Flying the friendly (United Airlines business) skies
My wife Connie was going to undergo a tonsillectomy surgery so I had to make a cross-country trip to be with her for surgery and her recuperation afterwards. Being a loyal frequent flier of United Airlines (UA) in the past few years, I’ve been able to gather enough miles in their MileagePlus frequent flier program to have Premier Executive status. One of the perks of being an elite member of their MP program is the unlimited complimentary upgrades – meaning elite members are automatically put onto the waiting list for seats in the next higher class of service for any UA flights that the member is traveling on. If seats are available in the higher class, they’ll be assigned to the elite members based on UA’s formula (members’ status level, mileage earned, etc).
I don’t typically fly business class though I have been fortunate to get a few upgrades once in a while. Typically, as I’m flying hub-to-hub, specifically Washington Dulles to San Francisco International or vice versa, there are (a) few business class seats left open, and (b) so many high level elites that a lowly PE member like myself would never get the complimentary upgrade. Perhaps it was because I was going IAD-LAX-SFO on a Wednesday (February 22, 2012), but I was pleasantly surprised when I actually got the complimentary upgrade to business class for my cross-country flight! This was also after I had been trying to use the automated kiosk to print my boarding pass and it kept not letting me do so and insisting that I had to talk to an agent to complete my check-in process.
After having my upgrade confirmed and receiving my boarding pass, I was looking forward to my flight as I knew I would be having a served dinner instead of being offered meals for purchase. Plus, I was looking forward to seeing the changes of United Airlines’ recently revised in-flight menu and premium cabin service. Airline food hasn’t garnered rave 3 star Michelin reviews but there have been efforts by multiple airlines to make their food better. United did so recently by getting assistance from internationally acclaimed Chef Curtis Stone.
Warmed peanuts
The in-flight service began shortly after takeoff with a hot towel and warmed nuts in a ramekin. The nuts were a good snack. I also appreciated the mix of nuts which included almonds, cashews, and peanuts. I don’t usually have peanuts as a snack at my place, and when I have had them I’ve never taken the time to warm them. However, after having the warmed peanuts on my flight, I might just have to make an effort to have warmed nuts next time.
The main dinner service was served on a tray that had a salad, appetizer and main entree on it. Maybe it’s because I have realistic lower expectations for meals on airplanes, or just lower expectations in general (which I’d like to think not), but all of the dishes actually looked good. Thinking about the serving style some more though, I think what makes the whole meal experience on airplanes seem less appetizing, apart from the fact that you’re eating in a cramped space on a plane, is that the entire meal is being served on a tray. Meals on trays just make you think of food in cafeterias, school lunches, or prison meals, even if you do provide real silverware in a clean white napkin, and have a linen on the tray. Perhaps if the food dishes were served one at a time that would actually make it seem like airplane food was better. It’s not like you’re pressed for time on cross-country flights (P.S. United, maybe you can learn from Air New Zealand who does this even in their premium economy class).
United Airlines business class dinner spread
Regarding the food that was served for dinner, the appetizer was a smoked salmon dish served with capers and a lemon slice. The smoked salmon wasn’t the best smoked salmon that I had ever had, but it wasn’t the other extreme either. It also did not taste just like a piece of smoked salmon from a store bought package. The salad consisted of pieces of romaine lettuce with diced tomatoes, cucumbers and olives. It was served with a prepackaged sesame ginger dressing on the side that was nice, light and refreshing together with the salad. My main entree was a chicken dish that was definitely Italian influenced. The chicken was seasoned with Italian seasonings, and served with gnocchi, pasta sauce, carrots and long beans. The generous chicken piece wasn’t overcooked, as can be easily done, so all parts were nice and moist. The gnocchi had a good texture – firm but still soft in the mouth – though a little floury tasting.
Smoked salmon appetizer
Chicken entree
Once the main tray had been taken away, the flight attendants came down the aisles with our dessert – carts of ice cream sundaes with our choice of size toppings. I chose to have my ice cream sundae topped with chocolate syrup and strawberries.
Ice cream sundae with chocolate and strawberry toppings
Overall, my dinner experience in United Airlines’ business class was good. All of the food was presented in a nice manner, tasted good and seemed fresh. I only wish they could have brought out the dishes one at a time rather than serving all on a tray. My last business class experience with United Airlines had been about six months ago on an international leg from Taiwan to Japan. I cannot remember what I had exactly or how things were served but based on my recollection the international experience was still better than this domestic meal which was definitely pretty good. I must say, airline food has come a long way since back in the day, and food up in United Airlines’ business class isn’t just reheated frozen dinners. Maybe one day I’ll be able to experience first class cabin service as I’m sure it’s even better.
. . . . .
As an aside, when I first decided to blog about my food experiences the broad categories that came to mind were my test kitchen and my eating out experiences, the latter of which I decided to collectively group as “Restaurants”. However, it seems like I may have to come up with either a better term for encompassing my eating out experiences instead of “Restaurants” e.g. “Out and about”, or add some additional segregation to allow for better classification of experiences like this! Any ideas?
Foodie Forays 