United Airlines has upgraded its crew meals at downline stations where shelf-stable meals are required. The meals provide a perfect alternative to the snack boxes currently offered to passengers on the same flights.
United Airlines Upgrades Crew Meals
Crews on United Airlines are eligible for meals when serving duty periods of eight hours or more without an intervening stop of at least two hours. While hot meals, usually very similar to was served in first class (prior to pandemic), are offered on flights from hubs or with catering stations, shelf-stable meals become necessary on flights from many so-called downline stations or outstations.
While it isn’t clear what was offered before, a flight attendant at United sent me the new shelf-stable crew member menu:
- Breakfast
- Corn flakes
- Shelf-stable milk
- Banana
- Croissant [served hot]
- Strawberry jam
- Lunch/Dinner/Snack
- Quinoa harvest bowl
- Penne in pomodoro and basil sauce [served hot]
- Grass-fed beef jerky
- Sea salt almonds
- Clif Bar protein + salted caramel
- Chocolate cranberry cookie
I realize this sounds like a carb-heavy meal you probably would never go out of you way to eat on the ground. Nevertheless, something like this would satiate safety concerns and provide a heartier meal than the snack boxes or sodium-heavy sandwiches currently on offer. Everything is wrapped/sealed, which cuts down on crew member contact. Furthermore, it seems much more appropriate on a transcontinental flights like Boston – Los Angeles or Ft. Lauderdale – San Francisco than what is currently on offer.
CONCLUSION
My takeaway is that if it is good enough for the crew, it’s good enough for the passenger. I realize that these crew members receive meals only if working more than eight hours, which is longer than even the longest transcontinental flight. Nevertheless, these crew meals for passengers too could provide a practical intermediate option before full meal service returns.
Flight attendants, would you be happy to serve United Airlines crew meals to passengers?
Nice. Hope their diapers are from saks fifth as well.
Haha you saw that article about the Chinese government encouraging their fly attendants to wear diapers instead of using the toilet onboard?
Matt, it’s long overdue for a full meal service for paxs as well. I hope UA gets the message as well!
I’m still waiting for the day we can order special meals like the pilots do. Everyone knows the Asian Veg or the Hindu meals are the best. Mostly the crew meals just get thrown away because too many people are vegetarians or vegans or gluten free or dairy free or low carb or paleo or allergic to something so nobody can eat them anyway. The silverware packet is the most popular component of the crew meal. That and an empty tin.
You have NO idea what you are talking about.
Flight crews are provided “crew meals” because our schedules do not always allow us the time to leave the plane during “turns” . Now with airport restaurants being closed or so backed it, it’s the only way to eat during a long day.
Your more than welcome to eat my crew meal. You try eating the same airplane food day and day and see if you call it 5 star. It’s food, and that is all.
By the way, at airports where catering is unavailable, we eat “shelf stable” meals. Yeah.. delicious. Boxed meals with ingredients that can last UNREFRIGERATED!
So before everyone gets into an uproar about how special we are treated…check your facts before spouting off on social media.
Excellent comment regarding cockpit and/or cabin crew boxed, shelved, unrefrigerated meals for flights longer than eight hours, that I found to be very (and in European context) curious. Insofar as cockpit crew has always been provided with high quality meals, cabin attendants were never provided meals whatsoever; things have changed, and I find cabin attendants should be grateful they for small blessings should they now be provided sustaining food to continue serving PAX.
I don’t see the purpose of this article. This seems to be a shotty article that is trying to make people angry. It’s food for employees. These employees are having it rough right now not knowing if they will have a job a few months from now. Seriously cut them some slack and be a decent person.
Go eat before we work? Do you realize many of us arrive at airports well before anything even opens? There are days we wake up at 3 am for a 6:30-7:00 am departure, most hotels don’t even serve breakfast these days, and if they did, they’d open at 5:30 or so. So before you waltz, onto a commercial flight that departs at a leisurely 7 am, just remember, us pilots have already checked the weather and everything else pertinent to a safe flight before your tired a** even considered stopping at Starbucks for that latte before your departure. If you would like rock star accommodations like what we get, then I welcome you to put the time in, become a pilot or even flight attendant and see how well you adapt to eating on the road 16-18 days out of the month and try to stay healthy enough to maintain a first class medical every 6 months.
While the article is accurate, if you ate the “chicken” I had last night you would choose a snack box.
When people eat in First, their masks are off. United only serves alcohol in first. Guess who are 100% the scofflaws about mask wearing? You guessed it. Eat and drink before you get on the plane. The food is minimal and not worth it.
Good, I sure don’t want my pilots to be hangry! To whine about not having proper meal at the moment is a first world elite problem. Just eat beforehand or bring something with you. Those lame first meals will be back in a few months don’t worry. Bigger problems with UA than if we get a meal in first or not
The crew meals are a union-negotiated requirement. Meals for passengers are not. I’d like my Flight Attendant to not be hungry during a long duty day.
Exactly, You don’t need more FAs acting crankier than usual. Less power trips…
Before the pandemic you could order special meals for flights over a certain distance. Hopefully that will go back to normal someday.
@Chris – New flash, millions of people in this country are having a tough time right now. A survey released yesterday said that 43% of all small business do not have enough cash to survive to 1 June 2021. 48% do not have enough cash on hand to survive until 1/1/2021 which is less than 3 weeks away. Over 147,000 small business have closed since March 2020. I’m sorry for anyone that has lost or are going to lose their jobs, but keep in mind the airlines received 6 months of PPP and small business received 4 weeks. If we lose 70% – 80% of small business in this country 2020 is going to seem like the good old days! I don’t care about meals. Most of my travel is international and I’m going to fly foreign carriers. I’ve cancelled my admiral’s club membership and in the process of replacing my AA credit cards. I’ll burn off the FF miles and be done with domestic. The attitude of some airline personnel on here is disgusting and I’m not going to support them.
Why do you feel that it’s any of your business what crews are served for crew meals???
Why do your colleagues see fit to share this info with me with the intent that I pass it onto my readers?
I would gladly give up this crew meal to get my 14 year career back. I am the sole income in my family and I have 4 mouths to feed. I havent flown since the end of March. I sold my house to get a smaller one that I could afford. This year has been so heartbreaking for a lot of crew members. Maybe you should write an article about something with more depth. Real families are struggling. Divorces and suicides have happened all around me. My flying family is really hurting so trust me when I say, crew meals are the least of our worries.
purpose of the article? trying to create some division or rift? trying to get “likes” as an author?
Do better. Be a real journalist.
Your opinion is noted and filed accordingly. Thank you.