Update, 12/11: United tells me that they are currently in the process of looking for local purveyors that can supply kosher meals in each of their domestic Polaris lounges!
Polaris lounges are accessible to customers flying Star Alliance international long-haul business or first class. Domestic Polaris lounges are located in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco, and Washington/IAD, though the California Polaris lounges are temporarily closed until sometime in Q1 2022.
Originally posted on 12/10:
After months of campaigning to get kosher meals brought back onto United flights, United exclusively tells DansDeals that they will be restoring kosher meal service systemwide!
Currently, United serves kosher meals on flights in both directions on all Tel Aviv flights and on Newark-London and San Francisco-Sydney flights.
Here is the full restoration schedule:
- Effective immediately: Kosher meals are available on all long-haul international flights, when departing from Newark. No kosher meals available on return flights.
- Effective 12/14: Kosher meals are available on all short-haul international flights, when departing from Newark. No kosher meals available on return flights.
- Effective 12/14: Kosher meals are available on all domestic flights that are 2,000+ miles, when departing from Newark. No kosher meals available on return flights.
- Effective 1/1: Kosher meals are available on all international flights, when departing from United hub airports (Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington/IAD). No kosher meals available on return flights.
- Effective 1/1: Kosher meals are available on all flights to Hawaii, when departing from United hub airports. No kosher meals available on return flights.
- Effective 1/1: Kosher meals are available on all domestic flights that are 2,000+ miles in both directions.
- Effective 2/1: Kosher meals are available on all international flights in both directions.
- Effective 2/1: Kosher meals are available on all Hawaii flights in both directions.
Here is where you’ll find kosher meals on United:
- Kosher meals are available on flights and in cabins where passengers are offered an entrée meal service. That includes:
- First class on domestic flights longer than 2,000 miles. That includes flights like Newark to Phoenix or Cleveland to Los Angeles. You can use the Great Circle mapper to check the distance between airports.
- First class on Hawaii flights
- Business/First class on short-haul international flights
- All cabins on long-haul international flights.
- On domestic and Hawaii flights where a Premium Plus cabin is sold, you would also be able to request kosher meals in that cabin.
- On flights between Hawaii and Chicago, Newark, and Washington DC, coach passengers will also be able to request a kosher meal.
Perhaps best of all, United will now serve fresh meals from Fresko on all departures from Newark instead of frozen Borenstein meals! I covered the original Fresko announcement here when it launched to Tel Aviv and chatted with United and Fresko about their partnership at the Kosher Food and Wine Event in 2020. Now it will be expanded to all routes instead of just Tel Aviv, giving United a big advantage over their competitors serving frozen Borenstein meals.
I also asked United if they are still planning on adding kosher meals to their Polaris lounge product in Newark as they had planned to do before COVID and will update this post when they respond about that.
You will need to contact United or request a meal under “manage reservations” to request a kosher meal for your existing flights, even if you have kosher meals listed in your preferences. As always, 24 hours advance notice is required.
United will also restore other special meals (Asian, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free) in all markets in Q1 2022.
Will this news make you choose United for your next flight?
Good news. I wish the 2k mile distance was a drop shorter. No meals out of Chicago, even if you fly into LAX or PHX which are about 1700 miles.
ORD to Hawaii and international will have, but yes, that 2K cutoff is a shame.
CLE-LAX/SFO get kosher meals, but CLE-LAS/PHX do not because of that.
As always, send United your feedback!
Borenstein/Regal are awful and no airline should be using this company.
Have lax-ewr in March. Won’t allow meal update yet. I assume need to wait till 1/1
In first or premium plus I assume?
Probably try calling or Tweeting them.
Business to be precise
Try calling/Tweeting and let us know what they say.
On Twitter:
We sincerely appreciate your patience. To try and further limit potential exposure to COVID-19 on board, we made somechanges to our inflight service. We regret we’re unable to offer special meals at this time.
Lol, guess they didn’t get the memo yet.
Let us know what happens if you try calling.
No, plane food is dog food. The Delta meals we had tlv-jfk were gross.
Did you read the bold red font in the post?
Added to the title to make it even more visible 🙂
Thank you Dan for being our advocate! I personally reached out with feedback to United for not having kosher”due to Covid “
It takes a village (of feedback), but glad we got it done.
Dan:
I usually fly Ual from ewr to lax roundtrip economy will the meals be available to me as well??
No, Premium Economy or Business only.
HNL-LAX Feb 2?
Looks like Yes!
Effective 2/1: Kosher meals are available on all Hawaii flights in both directions.
Dan you are the man!! Thanks!!
Good timing!
Recently flew from the EU to USA with United. Upon booking I complained to United about the lack of kosher meals and they gave me the crappy excuse about limiting covid exposure. I said I’m not buying it because tlv flights get kosher meals so don’t you need to limit exposure on those flights too?!?! They gave me 5k miles to shut me up.
On the flight I told the flight attendant who came around to take meal orders (this was in J) that I can only eat non cut up fruit because there had been no way for me to order a kosher meal in advance. He apologized and said to write to United which I told him I already had done. He came back a few minutes later and gave me $150 ETC on the spot! I’ll take $150 any time instead of their usually inedible meals….
It’s about time!
Anything but those disgusting inedible Borenstein meals. Don’t understand how they’re even in business anymore. Would rather starve.
@Dan, I have a kosher caterer here in Chicago that would be interested in partnering with United as the local purveyor for the ORD Polaris Lounge, and possibly even for in-flight catering a la Fresko at EWR. Would you be able to help make an introduction to your contact at UA? Or do you have another idea of how they might be able to reach out to UA?
I’m not a stakeholder here, beyond being a customer of both the caterer and United, who would like to see them offer quality kosher food!
TIA
I’d be happy to pass the info along, just send me an email.
Or show up at Willis Tower and sell in person 🙂
Thanks, I’ll pass that along to them!
Great news! What was the way to get into an airport without a ticket! Dan, I remember you wrote about it ages ago.
Wondering if United going to have a kosher meal in JFK for United Club MileagePlus pass holders.
Now if we can just get them to change the schedule from ORD to TLV back so we can fly more than one day a week….
coach ewr to den offers cookies + soda – any reason why they cant get KOSHER cookies for their Kosher pax? i understand sold meals on board more complex to stock for few kosher pax, but snacks should be easy. OU milk also didnt have. why? so easy to find certified kosher milk in the US, EWR etc
Thanks DAN
Just confirmed my kosher meal on my Tuesday flight to Amsterdam.
You’re always beneficial.
all the united lounges will have kosher food ?
Or only if flying Polaris ?
Just flew nonstop ORD-OGG and received no kosher meals. Any recompense?
Other passenger breakfast was rolls, yogurt and cut fruit. Guess still not doing regular hot meals.
Flying from BWI to LAX this coming week in J and no KSML offered in my “pre-flight meal choice” email today. :((
Call?
So what kosher options are at the EWR Polaris lounge right now?
A lady walking around collecting used glasses etc was excited to see frum people and ran to get us pareve pretzels.
I reached out to United again via Twitter about when gluten-free meals will be returning since we have an upcoming overnight flight in premium economy to France with my mom, who has celiac disease, and they told me: “We’re unable to offer special meals except for Kosher meals on flights between the US and Tel Aviv, New York/Newark and London Heathrow (starting July 1), and San Francisco and Sydney (starting August 1).” That sounds to me like they won’t be restoring non-kosher special meals at all. (Which shocks me, not even vegetarian or kids, and there are a lot of people who need gluten-free.) I replied to ask them to confirm that’s what this means. It’s not consistent with what they told you. Huge reduction in service for us when my mom can’t eat anything, even in business.
No Kosher Meal options on the tlv-sfo as of Feb 15, (for flight on April 1)
Call United.
Dan do you have press release that says international kosher options available in both directions as of 2/1?
https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/inflight/dining/special.html
i flew ewr cdg on 2/15 and got my KSML no issue i am supposed to fly cdg IAD on 2/24 i hope it will be there…
the week before on ewr tlv it was not!!! but we got them anyway thanks to some extras on the return on 2/5 we received them
it is even harder to figure it now> Profile or not status or not it never hurts to confirm directly with the airline
I believe the Polaris Club in Newark does not have kosher food or wine. What should we do to improve the situation.
bump, this is silly. why not provide some basic fresko stuff? wasnt there a deal?