Just how important is meal presentation in offering a premium business class product? United Airlines is betting that it simply doesn’t matter.
At least that’s the only explanation I can come up with for its choice to begin pre-plating entrees so that it can cut one flight attendant position from many international flights.
I’ve written about the flight attendant labor issue extensively and will not rehash it here. Instead, let’s work from where we started from to where we are today.
Remember when Polaris first rolled out in December 2016? Back then, we were promised meals like this:
Those never really materialized, though they still appear on United’s Polaris website. Instead, we’ve had the same 4-5 choices recycled with different names and the slightest of variations the last couple years. Now I happen to like the food on United, but one reason I do is because it is nicely presented. For example, fish dishes have been served in attractive bowls with the fish centered over the starch and/or vegetables and garnished with fresh herbs. It creates a nice presentation, which makes the food more appetizing.
That second picture above of the turbot was from a flight 10 days ago. I just published the report yesterday and it is already out of date.
Which leads me to the wonderful climax of this post. Effective February 01, 2019 this is how meals are served in United Airlines longhaul business class:
That’s right, an elementary school casserole dish. I think it’s pathetic and barely fit for premium economy. Nothing says “premium” like an ugly little dish. No comments on the white gravy over 1.5 carrot slices or the scoop of noodles.
Just to be sure, I checked with United and a spokesperson confirmed that the casserole dishes will replace the plates (first picture above). The bowls will still remain for pasta and soup main courses.
Lead, Don’t Follow
Now in fairness to United, it is not the only airline that serves main courses in this fashion. I know American Airlines, Aerolineas Argentinas, Hong Kong Airlines, and Iberia does as well. There are many more I am sure. But that doesn’t mean UA should follow.
And frankly the Iberia casserole dish plus charger is far classier than the dish United is using.
But nicely plating meals was a highlight of Polaris. It made the experience nicer and compensated for the lack of innovation in the menu. The crockery was actually very classy.
CONCLUSION
At least for me, the presentation of food is almost as important as the food itself. I view United’s new pre-plating as being penny-wise, pound-foolish. Practically, it was probably a necessary concession to eliminate the extra galley position onboard, but that makes customers the casualty of less service and a less appealing meal.
What do you think? A “sad state of affairs” or much ado about nothing?
> Read More: United Airlines Flight Attendants Protest Staffing Cuts, Warn Of Poor Service Onboard
It’s the latest in a long line of Polaris devaluations. The pre-departure chocolate, wine flights, etc. are all cut. My last flight from MEL only had 4 pairs of pajamas catered and 6 mattress pads.
I seriously think they are trying to eliminate 1st class on airplanes. If the numbers go down eventually they can clear that out and get more seats in which means more money$$$$ With so many new restaurants in the airports and the to our free departure rules in many of them the airports want you to spend your money the airlines want to get as many people on their planes as possible and don’t care if you bring your food on the plane! After looking at those pictures I can only imagine what that tastes like I’d rather pick my food at the airport lol
We’ve been here before. Business class will become the new First Class and PE will be the new Business Class.
Why would United “eliminate 1st class on airplanes”? In fact they just today announced a massive *increase* in premium cabin seats on future aircraft deliveries. Why? Because these flyers are the *most* profitable, not the least as you implied.
We can both agree that the new plating is unfortunate, though—especially in these days of record profits.
Both. While I also find it sad that UA’s chosen to go cheap when it comes to presentation and plating, I doubt very man customers will change their purchasing decisions because of it.
Matt… I am thinking the bowl-style meals (pasta, soup/stew dishes) will remain, as those are part of the domestic packout, which are (and have been) pre-plated as well. The nice round dinner plates are history, though, replaced by the rectangular domestic casserole.
I also believe this is in anticipation of Premium Plus rolling out next month as a distinct class of service, and that service will use 2 of the Polaris entrees, served in the same casserole dish.
Still, it’s upsetting to see how far the product has fallen since its initial rollout. Good on you for calling United out on a shameless cost-cut… there’s no positive way to spin this!
It’s been a while since I’ve been on UA internationally, but I’m ticketed on IAD-PEK on Tuesday. I’m going to need a bit more than what’s pictured for that trip.
United is not even mentioned on International carriers annual rankings, especially regarding quality of meals. We’ve fallen so far behind it’s an embarrassment. Level of services provided by Asian carriers and Mid Eastern carriers far exceed anything US carriers, in service area. It’s culturally impossible to duplicate!
The issue is that all of these cuts are cumulative. Nobody will change their preference over lack of pre-flight chocolates, or whether food is just perfectly acceptable or merely edible. But, when you add them all together, and given there’s competition on most of their routes, it does make a difference. But I can see that they would figure if they take say $100 of cost out per J seat, and they can keep the revenue flowing, then what’s not to lose. The balancing act is determining which cut is the straw that will break the camel’s back.
Food is fuel. Sorry your airline ticket didn’t provide a fancy meal. So glad I stopped to read this article about what people with too much money are complaining about these days. What a dingus…you’re sitting in a chair travelling 500 mph on the edge of the atmosphere eating dinner….life must be so awful for you.
Please see this article:
https://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2019/01/31/evaluating-best-business-class/
I fly United trans Atlantic business a LOT. While in general I think that United is not bad, some things should be expected when paying $8,000 for a round trip business from the east coast to EU (or any other rout for that price!).
– Chocolate pre flight has gone away
– sometimes they don’t even bother to give a pre flight beverage
– plating is bad, food is reasonable
– the new polaris seats are on very few planes and the old seats, while Ok from a functional perspective, just look old, dirty, and uninviting
– most importantly, service is BAD, little to no attention to customers, usually, tired and unintersetd flight attendants, who only want to rest, are most usually in their 50s+ and I can understand that they don’t have the energy and patience to be super nice and attentive on a 7,8,9 hour flight
United really is slipping and has to step up their game!
Why do they “have to step up their game”? If you fly from EWR, DEN or IAH, who else are you going to fly? Sure, there is more competition in SFO and ORD, but having spent the last 10 years hub captive in EWR and SFO, I don’t have options really.
You hit the nail on the head.
@Luke Why do you bother reading a blog that is predominantly about premium class travel if you find articles about the quality of food service on board tedious?
It’s because Luke is a troll.
Dufus comment by a lifetime coach flying loser
Class envy example
What a sorry state of affairs. But, in all honesty, it seems to be United’s MO for years now (even pre-merger). Tout an amazing product, almost attain pulling it off for a few months. But then gradually reduce it back to bare bones. I’m a United loyalist and enjoy Polaris 3-4 times a year. Maybe their game plan here is to push flyers into the Polaris Lounges beforehand because there is no way that skimpy dish is going to tide most eaters over for more than a couple of hours. You CAN make a Polaris meal so cheap that no one will want to buy it (or the seat that comes with it).
To United’s credit, the food in the Polaris lounges is excellent and I will now go out of my way to eat there first…which sadly will justify the latest round of cost-cutting. It’s the wheel that never stops…
Clearly another Scott Kirby “service enhancement”. The new plate set-up doesn’t look all that different than what you get in regular coach on some carriers. Disgusting IMHO.
I think that’s the point. This looks like a coach meal on a carrier like JAL, Singapore, Turkish, or even SAS.
You hit the nail on the head! Scott Kirby! He and Smizek are cut from the same cloth. Make money and screw the product. Oscar needs to take the company back, right the ship, and fire Scott Kirby to bring back the good changes they initially made…
Agreed. Stop cutting the product United. This pre-plated crap looks gross.
It’s not a flying restaurant.
I don’t care about the food as I usually never eat anything, except for a light breakfast.
Give me a comfortable lie flat seat and a nice lounge and I’m happy. Whining about the $20 component of a $3,500 ticket, (my usual J fare cost for my most travelled route) is petty and the best of times.
@ Road Warrior
Most of my miles last year were long-haul international, including several 17 1/2 hour flights (nearly 20 if you count ground delays).
Wanting good food is not petty when you’re the “guest” of the airline for nearly a full day.
Excuse me, but this is in the context of what United *was* offering, and now isn’t — especially when they are keeping misleading photos on their web properties.
Remind us when you take issue with what is important to you — “a comfortable lie-flat seat and a nice lounge” — so that when you feel let down by a company to which you are loyal, we can tell you that you are “whining.”
The latest United devaluation is just a little “noise around the edges.” Oh wait, that’s Marriott’s excuse. United – “we just don’t care about the passenger experience. ”
Thankfully, I bailed out on United in 2013. Have not had a premium international flight with them since. No regrets.
#firstworldproblems
Of course. That’s what this blog is about!
If you paid $20, or even think you did, for this food, then you are ripe for the picking. That’s as bad as flying this class for free drinks!
There is little to no evidence United cares about passenger or animal experiences. This is just another reason why airline loyalty means taking the flight only if it fits your timelines and is apparently safe.
And you haven’t seen their vegan option for breakfast! I thought it was a child’s meal, I’m a 1k and I was more embarrassed for the flight attendant that had to bring it to me. She tried to overcompensate in her service which was excellent but the food was two tater tots with some sauce. I usually eat but when short on time it’s very sad to see such a rollout on a empty stomach.
Vegans would become seriously malnourished if they ate only the kind of meals served by airlines as vegan/vegetarian. Carnivores thrive , but they would most likely claim that’s the natural order.Western airlines are the worst.
I bailed on United last May because of my experience with their reduction in domestic first class meals. I have not looked back nor have I flown with them since then.
All over the first class FOOD? Wow. You know…it is important, but at the end of the day, people don’t fly for the food.
As a 30 year Continental (now United) flight attendant i can vouch for the cringefactor onboard our airplanes…the service in first class is abysmal we are understaffed…nobody cares…be prepared to wait hours in first class while the flight attendants have to panper the pilots a reboot the ever failing entertainment system.
Worst morale in my 30 years and after Lorrenzo and Smizek thats a big stretch.
The constant letters to mgmt fall on deaf ears or are responsed to with threats of “if you are not happy their are 10000 applicants a year who would love your job”
Its not a place i can say im proud to work…all Gordons Bethunes legacy down the drain.
Sad.
Thanks for your comment.
You lost credibility at “pamper the pilots”. You have no respect for your co-workers, in particular the ones directly responsible for your safety on each and every flight. Makes me wonder if you actually care about passenger service or are just upset you won’t have as much time to sit and do crossword puzzles.
It is not a matter of “hav[ing] no respect for your co-workers”. There is a distinct difference from having a positive, cooperative attitude with co-workers, yes, even those “responsible” for safety – which includes flight attendants. But what you are missing is that some of those pilots demand service that conflicts with paying customers. Not being able to heat/prepare customer meals because you’re setting up the pilots is not acceptable. Pilots get paid far more than the flight attendants (for obvious reasons) but then get treated not a co-workers but as betters – meals on flights where flight attendants get nothing (sometimes multiple meals), better ground transportation, fancier hotels, etc. – all a recipe, rightly or wrongly, that breeds frustration and dislike. I was an FA for UA for a number of years so I know what of I speak – while many if not most of the pilots recognize the needs to service the paying customers, a good number couldn’t care less and want to be waited on and catered to at an absurd level.
Your article is so fascinating. I am so impressed. Clearly you have taken the time, done the research to present us with this truly “sad state of affairs” when it comes to dining in-flight. I just don’t know how we’re able to continue to get through. It is just so difficult. Let’s hope a change is in our future. What a colossal waste of time here for all, as it is also with my comments here to you too.
However, someone had to tell you. You wrote an utterly ridiculous article, Matthew, made only more meaningless by the fact that you actually thought this was valuable even to publish. You did however succeed in creating drivel, now that truly is a sad state of affairs.
Thanks for reading Anita!
Food is fuel, but more important, when hurtling through space at 600 miles per hour. food is comfort.
The Pan Am Clipper manual. written to train. staff in the very early days of commercial passenger flight acknowledged the anxiety of the passenger. and urged constant offerings of soup., coffee andd tea Less should be made of artfully arranged garnishes and more of
warm oatmeal or rich chicken broth, offered all the time, along with fresh blankets and pillows. Address the human being and understand that imitation five star meals do not quel anxiety or the rage that we see so often
These are perilous times. Be kind.
I don’t always agree with everything you publish (and not that I’d expect you to care 🙂 ), but I completely agree with this. Why spend $5K to $8K on a ticket when this is the experience they’d like you to have? I’ve slowly moved half of my travel budget starting last year to American after the domestic first class cuts (being based in Chicago) and I’ve started to choose flying Star Alliance partners now as opposed to United. 1 to 2 trips a year in Polaris is fine with me, however if I’m spending more than $3K, it’ll be with a better soft product. I agree that other airlines (American, Delta, etc) do pre-plated meals, however their presentation and quantity is much better than United’s. Sure, first world problems, but it’s not something I’m happy with. I don’t allow my employees to book United first class domestically any longer, American they can out of Chicago, and may institute that for international.
As ugly as American Airlines does. Meanwhile AF, LH take a bigger part of the pie on transatlantic routes.
United international does not compete on quality, it competes on price. I was so disappointed all that Polaris advertising turned out to be a fraud. However, the seat is fine, though lounges (except Polaris, though I am mainly flying through IAD, so none of that for me), and in-air food are mediocre at best. However, I suspect the effect is that they sell much of it for $1.9K-$3K RT, which is what I have paid for 4 trips for later this year. I doubt they sell much for the $6K retail price (sometimes $9K) it often appears for. And I’m guessing they have decided they cannot compete in that market.
Sadly the fares I’ve seen lately and already booked have been much higher…. that said going forward I’m not booking on UA metal unless it’s the fares I’ve paid in the past ($2K to $3K). It makes no sense to me, they want to compete with the big guys and claim to offer a great product, invest in it (even put a larger business class than usual in business markets i.e. this 767 that’s coming), yet cut soft product / service where it is always noticeable.
For dates where UA was not competitive (for a TATL in March, they were asking 9K!), I found BA PE with upgrades to Club World for miles at booking for only about $2.5K, so bought those. The food on BA is good now, actually. They used to be the only major airline I thought had worse food on board than UA.
I think the fundamental problem with Polaris continues to be the generally crap attitudes of the FAs serving the food. And cutting an FA and delivering inferior product like this won’t help that.
I know you, Matthew, had a great FA on your recent LAX-LHR flight, but all of my recent interactions have been with the typical high seniority battle axes. Sad commentary that I got more genuine human decency out of the underpaid F9 FAs on a recent flight on that bus, than I get out of FAs on UA, DL, or AA in premium cabins.
Ugh.
I’m sorry you’ve had so many poor experiences. Honestly, the guy was an ex-Con and must have been pushing 70 if not over. Not a spring chicken and usually the “worst” but the guy was just great. Also had a senior crew recently from ORD-FRA (ORD based) and from AMS-IAH (IAH based) and all were excellent.
This is worse than AA actually. What you showed was a domestic transcon meal.
international J on AA while preplated, is at least served on a full sized plate like this
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.flyertalk.com-vbulletin/1500×2000/img_3831_96cd7db8b187d894e240750fabe612272154bcd2.jpeg
United is flatly uncompetitive here. It’s going back in time to the days when its biz class was the second cabin after first, and we had those miniature casserole dish meals.
I really miss the Bloody Mary cart on late-morning departures from LHR. And the cognac with my ice cream sundae and coffee…
It really is death by a thousand cuts. Little things like the Bloody Mary cut were so key in distinguishing Polaris from the pack.
I don’t think there is a United flier out there that thought this was going to end well. Once again, like usual, UAL only thought of cost cutting, without thinking of the brand imagine, or the optics of the final profuct.
Except HenryLAX. Rah Rah UA is the Best!
Polaris. How much longer will this branding last? With few to none remaining points of distinction, the name will go by the wayside with all the amenities.
I am more concerned with dishonest food and beverage service which may negatively affect health.
It is my policy to not drink tap water except in my hometown water supply. This is not necessarily due to health risk but people’s immune system and guts are best when dealing with their hometown water.
On a recent flight, Business domestic AA, the drinks were served in glasses prefilled with catered ice cubes. My request for a Coke Zero “no ice” was served by emptying the ice cubes and using the same cup. There are people that rely on the purity of their drink, often using bottled water. Those people are at risk with catered ice.
On my last TATL flights last month I had an evening meal at the Newark Polaris club, which was absolutely fine, along with breakfast. Coming back LHR-IAH opted for the pasta dish. Appalling. Wish I’d had a substantial breakfast at the United club in LHR. Service was fine both directions. I am however going to go with Star Alliance partners more frequently now whenever possible.
That food looks like dog shit in a bowl.
Anyway I don’t care too much. For me the seat is important, the rest I kind of ignore.
I am a legacy UA International Purser with over 20 years of service. It deeply pains me to read in the comments about the dismal flight attendant service levels in the Polaris cabin. One of the contributing factors to poor flight attendant service is that a significant percentage of flight attendants commute from different parts of the country. On high volume routes, F/A’s are having to catch earlier and earlier flights in order to make it to work. As such, they end up spending all day in the Inflight offices and by the time they board the A/C they are ready to go on their crew rest breaks. The primary objective is to get the service completed as quickly as possible so that crew rest breaks can commence. United has fostered this culture. As a Purser, I am frequently pressured to get the breaks started ASAP (Note: I myself do not got to work to go on break).
As it relates to the pre-plated meals, F/A’s are equally appalled and disappointed. But here is the thing: United Airlines does not listen to its flight attendants. We have at United an internal reporting system called United Voices. Flight attendants have ceased reporting customer issues because our collective perception is that our concerns have fallen on deaf ears. (The new uniform that’s coming is a perfect example). But this is where you all come in. United WILL listen to the customer (with status). So I encourage all of you to let YOUR voices be heard by complaining directly to United. Thank You Matthew for calling United out on this matter. The thousand little details MATTER!
What do I think? ……just another Scott Kirby (AA’s reject) idea to dumb everything down to the cheapest denomination. But what do I care……just leaves more room in their First or Business, or whatever they call their front cabin, for non-rev employees when those highest paying passengers jump ship.
I’m really confused reading some of the comments above. Some seem to think a race to the bottom, in terms of customer service, is a good thing. Some seem to think that if you pay $4-8000 for a ticket and expect it to come with a good meal on a 15 hour flight, you are petty. Some seem to think that the U.S. airline industry will be fine if HVCs choose to spend their money flying carriers of Europe or Asia. Quite frankly, I don’t understand why some of these people are reading articles like this at all.
I kind of like the lip because I am a slob and might help keep the food on the plate.
What I care about much more is getting my first choice of entree.
I get a better experience in that regard on AA with no status via ability to pre-order than as 1K on UA.
United is mediocre at best
and to their credit they got me to give up over time flying them
Today all my International flights are taken on Asian and Middle Eastern carriers or Qantas
I flew with United for many years and gave up when they ripped out first class
To me the airline isn’t United at all but a demolished disgraced Continental with United’s name on it
They gutted the aircraft food and morale
When I look at the dinner plates all I see is a TV dinner from the 50s 60s less the foil tray
Incredibly sad and pathetic
Monopolies killled the need to compete and improve
United needs to stop cutting Polaris. They heavily advertised the Polaris experience yet keep cutting it so now we’re at the edge of false advertisement.
T0 me, I don’t really care how it is presented. As long as it tastes delicious, I’ll eat it.
Well I guess we can see how they are going to afford to have so many more business class seats on planes- pre-plated meals are gross. If I wanted a microwave dinner I’d fly in economy. Delta is pulling further and further ahead… too sad. I keep making excuses for staying with United but this is just hideous.
Matthew- thanks for the timely and well illustrated piece which is extremely helpful to those of us who only fly long haul a few times a year. I could care less about the wine flights and PJs but the food is very important on an TATL or TPAC flight. I am always disappointed to see entrees slathered with horrible fatty sauces which is death to those of us with sensitive stomachs and special diets. The contrast between photo #1 (healthy plain) and photos #2 and #3 (horrible sauce) says it all.
One of the reasons I fly UA is that I want simple healthy food and not the spicy food I find on EK, Thai and other carriers. If I can’t get it then I will fly LH or even SQ which allows me to select my exact meal in advance.
I am going to write Scott Kirby personally to provide feedback on this one, with a link to your blog.
I recently flew on a UA business class flight to Europe. The Polaris seat was awful. I felt i was in a cage. Narrow and surrounded by metal and padding. I could hardly move. Plus my husband and i were separated by all this hardware even though we had reserved our seats in the same ticket. Plus UA does not offer a dairy free option for meals. So even though one of the entrees was dairy free, I had no breakfast as all options included dairy meals. I have to bring bread, crackers and apples with me so that i always have something to eat. I’ve written UA every time I’ve flown UA about meal options but nothing has changed.
Matthew, Today I flew Polaris class on United and had the salmon and noodle dish, it was utterly horrible. The salmon was over cooked and the noodles were indecent. Pre-flight we were served champagne in a water glass, a poor quality champagne for premium class. I had to pull a nut bar out of my carry on that I squirrel away for emergencies this was just such an occasion.