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No, not all airline meals are born alike.
One United passenger was left stunned by the distinct decline in meal quality between one flight and another just a few days later.
“New to this airline so not sure how reliable the meal service is,” the shocked traveler wrote in a January 20 post on Reddit’s United Airlines forum.
On January 13, the woman enjoyed a pleasant spread on her flight from Seattle, Washington to Denver, Colorado that included a plate of vodka pasta, a side salad, a cup of Magnolia Bakery’s famous banana pudding, and a tall glass of iced tea.
In the picture she snapped and shared online, the tray of food appears to be what you’d typically expect each dish to look like — a modest amount of sauce laid over a bed of rigatoni noodles next to some chopped greens.
Unfortunately, when she went to order the same exact meal while flying the same route a week later, the food appeared more like a sloppy serving of soup and a makeshift Caesar salad.
“With an airline as big and fancy as United I’m surprised the downgrade in quality from one week to the next,” the Redditor said next to an image of the dinner on her second flight.
“I’d proudly give up my roll this week for the pasta of last week,” she noted.
Fellow travelers expressed similar shock at the difference in the two plane meals.
“The melted pasta distracts from the 30x increase in Parmesan haha,” one person wrote, while another said: “Your pasta is looking very flat today…”
Meanwhile, one flight attendant commented: “As an FA it’s always embarrassing to serve this food.”
Some viewers related to the Redditor’s experience having been served meals that were practically inedible.
“United served me a frozen salad a couple weeks ago. Frozen, icy carrots and tomatoes, limp frozen lettuce. I’ve never had a positive meal experience on United,” one person said.
Another noted: “I recently flew Tampa Chicago round-trip on breakfast flights. I chose the same breakfast on both flights. The breakfast out of Tampa actually tasted better than the one out of Chicago. The one out of Tampa also had a better appearance. Each airport has a different chef, even though it’s the same menu.”
The Independent has contacted United Airlines for a comment.
According to the airline’s website, all passengers aboard international flights are served a free meal which typically includes one bread roll, a main entree, and a dessert. Unless a passenger is flying first-class, United doesn’t offer complimentary in-flight dining services on domestic flights.
