SFO is my home airport and as a result, fly United quite often for business and personal travel. As always your trip report is 100% spot on. The direct and honest feedback of the good and bad is the gold standard of airline reviews. The neck pillow availability is as inconsistent as you pointed out. 50% of the time I get one and 50% of the time it is upon request. Never thought to ask why this is and glad you did. I have eaten the chicken and noodles dish at least a dozen times last year and concur it is as awful as you state. It is not hyperbole when you state it is overcooked and bland. Fully concur with your statement about breakfast as well. It truly is mediocre at best. When asked what I ate on the flight, my standard reply for United catering is, "a plastic tray of brown." The ice cold croissant is the parting middle finger letting passengers know the airlines does not really care. United's long haul food service appears to be standardized across all stations as I've always received the same starch/chicken lunch/dinner and a starch or scramble breakfast. One last item to add insult to injury. The awful and cheap plastic trays slide across the table like ice on ice. On one of my flights, the plane pitched up slightly during meal service and dozen of trays went sliding onto people's laps.
Many moons ago , every US airline had thier own in-flight menu. Post 9-11 every major airport and airline contracts with a local provider.. DYNATA, GATE-GROUMET ARE the 2 big boys that produce thousand of meals from a single facility. It's being done this way for security reasons.. just wait .. by 2050 the will provide branded MRE's ..
WOW ! ! ! At 07:37 you see a perfect slot transfer timing! The incoming plane needs to be safe on the ground before the outgoing plane reaches "V1", the point you can not abort a takeoff. I haven´t seen it so well-timed before. Nice work by the tower crew.
Spot on. Flew EWR to LHR and what they served I wouldn’t even feed to my dog. Compared to Virgin Atlantics offering they make United’s food look like budget airline food
Hello David. Very good trip report. I agree with you - on a flight of 10+ hours, the food selection and quality should be at the top of the chart. Kudos to being able to sit in an Economy seat for that length of time. For me - with Japan on my bucket list of places to visit - it would have to be Premium Economy or higher as I prefer the larger space. Was surprised that you were able to obtain the flight for such a low cost which is rare these days. Keep up the good work!
9:15 Better eat those pretzels. Even if you’re not hungry when you board a plane, you should still eat something salty during the flight because salt helps you retain water, making you less thirsty and therefore less likely to drink too much water and have to use the bathroom
Catering has for many years been a major challenge for United. And, I am sure the only reason the free meals are even offered on UA Asian flights is that all of their competitors offer high quality, wholesome free meals in Economy (and yes, often prepared by the same inflight caterer that UA uses!). On any 9 to 15 hour flight, the quality of food & beverage (F&B) is absolutely welcome even to veteran travelers - and I don't easily forget the quality of my Economy class meals to/from Asia on non-Star Alliance carriers like JAL, KAL and Cathay Pacific. In fact, United's Star Alliance partners Asiana, ANA and SIA all have very good F&B options in all classes of travel.
I've always wondered exactly why Tokyo has two international airports in Narita and Haneda, and exactly what purposed they served. It look all the way up until two weeks ago when I learned Haneda is located within Tokyo itself and Narita was built 2 hours away as a way to relieve the amount of flights Haneda used to experience.
Meals are very important and a deal breaker for me. Air India's hard product is not the best (one of the worst actually) but their food is so good that I always end up flying with them inspite of the multiple European or Middle eastern options.
Great video and also a really great price for a flight from the US to Japan 😁 I don't understand what they want to achieve with their new "pillow policy". United isn't a low cost carrier and on a long haul flight, I expect a pillow on every seat...
Just be glad you got hot meal service at all. Three weeks ago I flew round trip from SFO to Cancun on a United 737 Max 9. It was a 5 1/2+ hour flight and there was no meal service at all and only one beverage service! The "snack" was one half dollar size chocolate coated rice cracker. If you walked down to the galley, the flight attendant would sell you a boxed meal of crackers, cheese and hummus. Of course, there was no announcement that this was even available. The return flight was on "International Flight Attendants Day" but the crew couldn't have been less friendly. On the beverage service we go two small bottles of wine and had to call back the flight attendant to ask for glasses to drink them from. She looked at us like we were from Mars. I guess she thought we should drink straight from the bottle. The pilot turned on the seat belt sign during a few minutes of light turbulence then, I guess he forgot to turn it off as it stayed on for the next several hours. I was also surprised there was no infotainment screens on such a new aircraft. Only a little bracket where you could mount your own screen device. A truly horrible experience all around...
I flew SFO-TPE on their 777-300ER last fall and my experience was much of the same. -The seats were OK (my flight had pillows on every seat upon boarding, though). -Service was fine. (however bathrooms either didn't get cleaned at all or my flight was full of absolute pigs) -Catering was forgettable (so much so that I have no recollection of what I ate, but at least it was inoffensive enough to be forgettable). I do remember the sad and stone cold croissant though, don't tell the French on pain of starting WWIII. -IFE was fine but if you take more than a couple trans-oceanic flights in a month you'll probably start running out of stuff to watch. The TV selection for stuff I wanted to watch had just 2-3 cherry-picked episodes it seemed, which is easy to burn through in a 12+ hour flight and on my return flight it was exactly the same selection a month later.
I flew on United from Tokyo to Newark on a 777, and I honestly can't remember the food. I do remember that it was a completely full flight and the seat was really cramped. Ironically, I've flown longhaul on Delta and United twice once each between Europe and US, and between Asia and US, and Delta outperformed United in both cases. I flew longhaul on American to Rio de Janeiro on a 767, and it wasn't a great experience either in economy or business class, but that was 9 years ago, so maybe things are different now.
@@Originalman144 Can go with the Texas BBQ. Not sure how they will get those big pits and the wood to smoke the meat over night. Would be a really long flight. No way I will get on a Tesla battery operated Long Haul airline.
You might not see this but a airline I have NEVER heard of is going on a flight from London Stansted to Boston with a stop over in kefavik and is leaving on the 22nd of April
Unfortunately for those thinking Polaris and Premium Plus having better food, you are terribly mistaken. Overall, catering at United has gone terribly downhill. The hard product is okay (although Polaris seats could use a sliding door) the food is something to be desired……
For €250 to Tokyo I would not care if there was no food at all! That is amazing. I am also 188cm tall so the seat is all that matters but tbh it looked fine for economy food.
I am a San Franciscan living in the EU. I LOVED watching your climb over the bay area. Great to see. I don't like 3/3/3 seating configurations on planes. I always try to fly 2/4/2. Also not crazy about United. I fly to US alot on TAP and LEVEL. Significanlty better.
Great review! This will be useful as I am taking this same SFO-NRT flight on United next month, so I'll be looking forward to see if I have the same experience or not
i never had a bad experience with airplane food, but i can tell you a great one: Singapore Airlines A380 from Zurich to Singapore in Economy, that was just amazing
You were lucky, wife and I flew an 8hr round trip UA light from Denver to Kona, Hawaii and both times we were served cold entrées, cold piece of baked chicken on cold quinoa, and the other choice a vegetarian entree, cold pasta with cheese, served straight out of the fridge. A kid who sat in the window seat looked at his meal, took the cookie and shoved the rest, tray and all, under the front seat. That said it all. Thanks for the review and I will check out other airlines for International flights.
It is the airport you’re flying out off sometimes. What Bugs me is the same catering company United, American uses from US airports and international airports is the same used by their competitors yet their food is always bad. It shows they’re not investing the same money in the quality and ingredients. Also the substitutes are poor versus what their competitors offer which is usually branded. They boast about how profitable they are but can’t seem to get the finer details right.
my worst meal was on qatar airways los to doh and doh to hyd it was a round trip for one month and since i had travelled previously with qatar i was expecting for some endeavious meals but my expections were washed away as soon as i recieved the meal....
Believe it or not, but my worst meal was on Turkish Airlines! Flying from Istanbul (the new airport, that opened a week or so prior to my flight) to Amsterdam. It was an egg dish and it literally made my sick right away, and the journey home after landing (3 hours from Amsterdam at the time) wasn't pleasant! The flight to Istanbul from Amsterdam a week before was great, the food excellent. Sad end to a great trip back in 2019. This not so egg-ellent meal was on my last flight until 2021 because of Covid. Since then BA and KLM gave me good food, but nothing special. In July I'll fly Emirates from Frankfurt to Tokyo (via Dubai) so curious to see what the food is like. But given it's my first time on an A380, I think it won't even matter :-)
Minor Correction Narita is a considerably bigger Airport with more destinations and more flights. However Haneda is still quite busy and is indeed much closer to the city (20min via rail), Narita is 70min by rail to Tokyo Station.
Well, Narita is busier with cargo and international airlines, but in passenger numbers, Haneda is far bigger than Narita, having served slightly above 80mio passengers in 2019, while Narita had just about half as much in the same year. What you are right about though is that, if you look just at international passengers, Narita had more because almost all passengers at NRT are international.
US airlines need to understand that they are so far behind when it comes to in-flight meals. I flew economy on Emirates and I was blown away at the quality of the meals.
I don't really have a bad comment on any airlines food, but if I'm being honest maybe the one in london to hong kong by cathay pacific during july 2022, I think the food wasn't the best and it is not too appetizing, ice cream is provided which is good but the main meal isn't the best.
U cannot deny, normal Polaris 1 way ticket 2-3k sometimes are like 4-5k. My problems are why United food selections on Polaris cannot match international careers level? (General US careers have the same problems) it looks exactly like economy food putted in heavier silver wear. If just for sleeping why would people spend 2-5k one way on United Polaris getting treated with animal foods instead spending similar amount of money on international careers like (JAL ANA EVA Cathay Singapore etc..)
You cracked me up big-time with the comments on the food 😆. Made my day actually. You are correct, United's food leaves a lot to be desired - and that's after flying it twice, once in economy and once in business. The business class flight was from BOM to EWR. Now I was grateful for actually having a nonstop flight back to the U.S. (this was when the pandemic was gaining ground while grounding air service), but you'd think UA would have the brains to load more snacks on board for a flight that's 15+ hours. The food wasn't that great either. And from I gather, this isn't a one-off thing. The economy offering was pretty meager and portions were rather small. Left me hungry, which isn't something I've ever said about other airlines lol. Anyway, great video, I enjoy watching your reports. 👍
My worst meal without a doubt was with Lufthansa. I had booked an economy seat with points and of course was seated in the rear of the 747. By the time the meal service got to me there were no choices left .......... I received cabin temperature noodles with some "meat"? and cherry yogurt. This was a flight from Frankfurt to Vancouver (YVR)
Did the AVOD include unskippable commercials? What speed was the very fairly priced internet? Were the bathrooms cleaned regularly? Basic meal quality keeps falling while special order meals keep growing. I wonder if there is a connection. (thanks for including your height vs. pitch)
So yes recently I had my worst meal which was an omelet and I think omelets are not good on flights as well as one gravy but there was one croissant and butter which was the only good thing on that flight.This was aboard on a Vistara A321 neo.
My worst flight meal was last year on American’s 777-300ER from DFW-LHR. The food was so dry, and the sides were inedible. Definitely do not want to have that same experience going to Europe again in a few weeks
I had a flight with united from houston to Amsterdam with a 777-200er with the new livery (which i really love) last year and the food was very good it was noodles with chicken also but they did it correctly the service and flight was amazing but the only thing i personally missed was ice cream we had a small cake with sprinkles i prefer ice cream tho😁
15:45 tb to summer of 2022 I was traveling to Italy on TAP and we had a 3 hour delay white sitting on the tarmac in the plane and as soon as we took off they started serving the meals. Thankfully I was in business class and the meal wasn’t bad but I remember it was some pasta dish with mushrooms and squash and while normally I don’t like mushrooms I just remember absolutely DEMOLISHING it in like 2 minutes it was the meal with like a salad and desert and a bread roll. All in all not the worst but one of the best meals I’ve had in recent memory
I absolutely appreciate your analysis of airline meals. Other channels typically gloss over the airline food. At least you got two meals per meal service! I wish I had that kind of pull. The worst meal service I had (non Covid era) was Lufthansa economy long haul from SFO to MUC. Bland chicken or mushy pasta. Breakfast was sad egg sandwich. Hands down worst (Covid era) was Avianca LAX to BOG - inedible cold ham and cheese sandwich with only water offered.
Agree with you - the food is important and airlines rarely get it right, especially in Economy Class. It really does leave a bad taste with you and a little more effort could make such a better impression. Some of my worst experience - ANA Economy International (I try to order Vegetarian instead). The best, Singapore Airlines Business - best coffee I have ever had (and service).
@@samroy5967 For *food* in coach it was one of my worst experiences. Food was overcooked and soggy. Route was ORD - HND. But other trips with ANA have had similar, not so great food experiences. Service on ANA, on the other hand, is super friendly.
Fun fact, both United and Singapore serve the exact same coffee onboard from Illy Coffee in Italy. The service is quite different, but the coffee grounds are the same.
I fly almost exclusively Lufthansa for a number of years now (usually FRA-LAX LAX-FRA). The food is cheap, but largely pretty palatable. Cheap doesn't have to be "BAD".
United and their Longhaul meal service is very much underwhelming. I try to avoid them when going to Japan as much as possible because ANA evening in economy makes you feel much better.
OMG your Tripreports are always perfect I always look up to you Simply Aviation I have been watching since 2018 simply aviation is why I came into tripreporting
I am flying with United for the first time in November, London to Houston, if the food is like that, I might bring some of my own, or just have a big meal before boarding, and wait until I get to the hotel for my evening meal, at least the entertainment looks good, and seats comfy enough. I always bring my own pillow for longer flights.
Here! Here! Thanks for that tip, too. United hasn't really changed much. The real deal is the cheap airfare you mentioned. Yes, the food does sucks, but when in doubt, my family and I just bring real snacks and some Japanese instant ramen bowls just in case the food really sucks. Thanks!
I am here because I will take the same UA 787 flight from Newark to Narita this July. By watching at the meals served I have the basic idea of how good(bad) that is (better if they serve hamburger, noodles are not their specialty). By the way the best meals I can recall were from JAL/ANA/Korean Air, and some other Asian airlines.
Talking about food on flights, most USA Airlines offer the same standard amenities on Long Haul flights so the food can really be the make or break difference in which airline you choose. Also, a tasty meal is a great way to make the passengers more friendly and relax some tension and nerves for nervous flyers.
Hi David, my wife and I really enjoy your videos. We just discovered your channel recently. We will be flying American Airlines Boeing, 787-8 between Dallas Fort Worth and Amsterdam in August 2023. Have you ever flown this route and what type of experience would you expect? We will be flying business class.
Great video! Had similar issues with the food on my last United flight from IAD to LHR. Something what bothered me was there was so much plastic. Plastic plates, cutlery, etc… United definitely has room for improvement here
It’s funny how United used to serve a small cup of ROCK HARD ice cream that you’re supposed to eat with a plastic spoon. 😂 I say used to - because now their dessert consists of either a cookie going one way or a small pack of chocolate truffles on the return route. Ridiculous
I flew round trip to Rome from EWR on an old B777-200 The meal choice was pasta or Indian chicken curry I know United has daily nonstop service from EWR to DEL but it was an odd choice for a flight to Italy even though the chicken was indeed delicious The dessert on a meal tray was a cookie. An individually packed small cookie. 😳 Beverages were served along the meal. In most other airlines flight attendants come with the beverage cart RIGHT AFTER the meal service to offer coffee/hot tea or water but not on United. 😂 An hour or so prior to landing in FCO Breakfast was served - Italian biscotti with Greek yogurt. On the return flight from FCO to EWR meal choice consisted of pasta or Thai chicken curry Again - interesting choice for a flight from Italy to USA. The dessert was a small pack of French chocolate truffles. Bread roll on both flights was cold straight out of the fridge I was disappointed with meal options but tbh I didn’t have high expectations from an American carrier anyway - can’t compare to the service received on major Asian or MidEastern carriers. At least I got a low fare flying BASIC ECONOMY and it took me to my destination nonstop, without the need of any transfers. I’m unfamiliar with ITA (the new Italian airline that took over Alitalia) - it’s either them or the big 3 American carriers that fly nonstop between JFK/EWR to FCO
I took United to Australia twice. Their aircraft are not very thoughtfully designed for longhaul flights. Minimal recline, narrow seats, standard legroom, pillow is on request, meals are mediocre and bare minimum with a cookie or cut fruits as the sweet dish. I also had the asian veggie noodles on my flight with them, the first time was alright but second time it was tough to eat and tasted overly sugary. The catering on the flights out of Australia were even more mediocre.
I guess these seats are bad for long haul flights. I took a United 787-8 for a short 1 hour 30 minutes hub transfer flight and the seat was generous and very comfortable
Another great video, you are 100% in the right and those meals didn't even look appetizing. My worst meal was breakfast on QF1 from SIN to LHR where they used some crappy powdered eggs.
Nice vid Simply Aviation! A few months ago ZIPAIR Tokyo started service to SJC, an airport near SFO but is less busier, and is my local airport. Perhaps that could be an idea for a future trip report?
As a frequent long haul flyer, I flew Air Canada from Toronto-Vienna. Hands down the worst meal I’ve ever had it was Dijon chicken and the chicken was pink and they did not serve anything else but the meal and the bread nothing else. As a loyal flyer from Toronto-Vienna on Air Canada (which I fly 5 times a year) I was disappointed in the past flight I had
I definitely agree with yiu David that meal look very desirable 😢. For my worst experience with food would have to be on iberia from jfk to mad last year and for breakfast all we got was a Banana and a drink so so sad.
I'm with you on the meal. First and foremost I like to eat. So to have a bad meal is a real let down. It is a shame too bc I love the United Polaris product. I hope they fix that. And the pillows!!!! They need to fix that too!
SFO is my home airport and I have a lot of status with united and I agree with your review in economy the pillow is not good but in Polaris the gel pillow is a different story and I agree which the food on this flight and my favorite meal with united is the beef short rib or the Belgium waffle
I recently did a long haul flight from Houston to Rio and the food was okay.....no real complaints. No one can beat Lufthansa, which has been the best food experience I've had on an international flight so far.
I really don't have much problem fasting for 12 - 14 hours. My expectation, from experience, that UAL might serve food worth eating, would argue against putting them to the test. I would just wait and eat in Tokyo.
![PASULOL รามเกียรติ์ ตอนที่ 4 นนทกพบรัก [Ramakien Ep.4: Nonthok in love]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tMUQgmZzf_A/mqdefault.jpg)
SFO is my home airport and as a result, fly United quite often for business and personal travel. As always your trip report is 100% spot on. The direct and honest feedback of the good and bad is the gold standard of airline reviews. The neck pillow availability is as inconsistent as you pointed out. 50% of the time I get one and 50% of the time it is upon request. Never thought to ask why this is and glad you did. I have eaten the chicken and noodles dish at least a dozen times last year and concur it is as awful as you state. It is not hyperbole when you state it is overcooked and bland. Fully concur with your statement about breakfast as well. It truly is mediocre at best. When asked what I ate on the flight, my standard reply for United catering is, "a plastic tray of brown." The ice cold croissant is the parting middle finger letting passengers know the airlines does not really care. United's long haul food service appears to be standardized across all stations as I've always received the same starch/chicken lunch/dinner and a starch or scramble breakfast. One last item to add insult to injury. The awful and cheap plastic trays slide across the table like ice on ice. On one of my flights, the plane pitched up slightly during meal service and dozen of trays went sliding onto people's laps.
Many moons ago , every US airline had thier own in-flight menu. Post 9-11 every major airport and airline contracts with a local provider.. DYNATA, GATE-GROUMET ARE the 2 big boys that produce thousand of meals from a single facility. It's being done this way for security reasons.. just wait .. by 2050 the will provide branded MRE's ..
You know United's catering is bad when one of the highlights is the cheeseburger.
WOW ! ! !
At 07:37 you see a perfect slot transfer timing! The incoming plane needs to be safe on the ground before the outgoing plane reaches "V1", the point you can not abort a takeoff.
I haven´t seen it so well-timed before. Nice work by the tower crew.
That's awesome
Thank you for pointing this out!
@@kuckoo9036 It is still a perfect slot transfer ^__^
Who else loves brutally honest?
hope he shows us his face once a while....
@@oshkoshbgood David shows his face a lot.
7:08
@Lee Claxton I don’t think so
@Lee Claxton no you can see description about all of his booking details
I usually fly United in premium class and their food leaves a lot to be desired. It needs a total overhaul
I totally agree. Not a fan of their breakfast at lunch time.
Except for the ice cream sundae
Spot on. Flew EWR to LHR and what they served I wouldn’t even feed to my dog. Compared to Virgin Atlantics offering they make United’s food look like budget airline food
I flew LHR to LAX Business last October, and underwhelming doesnt even begin to describe what they had.
Yeah it's basically cafeteria food even on a 6K ticket. And, they sling it at you on a single tray.
This is why I fly with ANA or Japan Airlines when traveling to Tokyo
Ahh, it’s cheap enough to pack your own food.
Worst meal I ever had was on ANA. No thank you!! Not to mention ANA is far more expensive.
Yeah, not a good idea to look for gourmet food on airplanes. Just pick one with a good safety record with the cheapest price.
Exactly. However, I enjoy United's catering above that of American or Delta, which I find is truly disgusting. @@heythave
for some people (like me) just want to get there as cheap as possible and couldn't care less about the food
Hello David. Very good trip report. I agree with you - on a flight of 10+ hours, the food selection and quality should be at the top of the chart. Kudos to being able to sit in an Economy seat for that length of time. For me - with Japan on my bucket list of places to visit - it would have to be Premium Economy or higher as I prefer the larger space. Was surprised that you were able to obtain the flight for such a low cost which is rare these days. Keep up the good work!
This video is proof Simply Aviation is one of the best review utoob channels. Great work as usual David.
9:15 Better eat those pretzels. Even if you’re not hungry when you board a plane, you should still eat something salty during the flight because salt helps you retain water, making you less thirsty and therefore less likely to drink too much water and have to use the bathroom
Catering has for many years been a major challenge for United. And, I am sure the only reason the free meals are even offered on UA Asian flights is that all of their competitors offer high quality, wholesome free meals in Economy (and yes, often prepared by the same inflight caterer that UA uses!). On any 9 to 15 hour flight, the quality of food & beverage (F&B) is absolutely welcome even to veteran travelers - and I don't easily forget the quality of my Economy class meals to/from Asia on non-Star Alliance carriers like JAL, KAL and Cathay Pacific. In fact, United's Star Alliance partners Asiana, ANA and SIA all have very good F&B options in all classes of travel.
I've always wondered exactly why Tokyo has two international airports in Narita and Haneda, and exactly what purposed they served. It look all the way up until two weeks ago when I learned Haneda is located within Tokyo itself and Narita was built 2 hours away as a way to relieve the amount of flights Haneda used to experience.
Greater New York area has three international. Uk too. To Ueno Tokyo only 35 min on Skyliner not two hours.
Well yeah, Tokyo metro area is the most populated city in the world. If anyone needs two int'l airports it would be them.
Bro every giant city has multiple airports serving their metro areas lol
Meals are very important and a deal breaker for me.
Air India's hard product is not the best (one of the worst actually) but their food is so good that I always end up flying with them inspite of the multiple European or Middle eastern options.
Great video and also a really great price for a flight from the US to Japan 😁 I don't understand what they want to achieve with their new "pillow policy". United isn't a low cost carrier and on a long haul flight, I expect a pillow on every seat...
Babe wake up, new brutally honest episode dropped.
Just be glad you got hot meal service at all. Three weeks ago I flew round trip from SFO to Cancun on a United 737 Max 9. It was a 5 1/2+ hour flight and there was no meal service at all and only one beverage service! The "snack" was one half dollar size chocolate coated rice cracker. If you walked down to the galley, the flight attendant would sell you a boxed meal of crackers, cheese and hummus. Of course, there was no announcement that this was even available. The return flight was on "International Flight Attendants Day" but the crew couldn't have been less friendly. On the beverage service we go two small bottles of wine and had to call back the flight attendant to ask for glasses to drink them from. She looked at us like we were from Mars. I guess she thought we should drink straight from the bottle. The pilot turned on the seat belt sign during a few minutes of light turbulence then, I guess he forgot to turn it off as it stayed on for the next several hours. I was also surprised there was no infotainment screens on such a new aircraft. Only a little bracket where you could mount your own screen device. A truly horrible experience all around...
I flew SFO-TPE on their 777-300ER last fall and my experience was much of the same.
-The seats were OK (my flight had pillows on every seat upon boarding, though).
-Service was fine. (however bathrooms either didn't get cleaned at all or my flight was full of absolute pigs)
-Catering was forgettable (so much so that I have no recollection of what I ate, but at least it was inoffensive enough to be forgettable). I do remember the sad and stone cold croissant though, don't tell the French on pain of starting WWIII.
-IFE was fine but if you take more than a couple trans-oceanic flights in a month you'll probably start running out of stuff to watch. The TV selection for stuff I wanted to watch had just 2-3 cherry-picked episodes it seemed, which is easy to burn through in a 12+ hour flight and on my return flight it was exactly the same selection a month later.
I flew on United from Tokyo to Newark on a 777, and I honestly can't remember the food. I do remember that it was a completely full flight and the seat was really cramped.
Ironically, I've flown longhaul on Delta and United twice once each between Europe and US, and between Asia and US, and Delta outperformed United in both cases. I flew longhaul on American to Rio de Janeiro on a 767, and it wasn't a great experience either in economy or business class, but that was 9 years ago, so maybe things are different now.
Delta>United>American
We need some better airlines in the US. How about PRIME AIR with Whole Foods Market meals. Tesla Airlines with Texas BBQ and California recipes. 💥💥
@@Originalman144 Can go with the Texas BBQ. Not sure how they will get those big pits and the wood to smoke the meat over night. Would be a really long flight. No way I will get on a Tesla battery operated Long Haul airline.
You might not see this but a airline I have NEVER heard of is going on a flight from London Stansted to Boston with a stop over in kefavik and is leaving on the 22nd of April
Unfortunately for those thinking Polaris and Premium Plus having better food, you are terribly mistaken.
Overall, catering at United has gone terribly downhill. The hard product is okay (although Polaris seats could use a sliding door) the food is something to be desired……
For €250 to Tokyo I would not care if there was no food at all! That is amazing. I am also 188cm tall so the seat is all that matters but tbh it looked fine for economy food.
Brutally Honest Reviews by Simply Aviation are S Tier Flight Reviews
- a brutally honest review
Absolutely yes
Remember when they dragged that Asian doctor out of his seat after he already boarded? That was United.
@@heythave as an Asian, I’ll always avoid United then. Thank you for this enlightening advice 🙏
Great brutally honest review! I flew that exact route in June and returned 2 days before you flew.
I am a San Franciscan living in the EU. I LOVED watching your climb over the bay area. Great to see. I don't like 3/3/3 seating configurations on planes. I always try to fly 2/4/2. Also not crazy about United. I fly to US alot on TAP and LEVEL. Significanlty better.
Great review! This will be useful as I am taking this same SFO-NRT flight on United next month, so I'll be looking forward to see if I have the same experience or not
i never had a bad experience with airplane food, but i can tell you a great one: Singapore Airlines A380 from Zurich to Singapore in Economy, that was just amazing
had the same meals from newark to tokyo haneda 2 weeks ago. agreed, didn't taste good but the 50,000 points deal from united to tokyo, can't beat that
You were lucky, wife and I flew an 8hr round trip UA light from Denver to Kona, Hawaii and both times we were served cold entrées, cold piece of baked chicken on cold quinoa, and the other choice a vegetarian entree, cold pasta with cheese, served straight out of the fridge. A kid who sat in the window seat looked at his meal, took the cookie and shoved the rest, tray and all, under the front seat. That said it all. Thanks for the review and I will check out other airlines for International flights.
I remember seeing this in your instagram story. I also flew this flight but from NRT-SFO, couldn’t film much but the flight and the food was amazing
It is the airport you’re flying out off sometimes. What Bugs me is the same catering company United, American uses from US airports and international airports is the same used by their competitors yet their food is always bad. It shows they’re not investing the same money in the quality and ingredients. Also the substitutes are poor versus what their competitors offer which is usually branded. They boast about how profitable they are but can’t seem to get the finer details right.
Plane registration: N15969
David: Nice
my worst meal was on qatar airways los to doh and doh to hyd
it was a round trip for one month and since i had travelled previously with qatar
i was expecting for some endeavious meals but my expections were washed away as soon as i recieved the meal....
Qatar airways is a terrible airline if you don’t fly business class!
Believe it or not, but my worst meal was on Turkish Airlines! Flying from Istanbul (the new airport, that opened a week or so prior to my flight) to Amsterdam. It was an egg dish and it literally made my sick right away, and the journey home after landing (3 hours from Amsterdam at the time) wasn't pleasant! The flight to Istanbul from Amsterdam a week before was great, the food excellent. Sad end to a great trip back in 2019. This not so egg-ellent meal was on my last flight until 2021 because of Covid. Since then BA and KLM gave me good food, but nothing special. In July I'll fly Emirates from Frankfurt to Tokyo (via Dubai) so curious to see what the food is like. But given it's my first time on an A380, I think it won't even matter :-)
I think Turkish Airlines is overrated in general. There are definitely better carriers in Europe and the Middle East.
Great video. I’m new to your channel. Really appreciate the open & honest review. Lots of valuable information.
Minor Correction Narita is a considerably bigger Airport with more destinations and more flights. However Haneda is still quite busy and is indeed much closer to the city (20min via rail), Narita is 70min by rail to Tokyo Station.
Well, Narita is busier with cargo and international airlines, but in passenger numbers, Haneda is far bigger than Narita, having served slightly above 80mio passengers in 2019, while Narita had just about half as much in the same year. What you are right about though is that, if you look just at international passengers, Narita had more because almost all passengers at NRT are international.
@@simply_aviation I see I see, thank you for the explanation, also love the videos !
Taker off was butter smooth! I live in the MDW/ORD hub. I got UA, AA, and SW. I WISH Delta hubbed here. Seems like a cut above right now.
When boarding, the port side wing is visible. It looks like there are pieces of grey tape on it... To cover areas where the paint is peeling?
US airlines need to understand that they are so far behind when it comes to in-flight meals. I flew economy on Emirates and I was blown away at the quality of the meals.
I don't really have a bad comment on any airlines food, but if I'm being honest maybe the one in london to hong kong by cathay pacific during july 2022, I think the food wasn't the best and it is not too appetizing, ice cream is provided which is good but the main meal isn't the best.
U cannot deny, normal Polaris 1 way ticket 2-3k sometimes are like 4-5k. My problems are why United food selections on Polaris cannot match international careers level? (General US careers have the same problems) it looks exactly like economy food putted in heavier silver wear. If just for sleeping why would people spend 2-5k one way on United Polaris getting treated with animal foods instead spending similar amount of money on international careers like (JAL ANA EVA Cathay Singapore etc..)
Brutally Honest, the only things I care about are, Is the aircraft & power plants well maintained? We’re you comfortable? Was the flight on time?
1:56 VERYYY NICE
Excellent, please fly South African Airways again!
They basically don't exist anymore
@@cnvdh3514 yes they do 😡
@@cnvdh3514 They do.
You cracked me up big-time with the comments on the food 😆. Made my day actually. You are correct, United's food leaves a lot to be desired - and that's after flying it twice, once in economy and once in business. The business class flight was from BOM to EWR. Now I was grateful for actually having a nonstop flight back to the U.S. (this was when the pandemic was gaining ground while grounding air service), but you'd think UA would have the brains to load more snacks on board for a flight that's 15+ hours. The food wasn't that great either. And from I gather, this isn't a one-off thing. The economy offering was pretty meager and portions were rather small. Left me hungry, which isn't something I've ever said about other airlines lol.
Anyway, great video, I enjoy watching your reports. 👍
My worst meal without a doubt was with Lufthansa. I had booked an economy seat with points and of course was seated in the rear of the 747. By the time the meal service got to me there were no choices left .......... I received cabin temperature noodles with some "meat"? and cherry yogurt. This was a flight from Frankfurt to Vancouver (YVR)
I find Lufthansa food is just weird, some ingredient choices make me scratch my head
Narita also has the Narita Express which can easily get you to Tokyo
NEX is too expensive, take the bus. They both take the same amount of time but the bus is more than half the price of the NEX.
Best Meals on long haul flights are from ANA, Eva Air and Lufthansa in my opinion but for this price I can sacrifice the mediocre food
Great brutally honest review :) What a great price for such a long flight!
Did the AVOD include unskippable commercials? What speed was the very fairly priced internet? Were the bathrooms cleaned regularly? Basic meal quality keeps falling while special order meals keep growing. I wonder if there is a connection. (thanks for including your height vs. pitch)
So yes recently I had my worst meal which was an omelet and I think omelets are not good on flights as well as one gravy but there was one croissant and butter which was the only good thing on that flight.This was aboard on a Vistara A321 neo.
1:56 huzzah!!, a man of tradition
My worst flight meal was last year on American’s 777-300ER from DFW-LHR. The food was so dry, and the sides were inedible. Definitely do not want to have that same experience going to Europe again in a few weeks
I always fly JAL on my trips to the Philippines. Impeccable service and good meals!
When i flew united on a 767 from EWR-LHR they gave us not one but two hot meals on a 6 hour flight! sure they weren’t that good
I had a flight with united from houston to Amsterdam with a 777-200er with the new livery (which i really love) last year and the food was very good it was noodles with chicken also but they did it correctly the service and flight was amazing but the only thing i personally missed was ice cream we had a small cake with sprinkles i prefer ice cream tho😁
15:45 tb to summer of 2022 I was traveling to Italy on TAP and we had a 3 hour delay white sitting on the tarmac in the plane and as soon as we took off they started serving the meals. Thankfully I was in business class and the meal wasn’t bad but I remember it was some pasta dish with mushrooms and squash and while normally I don’t like mushrooms I just remember absolutely DEMOLISHING it in like 2 minutes it was the meal with like a salad and desert and a bread roll. All in all not the worst but one of the best meals I’ve had in recent memory
May you please fly one of the leased air India 777-200lr from delta?
Wow Aerolopa is simply amazing. Thanks for the shout out!
I absolutely appreciate your analysis of airline meals. Other channels typically gloss over the airline food. At least you got two meals per meal service! I wish I had that kind of pull. The worst meal service I had (non Covid era) was Lufthansa economy long haul from SFO to MUC. Bland chicken or mushy pasta. Breakfast was sad egg sandwich. Hands down worst (Covid era) was Avianca LAX to BOG - inedible cold ham and cheese sandwich with only water offered.
Agree with you - the food is important and airlines rarely get it right, especially in Economy Class. It really does leave a bad taste with you and a little more effort could make such a better impression. Some of my worst experience - ANA Economy International (I try to order Vegetarian instead). The best, Singapore Airlines Business - best coffee I have ever had (and service).
ANA was one of your WORST experiences???? 😳😳😳
How is that possible?
What route did you fly? 🤔
@@samroy5967 For *food* in coach it was one of my worst experiences. Food was overcooked and soggy. Route was ORD - HND. But other trips with ANA have had similar, not so great food experiences. Service on ANA, on the other hand, is super friendly.
Fun fact, both United and Singapore serve the exact same coffee onboard from Illy Coffee in Italy. The service is quite different, but the coffee grounds are the same.
I fly almost exclusively Lufthansa for a number of years now (usually FRA-LAX LAX-FRA). The food is cheap, but largely pretty palatable. Cheap doesn't have to be "BAD".
United and their Longhaul meal service is very much underwhelming. I try to avoid them when going to Japan as much as possible because ANA evening in economy makes you feel much better.
OMG your Tripreports are always perfect I always look up to you Simply Aviation I have been watching since 2018 simply aviation is why I came into tripreporting
Fried rice or eggs on a Northwest Airlines flight from JFK to NRT in 2000 was the worst!
I am flying with United for the first time in November, London to Houston, if the food is like that, I might bring some of my own, or just have a big meal before boarding, and wait until I get to the hotel for my evening meal, at least the entertainment looks good, and seats comfy enough. I always bring my own pillow for longer flights.
Not surprised to hear that the food was bad. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything positive regarding the food on United Airlines.
Always choose the Japan Airlines or ANA as the carrier when going to Japan.
Great video, as always, David, thanks a lot ! And thanks also for the aerolopa tip, it will be very useful for me ! 🙂
Here! Here! Thanks for that tip, too. United hasn't really changed much. The real deal is the cheap airfare you mentioned. Yes, the food does sucks, but when in doubt, my family and I just bring real snacks and some Japanese instant ramen bowls just in case the food really sucks. Thanks!
I am here because I will take the same UA 787 flight from Newark to Narita this July. By watching at the meals served I have the basic idea of how good(bad) that is (better if they serve hamburger, noodles are not their specialty). By the way the best meals I can recall were from JAL/ANA/Korean Air, and some other Asian airlines.
Talking about food on flights, most USA Airlines offer the same standard amenities on Long Haul flights so the food can really be the make or break difference in which airline you choose. Also, a tasty meal is a great way to make the passengers more friendly and relax some tension and nerves for nervous flyers.
Hi David, my wife and I really enjoy your videos. We just discovered your channel recently. We will be flying American Airlines Boeing, 787-8 between Dallas Fort Worth and Amsterdam in August 2023. Have you ever flown this route and what type of experience would you expect? We will be flying business class.
Omg new vid. I'm so happy you make our days better!
I never noticed that the center of the fuselage protrudes outward just behind the wings on the 789.
Great video! Had similar issues with the food on my last United flight from IAD to LHR. Something what bothered me was there was so much plastic. Plastic plates, cutlery, etc… United definitely has room for improvement here
It’s funny how United used to serve a small cup of ROCK HARD ice cream that you’re supposed to eat with a plastic spoon. 😂
I say used to - because now their dessert consists of either a cookie going one way or a small pack of chocolate truffles on the return route.
Ridiculous
I flew round trip to Rome from EWR on an old B777-200
The meal choice was pasta or Indian chicken curry
I know United has daily nonstop service from EWR to DEL but it was an odd choice for a flight to Italy even though the chicken was indeed delicious
The dessert on a meal tray was a cookie.
An individually packed small cookie. 😳
Beverages were served along the meal. In most other airlines flight attendants come with the beverage cart RIGHT AFTER the meal service to offer coffee/hot tea or water but not on United. 😂
An hour or so prior to landing in FCO Breakfast was served - Italian biscotti with Greek yogurt.
On the return flight from FCO to EWR meal choice consisted of pasta or Thai chicken curry
Again - interesting choice for a flight from Italy to USA.
The dessert was a small pack of French chocolate truffles.
Bread roll on both flights was cold straight out of the fridge
I was disappointed with meal options but tbh I didn’t have high expectations from an American carrier anyway - can’t compare to the service received on major Asian or MidEastern carriers.
At least I got a low fare flying BASIC ECONOMY and it took me to my destination nonstop, without the need of any transfers.
I’m unfamiliar with ITA (the new Italian airline that took over Alitalia) - it’s either them or the big 3 American carriers that fly nonstop between JFK/EWR to FCO
13:10 the water looks like the US
Great review and detail thanks you
I took United to Australia twice. Their aircraft are not very thoughtfully designed for longhaul flights. Minimal recline, narrow seats, standard legroom, pillow is on request, meals are mediocre and bare minimum with a cookie or cut fruits as the sweet dish. I also had the asian veggie noodles on my flight with them, the first time was alright but second time it was tough to eat and tasted overly sugary. The catering on the flights out of Australia were even more mediocre.
Weird how they managed to partner with emirates when the quality is so lacking imo
@@norwayspotter26 I honestly feel they did this to allow for better connectivity and network partnership,
i know its an old video but how was turbulence? thinking of taking this route, then to the philippines.
Best feeling in the world:
Waking up and watching an episode of brutally honest.
7:42 I loved watching the drag race with that other plane
My worst meals are also come from United from Chicago to Haneda (Tokyo). It was so salty & dry
My worst meal was with SQ SINGAPORE AIRLINES THEIR FISH AND MASHED POTATO WITH NO GRAVY
I really think you are right. Amazing foods are waiting after arrival!
I guess these seats are bad for long haul flights. I took a United 787-8 for a short 1 hour 30 minutes hub transfer flight and the seat was generous and very comfortable
I simply love your video intros!
Another great video, you are 100% in the right and those meals didn't even look appetizing. My worst meal was breakfast on QF1 from SIN to LHR where they used some crappy powdered eggs.
Another great video 👍
Thanks for sharing
Nice vid Simply Aviation! A few months ago ZIPAIR Tokyo started service to SJC, an airport near SFO but is less busier, and is my local airport. Perhaps that could be an idea for a future trip report?
Already filmed a report on Zipair from LAX to NRT! :) Brutally Honest episode coming soon, but spoiler: the flight was actually fantastic!
As a frequent long haul flyer, I flew Air Canada from Toronto-Vienna. Hands down the worst meal I’ve ever had it was Dijon chicken and the chicken was pink and they did not serve anything else but the meal and the bread nothing else. As a loyal flyer from Toronto-Vienna on Air Canada (which I fly 5 times a year) I was disappointed in the past flight I had
Wow wow David, awesome as always.. ✌🏻✌🏻
What was that thing at 2:31 which you seemed to scan?
It was a face scanner, many airports are adopting those instead of scanning boarding passes, because it is better for security.
If everything else was good, i guess their catering needs to be looked into. Thank you for flying economy.🙏😊
16:05 the little park, where Love Flight Jack does often his live streams of Narita. Great to see from a different angle!
You should try United from San Francisco to Taipei! Besides that, awesome video!
I definitely agree with yiu David that meal look very desirable 😢. For my worst experience with food would have to be on iberia from jfk to mad last year and for breakfast all we got was a Banana and a drink so so sad.
Hi there. I recently watched your review on Delta's HND-LAX flight. Do you prefer the catering on UA or DL?
This was filmed in July 2022? No wonder the price was so low. Japan didn't really reopen borders to non-group tour tourists until October 2022.
Absolutely fantastic video David!!
I'm with you on the meal. First and foremost I like to eat. So to have a bad meal is a real let down. It is a shame too bc I love the United Polaris product. I hope they fix that. And the pillows!!!! They need to fix that too!
SFO is my home airport and I have a lot of status with united and I agree with your review in economy the pillow is not good but in Polaris the gel pillow is a different story and I agree which the food on this flight and my favorite meal with united is the beef short rib or the Belgium waffle
I recently did a long haul flight from Houston to Rio and the food was okay.....no real complaints. No one can beat Lufthansa, which has been the best food experience I've had on an international flight so far.
Luftansa and Korean Air are wonderful. The economy in Korean air is so good.
I really don't have much problem fasting for 12 - 14 hours. My expectation, from experience, that UAL might serve food worth eating, would argue against putting them to the test. I would just wait and eat in Tokyo.
And this airline has now partnered with Emirates. Let's see how long it takes for Emirates to say enough!
Great trip report David and thanks for posting. I agree the catering left a lot to be desired!