would rather get a voucher to buy something to bring on the flight, save the airlines the product and labor costs, and we’re all happier.
I flew out of Denver on UA on new years eve (DEN to Newark) in first class. We lucked out with a last min plane change and our traditional UA domestic first class seats became Polaris seats. The catering on that flight was atrocious. A cheese “plate” aka a lunchable that I suspect they got from the lounge, a freezing cold banana and a freezing cold roll.
US based airlines have the lowest standards for serving first class and business class customers. When you fly in Europe, economy class snacks and light meals are much better than the United’s first class meal.
It is the same for the airport lounges. United doesn’t accept domestic first-class customers to their United Club! Premier 1K members can’t use the lounges unless the flight is longer than 5 hrs. So worthless to spend any extra money to US-based airlines. Will stick with economy class to just save money and don’t ask for any good services 🙁 n
Unfortunately, most European airlines nowadays give very little/nothing in the way of complimentary snacks in economy class. Some people will say that this is fine considering the short flying time, but, if you’re flying with a connection, you can easily spend 8-9, and sometimes even more, hours travelling door to door with limited opportunities to get food. I think AFKL are the only major airlines based West of Poland that still offer complimentary snacks to economy pax (there may be some niche carriers that do offer something- I flew Loganair within England last spring and they still offered nothing, but they said it was pandemic-related and that they were about to reintroduce some form of catering).
Worse still, the business class catering can be pretty dismal too. Lufthansa serve a mystery sandwich on some shorter flights (had it on MUC-PRG, though I had fortunately been able to eat in the lounge), while the likes of KL and SN offer salad boxes. 18 years after my first espresso on a short haul flight (AZ), capsule machines are available in €50 a night Mercure rooms but remain unavailable to LH pax paying €600 for an intra-Europe business class ticket.
There is definitely a race to the bottom going on, although there are a few airlines who have the sense to stay out of it (Aegean, Turkish, and I suspect Air Serbia and Aeroflot, although I haven’t flown these two recently), and one or two others who apply some creativity to it all (LOT have a premium economy product with food that’s reputed to be pretty good, and they also have the facility for Y pax to pre order and pay for real meals).
Very fair analysis. Spot on.
The only thing worse that that is the food they have in the United Club in Denver. Off brand Ramen and that’s it.
Talked to the manager MULTIPLE times, telling him to tell HIS bosses that we as travelers SEE you are simply NOT giving us food or service inside the club. Nobody is getting covid by having food.
And the gatekeepers would sooner let explosives into the club than a sandwich from Smash Burger downstairs.
And now that 1 of the 2 is under construction in Denver, you get to wait in a line for 20 minutes in a club that’s standing room only to get a glass of house white and some off brand Ramen.
Yet, they still have no problem charging for the privilege.
Until enough people start voting with their dollars, conditions won’t change. They are getting way too much of their income from government subsides at the moment. Their biggest customer IS the federal government now, so THEY are the only ones they need to satisfy.
Add on top of that points rolling over for the 3rd year and a row, and status doesn’t mean much anymore unless your 1k or over.
Just look at the cluster they had at Denver last week. I sat on the tarmac for 3 hours without moving an inch because the EXACT SAME ISSUE you describe sith the food also happened to their fuel trucks. And Marshalls.
If you are going to have enough people to give service, FINE. But you can’t keep charging people full price and then not delivering the service you agreed upon for any length of time.
Funny how every single person in Denver working for united “got covid” during the only 5 days it was cold as balls.
Government needs to stop giving out free money. End of story.
Entitled much
They are an American airline.. what else would you expect??
The facility is horrible! I feel sorry for those flying and consuming the food that sent out of the Denver kitchen. There are multiple people who work in the facility who are reporting to work and preparing equipment and catering planes with symptoms of Covid, gate gourmet does not care about their employees they only care about getting the flights catered, they do not care about the safety of the public or it’s employees. A few weeks ago a knife was pulled on employees in the facility on the airfield by a disgruntled employee because people are not searched before entering the building. The place needs to be shut down. United received bail out money from the government then outsourced the kitchens.
Moved
To Delta after 22 years and millions of flown miles. Free Club when you make diamond, and the food served in first even cold is excellent. club food is great too, after years at the United Club, I stopped purchasing because there wasn’t anything to eat.
Last time I was in a United Club –
2017 at LHR, nice shower and decent food, no where else – sorry United you need to catch up to Delta and actually care about your 1k’s and others too
So what is the official response from UA? Why hasn’t someone tweeted this or made it go viral to light a fire under the butts of penguins running the show at UA?
Everyone dogs on AA, but I’ll take a sandwich and a full tray of fresh food, over the sad excuse of what UA tries to pull off as a F class meal. I was in the ORD club on F and was blown away by what was on offer: wraps, sandwiches, soup, hummus and pita/veggies. The food in the clubs is better than what is served on the plane. CoVid staffing shortages or not, there are still enough exCon’s that ran the show during the “meals at mealtime” era. While it may be challenging to scrounge up something other than this slop….its not impossible. And it doesn’t even need to be costly. If they can make food for the clubs, they can make food for the flights. Someone just needs to put a few more hours in at the office and turn the ship around.
Quote “While that technically may be Gate Gourmet’s issue”… Remember that United can outsource labor but they can’t outsource accountability. This is squarely United’s problem.
We just took our first flight since the beginning of the virus hysteria. SFO-TPA. Food was just fine, nothing pre-packaged. The flight attendant doing the serving was awful, but the food OK. Why on earth would they serve the garbage pictured here instead of a snack box? What kind of morons are making these decisions? Time to hitch up the horses and travel by wagon train from now on. Sitting up high on the wagon at least gives you fresh air throughout your trip.
Both hotel and airlines are using the pandemic as an excuse for this type of insulting behavior. I have see both hotels and airports/flights full for the past 6 months so this is all just a money grab. They got federal dollars during the pandemic and now prices are the same or higher pre-pandemic so, similar to bag fees, this is a money grab.