Taking a United Flight From Newark? You Can Order Food and Other Items Right to the Gate.

Running late for a flight and wishing you had time to grab a bite to eat?

United Airlines is trialing an exciting new service for passengers at its Newark (EWR) hub. Starting today, September 2, 2026, the airline is rolling out a new feature that will allow certain passengers to order food, drinks, and other items through the United app for delivery directly to the gate.

“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,” said David Kinzelman, United’s chief customer officer.

Let’s take a look at all the details of this exciting new offering.

United Is Testing a New Delivery Service for Some Gates at Newark

United Airlines passengers passing through its Newark hub can try out a new feature that lets them place orders for preflight food, beverages, and more to be waiting for them at the gate when they arrive.

This is a trial service with a limited scope for now, available at “up to 9” gates at Newark’s Terminal C: specifically gates C125 to C138. According to a United press release, these gates host domestic and international flights with both narrow-body and wide-body aircraft.

If you’re an eligible flyer, you’ll receive a notification from the United mobile app (iOS, Android) or via email giving you the option to select from a range of items, including sandwiches, salads, drinks, kids meals, candy, and other items you may want for travel, such as medicines (over-the-counter options only), travel pillows, charging cords, and more.

If you place an order, your items will be prepared and then waiting for you on a designated shelf at your gate by the time you arrive.

United is working with OTG, an airport restaurant operator, to prepare and deliver orders from restaurants, which include Nonna’s Kitchen and Victory Grill at Newark.

The airline says it will expand this trial to Houston (IAH) “later this year,” where it will continue to add “popular national restaurant brands” to give flyers more delivery options. It’s also planning to collect feedback from flyers throughout the trial period to determine whether to expand the feature to more flights across more airports.

If it proves successful, United wants to expand ordering functionality to its inflight entertainment system to make the process even easier for flyers.

Final Thoughts

This is an exciting and innovative new offering from United. We can certainly see a use case for this service, especially for travelers who don’t have much time before a flight, don’t have lounge access, are traveling with kids, and more.

Hopefully, this will be well-received by flyers, and we’ll see the option come to more airports across United’s network in the near future.