Imagine a flight where flight attendants impeccably describe the wine list onboard, knowing how to pronounce each choice, the origin, ingredients, and what to pair it with. Gulf carrier, right? Or maybe an East Asian carrier? How about United Airlines under a new initiative that has the potential to genuinely elevate service onboard to a level I have not seen in my 20 years of flying United.
Tangible Proof United Airlines Is Serious About Improving Service Levels Onboard
Many of us who frequently fly on United Airlines in a premium cabin are used to apathy when it comes to inquiring about wines. What wines do you have today? “Oh, a red one and white one.” Of course some extraordinary flight attendants already take it upon themselves to check the wine prior to pushback and be ready to describe what is on offer.
But far too many flight attendants apathetically have no idea what wine is onboard when offering a beverage service. So many times a specific question has been asked like, “What red wines do you have today?” and flight attendants shrug and says they will be right back…because they have to check. Isn’t that something you do before you start the beverage service?
Frankly, United has not made this easy over the last several years, even before the pandemic. Frequent flyers will recall that the wine list on the printed business class menu rarely matched what was actually stocked onboard.
But all of this appears to be changing. Last week, we wrote about the return of the wine list and a new selection of respectable wines onboard. Not stopping there, United has created new “wine tips” sheet that it now boards with meal preparation instructions and ingredient lists.
These wine guides include:
- Pronunciation
- Body
- Vintage
- Region
- Tasting notes
For example, let’s look at the Alpha Estate Axia Syrah Xinomavro, now available on Polaris flights departing the United Sates:
- Pronounciation: Xinomavro (pronounced Ksee- NOH-mav-roe)
- Body: Medium to full-bodied red
- Vintage: 2019
- Region: Florina, Macedonia, Greece
- Tasting Notes: Medium to full-bodied red, with splendid, purple red color. Complex bouquet of spices (vanilla, pepper, clove), with hints of ripe blackberry. Finish is long and velvety with soft tannins.
- Varietal: Syrah 50%, Xinomavro 50%
Think how helpful it would be in deciding which wine to pair with your meal with if the flight attendants could describe each offering with that level of detail.
Of course there will be some that refuse. But I give most United flight attendants credit for trying their best with the resources they have. This sort of guide, to my knowledge, has never been offered in the recent past.
There’s lipstick on a pig and then there is the sort of change that can actually re-orient service in a positive and meaningful direction. I find this initiative is one of those pushes for better service that will be noticed and well-received by premium cabin passengers onboard.
CONCLUSION
I’m very excited to write this story because it represents the first time in all my years of writing for Live And Let’s Fly, which tends to focus a lot on United since I fly so often on United, that flight attendants have been offered a meaningful document to help them tangibly offer more polished, professional, and personal service onboard.
Over and over I’ve lamented that United can do the big things so well (great network, new aircraft, comfortable seat, superb bedding, great IFE and Wi-Fi) but often stumbles over the little things like offering passengers a warm greeting or giving them a moment to settle on longhaul flights before a flight attendant appears demanding a meal choice.
This is a very real effort at bringing flight attendants up to a higher level of service, which will build loyalty and frankly should make the whole flight experience not just better for passengers, but better for flight attendants. Happy passengers require less work!
In the weeks ahead, let’s see if we see any improvement in describing wines beyond “the red one and white one.”
image: United Airlines (circa 1970)
I’m flying Polaris MAD-IAD in a couple of weeks. I’ll report back on whether there’s any tangible improvement (and for that matter, whether the Syrah Xinomavro, which I really want to try, actually makes it on board).
Fingers crossed you get one of the retrofitted 767-400s! Should have over a 50% chance!
So…just flew Polaris yesterday. The new wines did make it. Everything else, though, is same song, different verse. The same old meals (yes, the beef short rib and Wellington burger are still there). FAs friendly but not proactive at all. The usual coming by to ask for your meal choice not even 2 minutes after sitting down, and no PDB, either. And WiFi inoperative on both the international long-haul and domestic short-haul legs. Honestly, there wasn’t anything objectively bad about the experience (unless maybe you count the crapped out WiFi), but “genuinely improving”? Doesn’t seem like it.
Good to see. Noting that the Xinomavro came over very well on the LHR to SFO flights on Saturday.
“Frequent flyers will recall that the wine list on the printed business class menu rarely matched what was actually stocked onboard.”
If the wine loaded doesn’t match what’s on the menu, then a cheat sheet won’t help the FAs in the end.
But hey, kudos for UA for trying. Now if they could just throw a few more $ into their catering budget overall…
do you not use spell check? “attendnat apepars” “Xinomavrom”
Flew UA EWR-FCO last week in Polaris on a legacy CO 777-200ER. Flight attendants were all pleasant, hard working, and interacted with each passenger in the Polaris cabin. The food was atrocious. The portions small. The plating was elementary school grade cafeteria at best. The snack basket kept in the galley was not replenished, nor was it really inviting (AA does a better job stocking and refreshing the mid-cabin bar area on their 777). Pilots were communicative about the route, air traffic, and progress and genuinely appreciative of everyone choosing United.
Upgrading the wine selections in a premium cabin is a token gesture though. UA must improve the food and continue to refine the soft product. The airline is miles from its lowest points but continues to struggle in some places.
United (CO before this) used to provide flight attendants with a GAB (galley attendant briefing) sheet which described in greater depth the meal choices, offered plating suggestions, etc. Very few flight attendants actually paid attention to it.
With all the hiring going on, United has a bona fide opportunity to change things, but again it all comes down to execution, which comes at a cost.
Could the list of actually available wines, spirits, etc. not be loaded on to the FA’s phone-like device?
Good try, though to be frank just having the printed wine list matching what’s boarded is helpful enough vs making the FAs turn into sommeliers. If they want to provide all kinds of detail, use a QR code or offer a URL to pull up in flight.
Be proactive with refills, let us get our main course served later vs all at once, and board wines of the caliber from this month’s menu, and UA becomes a much more useful option.
Looking forward to the menu upgrades they are supposedly testing in test kitchens at some point.
And I remember when UA had First Class and boarded Dom Perignon. I was often the only one drinking it and the FA would INSIST that I finish the bottle. Since it’s law to follow FA instructions, I really enjoyed those flights! 🙂
…and caviar wit hall the trimmings. …and roast carved at your seat (which, admittedly was not lie flat).
Forget the wine, If the flight attendants looked like that photo, then we’d have improved onboard service. Until then stick to Asian and mainland Europe airlines.
I find that most FAs on US carriers lack such basic knowledge of wine, that they really don’t understand how there could be any sort of difference between reds or whites. This is a useful too if the FAs actually decide to use it.
I didn’t know that you are writing tragicomedy in ht is blog.
United service is deplorable and just because they are make you believe that they are improving that doesn’t make improvement.
United = delucial airline and service
Tell me it’s you that’s the problem without telling me it’s you that’s the problem.
I’ve only ever flown united once in younger and poorer days so cannot comment on United’s service, and I am by no means a wine buff, but it occurs to me that if there is only one red and one white wine available, then anything other than the grape and country of origin is probably superfluous. You are either going to drink it or not.
I Platinum status matched to Delta a few years ago and have loved the genuine, truly friendly service that I’ve experienced with almost every employee in the air and on the ground. It truly seems like they want their passengers to have a good experience. It’s refreshing to experience this after 20 plus years of flying United and experiencing mostly mediocre, “we could care less” service from most employees. Of course, I’ve had some gems over the years but overall it’s night and day between the two airlines. Hopefully United is finally changing their attitude and I can get back to going for my second million miles.
But this article is about wine… Delta has terrible wine, and unlike United and American, they don’t even serve Champagne in long-haul business class.
Just flew UA Economy Plus EWR to SFO. The ancient 777-200 did not even have seatback entertainment. F/As were professional but cold. It appears that with all the reports of disruptive passengers, they are in a defensive mode Such a disappointment for a life-long United customer.
That is an old plane by now – long overdue for a retrofit.
Thanks Matthew, retrofit or sell.
United Airlines is trying to improve it’s “Customer Inflight Experience”, Sadly, learning how to pronounce a foreign wine is just a drop of water in the lake. Being apathetic to customer’s needs is endemic to US Carriers across the entire spectrum. Now that the situation with the Pandemic has settled down, how about a return to the basics of proper Customer Service. How hard is it really to offer a genuine smile to the passengers? Perhaps a return to the fundamentals of customer interaction need to be addressed by United Airlines Flight Service Operation to all of their Inflight Staff. American went on the skids after that buyout from US Airways- and they recovered. Delta’s F/A’s know that someone is ALWAYS watching- thus they generally perform accordingly. Wanting to excel onboard the aircraft is something that is paramount to a superb flying experience on any airline. United needs to give their employees the tools to do their jobs effectively, and watch what will happen.
I’m glad you acknowledge that the FAs are not always given the resources they need.
I’m not much of a drinker, but last week in Polaris class from IAH to LHR, the ice cream sundae cart offerings were delightful.
I’m shocked to see a Greek wine feature in the wine list of a major US airline – they are not bad by any means, but production volumes are small compared to even the likes of Portugal (let alone Spain and France), and that tends to mean high price points (relative to the quality offered) too.
Haven’t flown them in 23 years and likely it’ll be another 23 years before I Not fly them still. I expect this improvement in service standards will go the same way All United’s improvements will go – two steps forward then a quick sharp step back.
I understand your soft spot for United and to be fair, the last few United domestic first class trips I had were really great, especially some of the newer Alaska Airlines F/As are really not up to par. However I will not spend any money on United Airlines international flights till they fully restore the meal service, which is lackluster to begin with. I will not fly a premium international business class product without a full main meal service featuring a warmed mixed nuts (canapes preferably but too much for United), appetizer and salad course, a main course (I don’t care if plated or not though), and then a dessert trolley with cheese, fruit, and dessert. The situation now is unacceptable and Covid-19 is no longer an acceptable excuse. I don’t understand why both Delta and United are still not bringing the full international meal service, while Air Canada and American has returned the full service for almost a full year by now. Almost all Asian and European airlines are back to normal.
Wine lists and knowing your wines is really not my top priority for United.
Bringing back the full meal service on all flights… then we can really talk on how United is really improving onboard service!
Not just UA,surprisingly Iberia,representing a great wine producing nation,will often offer “red” or “white”on offer. as a description.Once onboard TAP in economy class ,I had a chat with the FA about Portuguese wines, during which he gave me a sampling of three.Gold is where you find it.
I often hear flight attendants complain about being under staffed to do all the service United expect from them and that they try to sell all these new improvements but the don’t get the necessary tools to do so. If they don’t keep their employees happy, nothing will be better because they won’t have the incentive to go the extra mile. And folks, always remember that flight attendants are there for safety first. That’s what they’re train mostly, not service. I’m an adult and don’t need them to guide my choices about food or wine. If you don’t know about wines, then, it really doesn’t matter what you choose.
I view the “primarily here for your safety” excuse as a canard (no, you can walk and chew gum at the same time…the safety part is a GIVEN). However, it is very legitimate to note that United cannot possibly expect world-class service in premium cabins at current staffing levels.
American Airlines has always had a wine guide for its FA’s, updated quarterly, that details all of this information, and yet this has not translated into better, more nuanced service with respect to wines. Setting aside your United Airlines Stockholm Syndrome, if this hasn’t translated into better wine service at AA, then on what basis do you feel that UA’s FA’s will do any better?
We’re on United FRA-IAH next month business class and really hope the equipment (777-200) and service are at least up to par. Excellence, which we occasionally saw pre-Covid on AA and United, seems to be rare these days. We paid a lot of money to fly biz from Rome to ORD last year and the audio didn’t work at my seat. The purser and I discovered a note sticker on the arm rest that indicated audio was out of order. No kidding. Kind of a big deal on a 10-hour flight. She said it’s shameful they let the plane leave Chicago for Rome with that not repaired. I recall United gave me $150 flight credit. Maui to DEN in February was grim, one drink, a lousy dinner and cramped quarters. Whining? I guess so but I’m not expecting too much anymore.
Flew ZRH – ORD on 29 April in Polaris. Super ORD based crew who were everything you would want on a US carrier. They were embracing the better food (ZRH catering is amazing) and knew exactly what wines they had on the cart. I would add, this 767 had 45 or so Polaris seats and they served this with a crew of 3. That’s a lot of work which they did with a smile and personalized service. Good job UA
ORD-LHR last week in Polaris; service so-so but breakfast was appalling. Long way to go to be good for United.
Begging you here Mr Klint, to make note of one extremely important detail.
Uniteds service enhancements may not be noticeable until, United properly staffs their 767 and 787 Intl flying. Ie 767 fleet needs to be staffed with 3 fa’s in Polaris at all times and likewise for the 787.
Agreed – I mentioned this in my story and while I laud this initiative by United, if it wants to offer world-class service it also needs to increase staffing by at least one FA on many Polaris flights.