I’ve heard from many United Premier 1K and Global Services passengers that they have been charged recently for “Bistro on Board” meals that are supposed to be complimentary in economy class. United is aware of the issue and working on a fix.
United Airlines “Bistro On Board” Items Still Free For 1K And Global Services Members – A Technical Glitch Has Been Identified
Apparently, snack boxes and alcoholic beverages are being comped as normal, but “Bistro on Board” items (the heartier dishes United offers for sale on longer flights) are not.
In a memo shared with Live And Let’s Fly, United identifies the problem as a “known issue” and says it is working on a fix:
We are currently aware of a known issue within the Inflight Service app – Sales module that is not automatically comping the first selected ‘Bistro on Board’ item when selected for our Global Services (GS) and Premier 1K (1K) customers in the economy cabin.
Please note that this technical issue only applies to the ‘Bistro on Board’ category. The app is still automatically comping the first ‘Snack Shop’ item and/or alcoholic beverage item for GS and 1K customers. If a ‘Bistro on Board’ item is requested by a GS or 1K customer in economy, please provide the first item complimentary.We will send an update once this has been fixed.
Unfortunately, some flight attendants are telling 1K passengers that the “Bistro on Board” items are no longer complimentary.
“Looks like you’re a 1K, but only the snack boxes are complimentary.”
“These items have NEVER been complimentary, only snacks.”
This is not true.
If you run into any issues onboard, please ask your flight attendant to refer to an 08 September 2023 memo (above) that instructs them on how to deal with it.
CONCLUSION
“Bistro on Board” meals are still free for United top-tier flyers who fly in economy class. Do note that the flight attendant iPhone app currently shows that these items are not free, but this is a technical glitch, not a policy change. Hopefully, flight attendants will read the memo above and be ready to comp the items onboard via alternate means. If you do get charged, just write or tweet United and you will receive a refund.
image: reddit
Glad UA was able to identify the problem quickly. However, these days, there’s a risk of going against what a FA these days can lead to facing an extremely unpleasant flight because some are a bit over the top to say the least…
To avoid a confrontation, you could just pay for it and then request a refund from 1kvoice. I’m sure they would do it without issue.
“Can you refer to the September 8 memo that addresses the glitch?”
“No, and I’m having you arrested when we land”
ROTFL
Y’all getting free food over there at United???
Yes!
This happened to me last week! Good to know it wasn’t personal.
This happened to me twice back in July on two flights within two days of each other (one was a flight with my wife who is also 1K, we were both charged). I just accepted the charges and emailed United after the fact. It took awhile for a response (and honestly I forgot about it) but a couple weeks ago I finally got a response back with an apology and a $100 credit for both of us. At the time I was told that the Bistro on Board item was not free for 1K anymore (which I questioned as I had gotten it for free the week before and hadn’t seen any communication about a change in this policy).
“Please reference memo number…” advice as bad as that given by Ciarra Misst.
No, sorry.
This happened to me just last week on a flight from ORD to SEA, but it did affect a snack box order as a 1K flier. I pre-ordered the Tapas box and just realized that I was charged for it. Going to have to go hunt for that refund now.