For frequent flyers, the hum of Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) is just background noise, but for Sarah Chen, a Manhattan-based marketing director, it often felt like a stress headache. She had to take monthly flights on United Airlines to San Francisco for client meetings, and they were always a pain. The airport experience was a predictable slog of long security lines, packed gate areas, and a frantic search for a half-decent coffee before boarding. That friction in the airport CX (customer experience) wasn’t just annoying. It actively tanked her productivity and made the whole trip worse. So when United started talking about pre-order services, specifically a trial at EWR, it sounded like a way out of the chaos.
Key Takeaways
- Digital pre-order systems can slash average transaction times at airport shops by 15% to 20%, which is a huge deal for getting passengers moving.
- Using data from those pre-orders for personalized digital marketing can bump up food and beverage ancillary revenue by up to 10%.
- A solid pre-order strategy can earn 5-star customer satisfaction ratings for airport dining, which in turn pulls up the whole airport’s experience scores.
- When you properly integrate pre-order platforms with existing loyalty programs, you can see a 25% higher engagement rate among your most frequent flyers.
Sarah’s usual EWR routine was a masterclass in wasted time. After clearing security, she was thrown into a series of bad choices. Should she grab a lukewarm coffee from the nearest kiosk or get in the long line at that one good bagel spot? The clock was always a factor. “I often just skip breakfast,” she told me, “because the time investment doesn’t feel worth it. Then I’m on a five-hour flight feeling hungry and agitated.” She’s not alone. A 2025 study from Skift Research showed that 35% of business travelers prioritize speed and convenience over everything else for airport food, meaning quality often gets sacrificed just to save a few minutes.
This is exactly the pain point United Airlines was trying to fix at busy hubs like EWR. Their pilot program, which kicked off in early 2026, let passengers pre-order food and drinks from some airport restaurants right through the United app. The goal was simple: improve the customer experience by giving people more control and cutting down on all the waiting. For Sarah, this was a revelation. She could now order her favorite avocado toast and a cappuccino from a cafe in Terminal C while she was still in her Uber to the airport, and the app gave her a specific pickup window so her order was fresh when she got there.
Of course, the operational side of a program like this is a nightmare. Airport concessions are already dealing with tight logistics, managing things like perishable inventory, unpredictable passenger waves, and tiny kitchen spaces. Trying to bolt on a new digital ordering system requires some serious planning. “The back-end system has to communicate flawlessly with the front-end,” an operations manager at one of EWR’s concessionaires explained. “If an order comes in late, or if we run out of a menu item, the whole system breaks down, and that’s worse than no system at all for customer perception.” It’s a classic digital transformation problem: the technology has to be bulletproof, but your people and operational workflows have to adapt right alongside it.
On the marketing side, this pre-order system was a goldmine. You could use digital marketing to tell passengers about the new service and get them to actually use it, all while collecting valuable data. Agencies that live and breathe this stuff, like Moburst, know how to reach travelers in this kind of environment. For example, they might set up targeted push notifications through the airline’s app to remind you about the pre-order option a few hours before your flight. Or maybe they’d run a geo-fenced campaign that sends you an offer the second you walk into the terminal. That’s the kind of smart outreach that helps an airline get the most out of its digital budget. Complete digital marketing strategies are what turn customer engagement around, and you can see how it’s done on Moburst’s Digital Marketing services page.
The early numbers from the United EWR pilot looked good. According to internal data shared with partners, passengers using the pre-order service felt their wait times were 15% shorter. Better yet, customer satisfaction scores for the food and beverage experience at EWR shot up for people who used the app. It’s about faster service, sure, but it’s also about cutting down on decision fatigue and giving travelers some much-needed predictability. When Sarah walked up and grabbed her order, she got to bypass a line of 10 people. That small win completely changed her pre-flight mood. “It feels like I’m getting a little bit of my time back,” she said, “and that’s invaluable when you’re traveling for work.”
For a program like this to work, a few things have to go right. The app’s user experience has to be dead simple and reliable, because a buggy, confusing interface will kill adoption before it even starts. The participating restaurants also have to be all-in, which means their inventory systems need to be connected in real-time and their back-of-house fulfillment has to be ruthlessly efficient. Finally, you have to communicate clearly and constantly to passengers. People need to know the service is there, understand how to use it, and see the benefit. Just launching a feature isn’t enough. You have to actively teach your audience to use it.
Beyond the convenience, these pre-order systems spit out a ton of useful data that airlines and airports can mine for insights. Figuring out which menu items are popular, what the peak ordering times are, and even what dietary preferences people have can help with future concession planning and more personal marketing. For instance, if the data shows a huge spike in demand for vegan options before morning flights, airport operators can tell their vendors to stock up. This data-driven thinking gets you out of the world of anecdotes and into concrete, actionable intelligence. It’s no surprise a 2025 report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) talked about the growing role of data analytics in enhancing airport operational efficiency.
Given the positive results, it’s pretty clear United will expand this pre-order program beyond EWR. This is a strategic shift in how airlines and airports think about the passenger journey from start to finish. They’re acknowledging that the experience isn’t just about the flight itself but includes every single touchpoint, from the moment you get to the terminal to the second you step onto the plane. By fixing these small, often-ignored pain points, airlines can build real brand loyalty and stand out in a ridiculously competitive market. These kinds of smart, integrated solutions are the future of the airport customer experience.
Integrating these systems also creates new angles for loyalty programs. What if United MileagePlus members got exclusive discounts on pre-ordered food or earned bonus miles for using the app? It’s a simple way to encourage people to try the service while making them feel valued. The link between digital tools and loyalty programs is a powerful combination for any airline that wants to build stronger customer relationships. A 2024 Colloquy study found that loyalty program members who engage with digital features spend 20% more annually than members who don’t.
In the end, Sarah Chen’s experience proves a simple point: even tiny improvements to the customer journey can have an outsized effect on how people feel. Her pre-ordered coffee and avocado toast might seem small, but to her, they meant less friction, more time back in her day, and proof that an airline actually cared about her experience. This obsession with the granular details of the customer experience is what separates the leading brands from everyone else.
United’s pilot at EWR shows a clear way forward. By using thoughtful digital tools to improve the airport experience, they give passengers what they really want: more control and a little more predictability in an otherwise chaotic journey.
What are airport pre-order services?
They let you order food and drinks from airport restaurants ahead of time, usually through a mobile app. You get a specific pickup time, so you can skip the line and your order is ready when you get there.
How do passengers benefit from pre-ordering?
You save time, avoid standing in long lines, and get access to a wider menu than just whatever’s closest to your gate. It makes the pre-flight rush a lot less stressful and improves the whole travel day.
What are the challenges in setting up pre-order systems?
The main hurdles are technical and operational. You have to integrate with dozens of different restaurant systems, manage inventory in real-time, train staff to handle the new workflow, and clearly explain the service to travelers. The tech and the operations have to work together perfectly.
Can you use pre-order data for marketing?
Yes, absolutely. The data gives you powerful insights into what passengers want, when they want it, and what they’re willing to pay for. You can use this for personalized marketing, smarter menu planning, and targeted promotions that actually work.
How does pre-ordering affect the overall airport experience (CX)?
It gets rid of major friction points, like waiting in line and having limited food choices. By giving travelers more control and making the airport feel more efficient, pre-ordering directly boosts customer satisfaction scores and makes the entire experience better.
