United Airlines Brisbane (BNE) to San Francisco (SFO) Economy with Kids Review
United Airlines launched a route from Brisbane, Australia, to San Francisco, California, making it easier to get from Brisbane to the USA without having to fly through Sydney.
Flying a long-haul flight with kids can be rough, and I wanted to know what would be served during the meal service.
Of course, things change, especially when it comes to airlines, but if you are planning on flying United Airlines from BNE to SFO, this post will help you understand what happens in economy seating.
For those looking for travel insurance, we used Cover More for this holiday. We chose the middle-tier option.
Checking in at Brisbane Airport BNE
Online check-in begins 24 hours in advance, but I was unable to check in online. While I would have gone to the airport early anyway, we made sure to be there 3+ hours in advance.
We had 2 issues that required assistance, though most people could just queue for the kiosk and then head to bag check.
My kids are dual citizens, and their passports needed to be linked. My passport is new, and because I got it while in Australia, but it is a US passport, they needed to call and update my information. It took us about 20 minutes for all the phone calls and to get our boarding passes.
The bag check line was slow, as only one person was checking bags, and all the other open desks were dealing with issues.
The security line went pretty quickly, and we had more than 2 hours to spend inside the international terminal.
International Terminal at BNE
Security ends after a passport check, which leads you directly to the duty-free shop at Brisbane Airport.
After walking through the duty-free shop, there is a large area with shops and restaurants. Most shops have Australian-themed souvenirs, and it would be easy to purchase gifts at the Brisbane Airport.
In addition to clothes, books, and stuffed animals, there are a lot of food options. Just be warned, the price of Tim Tams is double in the duty-free shop than it is in the other shops at BNE.
We spent an hour wandering the shops and getting a snack before heading to our gate. The seating at our gate was very nice, leather couches with plenty of space.
I knew I didn’t want to board early, but lots of people were lined up and waiting. Our flight ended up being delayed 20 minutes, and that time was spent standing at the gate waiting to board.
I did not see anywhere to charge my phone at the gate, but I was not looking either.
Entertainment on United from BNE to SFO
Each seat comes with a TV. There are plenty of options for TV shows, movies, music, and podcasts. The choices change but can be seen ahead of time on the United website.
Kids can choose to press the kids’ option, and then they only see kid-friendly shows and movies.
Each seat has a plug to charge your phone, but ours were not working.
Meal Service on United from Brisbane to San Francisco
Our flight was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. About an hour into the flight, drinks were served with a bag of pretzels.
Two hours into the flight, lunch was served. I preordered kid meals for both kids, and they arrived before the meal service began.
While I thought the kid’s meal would include chicken nuggets, macaroni & cheese, or another kid-friendly favorite, I was surprised to see pasta with mushrooms.
The kids’ main was penne with red sauce, mushrooms, and cheese. They also received a roll with butter, salad with French vinaigrette dressing, a Tim Tam, and a bottle of water.
Adults could choose between braised chicken with mushroom sauce over rice and veggies or pasta primavera. I opted for the chicken as the kids had pasta, and I wasn’t sure if they would eat it.
I took the mushrooms off their pasta, and both of them ate it.
After lunch, drinks were served again. Then water service went by twice, once in a bottle, then in a cup.
Dinner Meal Service
Around 7 pm Brisbane time, about 7.5 hours into the flight, dinner was served.
By this time, I had told the kids to try to sleep, and my youngest had fallen asleep. My oldest wanted to wait up for dinner.
There aren’t any dinner options; everyone gets the same thing. Dinner on United Airlines from Brisbane to San Francisco is a small turkey sandwich on a slider roll and a Tim Tam.
Breakfast Meal Service
At 11 pm Brisbane time, around 11 hours into the flight, breakfast is served.
Again, the kids were served first, but their meal was not what I expected.
Kids’ breakfast meals on United Airlines include fruit, water, a muffin, and eggs served over baked beans, spinach, and mushrooms.
Both kids ate the fruit and muffin, but didn’t touch the main part of their breakfast meal. Neither one complained about any of the meal options during the entire flight from Brisbane to San Francisco.
The adult breakfast included fruit, a muffin, an omelet, baked beans, sausage, and spinach.
Drinks were served one last time before landing in San Francisco.
Brisbane to San Francisco Review
Despite the seats in Economy, the almost 13-hour flight from Brisbane to San Francisco on United Airlines is more than tolerable.
The in-seat entertainment options help make the time go by from BNE to SFO. Between the kids and me, we did not reach for any of the books or activities in our bags even once.
While the kids’ meal options aren’t entirely kid-friendly and aren’t what I would have chosen, my kids had enough to eat during mealtime and only ate a few of the snacks that we brought on board with us.
Plane meals are never amazing, but the meals on United were okay, and I ate the majority of each meal.
I knew basically what kind of meals we would be served before boarding, and as expected, it was a long time between lunch and dinner. My preference would be for dinner earlier, especially as we wanted to eat before trying to sleep.
I also knew to bring food to subsidize dinner, as a tiny sandwich wasn’t enough food for me. We got the same tiny turkey sandwich on our way to Australia 2 years before (the last time we flew between the USA and Australia).
