GordonGordon

Nonsense. I made this statement based on myself as a passenger/consumer, not to pretend to be expert to analysis how the airlines run their business, how they hire or fire their staff and how much challenge they are facing, and these are not my problems and not my concern. As a customer/consumer/passenger, when I pay the $$, I expect good service to make me feel the money I spend is worthy. The story behind them, I don't care. Your statement is totally irrelevant to my post, but one thing you are right, flying US carriers can be very rewarding, especially those miles in my mileage plus account. If you want good inflight service, use Asian carriers, but if you want rewards and if their service is not your priority, then go for US carriers.

Wilbur

UA's main issue is expectations, specifically unmet ones. For instance:

1. Channel 9 - After 9-11, Ch. 9 became an inconsistent feature, and this ticks off people who view it as a positive product.

2. Staff - Compared to many of the Asian airlines that they compete with over the Pacific, the hostile attitude of the UA flight attendants is a real turn-off.

3. Phone support - Amazingly bad call center support after the turn of the century left a lot of frequent fliers pretty unhappy.

4. Website - A long-time sore spot to travelers who wanted to fly on UA metal, but couldn't get the flights booked online.

Etc.

azepine00

That's unrealistic and you are setting yourself up for a lot of disappointments.
Every place has pluses and minuses in different areas and you can't approach the entire world with the same standards.

I can get much cheaper service in asia but on the other hand I can get much cheaper goods in US. In both cases I feel I get the best value for the money I spend.
Since I have to fly in north america I don't expect asian-style service but I pay a very reasonable price and i earn great FF perks. That keeps me happy.

UK Traveler

For many years, UA was the only airline that flew direct from DEN to DSM, where my elderly parents are located. Same for CID. So it became my airline of choice. However, UA no longer flies much but the small United Express jets to either city and rarely has any fare deals to either city. If I were to book a flight right now for my class reunion, I can get to Australia cheaper than I can get to DSM.

I enjoy and will pay for Economy Plus--but it isn't available on the United Express jets with 2 seats on each side.

I flew last year from DEN to LHR in economy plus and it was worth the extra money. Loved the direct flight and I will be doing it again this summer--in economy plus.

Last year I flew to Chicago and my video screen didn't work. There were empty seats on the plane so they moved me. I fell asleep and when I woke up there was a card on the tray telling me to go to a website where they offered me three different things. I was only without a video screen for about ten minutes.

I've suffered delays, but I've suffered them on other airlines also.

codex57

I'm an unabashed Southwest fan. I was kinda disgruntled based on numerous annoyances I suffered on United flights over the years. I just flew United to Maui. Excellent experience. FAs were polite and efficient. GA was the funniest I've ever encountered. Flight only left 5 min late. Oversold, but to be expected since it was a non-stop. Only bad experience was that gate checked strollers took 30-45 min to show up once we reached OGG. Since I had just arrived at Maui, I was in a relatively good mood (even tho I was tired from the travel).

We'll see how things go on the return flight, but even before this flight, I liked them better than other legacy airlines (altho I think they're all scum - United was just the least offensive scum).

shiv666

true....allot of people who signup often did so to spite airlines by complaining about something... so there is more unhappy passengers...most people who have a good flight dont bother signing up at websites to express there satisfaction...

...as for my opinion of ua... if its domestic they are all pretty much the same...southwest has a better reputation for not pissing people off from what i hear... if you are flying overseas or long haul i would suggest that you use a foreign carrier... they cost the same, but they have allot of passion for good food and above average service... except alitalia they really suck...

GordonGordon

Wrong. There are no such thing called "Asian-style" service in the airlines industries unless a Thai Airlines flight attendant gives you a Thai body massage on the pane, unfortunately it is not existing in reality. Asian Airlines tend to be more service oriented, but american carriers are not. Every place has +s and -s, but generally American carriers have more -s than Asian carriers. The major pluses for the American carriers, especially for United are their frequent flyer program which keeps a lot of loyal customers like me even though I never feel satisfied with the inflight service in United, and the economy+ seats although I don't buy Y tickets often.

Some Asian routes are serviced by both Asian and American carriers, for example, Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City/Singapore, Narita to Hong Kong or some other Asian Cities, usually the tickets for American carriers on those inter-Asia routes are cheaper as they can only use lower price to compete with Asian carriers instead of service.

tjl

Some do. The CRJ-700 planes with "explus" interiors have 28 E+ seats and 32 E- seats. On some routes, there are few enough elites that non-elites who do not have seat assignments before checkin often get E+ seats assigned at checkin due to more non-elites booking economy than there are E- seats.

Gaucho100K

Wirelessly posted (Palm TX: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98; PalmSource/Palm-D050; Blazer/4.3) 16;320x320)

Its relative..... if you are accustomed to flying SQ LH CX and the likes, then Im guessing you will find UA to be like a boot camp.

elCheapoDeluxe

So do the E170 aircraft.

UA customer service must be abysmal for the folks without status from the complaining I hear, but I definitely find they take good care of me. Much better than NW/CO/DL did in irrops as a NW gold, and much better than US - period. AA treated me well, but the demise of MRTC, the slimming of the schedule at SJC, and the period when AA aircraft were absolutely filthy pushed me to AA. I still miss the sundaes every now and then, but UA *always* takes care of me when it counts.

Interestingly, I think UA is on track to defy its stodgy image and become the most innovative of the legacy carriers. They have vastly improved the selection and quality of their buy-on-board offerings and finally moved to cashless. The travel experience is customizable for those who wish to pay for such perks as economy plus (not just a priority seat with no more space than any other seat), paid upgrades, priority check-in / security, club access, etc. They are moving the A320 aircraft toward leather interiors because the cloth always tend to look dated, no matter how well maintained the aircraft is. The new business and first class beds and entertainment systems are top notch, and unlike a majority of US carriers, they still offer entertainment on most domestic flights. I think they're on the right track.

gfunkdave

I've been flying mostly United (with a smattering of AA and WN) for the last 8-9 years or so. I tend to be Premier or Premier Exec in a given year. Overall, I don't think UA is materially better or worse than any of the other domestic carriers. CO and WN have newer, nicer planes. AA seems to provide a more consistent product. I hate UA's India call center for elites of any stripe but usually don't have too much trouble with them.

I suppose I stay with UA because I get economy plus and have the bulk of my miles with them. Channel 9, when available, is also nice. Once seated, WN is a pleasant experience. But I hate the herdlike experience of lining up and hoping I'll get a decent seat.

When CO joins the star alliance this fall, I'll probably start flying them more...at least for my infrequent trips to Houston or NYC. In many ways, I think that CO is the best-run of the legacy carriers, with AA a close second.

GordonGordon

DISAGREE. The beauty of this website is the diversity to share and exchange information/experience, whether it is good or bad. I assume we all here are consumers/customers/money spenders. It is very pathetic for someone here talk like they are on behave of the Airliners or hotel managements. Your statement is very discouraging to those novice who want to start a thread or to make a post to share good/bad experiences. If you do not want to see what you see, then simply jump to the next thread. Your thinking is very communist.

I do totally agree what stupidhead said, we, consumer, expect perfection, and this is what we pay for. Mistake/mistreat/stupidity/bureaucracy are not the things what we want to get.

Being FT Evangelist doesn't mean anything here, it only means that you have more spare time than the others to make more posts, and it certainly doesn't get you any status and doesn't make you more noble or classy. Bare in mind that this website is not frequent flyer program. FT Evangelist is not equivalent to GS or 1K, so please stop "whining" about the quality of the thread/post here and try to make some more positive posts to help the novice.

elCheapoDeluxe

I have to say, I'm with KathyWdrf on this one. I'll refrain from the w-word, but there is definitely a lot of expectation that does not match the users capital outlay. Want 1K for $2000 in mileage runs? Subtract fuel costs, labor, equipment, real estate, beverages, stale pretzels... carry the one... yep. Not much left over for the royalty treatment. Even grumpy labor can sometimes be indirectly tied to the cheapskate flying public!

Ocn Vw 1K

Members, a reminder that the topic is the reputation of United Airlines. To keep the thread open we need to avoid personalized arguments among members. Thanks, Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator.

bkcarolina

This could only be hypocritical if I myself were not perfect.