United Airlines - bring your own food in coach

Not all airlines are represented by Unions. The second largest carrier Delta, only it pilots are unionized. Most discount carriers are non-union; like Jet Blue. "I haven't seen the union yet that wouldn't agree to cuts in service or higher fees rather than take a pay or benefit cut, or at least confine the cuts to new employees" This is a strange statement, unionized employees at United have taken steep pay cuts in the past 4 four year to keep the carrier from bankruptcy. So have the unionized pilots at Delta. Only two years ago Northwest managed to bust its mechanics union-so now that part of their operation is non-union. The rich get richer......

It's not all of their intertantional flights but I'm not surprised.

The airlines are nickel and diming us. Checked baggage, food, blankets, aisle seats. Next you'll see a scale by the jetway and you'll pay by the pound.

They're reducing the number of flights and laying off thousands of people. But one thing remains constant.....the multi-million dollar bonuses and golden parachutes offered to the senior executives are abundant. No reason for them to have to do a good job or even care. They become rich no matter what.

It's amazing, Southwest, the most unionized airline in the U.S. is the only one making money. Perhaps the greedy execs at the other airlines should take note. But they don't care.....they're guaranteed their money no matter what happens.

I have never eaten airline food. Doing it one time was enough for me, so I always make sure to eat before the flight and to have a snack with me once I board the plane. I always tell friends who are flying International to avoid the food.

I do feel sorry though for those who bring their large families and they count on having a meal on the flight and now will have to pay a large amount of money to eat inside the airport, or to buy food to bring onboard as food is quite costly in airports.

But again, large corporations will always win. I wonder what will be next when travellers begin taking transatlantic cruises as they are beginning to look like a more appealing way of travel to Europe.

I'm a United frequent flyer. For years, I've taken the early flight out of Sacramento for business. I always take a packed lunch out of the icebox (a little Emeril speak there) and take it with me. A couple of sandwiches and some fruit. I never depend on United for my food except when I'm flying business class to Europe on points. Then, it's not so bad.

A substantial meal at the airport before departing, some string cheese sealed in plastic, a handful of crackers, and a small bag of nuts will last me until I arrive in Europe. Since I expect to sleep on the plane my nutritional needs are minimal. To keep down smells and mess, dry foods such as nutrition bars, dried fruit, and nuts or jerky serve well and can be carried as survival food after landing. Whatever they charge for food on the plane, it probably won't be enough to break the bank. Carry small bills; they will probably accept Euros or GBPs depending on your arrival airport. I intend to start carrying a quart-size water bottle to survive the long flight. And maybe one or two cans of soft drinks.

Remember, that water and cans of soda must be purchased after security.....another way they get you. Either pay exorbitant prices at the airport or onboard. Everyone wins but the consumer.

Southwest Airlines have come up with a few TV commercials that nail it:

First Southwest Commercial

Second Southwest Commercial

Sorry to hear the bad airline news - but there is a way to avoid all this mess. There's only (1) airline I use to Europe. The service and the food are superb!

AIR FRANCE !!!

I saw a good comment on Frommer's blog.

Southwest is making money and has good customer satisfaction because they aren't trying to be something they are not. They advertise themselves as a no frills airline. One class, first come first served. Ironically, it's getting to the point that they offer more services without additional fees than the other carriers.

The other carriers want to be seen as more upscale but are consistently cutting service and adding fees.

Most airlines are fully represented by unions. I haven't seen the union yet that wouldn't agree to cuts in service or higher fees rather than take a pay or benefit cut, or at least confine the cuts to new employees.

If a passenger brings food in an airplane : is a plastic spoon and fork prohibited in the passenger compartment in the airplane (coach section) ? I recently flew in an airplane in which an empty Nalgene bottle, and empty cup (any material) was prohibited. (Allegiant airlines in the U.S.A.).
My attitude in this general topic is : I do not care what the Airlines' changes will be, if the airlines do not greatly increase the price for airline tickets for flights to Europe and Britain, and if they continue to have many airplanes flying to Europe and Britain.

Of course you can Ron. They'll have no problem with plasticware...

Of all the new rules and regs about flying, the one that bugs me the most is having to buy a bottle of water AFTER security.
I always, always would freeze a bottle of water the night before a flight. That way, I'd have nice, icy cold water for hours.
Now we can't do that.
Gosh, I hate tepid water!

I know, I know, in the Grand Scheme of Things, cold water is way down the list, but still........

To avoid the cost of bottled water after passing thru security just bring an empty bottle and fill it at the water fountain at the airport. That's what I do. This works at US airports, probably Canadian ones too, but in Europe where water fountains are scarce I just fill my bottle at the sink in the restroom. BTW, my experience with lunches served on airlines here is that they are fairly priced and there is a more nutritious choice. I've paid $5 for a lunch box, which was decent food and not expensive.

Swan,

that's exactly what I usually try to do. However, Heathrow (can't remember which terminal I went through) not only doesn't provide water fountains, all the sinks in the washrooms deliver warm water only. YUCK!

Why is food so important? Going without food for 10 hours isn't going to kill anyone.

Actually going without food for 10 hours can cause many peoples blood sugar to be very low.. it is not healthy to arrive starving, faint, tired, and then be desperate to find something to eat..

I say bring a snack,, I have had a snacks in my carry on for years, first for my hubby, at 6'4" , he is a big boy, and the one tray of food never filled him up,, he would often ask for seconds( which in the "olden" days the stewardesses always gave him), and later when travelling with kids...

What is a shame is the airlines nicket and diming us,, I do find it hard to believe that the food they serve us is worth more then 1 buck,, it is usaully so crappy,, yuck.

I also miss the days of bringing our own drinks, I used to freeze juice boxes for the kids..

I can't go 10 hrs w/o eating. I get dizzy & sick of my stomach. I always carry some goodies.

Ron-Speaking of Allegiant Airlines and nickel and diming you to death.....Allegiant charges $11.50 extra to book a ticket online (It's $10 PER SEGMENT to do over the phone)! To avoid the fee, you have to buy at the ticket counter. Ridiculous!

I would much prefer to just roll it all into the price of the ticket. Don't try and trick me with a low fare and by the time I get to the point in the website where I'm buying the ticket it costs me another $50-$100 more per person. I've never heard of paying "extra" to buy online or the "per segment" part.

Here's their terms and conditions that apply to this:

A convenience fee of $11.50 per traveling customer will be applied when booked on allegiantair.com or through an Allegiant Air call center. Travel purchased through Allegiant Air call centers will cost an additional $10.00 per segment. A checked baggage fee of $15 per bag, per person, per segment will apply for the first two bags, when purchased at the time of booking.

I've read lots of stories about how air travel 'used' to be (suits, dresses, etc.), though Reagan and regulated air travel were before my time. But I don't think one needs to look much past Alitalia and Italy to see that government involvement doesn't really help matters. Not quite the same situation, but still...

Air travel used to be a luxury item, just like limos or private rockets into space. Part of the experience of travel was the flying. Now, air travel is for the masses. Just like Grayhound busses, the idea is to ship people from one place to another as cheaply as possible. Does Grayhound serve meals or provide in-bus movie systems? (Maybe they do, I haven't ridden one) The problem is the gap between customers' prior experience and expectations and what the airlines are now trying to provide, further complicated by security regulations.

I don't want your lousy coach class meal if I can bring my own tasty home-made sandwich and bottled water on board.

Interesting post Liz. Another thing the airlines used to do is to have at least one nurse on board. And flight attendants had to be young! Now they can be older. Airline food is so gross, that I don't care if I need to bring my own food. But as another poster said, if a whole family are all flying together, bringing food for everyone would be a hassle.
Happy Travels Anyway!
PS. I just want to add, I did take a bus, and twice they did show a movie!

Many years ago on an El Al flight from Tel-Aviv to JFK, the catering company went on strike and I had to endure endure a 17+ hour flight with only soft drinks and potato chips. And for the icing on the cake the in-flight entertainment consisted only of Matlock reruns. Yeah that's right 17 hours of chips, soda, and Andy Griffith; I was truly in hell!!!!!

Ron-Let's hope not! I think it's ridiculous that they would charge extra to use their website. They should charge you to go to the ticket counter! It's also sneaky how they bury it in the taxes and fees section of your booking. When you first select your flight segments the website gives you a total that includes taxes and fees (Not including the booking fee). That's added in later after you decline the options to pay for seat selection and your check in bags. Then it gives you another total price with all the above and this fee buried in the taxes and fees section. When you click on taxes and fees it doesn't itemize what they are either. I don't like the lack of transparency with that either. Anyways, enough railing on them! They aren't the only airline that nickels and dimes you, but let's hope they aren't the trendsetter with this booking fee!

With that being said, I've still flown with them because I live by the airport where they fly out of so we can go there to book, plus I carry on and don't select a seat ahead of time. They are cheaper than Alaska flying out of here.

We just booked a Christmas season flight in Coach on United. Our itinerary says they will provide food, even a choice of food. I am wondering what the source of the opening post was????

I just checked the United website. They still list food as an amenity on International flights, no matter which class you choose.

It was Ronald Reagan who "thought" it would be a good idea to deregulate airlines. Now we have a confusing fare structure, fees and taxes not shown, charges for water, food, and checked bags, who knows what next, and airlines going out of business. Another really dumb idea!

Actually, it was Jimmy Carter who signed the Airlilne Deregulation Act in 1978.

UAL will be cuting meal service on it's flights between IAD and Europe. If you read the UAL website closely it says it serves meals in coach on "most" of its international flights.

Here's an article explaining it all:

UAL Food Service

OK, I just remembered something about the Sec. of Transportation under Reagan leaving his small home town for Wash DC by air, but when he went back home no deregulated airlines flew to his town anymore.

Anyway, I'm sure it was not Carter's idea, and that the Reagan admin. enthusiastically implemented it.

The federal Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) had regulated all domestic air transport as a public utility, setting fares, routes, and schedules. The CAB promoted air travel, for instance by generally attempting to hold fares down in the short-haul market, to be subsidized by higher fares in the long-haul market. The CAB also was obliged to ensure that the airlines had a reasonable rate of return.

Could you imagine what fares would be like today if this administration was running the show and had to guarantee a reasonable rate of return?

Additionally, it was virutally impossible for any carrier to start flying in the U.S. Even Southwest Airlines which started in 1971 could only fly within the state of Texas before deregulation. (The CAB could only regulate interstate flights not intrastate flights.)

Both Democrats and Republicans were behind the move to deregulate. Teddy Kennedy was one of the strong voices for deregulation even though the original idea came from Nixon.

Whether or not you think the aftermath of deregulation is good, that's a different story.

Sorry to say that deregulation had already begun way before Reagan took office--although I would love to find something else to blame him for. Oh yeah, he didn't help any by firing the Air Traffic Controllers.

I also remember the days when to get a cheaper fare, you had to fly after 9 PM.

Take Virgin Atlantic whenever possible. Their service was awesome and their food was unbelievable (for airline food).

I agree that Virgin Atlantic has great service and good food. Too bad their carry-on allowance is only 13 lbs.