United Airlines has begun testing United gate food delivery at Newark Liberty International Airport, allowing passengers to order sandwiches, drinks and travel essentials through the United app before they reach the airport and find the order waiting at their gate.
The pilot, announced on 2 September 2026, covers selected flights departing from or connecting through up to nine gates in Terminal C. For UK business travellers who use Newark as their gateway to New York or as a connecting point for onward US flights, it offers a way to eat properly without gambling on a restaurant queue in the final minutes before boarding.
How does United gate food delivery work?
Eligible passengers receive a push notification from the United app, or an email, before departure. This links to a menu of sandwiches, salads, drinks, kids meals, chips and sweets, alongside travel essentials such as selected over-the-counter medicines, travel pillows and charging cords.
Orders are placed on a designated pickup shelf at the gate, where travellers can collect them to eat before the flight or carry on board. The trial runs at gates C125 to C138, which handle both domestic and international departures on narrowbody and widebody aircraft.
United is working with OTG, the airport hospitality operator, to prepare and deliver meals from participating Terminal C restaurants, including Nonna’s Kitchen and Victory Grill.
David Kinzelman, United’s Chief Customer Officer, said: “We focus on where the travel experience can be simpler for customers and innovating to remove friction along the way. The time right before boarding is one of those moments when customers want quick, easy access to food without added complexity.”
He added: “Newark is a high-volume connecting hub where customers often have limited time between arriving at the gate and boarding, making it an ideal place to pilot this type of service.”
Why airport food ordering matters for business travel
Anyone who has landed at Newark on an overnight transatlantic flight and then faced a short connection will recognise the problem United is trying to solve. Time between clearing immigration and reaching a departure gate can be squeezed, and a queue at a busy food outlet can be the difference between eating and boarding hungry. Our Newark Liberty airport guide covers the terminal layout and the practicalities of connecting there.
For business travel in particular, the ability to order ahead turns a stressful dash into a predictable pickup. Travellers heading to a meeting straight from arrival, or using the flight to work, can secure a meal and a spare charging cord without leaving the gate area. It also sits well with a travel policy that encourages staff to book realistic but efficient connections rather than padding itineraries with long layovers.
The service arrives as punctuality at the airport has improved, with Newark recently topping the north-east on-time rankings for United, which should make tight connections more dependable.
Travel managers should note that this remains a limited trial. Only selected flights at specific gates qualify, and the release does not set out pricing, so travellers should keep receipts in the usual way if meals are claimed through expenses.
Houston next, with seatback ordering possible
United plans to extend the pilot to Houston later this year, adding popular national restaurant brands and more choice over whether customers collect their food or have it delivered directly to the gate. The airline will gather customer feedback throughout the trial to judge demand and decide whether to roll the service out at other airports.
If United gate food delivery expands further, the airline says it will build ordering into its seatback inflight entertainment screens, allowing passengers to arrange food for a connecting flight while still in the air. That would be particularly useful for long-haul arrivals from London that feed onward domestic services, an increasingly relevant option as United adds ten new international cities for 2027.
The trial forms part of a wider set of digital upgrades from United, including the continuing rollout of Starlink Wi-Fi across its fleet and new app features such as a TSA wait times tracker. Full details are available in the United Airlines announcement.
