summary
- United Airlines opened its first flight kitchen in Oakland, California, in 1936 to enhance the in-flight dining experience.
- This allows United to offer hot meals and a more diverse menu to passengers on transcontinental flights.
- United Airlines also pioneered in-flight dining, helping to usher in the golden age of air travel.
In-flight meals have changed dramatically over the years. Most of us are used to receiving a bag of peanuts or cookies unless we're willing to pay an exorbitant amount for a subpar sandwich made last week. But in the “golden age” of flying, prime rib was carved next to your seat while you sipped champagne. And it all started with United Airlines, when the airline turned to the in-flight dining experience to make up for mistakes they'd made with their airline orders.
Photo: Richard Foss
First meal
Handley Page Transport, an airline founded in 1919, was the first to offer in-flight meals on its London-Paris route in October of that year. The service was provided by “cabin boys” and cost 3 shillings (equivalent to about $15 today). Meals were simple, as there was no way to heat food on board, only lunch boxes with sandwiches and fruit.
The idea caught on, and soon Daimler Airlines (the precursor to Imperial Airways and eventually British Airways) had stewards who greeted passengers with glasses of fruit juice and offered food, cocktails, and hot drinks in thermoses. Airlines also began serving food and drinks to passengers during refueling and connecting flights, often in a nearby hangar.
United take a bold step
Across the Atlantic in the 1920s, Western Air Express (the precursor to Western Airlines) served the first American in-flight meals on its Fokker F-10s between Los Angeles and San Francisco. United Airlines, its rival on north-south routes along the West Coast, had to respond.
United Airlines had another challenge. The airline ordered 60 of the new Boeing 247s, which entered service in 1933, for an unprecedented $3.5 million. But a few months later, the DC-3 arrived. It was bigger, faster, and passengers liked it, and it began being bought by competitors like American Airlines and TWA. United couldn't afford to throw away its brand new planes, so it had to come up with another attraction to complement its smaller, slower aircraft. The answer was to offer a unique in-flight dining experience.
Related
90 years since first flight: The story of the Boeing 247
This historic aircraft was the forerunner of passenger air travel as we know it.
World's first flight kitchen opens
To make this unique experience possible, United Airlines opened the world's first on-board kitchen in Oakland, California in 1936. The kitchen was strategically located near United's hub in San Francisco to provide fresh meals for transcontinental flights. To coincide with this, United also installed kitchens on its Boeing 247s (and later DC-3s, when they acquired them) to assist with meal preparation.
Photo: United Airlines
The flight kitchen in Oakland started with six employees, preparing 50-60 meals each day. Menus were created a month in advance and submitted to headquarters for approval. This was to provide variety so frequent flyers wouldn't eat the same dishes too often, and also to help United's marketing department promote in-flight service and specific menu items to differentiate the service.
Photo: United Airlines
Innovation in in-flight dining
This kitchen was a major step forward in enhancing passengers' dining experience and included several innovations.
- Fresh and hot meals: This was the first time that fresh, hot meals had been served on a commercial aircraft, a major step up from the cold, prepackaged meals served on other airlines.
- International Chef: The kitchen started small, but soon hired chefs from Switzerland, Austria and France to incorporate a variety of international flavours into the menu.
- the study: United has invested significant research into understanding how altitude and cabin pressure affect fresh foods and has adjusted its menus accordingly.
- package: The hot meals were wrapped in thick paper, placed in boxes and transported on the plane in electrically heated compartments to keep them fresh.
- Passenger feedback: United Airlines actively solicited passenger feedback on its menus and regularly introduced new dishes based on that feedback.
- marketing: Kitchen menus often included information about the flight kitchen, a photo or illustration of the chef, and a list of the chef's qualifications.
Most importantly, United has found a way to create a unique connection with its passengers and provide a truly differentiated service. Air and Space Food: The Surprising History of Aerial Foods and Drinksis best expressed as follows:
“What United has discovered on long-haul flights is that food is more than just nutrition. It's an opportunity for flight attendants to connect with passengers, create a luxurious and special experience, and turn a potentially stressful experience into a comfortable one with a fresh meal.”
Moving forward with new ideas
The Oakland kitchen was such a success that United added additional kitchens to its hubs in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, strengthening United's reputation for delivering a premium in-flight dining experience and standardizing the service on every flight. Mainliner Chef's Favorite Recipeswas a compilation of recipes published in the airline's in-flight magazines and an opportunity to promote professional chefs and their culinary skills.
As competitors intensified their push, United tried to maintain its market leadership. Perhaps most impressively, beginning in 1953, it launched daily “executive” flights between Los Angeles and San Francisco and Chicago and New York, a sort of gentlemen's club with wings: single-malt whiskey and gin martinis, the finest Cuban cigars, and a full-course steak dinner table served by two flight attendants.
Photo: United Airlines
Unfortunately, luxury in-flight dining experiences are now a distant memory on U.S. transcontinental flights, where meals are typically only offered in first class on select international airlines. United Airlines has also stepped forward: Bowing to cost-cutting pressures and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline recently closed five of its U.S. kitchen facilities and transferred all operations to three outside contractors.
Related
