First Class Chicken Showdown – Delta vs United

Who has the better cooked bird to enjoy while flying the metal birds?

Introduction

I’m Gluten Free….for medical reasons. (feel free to roll your eyes, I probably would have prior to diagnosis)

When I get a last minute upgrade to a flight with meal service this can present some challenges.  Generally speaking this means that I will order the chicken as I have a better chance of being able to eat some of it than if I get the pasta or sandwich options that seem ubiquitous on flights.  Admittedly none of this food is overly appealing and I’d rather be chowing down on a Shake Shack Burger like this one if I could eat it safely.  When I have the opportunity to pre-order a special gluten free meal it’s most often chicken for reasons I’ll attempt to explain below based on years of experience and speculation.

So in this First Class Chicken Showdown – Delta vs United, I wanted to share two different “First Class” chicken dishes served by Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.  You tell me which one you would WILLINGLY eat based on the pictures!

Delta Air Lines

Because this Eye of the Flyer is historically a Delta focused blog we’ll start with them.  One thing I like about Delta’s domestic first class is the first class snack basket.  Both the breakfast and lunch/dinner selections include at least two gluten free options.  I generally grab the Wonderful Roasted and Salted Pistachios, the Fit Joy Tangy Dijon Mustard Pretzels, and if I’m really looking to boost my sodium intake the delicious Miss Vickie’s Sea Salt potato chips.

While munching my way through these and washing them down with a club soda with lime (work day flight) I’m presented with the lunch options for the flight.  I listen politely and then order the chicken with a whiff of defeat.  With more than a little dread I wait for it to arrive.

Then it arrives and it doesn’t disappoint in delivering the disappointment.

Now I don’t want to come across as ungrateful.  It’s great to be sitting in First Class.  It’s great to be able to order food that you can safely eat when you have dietary restrictions.  But ugh, it just isn’t appealing in the least.  And this should come as no surprise the chicken was rubbery, bland, and really disappointing.  The polenta was marginally edible and the salad was a plane salad.

Why is it so often chicken?  Most airlines offer a number of specialty meals including gluten free, low sodium, bland, Kosher, nut-free, etc.  My theory is that the caterers looks to make as few meals as they can that meet as many of these restrictions as they can.  So while my entree is marked gluten free, it could just as easily been marked low-sodium (it certainly was), bland (ditto), and possibly Kosher.

There’s hope for a better chicken entree on Delta Air Lines in the coming future as they recently announced a new partnership with José Andrés including a new:

Spanish Style Chicken: Chicken thigh with a rich sauce of sherry and dried fruit, served with celeriac-potato puree, roasted carrots and pearl onions

United Airlines

On the United Airlines flight I was NOT able to pre-order due to the booking window.  This meant that I was going to have to guess at what might be the least glutinous option for picking at during the flight.

United starts with warm nuts on their domestic flights (Delta only does this on certain international flights).  Unlike Delta the nuts are not certified gluten free but fortunately I’m not Celiac so I’m not overly worried about them coming from a facility that also handles gluten.

Nothing to complain about here.  As I’m not a frequent United or American Airlines flyer there’s still a novelty to getting the cup of warm nuts on a domestic flight.

By the time the flight attendant gets to me all that’s left is the chicken option.  That’s fine because it’s the one I would have ordered anyway as the other two featured items containing gluten.  Now we wait…

And here it is!

I must say that it looked marginally appealing.  The chicken looks like it’s been boiled and had grill marks painted on it, but I do like a rice medley and a red pepper sauce might help with moisture.

Surprise, it was actually tasty for airline chicken.  Was this the cheapest chicken breast available?  Probably, but so was the one on Delta.  I was able to eat the salad that was a bit bigger and more interesting than Delta’s.  Unfortunately no Magnolia Bakery banana pudding for me as it wasn’t gluten free.

Final Approach

I have to give the win to United Airlines even though I wasn’t able to pre-order or eat the dessert.  It was plated better, looked better, and ultimately tasted much better.  United wins the First Class Chicken Showdown – Delta vs United.  If I find myself eating the chipper chicken on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines I’ll make sure to update for all you airline chicken lovers out there!  – Michael