The Curious Case Of United’s Edible Catering

In the early days of the pandemic airlines scrambled to find ways to save money.  One cost-cutting method that the airlines have relied on frequently over the years is to reduce catering options onboard planes.  Catering cuts are likely centered around the belief that customers choose an airline based on route, timing and price; that they’ll be forgiving if any of the soft touches are absent during their trip.

It was understandable in the early days when such things as catering took a serious hit.  Customers continued to be understanding as the months passed by.  At some point, United frequent fliers stopped assuming that catering improvements were coming.  Food in coach was sparse, many flights were catered with nothing more than free snacks or a handful of Pringles and licorice for purchases.  And, in first class, the offerings were downright abysmal.

These were first world problems, for sure.  Smart travelers just picked up food in the terminals.  Flight attendants would joke with frequent fliers sitting in first class.  More than once I heard, “Oh, you’re a 1K.  I’m guessing you don’t want dinner. Do you want me to grab a snack box from the back for you?”  Over the course of 2022 there was only one menu update that I can recall.  Two uninspiring choices replaced the two uninspiring choices that had been around for six months or so (diehards will have flashbacks for years on the polenta ragu creation).

The Big 3 carriers (American, Delta and United) have long practiced some form of copying each other.  Except, over the past year Delta and American both improved their catering options while United stubbornly stuck with the same old choices.  Could there really be that many Impossible Meatballs in the world?  Yes, there really could be.

United Airlines Rolls Out More (And Better) Choices Onboard

I was taken by surprise last week when I overheard a flight attendant talking to a passenger seated in the first class cabin not fare from me.  As always, I had bypassed any meal selection and grabbed food before I boarded.  What was this foreign language I heard?  Was this flight attendant asking a passenger if they pre-ordered a burger?  And, another had ordered an Asian noodle salad?  It wasn’t April 1st, so I took my headphones off when the flight attendant approached my row and listened as she read off multiple choices for dinner.  And, even though I wasn’t that hungry, I chose the Asian noodle salad.  Could it be?

The plate looked appetizing and tasted better.  The beef was juicy and had just a bit of pink lingering in it.  The noodles weren’t my favorite, but weren’t horrible.  And, the baked peanut butter tart was actually quite good.

Now, if you’ve read this far, you might be thinking, “Who cares, Ed? It’s a domestic first class airline meal.”  It’s hard to disagree.  This is far from an amazing development. It’s just been so long since there really was anything edible on United flights, and that includes some pretty suspect sandwiches in coach.

I decided to put the theory to the test on a recent flight and pre-ordered a meal.  I think eating a burger on a plane is really a waste.  It’s just never going to be as good as a well-prepared burger on the ground.  I couldn’t decide between the pasta and the lemon roasted chicken thigh.  I finally took the plunge and ordered the chicken thigh entree.

It was……not great.  But, it was more “2019 not great” as opposed to “2022 I can’t eat this”.  It was fine, a bit dry, not a ton of flavor.  In short, it wasn’t bad enough to dissuade me from trying the rigatoni on a future flight.

Why Did It Take So Long?

To be clear, I’m not complaining about the food.  I’m genuinely curious why it took United so long to change catering options, and why now?  Did they finally feel like they were losing ground to their competition.  Ticket prices are still very high and planes are still pretty darn full.  There’s no doubt these catering options cost more money.  I really wish I knew how much, because I’d love to calculate how much United has chosen to invest in upgraded catering.  The nerd in me wonders how big the number is.

The Final Two Pennies

Looking in the in-flight magazine, it does seem United has dressed up the coach food options as well.  I’ll have to test out an order next time I’m sitting in coach.  I can’t honestly ever recall choosing which airline to fly based on their food, but it does influence decision-making to some degree.  Superior catering was a hallmark of American Airlines a decade ago.  Along with personalized service from flight attendants who really cared about their customers, those soft touches had me going out of my way to connect on American when I could get there quicker on a United nonstop flight.

Nowadays, I look for the best timed flight and use price as a tiebreaker when fares get lofty.  Still, seeing better catering choices will be meaningful for some customers.  At what price to United, I’m still insanely curious to know.

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