orftomnl

Have 586,000 lifetime miles that started with NWA and now Delta. Fly 3 sometimes 4 times per year from ORF--MNL roundtrip. After Delta changed to revenue based Medallion Qualification earning I used the miles I had and now have no status with Delta and no miles to use.

I realize whatever airline I choose I will at the most make Silver---MAYBE Gold each year since I buy the most affordable tickets available. If I stay with Delta I will eventually become a Million Miler which really doesn't amount to much with Delta (annual Silver Medallion) and if I switch to United I will not fly that many more years to make Million Miler.

I am not concerned with in-flight experience---food, entertainment, blanket, pillow, amenity kit---none of this matters to me.


In 10 years of flying NWA/Delta on this route I have had 2 IRROPS which Delta handled well and was delayed returning to ORF by 1 day each time.

After checking prices for many future bookings United is at least $500.00 less each time.

I can afford to stay with Delta, but of course I would like to save the money. What concerns me after reading Untied Flyertalk forum is I get the feeling that United is not a dependable option for getting me to MNL and back to ORF without major delays and cancellations.

Based on what I have explained above, I would like any advice from United flyers if I should try United to save on each ticket or stick with Delta which has been basically very dependable for me the past 10 years.

Thank-you for any inputs.

UA-NYC

If reliability is a key concern, UA is not your airline

Many of us have had 2 IRROPS issues on a single trip, not over 10 years

But saving money is always nice

Flyflyguy

UA is about to begin ORF-ORD service on mainline this summer, so if the flights line up well, I would say MNL-NRT-ORD-ORF is a decent option to consider. Keep in mind that the MNL-NRT leg would be operated by ANA with no E+ option in the back and no flat bed in the front.

If you insist on UA metal the whole way, UA does operate MNL-GUM, but I would strongly advise against that option since it's far too many stops.

Comparing reliability, in the past 60 days :

UA's ORD-ORF was 78% ontime, with 0.5% cancellation rate (this number *may* improve once mainline commences)

DL's DTW-ORF was 80% ontime, with 2.6% cancellation rate

Austin787

If I would save $500+ by taking United, I would fly United. My flights on UA have been close to ontime, with very few long delays and no cancellations. My parents, who fly UA mostly, have similar experiences. According to my parents, UA handles IRROPS very well and proactively rebooks them on the next flight if a delay would cause them to miss their original connecting flight.

Flyertalk is a small subset of the flying population. Plus people are more likely to complain online if they have problems. If there was a thread for every good UA experience, the Flyertalk servers would be overwhelmed.

lhrsfo

UA's weaknesses lie in the in-flight experience. It has copied Delta with elite qualification and mileage earning and so is broadly similar in that respect. Where it is massively better than Delta is in the ability to spend miles.

As to the likelihood of things going wrong on the trip, it happens with all airlines. There are quite a few Drama Queens in this section of FlyerTalk and, without wishing to jinx my next trip, I have been flying UA regularly for over 10 years now (10 TATLs per year) and I have had very few issues with IRROPS - three delays of 6 or so hours, nothing longer.

drvannostren

Are these all issues with SFO? I've had a couple irrops in far less flying than most of you guys and they've been at SFO, but it always has amounted to me just getting home a bit later since I'm usually headed to YVR. Never had any other issues with UA realistically, sure there's minor things I'd change but $500 is $500 and I'd want that savings every time.

gobluetwo

Try it, save the $500 on your next trip, and see how it goes.

I've been flying primarily UA over the last 7 years, but also several US and AA flights mixed in there, and DL previously when I lived in ATL. Basically, every airline has had its problems at one point or another.

bmwe92fan

I think from hub to hub lhrsfo is right - typically handled well and many options if delayed. However, for the majority of us that have to connect through UA hubs to feeder cities - well this is where UA is weaker IMO -- and also the source of much of the "complaints" found here.

Think about it - with a stated goal of 80% on time, living in a feeder city (meaning 4 flights minimum per trip) - your chances escalate dramatically for issues - and throw United Express into that for many of us - it's not pretty...

entropy

If you don't care about the inflight experience, and are too far from MM to make a difference, choose the best airline (lowest price, best schedule) for each trip you take.

Doc Savage

There is probably little real difference between major airlines, and UA has the benefit of actually having award flights available for the miles you do earn. If prices were exactly the same, then maybe the very small differences between different airlines might make a difference. If you're going to save >$100 on a flight, take the cheaper flight.

dabu

As a DL PM, my experience with UA's new slimline seat tells me I would NEVER fly them again. Miserably uncomfortable!

Plus, you can grab a C+ seat much easier even as a DL FO than an UA Silver.

LarkSFO

Buy your next ticket on UA.

For your first year of travel (until you earn Silver), buy an annual E+ subscription - $699.00. (http://www.united.com/web/en-US/apps.../offerSep.aspx)

Fly United.

Even if you decide you prefer DL after this first flight, you'll still be about even on your costs for the trip including the E+ subscription.

sbm12

DL didn't quite do this; there is a revenue threshold but earning status also includes flying the requisite distance. And the UA & DL programs are nearly identical in this sense.
Which of the 3 (or more) slimline seats on UA planes are you talking about?
That would be impressive given the smaller C+ cabin size compared to UA's E+ cabin.

Kmxu

I fly from ORF. The mainline service starting from August 18 is on A319 with slimline seats. The rest of your aircraft choices to ORD, IAD and EWR are mostly E145 mixed with some Q200. UA keeps the total lift unchanged out of ORF with the mainline addition. DL fly a lot of mainlines out of ORF. Good luck with your decision.

channa

It's not as much the size as it is the accessibility.

Short of heavy business travel routes (e.g., ATL-SFO), there are very often C+ seats available for the taking for Silvers.

Heck, my upgrade rate to F on DL as AS MVPG is about as good as my upgrade rate on UA as 1K this year.

To the OP's question, one frustration with UA is that they often don't post delays when they know them. That limits the ability of staff to rebook you since everything is showing "ON TIME" even though they know there will be a problem. In a delay situation, if this happens, you're likely to have a greater impact since options will become less available by the time UA officially posts a delay.