Time into flight dinner is served on UA760

Upvote:2

I have taken multiple evening flights and service is always shortly after departure, as soon as the plane settles to cruising mode and the crew can get the ovens going.

By personal preference, I would always eat at the airport rather than take a late meal. For one, eating (basically) microwave food in an airplane seat, oftentimes next to a stranger, is not something I crave. (If you have an aisle seat you have the added bonus of people constantly walking or bumping into you). For another, I find I get better quality and selection at the airport, I can usually find more pleasant seating arrangements, and I can usually go to the washrooms without queuing. Finally, the reason I chose these flights is to get some rest at normal sleep times so I use this time to put the music through the headphones and relax.

Upvote:6

It varies per individual flight, but in general it will be as soon as practical for an overnight flight, especially one which departs that late, within a few common constraints:

  • The initial ascent out of the airport needs to be complete (this may or may not mean cruising altitude depending on the flight). This is mostly because there can be a handful of things that the flight attendants need to deal with during the initial ascent.
  • There needs to be little to no turbulence.
  • There needs to be nothing else going on that requires the flight crew's attention (sounds obvious, but I have been on a flight where the initial meal service was delayed due to the flight attendants having to deal with a couple of unruly passengers).
  • There needs to be enough time for the meals to actually heat up.

I’ve not personally flown on UA 760, but for all the transatlantic flights I’ve been on, the meal service typically started within 30-60 minutes of takeoff. The only exceptions for me have been the above mentioned flight where it was delayed, and one a flight that left at about 15:00 local time (almost exactly between 'normal' meal times for the locale), where it was served closer to two hours in to the flight.

If you are particularly worried though, I would suggest planning to eat at the airport if possible, and just skip the dinner service on the plane. Alternatively, you may be able to get served on the plane a bit earlier if you select one of the non-standard meal options, though I’m not sure if United specifically does this.

Upvote:22

Almost all flight crews try to get the main service going as soon as it's practical. That's even more so on a red eye flight so passengers can get a maximum of uninterrupted sleep time in.

Unless there there is unusual turbulence or weather, dinner service should start 30 to 60 minutes after take off. Some airlines run a pre-dinner drink service first, but I don't think United is doing this at the moment.

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