Nearly two weeks after United Airlines switched to a new catering provider in San Francisco, major problems are still persisting, with planes being left without enough food and flight attendants reporting chaos as they attempt to work out the catering meltdown.
The situation has gotten so bad that flight attendants are now vowing to avoid San Francisco International Airport altogether so that they don’t have to deal with the mess… and the complaints from passengers.
- ‘This s*it is out of hand’ – flight attendants rage at catering mess in San Francisco
- What is behind the chaos unfolding at San Francisco International Airport?
- The situation is so bad that flight attendants Are Actively Avoiding SFO
- How long will it take to resolve the catering meltdown in San Francisco?
- Matt’s take – US airline catering is so often very bad
‘This s*it is out of hand’ – flight attendants rage at catering mess in San Francisco
On Sunday, a United Airlines flight attendant shared a photo of what the current catering situation was like at San Francisco International Airport in a post on the popular social media site Reddit. What it showed was a galley in disarray with snack boxes loaded in trash bags and practically every stowage open as the crew member tried to reorganize their workspace.
“This SFO s*it is out of hand,” the flight attendant wrote. “I’m about to work a Red Eye and I had to build the whole galley…. I’m not joking. From the moment I opened the first cart I knew I wasn’t helping during boarding. I spent 45 minutes piecing together a beverage cart, and snack cart.”
The flight attendant added in her scathing post: “They gave me trash bags of pretzels and some Take Off boxes. I built the snack cart and it’s sad. The beverage cart is just parts of soda and juices. But hell…. I have enough ice to sink the Titanic.”
What is behind the chaos unfolding at San Francisco International Airport?
On May 15, United Airlines brought in a new catering supplier in San Francisco, replacing long-time vendor Gate Gourmet with LSG Sky Chefs, an international aviation catering company that was owned by the German airline Lufthansa until 2023 when it was sold to global investor group Aurelius.
To say that the switchover has faced some teething issues would be kind. In the first few days of the change, LSG was struggling to cater United flights out of San Francisco with even basic supplies like bottled water and ambient pre-packaged snacks.
The normal First Class catering, which should feature fresh hot food, was completely missing on transcontinental flights, and even some long-haul flights were even being despatched with ambient snacks replacing the usual fresh food that should have been onboard.
The situation is so bad that flight attendants Are Actively Avoiding SFO
Flight attendants have been on the front line of the catering meltdown, facing angry passengers who haven’t been getting the service they were promised while trying to work through what the catering company has managed to load onboard.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, some flight attendants have now vowed to avoid San Francisco until the new catering company has got to grips with the situation.
“It’s been a largely unmitigated disaster for the past two weeks due to staffing and other logistics issues,” one flight attendant wrote on Reddit. Another said: ‘Note to self… Avoid SFO.”
That’s a sentiment shared by many of United’s flight attendants who want to avoid the mess taking place in San Francisco until things have calmed down.
How long will it take to resolve the catering meltdown in San Francisco?
Things aren’t looking good, unfortunately. The union, which represents flight attendants at United, warned that “service modification” could continue for several weeks.
“It is possible that additional catering or service modifications, beyond what was already modified, may take place,” a memo from the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) continued.
Passengers on flights that have been proactively identified as having a catering shortfall will, however, be offered a $15 food voucher to spend at an airport food concession before boarding their flight.
Matt’s take – US airline catering is so often very bad
Any flight attendant who regularly flies around the United States or from the country will be able to tell you that airline catering at US airports leaves a lot to be desired.
I’m not quite sure what the problem is, but basic supplies are often missing, and this is never the case at other airports around the world.
Flight attendants often share photos of their flights being stocked with branded supplies from another airline–an American Airlines flight with United branded paper cups or a Delta flight with American Airlines branded napkins.
How this has become acceptable is beyond me but this is what US flight attendants are working with on a daily basis.
There are so many problems here:
1. United has a longstanding history of poor catering in premium cabins. This long predates the Continental takeover. The catering has almost always been better on American and Delta. The Polaris business class lounges, brilliant bedding, and comfortable seat are wrecked by poor catering. Continental made the crushing choice to stick with legacy United catering, not Continental’s own beautiful BusinessFirst service.
2. All three US major carriers have cut staffing, especially on premium, long-haul flights. There are inadequate crew to prepare or serve meals appropriately. As a consequence, the meals have to constructed in a simpler fashion. The A321 has become a popular aircraft, even for transoceanic flights, and it notoriously lacks galley space. There is no room to store or prepare meals.
3. Premium demand is higher. Premium cabins are full, and the airlines are struggling to prepare.
4. Cutlery and other items from the wrong airline are common on regional flights since the regional carriers contract with more than one major carrier.
5. Americans seems to tolerate lousy catering, even on more expensive, premium services. There isn’t much of a choice. COVID-era “snack boxes” are still the norm on many long flights in first class (all Delta flights to/from Canada, for example.) The airlines are making shocking revenues while hailing Tostitos (American Airlines) as an exciting new option.
6. SFO is an expensive hub: labor, taxes, etc. make it especially difficult in terms of staffing and procurement. But United charges premium airfares that more than compensate for these geographic factors. They COULD do better; they just choose to keep the money for their investors.
Only water on a 3.5 hours flight to Mexico from SFO last week. Sitting in economy plus. Complained in writing to UA . No response.