The following is a snippet I sent to United Airlines earlier today as part of a recent survey. I hope they can improve, really I do. I have had some terrible food on flights and the majority of them have been on United Airlines. (keep in mind that I was actually trying to be nice here. Not trying to get anyone fired here. Nope. Just want them to know that, yes, they have failed me. OK, some background here. I flew to New York recently on a first class ticket on United P.S. ("Premium Service") I flew on a first class ticket and used 'miles' for my ticket. The P.S. Flights were a big deal when they came out. This was over a decade ago now, but the concept (a good one) was to offer real class on domestic flights. Service that might rival that of an international flight. I have flown in economy, business and first on these flights over the years and have had varying degrees of service and food. Generally the flight attendants have been great and the food, though hot, lacking in luster. OK. So, what do I expect? Well, a first class round trip ticket would have cost me $7,000. Yes. That is a lot of money. So? Well, if I paid $7,000 in cash I would damn good and well expect a decent dinner. I was hungry. The food? Well, it wasn't great. No, in fact it was miserable. Upon returning to SFO and getting home I was somewhat delighted to see an on-line survey had been sent to my e-mail address. Wondering if this tree falls in United's forest will there be sound? Will anyone hear my plea for help? Hard to say...
From the first area on the United Airlines Survey asking for "other comments."
the meal on the flight was pretty bad. the vegetables were over cooked. terribly over cooked. the chicken was a bit tough and flavorless. i would prefer a well made cold sandwich to a hot meal that comes out after too long getting re-heated. simple, fresh food will always trump a failed attempt at a hot meal. this is not always the case on your flights. the japanese 'washoku' bento box that is available on the flights to narita is consistently excellent. i always look forward to those... also have fond memories of some of the food service between narita and bangkok. a dish with shrimp comes to mind... but, on this flight the food was not good. perhaps this is consistent with other p.s. flights. generally the food is a notch better on international flights in general.
From the second area that pertains to “food quality on your recent flight:”
i think i went over this earlier. the meal was bad. i have had much better food on united flights. this one was what i would have once called 'standard airline' food. in fact, it was just about on par with some average to poor meals i have had sitting in economy. in first class i would consider this a real insult and can only hope you can avoid over cooking the living daylights out of the veggies on future p.s. flights. my yams were cooked to the point where they had the texture of cubes of mushy potato. yeah, that was a bad one. i was, however, starving and i did finish my meal. the food on the return flight was much better, but the veggies were still cooked to the point of no return. keep the meals simple, flavorful and never re-heat until the food goes limp. it really bothers me and i am certain others feel the same way on this issue. i fly a lot. on a singapore airlines flight (in business class) from sfo to bali and back i had amazing food and a delightful time pre-selecting meals on -line. i know this may not be possible on domestic hops, but somehow they seem to really nail the in-flight food experience. consider their approach and you'll find me booking more flights on united soon.
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