United Airlines Enhances In-Flight Dining With New Meals and Aperol Spritz

CHICAGO- United Airlines (UA) is launching a range of upgraded food and drink options across its network starting June 2025. These enhancements include a return of warm snacks on select hub to hub flights and the debut of the popular Aperol Spritz cocktail onboard.

Denver and other major hubs will benefit from refreshed meal offerings, especially in first class and United Express flights. The summer menu revamp also features a limited time Caramel Cloud sundae in Polaris.

Photo: Flyertalk

United Airlines New Meals

United Airlines (UA) is rolling out a new and refresh of its onboard meals and beverage services starting in June 2025.

The airline aims to enhance passenger satisfaction by upgrading meals across multiple cabin classes and introducing popular beverages like the Aperol Spritz.

These changes come after several years of scaled back catering due to pandemic related cost cutting measures.

One major update involves first class snack service on select hub to hub flights between 800-900 miles.

While full meal service has not yet returned to these routes, United is improving offerings with warm options such as apricot sweet rolls in the morning and margherita pizza twists in the afternoon. Routes affected include:

• Chicago O’Hare (ORD) – Denver (DEN)
• Houston George Bush (IAH) – Denver (DEN)
• Los Angeles (LAX) – Denver (DEN)

These enhancements aim to improve the travel experience for frequent flyers connecting through United’s key hubs.

Photo: Flyertalk

United Express Adds Expanded Meal Boxes

The airline is also significantly improving meals on United Express operated flights, which had lagged behind in post-pandemic recovery.

Passengers flying premium class on these regional services will now be offered new, curated meal boxes tailored for variety and dietary needs.

Meal box options include:

• Cured Meat & Cheese Box: Featuring an assortment of meats, cheeses, nuts, and dried fruit.
• Fresh Vegetarian Box: Includes a grilled vegetable wrap, pasta salad, and apple cinnamon crumble.
• Cheese Platter Box: Offers multiple cheese varieties with pickled vegetables and crisps.
• Chicken Lunch Box: A chicken caesar wrap, poke chicken bowl, and chocolate lava cake.
• Mediterranean Vegetarian Box: A complete Mediterranean mix with salad, olives, hummus, and crackers.
• Tex-Mex Box: Includes a Tex-Mex salad, nachos, spicy salami, and hot chocolate bar.

These boxes elevate the regional flight experience, offering fresh, flavorful alternatives that are more aligned with mainline first-class standards.

Photo: United Airlines

Polaris Class Caramel Sundae

For passengers traveling in United Polaris business class during June and July, a new dessert will be added to the signature sundae cart.

The Sky High Caramel Cloud Sundae blends caramel toffee crunch ice cream by Tillamook with olive oil lemon cake crumbles, glazed pecans, and a rich caramel drizzle.

Topped with whipped cream and a cherry, the dessert adds a seasonal indulgence to long-haul premium travel.

This limited-time offering joins the classic vanilla bean sundae and reinforces United’s investment in offering high end culinary options on flagship international services.

Photo: Clément Alloing

United’s Aperol Spritz

Later this summer, United will introduce Aperol Spritz onboard, expanding its inflight cocktail lineup.

The refreshing Italian drink will be complimentary in premium cabins and available for purchase in economy, aligning with United’s strategy of offering elevated but accessible beverage options.

This move follows other enhancements such as the inclusion of cold brew coffee, craft cocktails, and upgraded wine selections in both Polaris and domestic premium cabins.

The Aperol Spritz was previewed during the Polaris 2.0 event in Brooklyn and is expected to be a popular summer refreshment choice.

Photo: liveandletsfly

Conclusion

Despite the broader challenges facing the airline industry, United Airlines (UA) continues to reinvest in the passenger experience.

From new warm snacks on short-haul premium flights to creative sundae offerings and sophisticated drink selections, these updates signal a commitment to quality across all service tiers.

While full meal service on sub 900 mile flights remains paused, these enhancements reflect steady progress toward a more satisfying onboard experience.

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