United Now Offers Travelers The Option To Preorder Food, Drinks

United travelers now have the option to preorder food and beverages, according to a press release from the company.

Customers, regardless of which cabin they fly in, can use the United app to preorder meals, snacks and beverages up to five days before they fly, the release stated. Selections can be made in the Reservation Details section of the app. Customers in the economy cabin can order snacks and drinks from United’s buy-on-board menu, while premium customers can order meals from the app or website directly.

“Our new preorder option reflects the customer experience transformation taking place at United — customers in our economy cabins will have an easy, convenient way to choose their snack or drink, and our flight attendants can move through the cabin faster, delivering more personalized service,” said United Chief Customer Officer Toby Enqvist in the release. “This new feature also builds on our existing contactless payment technology, which has enabled us to safely resume our inflight food and beverage program on select flights.”

In addition, customers buying food and beverages while on board will be able to store payment information in a digital wallet for contactless payments, with flight attendants just asking for a users’ name and seat to confirm the card they have on file, according to the release.

United has also said it will be debuting new items for sale, the release stated.

As travel was hit hard by the pandemic, United is trying to win back big, with an expansion of its fleet this year showing its confidence in the return of travel, PYMNTS reported.

United wants to capture as much of the returning travel population as possible, and it also has planned more hub expansions in Denver and Chicago. Systemwide, the company plans to grow 4 percent to 6 percent over the next several years.