At long last, United Airlines plans imminent dining upgrades to its business class product on premium transcontinental flights.
United Airlines Will Finally Upgrade Dining On Premium Transcontinental Flights
United Airlines brands its flights between Newark and San Francisco/Los Angeles as “premium transcontinental service” and offers an enhanced product onboard, including guaranteed lie-flat seating in business class and the bedding and amenity kits you can expect on international flights.
Onboard dining, however, has lagged and is the most visible remnant of the pandemic era at United. For years now the menu has not changed: your main course is the same chicken or pasta that has been around going back to 2021. Oddly, while meal entrees frequently rotate and have improved on other routes, they have not on these “premium” routes. United did bring back the dessert cart last year on these flights, including ice cream sundaes, cake, and fruit & cheese plates, but everything else about the service remains stagnant.
Finally, though, that will change. Live And Let’s Fly has learned that an “elevated service” will soon return, including better entree choices and elements as simple yet important as warm bread offered from a basket rather than a cold pre-pleated roll.
The reasoning behind United’s refusal to update food on these routes has always been perplexing to me, but I hope that positive change is truly right around the corner.
Meals on these flights should resemble Polaris longhaul service: a choice of appetizer served with a salad, followed by a choice between four entrees, followed by the dessert cart. It’s a no-brainer and would merely put United on par with its competitors rather than offer anything revolutionary.
So stay tuned for that.
I would also love to see complimentary meals return to EconomyPlus, as they did before the pandemic, though I will not hold my breath. American Airlines offers complimentary meals in economy class on its routes between New York (JFK) and Los Angeles/San Francisco.
CONCLUSION
United Airlines will finally upgrade doing options on premium transcon flights, a long overdue move. United does not have to reinvent the wheel here: offering menus similar to Polaris would be an easy way to distinguish service (and charge a premium) for these flights.
image: United Airlines
I had the privilege to fly on one of these flights in Dec and I was shocked to see the dessert cart come down the aisle. In fact, I had already brushed my teeth and put my invisalign back in. With that being said, they did not do PDBs. Otherwise, service was fantastic.
You ready to get your heart broken again?
Why doesn’t United offer premium lounge access to customers on these flights? American does now, and Delta will when their DeltaOne lounges open this year. Already, when flying business class from LAX to JFK on Delta, you get an exclusive check in area with a champagne lounge, your own TSA agent, and your own direct entrance into the lounge.
I don’t think the Polaris lounges have enough capacity to accommodate the premium transcon pax, unfortunately. At the very least I’d like to see something small, perhaps free premium drinks and appetizers, or something, inside the standard UA clubs.
Maybe expanded Polaris Lounges could be in the offing some day.
What’s the “meal” American serves in Economy on similar routes? I recall years past it was a wrap or something (I think Delta did that too).
https://liveandletsfly.com/american-airlines-a321t-main-cabin-extra-review/
Thank you. So it’s pretty much like what the pandemic-era AA First mid-con meal was… Not bad. I’d probably spend $10 for it on a flight that length through buy-on-board anyway.
To me the core focus needs to be on the quality of the food. A hot piece of bread means nothing if the food isn’t improved
Delta, United, and American should take notes on JetBlue Mint
Agreed, but JetBlue is not quite it once was. Menu does not rotate much and there is no choice for dessert (i.e. United actually has a much better dessert right now, though I also love the ice cream on JetBlue). United also has a pre-arrival snack while JetBlue just has the snacks or chocolate-covered cashews.
JetBlue coffee and service tends to be what sets it apart. That said, I certainly do prefer the food on B6 on most days.
Pp remaining the same or will that likewise be upgraded?
I’d imagine the entree choices will be the same as in business class, as they are now. Just on smaller plates without the appetizers, bread, dessert, etc.
Hopefully not the brick hard bread like we see on international routes
How hard is it to serve heated bread in O?
Will the salad be defrosted or still served frozen?
Don’t be greedy! 😉
Good – I’d also be fine with no pre arrival meal on non redeyes if they use the savings to upgrade the main meal and beverages.
Now when will the rollout of the main course separate from the app/salad happen – to match AA transcon – so we don’t have to eat cold main courses.
I still fly UAL but only when it’s convenient. and I sit up front no matter what I’m on. That said, their service has been going downhill since the early 90’s but I can’t say it’s any worse or better than AA or Delta. The US3 just suck in general.
If I had the $ I’d fly private but alas…..
Now that most people are paying to sit up front, you would think they would upgrade the meal service. I fly out of Denver and their onboard product is disappointing. I was Platinum last year solely on leisure travel. I flew Aeromexico in December and had a fantastic meal. I decided to go with Delta next month to Ecuador for the same reason-and Delta One offers lie flat seats too.
The AA offering in economy is just a small box, like a cheese plate or hummus plate or sandwich. Still better than the nothing offered by United. I actually really like the AA fruit & cheese tray.
You are “perplexed” as to why UA hasn’t upgraded the menu? Hint: $
Will this include IAD routes or just EWR? You don’t even get a blanket or pillow out of SFO on the Polaris cabin flights. Let alone enhanced food.
Honestly, unless the food quality is being improved, it is hard to care.
I seriously doubt the claimed changes (and with UA, don’t believe it until it actually happens) will put UA “on a par” with AA. AA serves seriously good food on its premium t-cons, including Haagen Daz in its sundaes. UA is just to cheap to come close to matching that.
Do you know if they will have decent kosher meals? Newark to TLV (until it stopped recently) had Fresco which was amazing
Fresko still used ex-EWR.
In retrospect, it looks like the entree choices have been expanded as of February 1 (comparable to the rest of the domestic network) and the warm bread basket returned as of March 1.
Still no appetizers (besides salad with cucumber), let alone a choice. Matthew, was that an editorialization on your part? Or is that a forthcoming change. I’m glad to see more variety among the main courses, but it’s still kind of a skimpy service for what can be a 6+ hour flight.