Hi All - I might be doing a quick commuter jaunt from ORD and have a question:

The flight is operated by UA. Am I better off booking the UA flight directly, or booking the US codeshare (operated by UA)? Or does it matter at all?

Can I use US vouchers for a US codeshare flight operated by UA?

Since there are no upgrades on an ERJ-145/ERJ-170 (or are there?), I'm guessing it really doesn't matter.... Finally, has anyone flown UA ExPlus - is it nice?


Thanks in advance for your thoughts/suggestions!

Sean

1. If there's no difference in price, then I'd book it directly with the airline flying, in this case UA. That way, in case of irregular ops, or needing ticket changes, or whatever else, there's no question who you have to talk to.

2. I believe you can use vouchers on a codeshare, but I'm not sure. Of course, if you can, then the price advantage would likely nullify #1 above.

3. UA's E70's do have an F section and an E+ section, but as a US elite, you'd have to buy UA 500 milers to upgrade to F. UA's ER4's do not have either. I've flown a UA CR7 in E+ and it was nice to have the extra legroom.

The only reasons I've ever thought made sense to book a codeshare are because of A) better price or B) multiple metal itinerary

Since the EQMs are equal, and you implied the price was the same, I agree -- just book it directly.

One more vote for booking directly with UA. As a UA ticket, you get free same day standby, but on a US ticket (UA metal) you'd have to pay whatever the going rate is these days. Either way you will be eligible for E+ ^

Also, you can not use vouchers for UA operated flights...only US and USX metal.

Do you have status on either airline? If on US, I'd buy the codeshare you can access the elite assistance in case of irregular ops.

If all things are equal with price, you might also consider UA, as ORD is a hub for them. If there's irregular ops, they'll have many more choices on which to re-route you.

If price, segments/EQMs are the same, then I would book UA, especially if you are elite on US. I asked a similar question in the UA forum about being CP and/or *A Gold on some upcoming UA flights I have and the members said that being CP/*A Gold led to very good treatment, seating priority, etc. on UA. The first time I called UA about changing seat assignments, they greeted me politely and said, "We see you are US CP/*A Gold and we appreciate you flying UA." With this, I got a very good first impression. I was able to get the E+ seats (which I read was also great, even on RJs that have that option.)

ExPlus is good. The seats and pitch are smaller than on E+ on a regular plane, but still far better than regular coach on a regional jet.

Book the UA ticket- standby is easier (you can stand by for later flights, you can call to stand by for $25, etc.).

I'd check the price on both before making a decision, if they are the same, I'd book via the actual carrier for the irregular ops problem mentioned above.

For the Ex-Plus, a couple of weeks ago I flew TPA to DCA in US FC, and got two warm beers in cups and the infamous snack basket (minus XOXOx due to summer conditions) and no bottle of water, as they've eliminated that perk (yes, there is bitterness here).

The same week I flew IAD to ORD, FC and got a meal service (potato soup and sandwich (you don't see soup much on planes)) with cloth napkins, glassware, etc... and ORD to MEM on ExPlus (shorter than TPA to DCA). Although, the drinks on ExPlus were in plastic cups, I did get a snack pack that had cheese, pita chips, salsa, salami, a cookie, and several other items. UA's ExPlus was much better than US's mainline service. On the return, no such luck (not over meal time), but I was impressed.

Hi All - thanks for the great advice!

To answer the questions:

Pricing was the same and I have US status, no UA status. I'm intrigued by ExPlus but couldn't get those planes this time around (would have involved a 0-minute connection in ORD :eek: ) ... maybe next time.

What I neglected to mention was that the flight was ORD-IND, which is all of 177 miles and about 1/2 hour in the air... :D

One last question - when booking on UA's website, how do I get access to the E+ seats - or do I? I thought they could verify *A status from your US DM#, but when I entered it in, I didn't see the "premium" seats - do you have to call UA reservations for those seats?

Thanks again to all who responded!

Sean