Cheers: United expands drink menu, adds White Claw

Inflight service has resumed among the major airlines and United is hoping to stand out with a new addition no other airline has: White Claw.

If you need a little pick-me-up while flying with United, this drink (and airline) might be the one for you. The popular hard seltzer brand is now on board, although mango is the only flavor option available. Other newer beverage choices onboard include Michelob Ultra, Stella Artois, Breckenridge Brewery Juice Drop Hazy IPA and Kona Brewing Co. Big Wave Golden Ale. All are available for $8. Red, white and sparkling wine are also available for purchase.

This change comes after United overhauled its onboard offerings April 1. Those changes included a choice of new snack boxes, pre-packaged snacks and a variety of alcoholic beverages. The two snack boxes, the Takeoff Snackbox and the Recline Snackbox, are available for $10 and $8 respectively.

The Takeoff Snackbox includes salami, cheese, nuts, crackers and dried fruits. The Recline Snackbox is a bit less nutritious, including popcorn, pretzels, Oreos and gummy bears (but we're not complaining).

Unfortunately, onboard snack, beer and wine sales are only available on select United flights. These include flights departing from Denver (DEN) to one of the following nine cities:

• Boston (BOS)
• Chicago-O'Hare (ORD)
• Honolulu (HNL)
• Houston (IAH)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Newark (EWR)
• San Francisco (SFO)
• Washington-Dulles (IAD)
• Washington-National (DCA)

Related: My experience flying across the country during the coronavirus pandemic

The change also launched buy-on-board options for economy-class passengers on the following Hawaii routes:

• Chicago-O'Hare to/from Honolulu
• Chicago-O'Hare to/from Kahului, Maui
• Houston to/from Honolulu
• Newark to/from Honolulu
• Guam to/from Honolulu

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If you are on a flight for more than six hours to Hawaii, the Chicago-based carrier also expanded buy-on-board to those flights as well. These snack and drink options are also available on premium transcontinental service, including: Flights between Denver (DEN), Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Newark (EWR), Houston (IAH), Guam (GUM) and Honolulu (HNL), Maui (OGG), Kona (KOA) and Lihue (LIH).

Buy-on-board is also available on transcon flights between Newark (EWR), Boston (BOS), New York-JFK and San Francisco (SFO) and Los Angeles (LAX).

It's important to note that you will need to prepare ahead of time by saving a payment method to your United account for contactless payments onboard. Visit united.com or United's mobile app to see available options for your flight.

Related: United's inflight food and beverage offerings are getting a makeover

This post includes additional reporting from TPG's Zach Griff and Benji Stawski.