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Home » Meal of the Week » Afternoon Tea: United Airlines vs. British Airways
Meal of the WeekUnited Airlines

Afternoon Tea: United Airlines vs. British Airways

Matthew Klint Posted onJune 11, 2017November 14, 2023 5 Comments

United Airlines no longer serves afternoon tea onboard its westbound flights from London. Still, I thought I would compare tea service on United and British Airways this week for my Meal of the Week installment. Why? Rumors are swirling that United may bring back tea service on the ex-LHR flights.

I mentioned in my British Airways first class review from New York to London that I loved afternoon tea because it is just not something I would ever treat myself to at home or even in a restaurant. Maybe one day I’ll do afternoon tea at the Burj Al Arab, but that would be a very special exception…

The British Airways business and first class tea service is the same in substance, but different in style. Imagine my beautifully laid out meal below placed on a single tray with the sandwiches and cakes wrapped in plastic:

a table with food on it

a group of sandwiches on a plate

a plate of food on a table

a plate of desserts on a table

a tea cup and saucer with a teapot and a pastry

The sandwiches were fine, I did not touch the cakes, but I loved the scones and clotted cream. Delicious.

United’s tea service also included scones with clotted cream, as well as three crustless sandwiches and a slice of cheese. While British Airways offered a variety of teas, United offered only black tea.

a plate of food and a cup of coffee

I miss the tea for more sentimental reasons: it was always just part of the United experience when traveling from London.

CONCLUSION

United’s current pre-arrival meal now includes a hot dish with salad:

a plate of food on a table

Do you prefer this or a tea service?

My answer: why not offer both?

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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5 Comments

  1. MisterM Reply
    June 11, 2017 at 2:47 am

    Tea service hands down. And/don’t forget United’s classy plasticware….

  2. rdover1 Reply
    June 12, 2017 at 7:08 pm

    BA dumped afternoon tea on Westbound West coast flights in biz and eco quite some time ago, and you get something very similar to the UA picture above. Hope they bring it back

    • Matthew Reply
      June 12, 2017 at 8:06 pm

      I noticed that…which I think makes sense for a flight that long. Still, I think that tea should be offered along with the heartier meals.

  3. john Reply
    June 23, 2017 at 1:03 pm

    Why would anyone choose BA given their recent downgrades and propensity to “forget” to load adequate provisions for the passenger load? (I’m a Brit who no longer uses BA having arrived hungry 5x in 2016 simply because meals are “complimentary” and they hadn’t bothered to provision the aircraft)

  4. David Read Reply
    January 31, 2025 at 10:58 pm

    I’ve flown United between San Francisco and London dozens of times and I was ALWAYS served tea service on their china and never plastic. The service has always been polished and the tea cakes and scones were lovely. Absolutely no complaints.

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