Thursday, September 19, 2013

United Airlines

UNITED AIRLINES TRANS PACIFIC FLIGHT FOOD

Say what you will about airplane food: To be honest, this was my first time dining on a flight so I was a bit excited.  I did not have high expectations because most of my preconceived notions come from TV, movies, and years of bad press.  Okay, it is not fancy or super high class.  It is edible, it does have flavor, and in my experience it was served with a smile and friendly demeanor.  United Airlines also fed me a lot.  Granted, each meal was not extensive, but three (four if you count the pretzels) different servings adds up over 12 hours.  

After the light pretzel snack was the Chicken and rice steamer with salad, roll and a brownie for dessert.  All the food was fresh and hot.  Not overly flavorful but the Honey Dijon dressing gave it enough boost to suit me. The brownie was delicious. Can't really go wrong with chocolate. 


Next up was a light snack of a turkey sandwich and Vanilla Gelato.  Tasty and light it hits the spot and to be honest, after being served this I thought no more food till I disembark the plane... but I was mistaken.

About and hour and a half from our arrival at our destination they stewards again came around with another meal. This time it was an omelet, spinach kiesh and sausage patty, roll and almond cookie.

Granted it was not five star dining, but it was good, it was hot, and it was edible.  It was not much different than what I might make for myself at home from a microwave meal; but, I was okay with that.

On the return trip I found a very similar dining experience but there were some different options to select from.  After the pretzel and beverage service came the first in-flight meal .  I selected glazed salmon with rice option.  The flavor combination was quite tasty.  The standard garden salad was fresh and crisp, which I always appreciate.  The roll was fresh but a very dense bread as it was on the trip out so it was not my favorite.  However, the packaged brownie was the chocolate fix I needed after a mad dash through the airport to catch the flight.  

The mid flight snack was pretty much the same, though the sandwich was a carved ham instead of the thin sliced lunch meat.  The "ice cream" was a plain vanilla, but light and refreshing.


Alas the picture quality on the last meal is not great- turbulence and picture taking evidently don't go well together.  The last meal was really tasty pasta dish that was served at just the right temperature.  


All in all, I would say that in-flight dining has come a long way from the stories I used to hear.  Granted, it is pretty similar to food that I could heat and eat in my own kitchen, but it fulfills the need of a weary traveler.  I enjoyed the food and overall the service on both flights was pretty good.  If you are heading across the Pacific, United Airlines does a nice job of making a really long flight a bit more comfortable. 



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