cheeseburger Archives - TravelSkills

United bags a new cheeseburger for $10

October 19, 2017

United’s new smoked gouda cheeseburger on a square bun should appeal to the hipster palate! (Image: United)

Remember when United rolled out its inflight cheeseburger for $12 last year? It quickly became an in-flight favorite with more than 2,000 served every day. Back then we reported that first class passengers were passing up their plated lunches and instead asking for the cheeseburger served in a brown paper bag from the back of the plane.

Based on that success, United food scientists went back to the drawing board to create a new cheeseburger that it will roll out starting November 1.

Here’s how United is describing the new square-bunned, smoky-tasting cheeseburger it will serve on domestic flights of more than 3.5 hours:

“It started with the great burger you like and we found a great, new bread by, Brooklyn-based Company, “Brooklyn Bred” (you’ll recognize some of their breads if you frequent Starbucks …) and we are partnering with Sir Kensington’s – on new condiments too. The new burger patty comes from the same place as the current one – it’s all beef! The cheese is Smoked Gouda, with condiments and Sir Kensington mustard, ketchup and mayo.

We tested 25-30 variations of the cheeseburger on flights and asked customers and flight attendants for feedback. Swiss and Smoked Gouda were the final two cheese choices and Smoked Gouda won unanimously in the feedback. Research was conducted inflight over the course of one month.”

Here’s another look at the burger from United’s fall bistro-on-board menu (Image: United)

United’s new Smoked Gouda Cheeseburger is $10 and with chips, it’s $12.00 (Image: United)

Were any TravelSkills readers on those taste-testing flights? If so, we’d like to hear from you. What did you think?

And if you are in downtown San Francisco today, THURSDAY (Oct 19), you can give the new Gouda burger a try yourself. Sir Kensington will have a food truck parked at 400 California Street (at Sansome) dishing out free burgers, fries and swag to celebrate its #BurgerOnBoard partnership with United. The truck will be downtown for 10:30 am and 1 pm, then it will head to SFO so passengers and United employees can bite into the burgers– and try out those fancy new condiments.

If you go, please take photos and sent them to us! We’ll post them here and on our social media stream.

Here’s the ingredient list for United’s new burger.

Fancy condiments? Ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard? Well, yes, according to this video from Sir Kensington’s, it’s almost artisanal. Mayonnaise is made from “certified humane free range eggs.” Ketchup comes from “fresh tomatoes, not concentrate. ”

Don’t miss our in-depth look at United’s original cheeseburger

Starting November 1, the new smoked gouda cheeseburger will replace the original one on US flights. However, the original, served on a pretzel bun, will remain on Canada-originating flights through next March.

Note that the new burger is almost 2 oz. smaller than old one — 5.95 oz. vs. 7.45– which appears to be a downgrade to those with healthy appetites. However, a spokesperson tells TravelSkills the the reduction in weight is due to the switch away from the dense pretzel roll to the lighter, thinner Brooklyn Bred bun. The weight of the meat and cheese remains the same, he said.

So give the burger a try and let us know what you think in the comments. And also let us know what you think about United’s current cheeseburger offering.

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Most popular: Marriott policy change + Domestic 747 + Cheeseburgers + American inch

June 18, 2017

Starting June 15 a new cancellation policy went into effect at all Marriott and Starwood properties like the Le Meridien in Atlanta (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order):

1 Marriott/Starwood confirms restrictive new cancellation policy

2 United adds 11 new nonstops to Hawaii

3 Routes: United, Domestic Delta 747 flight, Virgin America, Southwest, Frontier

4 Alaska’s new double miles partner promotion

5 Cheeseburgers, pizza take off in economy class

A back of the bus burger on United– very good! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

6 Another Mideast carrier cuts U.S. service

7 Airport news: Denver, LAX, San Diego, Houston, Las Vegas

8 American gives back an inch

9 Delta, TSA test fingerprints as boarding passes

10 Reader Report: Final ride on a Delta 747

Watch Boeing show off its sleek and nimble new jets in this video released for this week’s Paris Air Show.

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

Beware when connecting through Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport! Here’s a tip from reader D.M.:

You may have addressed this earlier and I missed it but Europe travelers need to know to avoid connections at CDG at all costs. I recently went to Venice, via CDG, and even though it was through Delta (and adhered to their minimum connection times at CDG) it still took nearly two hours to connect to an Air France flight into VCE. Needless to say, we missed the original connection and had to take a later flight. Upon returning to ATL, I discussed this with three other frequent Europe travelers who confirmed that they had the same recent experiences in CDG. Part of the problem is the layout and part is the fact that, with about 200 people attempting to connect to other concourses, the French police only had two agents checking passports and documents for intra-airport passengers.

Air France’s bhub at Paris Charles de Gaulle. (Image: Parisinfo.com)

Trump’s new travel ban- on Americans

“Manspreading” banned in Spain

Take a look at Delta’s newest bird: The Airbus A350

Expansion plans Atlanta’s popular Concourse T, housing United, American & Delta gates

Oy: United flight attendants to earn $50 for hawking Chase cards on planes

United: More than 30 percent of main cabin customers are buying Basic Economy

DOT saw a spike in passenger complaints after release of United ‘dragging’ video

Southwest tests dual-door deplaning at two California airports

See a United 767 spewing fuel from a wing just before takeoff at Newark

First look: Cabin designs for El Al’s new Dreamliners

How hotels are upgrading their fitness facilities

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

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Cheeseburgers, pizza take off in economy class

June 15, 2017

Chris McGinnis trying United’s new $12 cheeseburger- It’s a mouthful and requires a lot of elbow room (Photo: Barkley Dean)

How about a hot, juicy cheeseburger on your next transcon flight? In economy class at that?

United introduced a new $12 cheeseburger option to its buy-on-board menu in January, and it seems to be taking off.

UPDATE! In Nov 2017, United introduced a new smoked gouda cheeseburger to replace the one mentioned in this post. Read all about that burger here.

United spokesperson Jonathan Guerin told TravelSkills that the cheeseburger is now one of the most popular Bistro on Board items, with the airline now serving more than 2,000 per day. The carrier serves the cheeseburger on most North American flights longer than 3.5 hours.

United describes it as “an old fashioned all-beef patty with cheese on a pretzel bun. Served with lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup, must and mayonnaise. It’s cooked onboard between 22-25 minutes in a 350F oven.”

I describe it as surprisingly good and very filling. And from what I’ve heard and seen onboard, lots of passengers feel the same way.

My economy class cheeseburger on SFO-ATL last week- surprisingly good! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Last week on an ATL-SFO flight, I noticed that two first class passengers asked flight attendants to bring them cheeseburgers from the back of the bus—choosing the burger over their plated meals.

When I queried my social media streams about the burgers, most comments came back positive: “I love a good cheeseburger & compared to most plane alternatives, especially a cold option (gasp), I’ll happily devour a half-decent burger,” wrote @MilesTalk.

And it’s not just the cheeseburger United serves, it’s the fries that come with it. Somehow food scientists have figured out a way to make French-fries that bag up like potato chips, but look just like the real thing. And you know how at restaurants there are usually only a few french fries that are super crunchy? Well the whole bag crunches like those do. As the bag says, “Cut like a french fry, crunch like a chip.”

Check out the slideshow below to see how United is able to serve a hot cheeseburger in flight without it coming out a big wet mess.

Hot burger, cool condiments and a bag of french fries (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Flight attendants deliver the hot $12 cheeseburger in a brown paper wrapper. In a separate cool container, you get the lettuce, tomato, pickle, and condiments along with a bag of the fries. You also get utensils and a napkin, which is necessary because this burger is actually juicy.

Inside the bag, the hot part of the burger is already assembled: pretzel roll (which is nice and chewy and holds up well), the beef patty (which looks like it’s been grilled, but I suspect those grill marks are fake), and the cheddar cheese, which surprisingly stays mostly in place.

Probably not the healthiest or most organic of choices, but what is when you are on a plane? (Chris McGinnis)

Miraculously crunchy fries (Chris McGinnis)

Cool condiments served separately (Chris McGinnis)

The bare burger in its brown paper bag, which serves as a protective barrier (Chris McGinnis)

Eating a cheeseburger in economy class on United requires that you clear your entire tray table– it takes a lot of room to set this meal up. First you have to tear open the paper bag to get to it. Then use the bag as a plate since you don’t want your burger touching that nasty tray table top.

The whole rigamarole might be annoying to neighbors who are not eating or who are vegan. And when all three passengers in a row get the cheeseburger, get ready to knock elbows!

(Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The top comes off easily, making room for the condiments. The bottom is pretty much glued to the patty by the cheddar cheese.

You can create a beautiful burger on your tray table 😉 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Get it all dressed up, add ketchup, mustard and mayo and voila! Cheeseburger in paradise!

Cheeseburger-Cheeseburger! And fries. In economy class. Not bad! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Check out how nice those crunchy fries look next to that juicy burger!

If you like the cheeseburger, you will probably like what United has in store starting in July: Uno’s deep dish pizza (an icon in the Chicago pizza scene). A spokesperson told TravelSkills that it will be “A spinach and garlic deep dish pizza for $9.99.Available on on all flights within the U.S. over 3.5 hrs and on flights from the U.S. to Canada; Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. It’ll be prepared and served in our skillet dish to help the cheese brown and keep the crust crispy. And we’re planning a ‘Pizza and Beer combo’ for $13.99 pairing the pizza with a Miller Lite.”

Uno Pizza served on United flights starting in July

United is not the only airline serving burgers in the air. Alaska Airlines offers its popular $7 Angus Cheeseburger on its flights to/from Costa Rica, Cuba and Mexico. I’ve not partaken of this burger yet, but I’ve heard from passengers who say it’s equally good– and made with Oregon’s famous Tillamook Cheddar cheese. Spokesperson Bobbie Egan told TravelSkills: “We’ve been serving the burger out of Mexico continuously for more than a decade. Here’s a fun fact about the cheeseburger – it’s what we served people on our rescue flights from Los Cabo after the 2014 hurricane. People CRIED. The cheeseburgers (and beer and the flight itself) were complimentary.”

Have you had a burger in flight? Would you pay for one when flying in economy class? Please leave your comments below.

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