United expands food and beverage services with contactless payment technology
United customers on most flights over two hours will be able to purchase beer, wine and White Claw Hard Seltzer, making United the first major airline to offer the hard seltzer onboard its aircraft, starting June 1st.
United will introduce a revamped menu of for-purchase snacks and brand-new premium cabin meal options on most flights over 1,500 miles and hub-to-hub flights over 800 miles or more than two hours. Customers will be able to purchase these offerings from the Buy-On-Board menu using United’s new mobile wallet technology.
“We know that having a wide variety of gourmet food and beverage options is important to our customers and we look forward to introducing these exciting, new options to enhance their flying experience,” said Toby Enqvist, Chief Customer Officer for United. “Our new contactless payment technology enables us to safely introduce this new menu on select flights as we continue to see more customer return to flying.”
United’s revamped adult beverage menu features a number of options sourced locally from United’s hubs, along with customer favourites from iconic brands such as Kona Brewing Co. Big Wave Golden Ale, Michelob ULTRA and Breckenridge Brewery Juice Drop Hazy IPA.
United’s new snack boxes offer three distinct experiences for travellers of all ages and tastes:
Tapas Box: Hummus, bruschetta, breadstick crackers, flatbread crackers, sea salt almonds, olives, dark chocolate sea salt caramel
Takeoff Box: Salami, apricots, gouda cheese spread, white cheddar cheese spread, multigrain crackers, cream crackers, smoked almonds, Toblerone
Recline Box: Pirate’s Booty white cheddar puffs, honey mustard pretzels, gummi bears, OREO cookies
In addition to the popular Pringles Classic potato chips, United is adding three new a la carte snacks to its menu to give customers a larger variety of options, including high-protein and gluten-free options. The revamped menu includes:
Trü Frü Banana Bites: hyper-dried bananas covered in dark chocolate
Food Should Taste Good Chips & Salsa Box: gluten-free, sweet potato “tortilla” chips with roasted pepper salsa
GourmetNut Mega Omega Trail Mix: snack mix with walnuts, dried mango, almonds, cranberries, pumpkin seeds
To purchase select drinks and snack items onboard a flight, United’s contactless payment system allows customers to store their payment information in a digital wallet on the United app and on United.com prior to departure.
Once in flight, customers can access a menu to view available items either on the United app and in Hemispheres.
Rather than handing the flight attendant a credit card, the flight attendant will ask for the customer’s name and seat to confirm the card on file. Once confirmed, customers will receive their products and the card on file will be charged accordingly.
United is also introducing brand-new meal offerings to customers seated in domestic premium cabins on flights over 1,500 miles and hub-to-hub flights over 800 miles. The enhanced meal service includes a choice of entrees – including fresher options like egg scramble with plant-based chorizo and grilled chicken breast with orzo and lemon basil pesto – sides and dessert. United has also partnered with Eli’s Cheesecake to create a uniquely United chocolate pie flavour called “Pie in the Sky.” The meals will be served on one tray, with items individually wrapped, to limit person-to-person contact and further the safety of our employees and customers.