United Airlines is experiencing a catering meltdown at its San Francisco (SFO) hub, leaving passengers–even in first class–without food and drinks on many flights. As United transitions from one catering contractor to another, the source of the problem is not yet clear.

Catering Meltdown For United Airlines in SFO – The Latest Updates

A transition from Gate Gourmet to LSG Sky Chefs began last Thursday, with LSG now responsible for all of United’s catering at SFO. The transition has not been smooth:

• Some longhauls flights have faced long delays to account for catering provisioning
• Many domestic flights, including transcontinental flights, have been stocked wtih no food at all
• Beverages have also been limited, with some “coffee or water only” flights and some flights with no drinks at all or no ice
• Some first class passengers have been receiving pre-packaged snacks or snack boxes instead of meals

United told Live And Let’s Fly:

United is working through a transition in our catering provider in San Francisco. Some flights have been delayed while we make sure they are stocked with the correct meals for their trip and others have not had the usual availability of meals we strive for. In those cases, we are reaching out to customers to make things right. We’re sorry for these delays and we’re working to ease this transition and get back to our regular level of catering service in San Francisco.

United hopes to return to “regular” catering levels by the end of this week, but an internal memo to flight attendants warns that catering disruptions could occur for the next sevearl weeks.

What Really Happened?

Scolding United is not going to make the situation better, but I view this as an unforced error. Yes, even for an established catering company like LSG, the transition to such a big contract at United’s largest West Coast hub was certain to have some hiccups.

But what happened is not clear. It’s too early to blame United, LSG, or Gate Gourmet…we just don’t know what is going on behind the scenes or what may have led to this. You can bet if this was LSG not being prepared, United will hold them accountable.

My theory is that LSG expected many employees from Gate Gourmey simply to pivot over to LSG and that may not have occurred. Think about it: when Gate Gourmet lost its primary customer at SFO (United has a market share of about 47%), it most likely suddenly had a huge surplus of employees and of course, LSG, taking on a huge new customer, had to ramp up its hiring.

The expectation was likely that Gate Gourmet workers were offered a job at LSG, but maybe many didn’t take it…or maybe LSG simply does not have the equipment yet at SFO to take on a huge new client.

But one would expect United to work that out in advance as part of its due diligence. One might also expect United to negotiate a period of transition, even if it had to pay for both caterers for a week, to ensure the transition went smoothly.

No matter who is at fault, this mess was avoidable.

CONCLUSION

United is suffering a catering meltdown at SFO this week as it switches contractors from LSG to Gate Gourmet. As customers have experienced over the weekend, you might be in for a rude awakening on your flights from SFO, especially if you arrive hungry. Prepare yourself in advance by assuming your flight will not have food or beverages onboard..that’s your safest bet, at least for the next few days.