United Airlines to trial new self-serve snack bars on planes where passengers can get up from their seats and grab free food for themselves

United Airlines will be trialling a new self-serve snack bar on some of its flights – where passengers can get up from their seats and grab some free snacks and drinks themselves instead of having to rely on a flight attendant to bring them.

If you’ve ever been on an airplane, you’re all too familiar with that long-awaited wait as you watch the cabin crew slowly walk the food and beverage cart down the aisle.

But now United Airlines is trying a different method: one where travelers can serve themselves at a “Grab-N-Go” station.

The airline will implement the process on its newest aircraft, the Airbus A321neo, which will make its maiden flight from Chicago O’Hare International Airport on November 30.

According to the company, the kiosks will offer a “limited supply of water and snacks during complimentary service,” but for now they won’t open until after the airline’s employees complete their first round of service.

Some of the items that will be available include fruit bars, chocolate quinoa chips and a savory snack mix, according to Business insider. The mode is only offered on flights longer than 801 miles.

“This new offering is just the latest in United’s ongoing efforts to improve the customer experience for every customer, in every cabin,” United said in a statement to the outlet.

Jetblue has offered a similar snack bar on a limited number of flights since 2014.

Travel industry analyst Harry Harteveldt weighed in on the change The Washington Postin which he explains, “What these self-service restaurants do is help the airlines better satisfy their customers.

‘Passengers really like this. And when the passengers are happy, the crew is happy, and when the crew is happy, the passengers are happier.

‘[The snack kiosks] making it easier for passengers to have more enjoyable flights, and reducing the burden on cabin crew who have to run back and forth to serve individual passengers.”

He added that the service serves as a “small but meaningful point of differentiation” for United “in an industry that long ago became a homogeneous blob of sameness.”

The items that will be available include water, fruit bars, chocolate quinoa chips and a snack mix – and will open after airline workers complete their first tour of duty (stock image)

“Where 80 to 90 percent of what an airline does is the same between airlines, tremendous importance is placed on the remaining 10 to 20 percent to differentiate itself from key competitors,” he continued.

“If part of that differentiation is a self-serve pantry, then so be it.”

Will it eventually become the new norm at every airline and one day eliminate flight attendant handing out snacks once and for all?

Robert W. Mann, an aviation consultant, told the Post, “It probably depends on cost, customer acceptance, commentary and flight attendant comments after the flight.”

He also pointed out that there are some potential downsides: He explained that if a large queue forms in the aisles, it could cause “inconvenience and annoyance” to customers sitting nearby.