• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Home » United Airlines » United Airlines Gambles With New Snack Offerings
United Airlines

United Airlines Gambles With New Snack Offerings

Matthew Klint Posted onJuly 2, 2019November 14, 2023 8 Comments

a white cutting board with blue packages of pretzels and a spoon

United Airlines has expanded its complimentary snack selection on all flights. But is United prepared for greedy passengers?

Effective immediately, United will offer a choice of one the following three snacks, no matter the time of day or length of flight:

  • Byrd’s Maple Wafers
  • Pretzels
  • Stroopwafels

Toby Enqvist, United’s Chief Customer Officer, said:

Since we reintroduced free snacks a few years ago, our customers have come to look forward to enjoying their personal favorites on board – whether it be the stroopwafel, our exclusive maple wafers or the classic pretzels. Now we’re going a step further and when it comes to snacks, every customer wins since our entire inflight snack lineup is available to choose from no matter the time of day.

I’ve bolded the key word…choose.

But what if customers want all three? What these snacks become like what wine flights did in United Polaris…an invitation to greatly increase consumption?

My Concern is Not Unfounded

Hear me out here. I’m not trying to rain on United’s parade; the news of offering three choices on all flights is a positive news story…there is no immediate downside.

But I have not seen any flight attendant memos limiting passengers to just one item. Will passengers be strictly limited to one or can they indulge, much like on JetBlue, and have as many as they want? Will see see people stuffing handfuls of cookies into their bags or gouging down on these treats, especially if there is not sufficient buy-on-board meals loaded?

Let’s go back to wine flights for a moment. It was a wonderful, customer-friendly concept that allowed a guest onboard to sample three different types of red wines or white wines, then choose. Unfortunately for United, this greatly increased alcohol consumption. Eventually, United cut wine flights, cut the number of wine choices, and ended up angering many passengers. It would have been wiser never to offer this in the first place!

glasses and a bowl of nuts on a table

So perhaps you see my point. United needs to ration out these snacks or else we risk seeing them all cut when stations start running out of snacks far earlier than forecast. I’m thinking long term, not short term.

CONCLUSION

Maybe just maybe United is happy to let me take a handful of stroopwaffels on my flight today…I’ll let you know and report back. And I know United has professionals it pays to think about these things. But let the wine flights (and Bloody Mary carts) be a lesson…

> Read More: United Polaris Cutbacks Coming Soon…

Get Daily Updates

Join our mailing list for a daily summary of posts! We never sell your info.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Previous Article KLM Shames Itself To Celebrate 100th Anniversary
Next Article I Still Suffer From Upgrade Phobia…

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.

Related Posts

  • Airline Stocks

    Mixed Financial Results Paint Murky Travel Picture In 2025

    May 4, 2025
  • United Airlines Polaris Lounge Chicago Review

    Review: United Polaris Lounge Chicago (ORD)

    May 1, 2025
  • United Arrivals Lounge London Review

    Review: United Arrivals Lounge London (LHR)

    March 17, 2025

8 Comments

  1. Bob Reply
    July 2, 2019 at 10:32 am

    I always thought the biggest issue with the wine flights was with how the FA’s served them. I thought they were supposed to be three tasting portions and then you could decide if you wanted a whole glass of any of them. Every time I got one the attendants just filled them all up so it was basically like getting 3 glasses of wine at the same time…no one needs that. My point…great idea, poor execution which drove over consumption.

  2. Sco Reply
    July 2, 2019 at 10:32 am

    How can United offer passengers a choice of beverages? What if a passenger wants a Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, orange juice, ginger ale, AND water? How will this ever possibly work?

    I feel like the bigger issue will be that it will slow down service as FAs have to ask passengers which they want and passengers will be unfamiliar with the options.

  3. MeanMeosh Reply
    July 2, 2019 at 10:45 am

    DL has been doing this for quite a while; you can choose between Biscoff and two other items (usually pretzels and Cheese-Its). I’ve flown several flights with them over the past year and can’t say I’ve ever seen a bank run on the snacks. I’m sure there are bad actors out there, but DL’s been doing this long enough that you’d think we’d have seen cuts already if there were issues.

    Then again, while I like me some Biscoff, they ain’t stroopwafels, so maybe that’ll be the straw that breaks the camel’s back…

  4. Howard Reply
    July 2, 2019 at 12:27 pm

    Does anybody even like those pretzels?

    Get rid of everything but the stroopwaffels. Problem solved.

  5. Christian Reply
    July 2, 2019 at 3:17 pm

    If United isn’t careful, a few people might think that the airline is adding value in a small way. That would sure piss off Scott Kirby.

  6. Steve S Reply
    July 2, 2019 at 4:55 pm

    How does anyone NOT choose a stroopwafel given those three choices? They need to shake up the salty snack choice and get rid of plain, boring pretzels.

  7. Jim Reply
    July 3, 2019 at 1:00 pm

    Delta has done it for years without an issue, and JetBlue practically enourages fliers to ask for multiple snacks. Glad to see United has made it to 2015 in their economy offerings.

  8. Luke Vader Reply
    July 3, 2019 at 11:01 pm

    Agree with those above saying stroopwafels are the best. When United stopped serving them last year, on every post-flight survey, I pined for the return of the stroopwafel. I haven’t done any flying for work/business this year, but am really glad United is serving them again.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Hot Deals for May

Note: Please see my Advertiser Disclosure

Capital One Venture X Business Card
Earn 150,000 Miles Sign Up Bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 100,000 Points
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles!
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Earn $750 Cash Back
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 120,000 Membership Reward® Points

Recent Posts

  • Air India ad campaign
    From Cringe To Classy: Air India’s New Ad Campaign Is A Huge Leap Forward May 31, 2025
  • Airlines Penalize Solo Travelers
    Flying Solo? Your Ticket Might Cost 2.5X More Than Traveling With Companion May 30, 2025
  • Korean Air 777-300ER Business Class Review
    Review: Korean Air 777-300ER Prestige Business Class May 30, 2025
  • a person holding a dish of ice cream
    United Airlines Adds Aperol Spritz, Caramel Sundaes, And New First Class Meals May 30, 2025

Categories

Popular Posts

  • United Airlines Polaris Lounge Chicago Review
    Review: United Polaris Lounge Chicago (ORD) May 1, 2025
  • a hand holding a blue card
    Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K Bonus Offer Ending Soon May 2, 2025
  • Aegean Airlines Feast
    A Feast Fit For A King On Aegean Airlines May 23, 2025
  • United American O’Hare gate dispute
    United Airlines To American Airlines: Fly More, Sue Less May 6, 2025

Archives

May 2025
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Apr    

As seen on:

facebook twitter instagram rss
Privacy Policy © Live and Let's Fly All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Live and Let's Fly with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.