New to the forum as only recently discovered it, all good info happy to be able to get insights and learnings from y'all.
I need some help understanding some of the equipment changes post merger..... The 2 routes I fly the most are EWR->FLL and EWR->LAX pre merger on CO FC had lie flat seats with power and individual entertainment screens, and post merger? well lets just say it's the twilight zone barely reclining seats, no power and flip down screens on the overhead.....2 of them YAY!? ... used to enjoy flying FLL have to go 12-18 times per year and LAX 12 times per year, now I dread it........
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The deployment of CO's TATL fleet on EWR-FLL was one of convenience and not having a better way to optimize their fleet. Now they can optimize better, and frankly I'm betting people weren't paying for lie-flat C ex-FLL.
Just wait until your transcon is assigned a brand-new 737-900 with no personal entertainment, or until your flight to Hawaii is assigned a relatively new 757-300 with the same situation! Holy cow, equipment can make a big difference.
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Sadly, in this country, anything that doesn't involve JFK-LAX/SFO isnt worthy of any true premium product ... not even EWR (at least that's the prevailing mentality perpetuated by DL/AA loyalists in order to prevent GS-level customers from jumping ship to UA)
I can deal without the lie flight seating but no personal entertainment and a barcalounge in this day and age is a little weak no???
Complaining about the "good old days" is way, way in the past. Neither uUA nor sCO would survive operating as they did. It's like complaining that TW served champagne and caviar on the TCON so why don't they today?
There's simply no market for what OP wants. True, there's no functional difference between TATL (at least to the UK) and TCON, so why isn't there 3-class intl. widebody on the TCON? Because people won't pay the $12K+ for it.
US domestic travelers favor lower fare over better service. So guess what carriers provide. I view the EWR-FLL as a simple utilization isssue. The TCON is a little different. UA runs it's p.s. service xJFK and that's the service which is being upgraded. EWR is now an afterthought.
Bummer of a situation for you. Going from the lie flat 757's to the 737 or Airbus fleet is a step back in terms of comfort.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mherdeg
Holy cow, equipment can make a big difference.
That's an understatement.
It's frustrating how much the equipment type can make a big difference even from domestic economy product to domestic economy product. Obviously there is going to be a different flying international premium cabin versus domestic premium cabin, for instance, but the difference in economy product is stark. It's largely due to the merger and the combination of two different fleets and within that many "subsets" when you get into the regional flying. For the majority of people they just consistency and right now they don't have that in their fleet, nor does it look like they will in the foreseeable future.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EWRuaFlyer
I can deal without the lie flight seating but no personal entertainment and a barcalounge in this day and age is a little weak no???
Welcome to domestic first class, which is largely the same on all carriers except for certain transcontinental routes. The fact that you've managed to avoid it thus far was really just a scheduling quirk rather than an intended level of service.
I'm sorry to see that the international aircraft are largely going away on domestic routes, but it's not surprising (or even really a bad thing if you accept that a healthy United is good for customers).
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Complaining about the "good old days" is way, way in the past. Neither uUA nor sCO would survive operating as they did. It's like complaining that TW served champagne and caviar on the TCON so why don't they today?
Wasn't complaining about the past at all? read the post what I said was " In this day and age i.e. TODAY! how is it that UA dont have transcon flights with personal entertainment and halfway decent seats when all the budget airlines do??? "
Welcome to domestic first class, which is largely the same on all carriers except for certain transcontinental routes. The fact that you've managed to avoid it thus far was really just a scheduling quirk rather than an intended level of service.
Very true and a very good point. I still laugh that my first flight ever was on a Midwest Express DC9-10 from CLE-MKE with their all business class seating and full hot breakfast service. I thought flying was great! Oops...
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Last edited by FrequentFlyKid; Dec 27, 12 at 9:10 am..
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EWRuaFlyer
Wasn't complaining about the past at all? read the post what I said was " In this day and age i.e. TODAY! how is it that UA dont have transcon flights with personal entertainment and halfway decent seats when all the budget airlines do??? "
i didn't know southwest had PTV and first class seats.
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP, Hyatt Diamond, Private Pilot, Virtuoso Travel Agent
Posts: 615
Quote:
Originally Posted by EWRuaFlyer
Wasn't complaining about the past at all? read the post what I said was " In this day and age i.e. TODAY! how is it that UA dont have transcon flights with personal entertainment and halfway decent seats when all the budget airlines do??? "
EWR-FLL isn't a transcontinental flight. On premium true transcontinental flights, which are blocked at twice the length, legacy carriers do offer true premium cabins.
The only "budget" airline that offers substantively different seats in first class is Virgin America, which is hemorrhaging money and has less than a year's worth of cash left in the bank. While they do indeed provide a nice onboard product, I am personally happy that UA is not following VX's lead in strategic planning.
In-flight entertainment is abysmal domestically across the board except for Virgin America (see above) and Jet Blue. The merger dramatically slowed the rollout of in-flight wifi on United (which most people prefer to traditional in-flight entertainment), but the wifi rollout should accelerate dramatically over the next year.
In general, the sweeping generalizations you make don't hold up to scrutiny. There are a lot of things wrong with United, but with the exception of the slow wifi rollout, they really aren't behind their competitors.
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EWR-FLL isn't a transcontinental flight. On premium true transcontinental flights, which are blocked at twice the length, legacy carriers do offer true premium cabins.
The only "budget" airline that offers substantively different seats in first class is Virgin America, which is hemorrhaging money and has less than a year's worth of cash left in the bank. While they do indeed provide a nice onboard product, I am personally happy that UA is not following VX's lead in strategic planning.
In-flight entertainment is abysmal domestically across the board except for Virgin America (see above) and Jet Blue. The merger dramatically slowed the rollout of in-flight wifi on United (which most people prefer to traditional in-flight entertainment), but the wifi rollout should accelerate dramatically over the next year.
In general, the sweeping generalizations you make don't hold up to scrutiny. There are a lot of things wrong with United, but with the exception of the slow wifi rollout, they really aren't behind their competitors.
Ok already, I guess I'm not ranting, I am whining because I had a very comfortable and pleasant flying experience and those conveniences got taken away through the merger......... Its still ok to b#tch right?
