Buying Meals and Drinks on United Is About to Get Easier — What to Know

United Airlines has introduced a new way to pay for snacks and drinks on its aircraft.

The airline is now offering a tap-to-pay feature, allowing travelers to use their mobile phones to pay for items on board. The feature was fully rolled out on all of United’s mainline aircraft on Nov. 18, the airline confirmed to Travel + Leisure. 

United said customers can now use contactless payment forms, like an iPhone or Apple Watch, another digital wallet, or a tap-enabled credit or debit card. Flight crew can then accept the payment on an airline-issued iPhone. 

In addition to tap-to-pay, United allows customers to save a form of payment to their MileagePlus account using the wallet feature in the airline’s app.

United offers a selection of free snacks on its domestic flights, including cookies and a snack mix, as well as complimentary non-alcoholic drinks like juices and sodas (including favorite ginger ale). However, the airline charges for other items like Pringles, snack boxes, illy Cold Brew, beer, wine, and other alcohol. On longer flights, the airline also offers hot food for purchase.

On most international flights, meals and some alcohol are included in the fare.

United isn’t the first airline in the United States to introduce tap-to-pay on board. That honor belongs to Alaska Airlines, which introduced the feature last year.

“We’re constantly innovating to give our guests the most seamless and caring experience possible,” Charu Jain, Alaska’s senior vice president of innovation and merchandising, said in a statement at the time.

Delta Air Lines similarly offers tap-to-pay, allowing passengers to “go contactless” with either a digital wallet on a phone or by using a contactless-enabled credit or debit card.

Contactless payment isn’t the only major change United has implemented recently. In September, the airline announced a partnership with technology company Starlink to offer free in-flight Wi-Fi across the airline’s fleet. The airline will test the Wi-Fi throughout 2025, and deploy it at the end of next year.