If you ask any regular flier of United Airlines what they think might be done to make the airline better, the likelihood is that one of their top complaints will be the food.
The catering program has been characterized by a dearth of options and, in some cases, bad taste since United reintroduced plated dinner service in domestic first class in June 2021.
In reality, United has only had three significant menu rotations since then for lunch and dinner service, with Impossible meatballs and za'atar chicken being the most recent options.
A senior United executive has since acknowledged the catering problems and pledged adjustments.
Chief Customer Officer Linda Jojo made a caustic remark, "I know you probably enjoy the za'atar chicken and the Impossible meatballs.
They probably won't be around for much longer, I'm sorry to announce.
Speaking on Wednesday at the Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas, Jojo claimed that the lack of diversity is a result of numerous pandemic-related difficulties.
"What I would say is that we definitely got slowed down," she said of the pandemic's initial setback and the subsequent supply chain issues.
The fact that United has contracts with 130 separate catering kitchens throughout its extensive worldwide network adds to the complication.
According to Jojo, who previously served as United's chief digital officer, the Chicago-based airline now gives passengers the opportunity to pre-order their meals on some flights from a menu of five options and uses data to inform its catering decisions.
We now know what customers want and will have a better chance of delivering that on the plane, she said. "We will be pushing that data through our analytics engines," she added.
In addition, Jojo hinted at some fresh improvements to United's domestic meal service; after Jojo's remarks, a spokeswoman for the airline provided more information.
Six new scheduled dishes will be available starting this week in domestic first class, including two for breakfast and four each for lunch and dinner.
The lunch and supper meals will be divided into two for eastbound flights and two for westbound flights to increase diversity.
Additionally, the airline promises "six new trademark entrée" in its pre-order system beginning on December 1.
The airline will also reinstate its renowned ice cream sundae service in Polaris business class on four destinations departing from San Francisco International Airport (SFO): Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Brisbane Airport (BNE), Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), and Sydney Airport (SYD).
Live & Let's Fly broke the story first, and a carrier official later verified it.
The entrees' specifics are not yet known.
On United, don't anticipate free WiFi.
On all of its domestic flights this year, United started charging a flat $8 for Wi-Fi for MileagePlus members.
But Jojo warned against expecting it to liberate itself.
The airline is concerned with network dependability and wants to prevent overusing the satellite bandwidth as well as the wireless access points on board its aircraft.
"We believe that a modest price generates a small amount of friction that will enable folks who really need it—are going to be able to have it and use it—to be able to have it," she said.
In actuality, Jojo added, "which I thought was intriguing," there wasn't a significant rise in Wi-Fi use when United adopted the lower cost.
On its lengthy foreign flights, United continues to charge a dynamic fee for Wi-Fi.
When purchasing Wi-Fi on a United flight, cardholders of participating credit unions will earn a 25% statement credit.
Jojo's remarks come as Delta Air Lines moves closer to offering free Wi-Fi on board.
On a few planes, the carrier is trial offering free Wi-Fi to all SkyMiles members.
JetBlue has been offering free Wi-Fi on all of its flights for a while now.
United's alcohol wipes are no more.
A final reminder of the COVID-19 pandemic's early stages might be discovered while boarding a United or United Express flight.
The distribution of individually wrapped alcohol wipes by a flight attendant at the boarding door is a holdover from the days when every airline made a big deal out of how clean its planes were.
Sanitizing wipes will still be offered to passengers who request them on board planes, according to Jojo.
The airline may eventually start distributing something else, though.
"Our flight attendants now greet every single passenger, sometimes for the hand wipes, sometimes just to say hi, and we may not have a wipe forever," she said.
At some point, there might be something a little more enjoyable, but I don't believe we'll ever get rid of that touchpoint at the end of the jet bridge.
Whatever new shape that touchpoint takes, it would be another indication that United has moved past the pandemic.
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