After rolling it out and then promptly pulling it back, United Airlines will again offer meal preorders in Polaris Business Class on international widebody flights.
United Airlines Will Offer Polaris Cabin Meal Preorders On Widebody International Flights Starting July 1, 2023
For over a year, United Airlines has offered meal service pre-orders in its premium cabins on domestic and select international flights, provided that the flight was operated by a narrowbody jet.
There was a brief period in which United expanded its preorder programs to premium cabins on all flights, but quickly pulled it back due to logistical constraints that made fulfillment difficult. Even then, it was promised that preorders would return and that will finally happen starting next month.
Effective July 1, 2023, preorders will be available in Polaris Business Class on international widebody flights. Passengers confirmed in business class will be able to preorder meals starting five days before their flight, up until 24 hours prior to their flight.
In a memo to flight attendants, United said:
When testing this process on select international flights in April, we found that customers loved being able to tell us what they wanted in advance, making taking orders easier and more efficient for our flight attendants.
I think that was self-evident: passengers appreciate the ability to select their meals in advance to ensure their first choice is available onboard, as American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have offered for years.
United also tells flight attendants that “customers with preorders take precedence over our GS/1K customers,” making it all the more important that you order early, when possible.
If United has figured out the logistical hurdles of offering preorders, this really is a win-win for both passengers and flight attendants. Not only are passengers happy to receive their first meal choice or even prepare in advance for what they will eat (which may limit…or increase…lounge food consumption), this also makes the job of a flight attendant easier, not just in taking orders, but in managing expectations.
However, if there continue to be supply chain or other logistical hurdles that prohibit preorders from being loaded or accommodated, the work for flight attendants becomes much more difficult when having to explain to guests onboard why their meal was not loaded.
CONCLUSION
United Airlines will (finally) offer meal service preorders on widebody premium cabin international flights. This addition is long overdue and will be welcomed by United’s most frequent flyers.
The memo did not say anything about whether United will finally offer meal service preorders on domestic widebody jets, but we have reached out to United Airlines and will update this post accordingly when we hear back.
image: United Airlines
I’d have to give DL props here. They’ve been doing pre-orders on international J for a pretty long time now and it makes service pretty smooth. I’m glad that UA are following this trend.
It is about time UA does this, and aligns with DL and AA, who both have offered this for years, but UA must improve its abysmal catering. The quality, presentation, and quantity of what it offers in Polaris is absolutely terrible and the entire format needs a redo and an upgrade, all the way down to the lines and the china.
Hey now, Polaris is back to offering both a salad and an appetizer on international long haul flights. Progress!
My “salad” on FCO-EWR yesterday consisted of peanuts, dried apricots, and parsley, and nothing else. It was not a special order meal. There was also no choice to make. Disgusting.
I was being sarcastic in my enthusiasm lol
one man’s meat and all that.
your salad sounds a lot better to me than the shredded iceberg lettuce nothingness that shows up a lot with a few thin strands of purple cabbage and orange carrot for color.
Great, you can now preorder your Banquet TV dinner in plateware.
This is helpful because FAs aren’t always very knowledgeable about what’s being served. I pre ordered paneer on a recent AA flight. The FA kept telling pax it was pasta (menus not loaded). She didn’t seem to know what paneer was when I corrected her. Had you ordered pasta, you’d have been surprised when a curry with paneer showed up in its place.
Are they finally going to stop the express dining service and do nuts with a drink, then appetizer /salad with a drink, then dinner? Can’t stand being rushed, especially on the daytime flights. It’s cringy when you pay $3K-$8K for a ticket and they plop it all in front of you and run away. I have to say service on domestic first far exceeds international business on United
This is too late for my Polaris flight tomorrow AKL-SFO. I usually eat at the lounges and skip United’s “food” on board, but pre-ordering might help.
How do I pre-order my meal? Do I do it online or by phone or….? Thanks.
Can be done online in your reservation or on the United app by pulling up your reservation and choosing “Select Meal” within five days of travel.
Or, they don’t have your order even after you pre-order. I’ve picked up $150 in future flight credits from this. The flight attendants feel bad and give you $ or miles.
It’s true…you sort of hope that they don’t load your meal because you get compensation for it.
Amen, Cory! You’re lucky.. most of my flights last year, when placing pre orders domestically, UA failed to board them. FAs on my flights told me they were sorry but there was nothing they could or would do about it (and one FA was just plain rude about it).
Matthew… another topic… is there any followup from UA on when they will go back to the appetizers and the salad as well as the dessert being served as separate courses or is this already being done? If not, as usual, Delta and American have been doing this for a while so I just wondering..