Flying on United Airlines out of a hub city? Keep an eye out for “signature regional entrees” served in first class, which offer a local taste and a welcome variation to the usual United meal options.
Signature Regional Entrees In United Airlines First Class
United, like other US carriers, calls its domestic premium product “first class” (what the rest of the world might call business class). On flights of more than 900 miles, United serves a hot meal onboard. During lunch and dinner hours (between 10:00 am and 5:00 am), the meal is served with mixed nuts, a side salad, bread, and dessert.
This year, United has expanded its dynamic preordering program and when you book in advance, you can reserve your preferred meal up to 24 hours in advance, with a choice between 5-7 options depending on the market. Those will typically include a chicken dish, salad option, pasta, and a hamburger.
In a memo circulated to employees, United highlights how it is bringing “local flavors” onboard its flights.
One of the best parts of traveling is sampling local flavors and trying new cuisines that you can’t get anywhere else. For our United First customers, that experience doesn’t have to end when they board the plane.
To begin, United has rolled out signature entrees at four hubs, including:
- Chicago (ORD)
- Houston (IAH)
- Newark (EWR)
- San Francisco (SFO)
Each hub will offer a unique dish available for pre-order.
Our Hospitality Programs team recently launched new signature regional entrees that are available for preorder on domestic flights departing from EWR, IAH, ORD and SFO.
The goal of these entrees is to give United First customers a taste of the local cuisine from our world-class hub cities. The entrees were developed with an eye for both trending and familiar local cuisines at each hub, in combination with the pillars of our culinary identity to ensure they are fresh, simple and delicious!
Let’s take a look at the first four dishes:
Chicago: Chicken Vesuvio with roasted potato wedges, green peas, herbed peppered parmesan and a grilled lemon wedge
Houston: grilled chicken breast with Mexican rice, jalapeno cheese velouté, ranchero beans and grilled lime wedge
Newark: seared beef tenderloin with creamy spinach, scallop potatoes and bordelaise sauce
San Francisco: grilled sweet and spicy shrimp with Singapore-style stir-fried noodles, gai lan greens (Chinese broccoli) and carrot
Ultimately, United will introduce unique dishes at all seven hubs (by the end of the year). I’d love to see specialty breakfast dishes as well…
Jenny Jackson, United’s Hospitality & Planning Director, said:
“As we build on United’s mission of connecting people and uniting the world, I’m thrilled that we’re starting to introduce regional dishes that celebrate our hub cities and are reflective of the communities we serve. We will continue to introduce these dishes across all seven of our hubs over the coming months, and rotate offerings so that they stay fresh and relevant for our guests.”
CONCLUSION
I’m glad to see United continue to invest in its premium cabin meal options. While I will reserve final judgment until I try them, the choices above look decent and I appreciate even the effort to provide regional favorites that create a more varied menu for frequent flyers.
