United Airlines is obviously not to familiar with the dollar menu at McDonald’s because they’re convinced that you’ll pay up to $9 for their “Buy-On-Board” snack offerings, says the Wall Street Journal.
The snacks, which include “fresh sandwiches, salads, snack boxes or snacks, depending on the length of flight,” will be complimentary for travelers in Business Class and cost coach fliers from $6 for “shelf stable items” to $9 for fresh items such as salads or sandwiches. This price increase will go into effect in October, about a month after United discontinues free snacks in coach. Previously, Business Class customers got free warm meals.
Are you going to pay $9 for a United Airlines sandwich?
United Airlines to Charge Up to $9 for Snacks [WSJ]
United Tests Food Choices in Business and Economy (Press Release) [MarketWatch]
(Photo: pwrplantgirl )
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I recently flew Aitran, AIRTRAN, and on the leg from PHX to ATL we got drink service three times and biscotti cookies the first time and pretzels the third!
Sad how special I feel for that.
But even the damn one hour leg from ATL to FTL still got snacks and drink service.
On our recent honeymoon, we were appalled to find out that American didn’t offer any free meal on the 9 hour flight to Hawaii. Sure, it’s “domestic” but it’s the same distance as Chicago-London! After hours of them hawking a $10 sandwich, we finally caved about 6 hours into the flight and bought one to split. It was actually a pretty decent sandwich (Boarshead turkey & a think slice of swiss on thick multigrain bread) but something that’d cost $6 at Panera. And they didn’t even offer any choice of meats or anything. Turkey or turkey.
.
I may be cranky, but I’m not cheap by any means. Still, I’d never buy one of those sandwiches because they are horrible. “Smoked” “turkey” on a dry stale hard cold roll with wilted lettuce……nearly inedible.
.
Can we all just agree that this is one of the last gasps of a dying company? I flew 20 trips on UNITED last year, mostly for fun & pleasure. This year? 3 trips. It’s become a completely miserable experience. I’d prefer they cover the fuel costs with an ingenious device called a Fuel Surcharge and then get their services back to normal.
P.S. The meal was never FREE. It was always included in the ticket price.
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Dollar menu at Mcdonalds at airports is a thing of the past. $6 for a good salad is what you would pay at an airport Quiznos or sandwich shop. I do agree that it doesn’t make sense to have limited choice AND pay $6.
Whoa there, airlines.
You are not a movie theatre.
You are not an amusement park.
Nor are you any other overpriced entertainment venue that the public at large chooses to go to while willing to overlook (to some extent) the high prices charged for small-ticket items.
Sandwiches made from UA Executives should sell like hotcakes, even among us non-cannibals. But why $9 dollars, that’s a five and four ones?
@balilanai:
You pay 6 dollars BECAUSE you have limited choice.
(Except that at airports in Japan and Korea you don’t, even though you have limited choice.)
Nope. I’m not going to pay $9 for snacks, and at the rate that the airlines are nose diving, I won’t be flying any more at all.
On May 16, 2008, the sandwiches and salads were $5 on the plan and on June 2, 2008, the sandwiches and salads were suddenly $7…
I miss the old days when snacks and meals came “complimentary” with your overpriced ticket.
Nope, won’t buy it on principle. I’d rather pay $10, even $16 at the terminal just to avoid lining Delta’s pockets. If you can’t make a profit at your current prices, raise your damn prices. Stop reducing the already pathetic levels of service and bring back the air travel I remember of days gone by….or what every country other than the US has in 2008.
Ack, meant UAL… was just on a Delta flight recently with equally pathetic service.
No, particularly since last time I flew United they had no vegetarian options for purchase. I flew cross-country and ate only a container of yogurt and a banana.
I always carry on a granola bar. One or two of those in my backpack can get through security.
Moreso than food, charging for water is unconscionable.
@AMetamorphosis: they threw my sisters applesauce away at Indianapolis last Saturday. They said it was because of the consistency, they can’t see through it so she can’t have it. she wasn’t happy
I just buy some airport snacks to bring aboard. Not cheap, but at least I get what I like. I’m a little picky, I guess, but I never had a “meal” that I ate more than the buttered roll portion of. Can’t they just team up with Subway or whatever? Of course, the downside of this is that the stench of even more revolting ethnic edibles will be wafting throughout the cabin. I hate flying, but what can you do? The mere thought of being stuffed into a little metal tube high in the sky freaks me out a little, I’ll admit. But whatcha gonna do?
@GilloD: Right on. Sorry to hear about the long flight – hopefully that $13 sandwich came with a free lottery ticket XD.
Sort of like the Woodstock ’99 effect: charge $5 for a 16 fl oz bottle of water, and see how many kids from the mosh pit (in between groping, smashing ATMs and setting things aflame) will jump at it.
“Are you going to pay $9 for a United Airlines sandwich?”
I’m going to bring a picnic basket of sandwiches and sell them to all the hungry, irate travelers for $5.
I guess now everyone will have to carbo load before a flight.
I bet they have a deal with the TSA to confiscate all food items at the security checkpoint. So you either pay the sandwich shop in the concourse $9 or you pay United $9. They already get you on the bottled water, since it usually exceeds the TSA limits on liquids. Now if they start counting tuna salad and peanut butter as liquids, you’re outta luck (and 9 bucks).
@TrustUs: Maybe they’re expecting us to tip the cabin crew up to $10?
As if all the current prices at the airports are not outrageous enough, now this. For shorter flights, I suggest you eat a meal before even getting to the airport. On longer flights, sometimes you have no choice than to buy the kids something to eat. It’s sad that the prices are so jacked up as if paying for your second luggage to get on the plane is not enough. I flew Delta recently and took a look at their inflight menu. No Thanks.
Maybe it’s because I work in NYC and buy lunch downtown every day, but $9 for a good sandwich doesn’t seem that outrageous to me. That being said, the operative word here is good.
So UA is becoming like flying movie theaters? At least in a movie theater I can understand it because they get most of their revenue from snacks, but an airline? Come on. It’s pretty crazy that you give up your right to bring your own food, or even WATER for crying out loud, when you fly.
I just REALLY don’t see the point of it other than “We want more money”
What’s that, a new euphemism for bottled water or cans of soft drinks?
And what’s next, the surcharge for bringing your own food and snacks on board? Glenn Tilton and his team must go!
I just got back to US from Frankfurt. Had to fly to see my sister. If you think that Chicago airports are expensive, then in Europe its an overkill. Beer, tomato juice, hell even a sandwich all cost above 3 Euro which is 5 to 6 bucks. Your 100 bucks or in this case mine cause I had to spend a night at the airport the flight was delayed, cost me 50 bucks and I only had 2 sandwiches, 1 bottle of beer, 1 tomato juice and glass of red wine over the course of 9 hours of waiting. I was flying by Lufthansa and they had the best meal plan for an economy class. No complaints from me. But local carriers make an over kill on this crap. I hope board of directors and a CEO die by chocking on their 9 dollar snacks. Sons of Bitches. Sorry, but had to say it. We all work hard and United charges us for simple food. Lame.
It’s the 70s all over again: United = People Express, Obama = Jimmy Carter, etc.
Honestly, if I was hungry enough I would pay $9 for one of their meals, especially if they’re any good (which they usually are). If only they could guarantee that food would be available.
My pregnant wife and I flew United from SFO to Maui for vacation last week. The flight back became a massive suckfest when the flight attendant told us (seated way back in row 44 of the 9-abreast 777 aircraft) that they’d run out of food. Considering we’d last eaten 5 hours earlier (and werent able to eat at the airport because United’s check in line was a half hour long) and it was a 5 hour flight, you could say we and especially the pregnant wife, were pissed. The flight attendant gave us the soon to be extinct free packet of pretzels and told us we could buy one of their snack boxes for $5, which we did, even though it contained less food than even a midget would consider adequate.
Never flying United again.
Ok I don’t know why this is needed, but if you’re flying on a budget airline and you’re in for the business, pack a small cooler in your carry on with all the food you need. Pack snacks, treats, and an ice pack with sandwiches in a small cooler inside your luggage.
If you go to a movie theater you know you’re in for the business, how is 3 hours on a plane any different? Pack a freaking lunch if you’ll be on that long, and if it’s Australia get anything you’ll want. Nobody will toss you off the plane for granola bars. Most people only spend 2-3 hours on a flight, how desperate will you get? Pack a lunch.