Earlier this week I wrote about how Andrew Nocella, the Chief Commercial Officer at United Airlines, has taken a hands-on approach to improving in-flight meal service at United. While I commend the progress he has made, he needs to direct immediate attention to premium transcontinental flights. This is about three years overdue…
Premium Transcontinental Meals On United Airlines: Upgrade Needed Now!
United operates what it markets as “premium transcontinental service” between Newark (EWR) and both San Francisco (SFO) and (LAX). Business class on this route features lie-flat seating and the catering on this route is unique among all other domestic routes.
Prior to the pandemic, United offered international Polaris-style meal service on this route with an appetizer and salad course with bread followed by a main course followed by a dessert trolley with fruit and cheese, ice cream sundaes, and baked goods.
When the pandemic hit, United maintained meal service on these routes, but reduced the meal to entree with pre-packaged fruit bowl and cookie, all served on one tray:
In 2021, entrees became standard on this route, with a pasta and chicken option standard:
- Westbound
- Thai Chicken with coconut ginger sauce
- or
- Butternut squash ravioli with mascarpone sauce
- Thai Chicken with coconut ginger sauce
- Eastbound
- Four cheese ravioli with creamy tomato sauce and broccolini
- or
- Grilled chicken with morel sauce, polenta, and broccoli
- Four cheese ravioli with creamy tomato sauce and broccolini
The westbound and eastbound options would swap once a month, but the menu itself has not changed in over two years.
View From The Wing shared picture below, posted on X since deleted, that purports to be a business class meal on the premium transcontinental route:
Indeed it is. That’s the butternut squash. I’ve been served this many times and while not quite as bad a presentation, this is certainly one of the less visually appealing dishes in the entire United catering catalog:
What gives on these particular routes? United did bring back the dessert cart, but still no appetizers and most appallingly, no change…ever…to the main courses with no pre-orders available. I’ve taken to ordering special meals on these routes just for a bit of variety.
I have asked my contacts at United numerous times for an explanation and never received a straight answer, just vague assurances that improvements are coming.
But I really do not get why United cannot even offer more meal rotations on this route. It certainly has for other domestic routes and even offers a pre-order menu with up to seven choices. But no so on the premium transcon routes.
Whatever the reason is not nearly as important as taking rapid steps to update and improve this meal service starting next month. I do not buy the six month lead-time excuse because there have been thoughtful changes to both domestic and Polaris dining over the last year.
But these routes are some of the last vestiges of the pandemic era and are dishes which frankly are not all that great to begin with.
So a plea to United because I know many United folks will be reading this: the premium transcon meals are an embarrassment. Time to update them. If you want to be a premium carrier, you have to offer premium meals, not meals that look like someone got sick…
United’s food is total garbage and will continue to be until planes empty out. I don’t believe they will make any material changes because those cost money and United has proven that if it can save a nickel it will.
But if planes empty out they will then claim that they don’t have the budget to improve meals and offer even less/worse options.
Ultimately, they will spin it however they need to in order to offer less.
I wonder if airlines find business class transcons to not be as profitable as they used to post-Covid. Delta still does everything on one tray (though they do have much better options than United, with the ability to pre-select regional meals via the app). This is a downgrade from pre-Covid. American Airlines, amazingly, seems to be the closest to pre-Covid service on their transcons – I recently had a bread/salad service, main course, and desert service in business class from JFK to SFO. However who knows if this will survive when American downgrades the transcons from the A321-T to other planes… JetBlue Mint, while offering a good product in the air, isn’t really a good replacement for any of these given no lounge access. Alaska Airlines no longer really tries on the competitive transcon routes.
American will not be downgrading; when the A321T gets reconfigured into a standard plane, American will put Flagship Suite equipped A321XLRs on its premium transcontinental routes.
Only carrier serving decent stuff in the US is Jetblue. I have not had a meal on Jetblue that look like dog crap.
I believe Jet Blue uses Do & co for the catering
Correct. In LHR at least.
In my opinion, the meal on a 5-6 hour flight should be the last thing they improve, after the seat, the service, and the IFE/Wifi. These flights aren’t so long that you can’t either eat in advance of the flight or after you land, and I rarely even bother taking a tray as even the best possible meal will likely be worse than eating at the In n’ Out on Sepulveda Blvd. before or after the flight. Food quality is much more important on long hauls, but on flights within the continental USA I think they’re a superfluous distraction.
Mak – if I am working in Manhattan until 6 PM, and get to the airport for my 7 or 8 PM transcon from JFK to SFO, a nice meal on board is appreciated. Similarly if I am flying from LAX to JFK at 1 or 2 PM, a meal before landing at 10 PM or whatever is critical.
Obviously everybody has their own point of view on this. I’m just stating mine.
From my perspective there are many ways to solve this problem, and I think competence at airlines is too scarce to ask them to spend that resource figuring out how to provide a decent meal on a domestic flight, and it adds expense and complication to airline operations that far exceeds its value to most passengers, with only the most marginal returns to increased scale. I’d prefer the resources be devoted elsewhere.
It’s so easy, though. Just serve the same meal they serve from EWR-LHR. That itself would be a huge improvement. No extra work – just the same Polaris menu.
And do the same from LAX and SFO.
Your point of view seems to be that of a leisure traveler with a lot of time. The majority of premium cabin flyers, business travelers, simply do not have the time to get a meal before the flight.
I generally don’t have trouble with the seats, service, or Wifi on united’s premium product.
I think many people who work demanding jobs have encountered the situation of not being able to eat before rushing to the airport with just enough time to get on the plane.
All I’m hoping for on the flight is something that’s at least as good as a frozen French bread pizza I can make in a convection oven at home. This would be an improvement
The most ill considered business class meal I was served on a US flight was a braised short rib with some kind of potatoes/veg combination that Delta served me at like 9:00 AM flight from JFK to HNL…
Has there ever been a moment in time where United hasn’t had the worst food when compared to American and Delta?
The last time I took a premium transcon on United, I ordered a special meal to try to avoid the usual slop. For my main meal, I was served a dish of cold garbanzo beans. For the pre-landing snack, I was served a dish of warm garbanzo beans. I was not happy.
Why was the picture on X taken down?
User deleted his account.
Perhaps the inspiration for the dish presentation came from what the GI surgeon showed on the video screen to the UA executive during the last colonoscopy.
The goo in that picture looks like something a dog with a tummy ache licks up on the floor.
It truly does…
Is United your preferred domestic carrier? If so why?
I am exec platinum on AA and they’re such a disappointment on so many levels. Delta seems to be marginally the best but they don’t have the flight times I like out of my home airport (CMH). It’s too hard now to get diamond anyway. I flew United a few weeks ago after American rebooked me due to a delay. Flight attendants and gate staff seemed much more pleasant, professional and helpful. Plus they had more snack varieties both on mainline and regional. It’s the small things when you mostly fly short domestic routes.
Is United your preferred domestic carrier? If so why?
I am exec platinum on AA and they’re such a disappointment on so many levels. Delta seems to be marginally the best but they don’t have the flight times I like out of my non-hub home airport (CMH). It’s too hard now to get diamond anyway. I flew United a few weeks ago after American rebooked me due to a delay. Flight attendants and gate staff seemed much more pleasant, professional and helpful. Plus they had more snack varieties both on mainline and regional. It’s the small things when you mostly fly short domestic routes.
United is my preferred carrier because I’ve been a long-term resident in United hubs or focus cities (LAX, IAD, FRA). I find the service overall good, food acceptable, operational reliability good, internet greatly improved, and frankly I’m generally a happy camper flying United.
Just serve the same meals that are served to hawaii, which are mainly polaris options
For quite a few years I’ve been mainly flying AF, BA, LH and other EU carriers international, mainly because the soft product is so much better, as well as that UA is never cheaper than them.
It’s always the same remarks: people don’t choose an airline for its meals. Passengers forget about meals. Passengers look for a fare, a schedule, a better seat. “The food is always so bad; I never eat it.”
Until you have a taste of decent airplane food.
It does indeed stick in one’s mind, and it can make one a tremendously loyal customer.
United has not been good at this in a long time. The Charlie Trotter meals in “United First/Global First” were remarkably similar to cat food. The cat may have eaten it first. The last decent meals were in the early 90s on transcon routes (the era of Mrs. Fields’ cookies and their first attempt at inflight cappuccino.) Although there was food in the back, it was pretty dire: undercooked “pizza” and a packet of Oreos.
The other US carriers have shown that a US airline can produce impressive food. Continental invested heavily, and it gave them cachet as a more premium carrier. They started with sad and dirty planes, and they peaked with little demitasse cups of soup, hot starters, salad carts, sundaes, and great pride in their service. Even quite short domestic flights had their beautiful soups, fruit tarts, etc. When given a choice between Newark and San Francisco, I always chose the Continental flight. The catering had a starring role, and I enjoyed it every time.
To me, the dismal catering is an insult. It is like a dirty gate or cabin, a miserably unpleasant seat, an absent blanket or pillow. It is a way that United Airlines says, “You do not matter.” United is printing money, fares can be astonishingly high.
United has $12,000 business class fares from the USA to Auckland, $15,000 to Melbourne. For fares that high, I do not care that Continental owned the kitchens, so it’s okay for United to serve mould-laden vomit.
I don’t care that it take six months to re-design a menu. Work faster.
The reduction in cabin crew and increased size of the Polaris cabin is a fixable problem. With the fares they charge, they can afford another galley position. They can have tapas and toasties on all flights, not just flights longer than 300 hours.
United wants to portray itself as a premium, global airline. They are massive, have an impressive network, now they can start acting like it. Spend the money on adequate staff and catering. Service improvements could lock in more corporate contracts, more loyalty, more credit cards, and a better reputation.
Maybe the catering on those two routes is handled by a separate contract that hasn’t yet come to the end of its term. It’s the only rationale I can think of as to why United can’t start catering the EWR-SFO/LAX flights with the same rotation of domestic entrees choices that are offered on 100+ flights a day to other cities from EWR.
I should know this. Does the entrée come with the foil cover or is it removed? If the foil was removed in the galley and it was served like that, poor move by the crew. You’d have to take one look at that particular dish and say no way or tell the passenger the presentation is horrible. I’m sure it tastes fine. Would you still like it?
Yuck. That’s why when I’m lucky enough to fly up front on a long overseas trip, it’s never on a US carrier. Domestically, where US carriers are the only choice, it’s less irritating to be in deep coach where the expectations align with the reality, and I don’t feel like a fool for overpaying.
Just this week, our UA flight had a ‘planned diversion’ (ie: they knew in Brisbane that we’d only reach HNL, not SFO). The lunch ex-BNE in Polaris was quite good. The baramundi was actually perfectly cooked, moist and tender, and the overall tray was good though not stellar. Cheese, sundaes and a cake option were then offered.
After an 11.5 hour layover (at a clean but very basic, unbranded airport hotel on UA’s dime) the lunch served HNL-SFO was a huge comedown. I’m sure UA has no Polaris catering option in Hawaii. But the chicken dish served was verging on inedible. Paired with warm white rice. And then a cold white rice salad on the side (huh?).
If this is what they serve vacationers splashing out on a once-in-a-lifetime Hawaii vacation in business (on their ancient 777s with 8 across J seats), eghad they do not care about making things special for passengers. Yuk. Not something that would encourage a repeat purchase at that cost.
OK, the premium class(es) should have their meal service on transcons.
That said I think that airlines should be required to offer complimentary meals in COACH with a choice of three entrees on all transcon flights as well as near transcon flights (e.g. JFK/BOS-LAS/PHX) as well as Hawaii flights to/from the Mainland. That is the way it once was and ought to be again.