IAH-OIL-TRASH

As a 1K, you get to board with BG1.

Kacee

It does seem to be very good at optimizing elite dissatisfaction

Aussienarelle

So true! - I have a flight this week that I booked in April, and slowly watched the J/business class seats disappear. My only hope is the TOD and pay for the upgrade, but this is less expensive if you have lower status. :-( Not a way to keep customers. Am thinking of approaching BA next year as I fly SAN to LHR at least four times a year and there is a non-stop flight, and with 1MM will have * gold for flights within the EU with LH.

shmoozy1

Year on year for the last several my million miler Gold status has been trashed. Mileage bonus halved, then revenue based mileage with a multiple that makes a joke out of being an elite, close in booking windows, In short Platinum became the new Gold and Gold was worth not much more than silver. And then they started with the baggage allowances which appear to be a rarely used but much appreciated perk of status. If Mr Munoz and the team at Mileage Minus want to regain my loyalty and appreciation for United then turning back the clock on some of the most pernickity changes over recent years would be a very very good place to start. That is, if he is really listening.

don731

Stop the boarding line rollaboard size checks, especially for group one! Recently observed a FC pax have her bag size questioned as she was entering the jetway. Bag was a little fat, but clearly would fit in any mainline overhead. Just another process that brings no value to the customer experience. My experience is that most folks in groups one and two are knowledgeable about what will fit.

skidooman

I will do one better here. Stop most of the issues with bags by simply checking one baggage for free, for anyone, WN-style.

Simple and effective. This is why you never see in Asia (where the full flights are very common) the chaos you often see US-side. You have security rejecting large bags, and you will find a lot of people will choose, willingly, to check in a bag.

As for the day travelers, they will be able to bring their wares in cabin much more easily, even in BG5.

(BTW, how about going back to pmUA standards, red carpet for 1K, GS and first, then courtesy invite for plats, gold and silver, then everyone by row? Don't you feel their boarding zones are like cattle lines now?)

JetAway

The Airtime site seems pretty static of late-no new "questions/answers" or "ideas" posted in quite awhile. Has it run its course?

PsiFighter37

I just got an email reminder about the site, so I would hope not

REPUBLIC757

One of the suggestions is "Be Honest With Your Passengers." UA sifts through all the good comments and posts something that is just a PR black eye?

If I were an airline, I wouldn't some of these suggestions on a public website. Could you ever see DL or AA doing something like this?

BearX220

I can see any company that is in deep PR trouble doing this -- to ward off charges that it's all window dressing. It's the "Domino's: our pizza was indeed terrible so we changed it" disarming-honesty gambit. Volkswagen ought to be looking into it right about now.

DL and AA are not in the same deep deep hole UA is.

abaheti

Dominoes was always not that great, but the public's tastes changed/improved, the market got more competitive and they acted (I guess at some risk of turning off the folks that loved their original taste).

In UA's case, they took what was WORKING (leaving aside the pmUA vs pmCO discussions... pmUA worked just dandy for me) and messed it up. I view the coffee changes and anything else as Munoz essentially saying "we screwed up, and we know we screwed up." And they at least have my interest now.

channa

Still a valid analogy, though. You're right that the main difference being that UA's problems were self-inflicted, while Domino's was a result of changing markets/changing tastes.

Either way, both companies were left selling a product that the public viewed as inferior, and often a product of last resort. Many people didn't want to buy a Domino's pizza, they were just the only one around, the only ones open, or they were the cheapest and couldn't afford better. Similarly, many people don't want to buy tickets on United, but they do if they have the only flight or the best schedule, or the lowest price so their employer's computer makes them.

United's strategy banked on the fact that there would be no viable or better options. They wanted to be the gas station near the airport that sells gas for $4/gallon, or remote island convenience store that sells milk for $8.

We've all shopped at places like that from time to time and hated it, but did so because we're in a bind. The problem with that model is that you need a constant flow of suckas (people who know will find a way around it), and there have to be few other choices. When that's your business model, you have to be extremely savvy about the competitive landscape, because all it takes is another gas station or convenience store opening up across the street, and your business model is done. It also creates a customer base that hates your business, because your business is perceived as taking advantage of the customer. This is why people are more vocal and critical about issues on UA vs. other carriers (e.g., United customers wants someone crucified for the coffee, American's customers shrug off the same coffee).

That's where UA failed. They didn't regroup and adjust their strategy when other carriers didn't follow (and some even upped their game). A worthwhile experiment, IMO, but one they could have recovered from much, much more quickly.

asphaltman

I don't understand why they would send an email blast promoting the site today when they can't even update it.. Let's get some talk going United..

halls120

For the first 9 months of this year, I have 49.9K BIS miles on UA, and 39.5K BIS on AA, precisely because of UA's arrogance noted above.

Fly on UA and experience IRROPS post merger, you have to ask for compensation.

Fly on AA during a merger and experience IRROPS, they apologize and deposit miles in your account within 24 hours.

I hope Oscar turns the ship around, but he's got a huge task ahead of him.

Karl-MDW

^^^^

I hope every United customer receives the service and attention that a loyal customer should and could receive.

I am happy to see that United now seems to be starting to reach out to GS and 1K frequent flyers.

I just wish that as a lowly PMUA Million Miler - who has basically remained loyal - and my whole cohort - which has possibly seen the most downgraded Mileage Plus status over the past few years - will be thrown some bone of reward in the near future.