United Airlines to reduce onboard meals for economy passengers; Korean Air seeks reduced flights to Guam
United Airlines announced Jan. 15 CHamoru Standard Time, that “Burgers, sandwiches, snack boxes and more” will be available within weeks for Economy passengers to purchase on united.com and its mobile app.
“This change prioritizes giving customers more choice and ensuring they get the meals they want, while also helping the airline's catering operation run more efficiently and supporting efforts to reduce food waste,” the airline said in its release.
“United Economy meal preorders are available on flights over 1,190 miles within the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, and starting March 1, preorders will be the only way to purchase fresh entrees for customers traveling in the Economy cabin. United Economy will still offer its signature snack boxes, packaged snacks and beverages for purchase onboard,” the airline said.
United also said, “United expects to add additional fresh meal choices to the preorder menu this summer that include elevated salads, gourmet sandwiches and wraps, with expanded preorder exclusive premium beverage options planned for later this year.”
United Airlines announced Jan. 15 that “Burgers, sandwiches, snack boxes and more” will be available within weeks for Economy passengers to purchase on united.com and its mobile app. Photo by Skyler Obispo
The airline does not specifically mention if or when flights in the Asia-Pacific region will be affected, or what it considers “the U.S.”
But the change could include economy passengers on flights on the Guam-Honolulu route (about 3,800 miles) and eventually routes in Asia such as Guam-to Japan routes (about 1,550 miles) and Taiwan (about 1,730 miles) and from March 1 could certainly affect economy passengers with onward travel to the U.S. mainland, or within the continental U.S.
How this will affect the habits of passengers on the Honolulu route or other routes remains to be seen, and the cost of pre-ordered meals may be a factor for price-conscious travelers.
Other economy travelers may choose competing Asian airlines on affected routes, which have always provided an on-board economy meal service, typically with a choice of main courses.
Before United re-introduced its meal service on the Honolulu route, economy passengers brought food onboard — either prepared at home, purchased from restaurants, or at airports.
In other aviation industry news, Korean Air requested in December a regulatory review to reduce the Incheon-Guam route, known as the 'Lie-flat Economy' — where empty adjacent seats allow passengers to lie down.
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According to Journal files, when the merger between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines was approved, a KFTC condition was that the number of seats per year and per route be held at no less than 90% of 2019 levels. mbj
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