While plane food, economy plane food in particular, has a generations-long reputation for being terrible, United Airlines UAL has been dealing with several food-related problems specifically in the last year.
After slowly starting to roll back pandemic-related meal service restrictions in 2021, United has struggled to keep up a steady catering supply chain to growing customer frustration. Back in July, a United flight from Houston to Amsterdam had to make an emergency landing in Chicago after one of the passengers in business class grew increasingly belligerent over the fact that his first choice of meal was not available. Aviation nerds quickly dug up that the menu on such a flight and fare class likely included a choice between seared beef short rib, lemongrass salmon and ricotta salata with wild honey manicotti.
Related: Another major airline started serving (some) travelers caviar
At the annual Skift Aviation Forum in Fort Worth, Texas, United Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella said the disruption caused by the pandemic has been difficult to bounce back from. Even two years later, not all ingredients can always be delivered in enough supply and fast enough to always have what is on the menu available.
United Airlines
'One of those things we didn't bounce back as well with,' United exec says
In a forum presentation reported by The Points Guy, Nocella said that introducing a new menu takes approximately eight months from development to rollout. As airlines are subject to strict regulations around what can be served onboard, it is not possible to switch up the menu at short notice if some ingredients are not being delivered fast enough.
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"This is one of those things that we didn't bounce back as well with," Nocella told forum attendants. He said that the airline spends approximately $2 billion on food each year.
After acknowledging past problems, Nocella said that the airline is working hard to revamp its in-air menus and make the food experience better for the travelers. Some of the more recent food moves include launching a major test kitchen for developing menus at its Chicago base and introducing kids meals with things like chicken tenders for flights over a certain length.
Here is how United Airlines plans to revamp its in-flight food menu
In October 2022, the airline also partnered with famed New York-based dessert maker Milk Bar to serve Birthday Truffle Crumb Cake to economy and economy premium plus passengers on select international flights leaving from the United States.
According to Nocella, the airline has also been working to revamp the paid and free alcohol it serves to travelers of different classes as well as developing new entrees in the test kitchen.
As of Sept. 1, the airline has been testing some of its new Polaris menus on flights leaving from London's Heathrow Airport.
"We will talk about it more in the future as we have a lot more to say," Nocella said of the planned improvements to its food offering. "But we've changed the wines, and we're about to change the bread, all the new entrees. I do think if you fly United today, the food experience is dramatically better than where it was a year ago."
