Taste Test: Basic Cold Breakfast On United Airlines

by Anthony Losanno
UA Basic Breakfast 3

Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links below. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.

I flew from John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH) to Denver International Airport (DEN) this morning and was surprised to see that the only breakfast option was a cold tray consisting of some cereal, a packaged croissant, a banana, a packaged cheese tray, and a single biscotto. For a flight that is over three hours, this was a disappointing way to start the day.

UA Breakfast Menu

The flight was operated with a mainline aircraft and there were ovens onboard the Boeing 737-800. This was an older aircraft and a remnant from Continental Airlines complete with DirecTV. Wi-Fi was inoperable for the entire flight and between the catering and lack of internet connectivity it was not one of United’s best showings. The menu above was a little vague, but I knew there would only be one choice.

UA Basic Breakfast 1

Everything on the tray was fine, but it was pretty basic. These items can all be purchased in a convenience store and do not say premium by any stretch.

UA Basic Breakfast 2

The croissant was heated up in the package (again there are working ovens). Everything on the tray was shelf stable, so I wonder where this catering actually came from.

Anthony’s Take: I have been impressed recently by the improvements that United has made to its onboard catering. This flight was a definite step backwards, but I’m hoping it’s an outlier.

User Generated Content Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.

Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.

5 comments

Matthew December 5, 2024 - 12:58 pm

This happens at stations without catering contracts where the aircraft RON from a hub. Since the flight is double-catered from ORD or DEN, a shelf-stable meal is added for the first flight out. It’s tacky, though…no question about it.

Reply
Frankfurt Airport Lufthansa
Anthony Losanno December 5, 2024 - 2:13 pm

I had a feeling it was something like that. Tacky is the right word for it.

Reply
NedsKid December 5, 2024 - 2:11 pm

Exact same thing that Spirit now offers in GoBig seats!

Reply
Frankfurt Airport Lufthansa
Anthony Losanno December 5, 2024 - 2:12 pm

I was thinking that.

Reply
Miguel Rodriguez December 5, 2024 - 10:48 pm

Continental planes were much better kept than Uniteds.

Reply

Leave a Comment

Related Articles