United will begin offering free economy meals on select Hawaii flights
From gate to gate, United's longest domestic flights clock in at over 10-and-a-half hours. Factoring in time to board and deplane, flyers will spend some 11 hours onboard the aircraft — that's a long time to go without an inflight meal.
As Live and Let's Fly reports, the airline's finally doing something to fix that.
Beginning Aug. 1, economy passengers will get a full meal on select flights to and from Hawaii, bringing United's coach offering closer in line with that of Hawaiian Airlines. The move follows United's earlier sandwich "trials" on select Hawaii flights in 2019 and 2020.
As of this Sunday, passengers on morning flights can expect a breakfast of fresh fruit, yogurt, a croissant and granola bar. For lunch and dinner, the airline will serve Hawaiian quinoa salad with grilled chicken, fresh fruit, Hawaiian bread and dessert. Vegetarians will have the option of Hawaiian-style sweet potato and macaroni rainbow salad, instead of the chicken salad above.
The last time I saw full economy meals in a domestic United cabin was on the carrier's special 747 retirement flight — TPG's Nick Ellis was served the relative feast pictured below.
Notably, this latest offering won't quite compare with what flyers got on that special Honolulu (HNL) hop — all of the meals be served cold, and will be available on the following routes:
- Chicago (ORD) to and from Honolulu
- Chicago to and from Maui (OGG)
- Newark (EWR) to and from Honolulu
- Newark to and from Maui
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) to and from Honolulu
Several other flights will include economy meal service as well, but only on the flights from Hawaii. Those include:
- Honolulu to Denver (DEN)
- Honolulu to Houston (IAH)
- Maui to Denver
- Maui to Houston
As for what to expect on other carriers, Hawaiian Airlines serves a full hot meal in economy on its flights from Austin (AUS), Boston (BOS), New York-JFK and Orlando (MCO), and a hot sandwich on flights to and from the West Coast. American Airlines offers a meal to coach flyers as well, but only on flights to and from Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW).
United passengers on other Hawaii flights may have the option of purchasing snacks onboard, but inventory is typically limited, so be sure to make your request as early as possible. The airline will also offer a new pre-order option beginning this fall.
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Build your loyalty to Delta by applying for the carrier's mid-tier card option, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card. The annual fee is quickly recouped by the card's travel perks, such as an application credit to Global Entry or TSA Precheck, annual companion certificate and so much more. Plus you can fast-track to elite status simply through card spend.Pros
- Earn bonus Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and an Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) waiver when you hit specific spending thresholds with your card within a calendar year
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year
- Statement credit for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry fee (up to $100)
- First checked bag free
Cons
- Doesn't make sense if you don't fly Delta
- SkyMiles aren't the most valuable airline currency
- Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights. Plus enjoy Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding and settle into your seat sooner.
- New: Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
- Enjoy a per-visit rate of $50 per person for Card Members and up to two guests to enter the Delta Sky Club when traveling on a Delta flight.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
- Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees