dingo

You're kidding right? Wait until there is one single solitary snow flake in the air and all of Chicago is in a 100% ground stop for four hours on either side of that snowflake.

State fan

No kidding. I've had nothing but consistently terrible experiences in both hubs on UA.

I have stuck with US to date because I have never had many problems with them and their schedule is the best for me (RDU). I agree with the previous comment about the overblown criticism US seems to get here. I do fly UA and DL on occasion and really don't see why people rip on US so much. In addition to the best schedule, I have not pulled the trigger on switching yet because I find flaws in the others FF programs, too. DL won't do segments and has higher mileage rqts for int'l awards. UA eliminated the 500-mile min and I've had horrific experiences with them in IAD and ORD. You have the credit issue with CO and who wants to fly thru EWR all the time? AA has no hub near me. Perhaps the biggest issue to me is *A. I don't want to give it up as I use it for all of my award travel.

Having said all of that, US is completely off their rocker if they think I am going to live with no bonus miles. Miles are the reason I have loyalty to an airline at all. I think US has completely lost perspective with respect to the mindset of the frequent flier and it will cost them dearly.

I am waiting another week or so to see what shakes out, but will then start booking flights on other airlines. I may give CO a shot since I have not flown much with them. If I do make a switch, it will be a sad day for me. I've spent 10 years getting to know the employees, especially the RDU gate agents and the CP Angels.

NY-FLA

And that paragon of weather and delay-proofed efficiency, PHL beats this ORD consequence, how, exactly?
Here's another news flash, and no, I'm not kidding, this ex US CP firmly believes that flying UA TED exit row beats flying US domestic F hands down. And UA gives drink certs annually to 1K's, (if you can persuade the FA's on TED to take them) so even the free booze in US F is not a factor.
What did US offer CP's stuck in coach to offset the $2 H2O charge? Oh, right, absolutely NADA.

dsldog400

I avoid both ORD & DEN, hitting each maybe twice a year when flying UA for credit to my US miles. After this nonsense with DM, I have not flown US since May 28 when I made Silver (thru 1-2010) and have no plans to. I'm OK with the no 500 mile minimum, but not with the loss of bonus miles.

Can you figure this out Tempe??? Gut the DM program = I don't fly US!

If I am going to fly, it will be at least enough to maintain status. So I will either fly 25/50K miles, or none. If bonus miles come back, I might fly US more. Meanwhile, since June 1, I have flown about 23,000 so far from west coast to New England on AS/NWA via SEA, MSP and DTW instead of US via PHX. When winter hits, I'm not sure what my plan will be, maybe use DL through ATL.

If I had kept flying US, I would be 2,000 miles short of Gold right now. Why can I walk away? Because by coincidence, I have a nice round number of miles that will fly myself & girlfriend RT to Europe.

If US doesn't do something over the next 6 months, I will go to CO for a match, and then look forward to occasionally flying UA when CO gets into *A.
With almost 100K active miles sitting in my CO acct from way back, this is a no brainer. The only reason I never did this before was that I liked flying US from both a schedule & upgrade point, and I could also use UA whenever I liked, and about 3-1/2 years ago started flying a lot again, and it didn't take too long to obtain status.

uva185

Well O/D at IAD is still worse than flying US at DCA. That said I have been quite happy flying DL via ATL -- to DCA of course. I won't touch IAD with a 10 foot pole.

warheel

I might have seen a result of the elite defection today. I have a flight Thursday and received my upgrade notification e-mail (I am PP)..I was assigned a seat in row 1, and logged into my flight to change the seat..I had my pick from all 4 seats in row 2 and 3, the first time I have ever seen so many empty seats at my window.

etsmyers

Question about the upgrades......

With US, my upgrades to F were frequent IF I was on an aircraft that had a F class. Probably, 10-12 upgrades so far this year.

I have read the CO website, but really cant understand the upgrade policy? Is it unlimited like the US policy?

NY-FLA

Hmmm! IAD: A NW World Club, open bar, accessible without having to leave the "sterile" area (might need a moon buggy to get there, though). Yep, that IAD sure sucks.

And compare the NWWC experience to the "No"* birds guarding the US DCA club.

* Can I please have my seat assignment changed? NO.
Can you put please me on standby for this flight? NO.
Can you process a delay meal voucher? NO.
Do you have free high speed internet, yet? What's that?

And post dragon gauntlet, at the US club, there's such a wide range of refreshments (OK, coffee) to choose from.
$2 soda machines might make another good profit center here.

The only advantage I see DCA having over IAD is ground/Metro accessibility.

iztok

Wow I never experienced US Club in DCA, however they have been more then helpful to me in CLT, LGA, PHL, PHX, and LAS in this past year. I really can't complain there.

najay

Yes, upgrades are unlimited. Depending on your status, they can happen at the 5/3/1 day window (plat/gold/silver). The very big caveat is that Continental is a VERY popular airline for full fare and Business Class customers, and the upgrades are capacity limited. As a Platinum Elite, I have gone out on flights with NO upgrades, due to all FC seats filled with paying customers, and I have been as low as #13 on the upgrade list (out of 40+ elites) on a discount fare ticket.

My upgrade percentage is still over 60% as a PE, and I consider that good.

channa

Slight technicality, but on CO it's often Y-Ups, not Paid F, who get the F seats. Any Y fare gets an upgrade at time of booking on CO, if available.

As for my worst on CO, was a SFO-EWR redeye where there were 66 Platinums in coach.

VanTheMan63

Others have correctly stated the situation....I'll add my two pennies' worth....since I now do 95% of my long haul travel on CO having bolted US.

CO's "Y-Up" program ROCKS....HOWEVER, it means upgrades are difficult, at best, to score from EWR to, say, anything west of DEN. I know one friend who claims in 10 years, as a PL and AU, he's NEVER scored an upgrade from EWR-SFO (He's in the wine biz as I am.) As a matter of fact, it's not easy to snag an FF ticket in F from EWR to points west of DEN, nor is it easy to use mile to upgrade. In fact, with 2 or 3 weeks left to go, I've been challenged to score seats in the F cabin. Bottom line: If you can't purchase Y-Up, minimum, be ready to sit in the back if you are going long haul....even from EWR to Florida, I'm about 50% as a Platinum.

2nd thing to remember is, as someone already said, the Y-Up is, technically, an upgrade. So, if you misconnect or have something else happen, it's a full fare Coach ticket. I've had that happen as well...ironically, both in and out of Texas, one into IAH, one out of DFW.

Upgrades are not like US...this is one thing US has the entire industry beat on...if you fly US as a Platinum or CP, you will ride up front. the last time I got jammed on a US flight as a CP was, oddly enough, PHL-SFO...and I was the 8th CP down in line for one seat remaining in F...back in the days of the 26 seat A321.

spin88

as a (now former) SFO based Platinum, I'll second this re EWR trans con. When I joined CO you could get them, but absent a Y fare (which gets and upgrade at time of ticketing as an elite) NY to SFO became basically impossible. Perhaps one time in 10 I would get an upgrade. This said, going through IAH gets you a much greater shot, perhaps 35% SFO-IAH.

My problem is that even on a Y if you change flights you go into the bucket and upgrade is gone gone gone.

Given that with the 752s being used internationally and there are only 4 decent isle seats in Y (everything else is 31" pitch), I finally gave up and went back to UA. With E+ and about a 60% upgrade percentage (with me picking when I want to upgrade and just accepting e+ the rest of the time) I'm much happier. I do miss COs efficiency and slightly happier staff (lots of mechanicals), but I don't miss always being on a 737, the wide bodies (and international C and F seats) and extra possibilites in Irr-OPs make up for it.

UA also gives Y upgrades, but CO prices the fare about $150-200 each way more, UAs Y or B fares are rediculous, and you don't get the upgrade till your window rather than with the ticket.

McFlyPHL

I can report similar on the EWR-LAX route. I have tried to buy F a week+ out on this route only to find it sold out on the Mon AM-Thurs PM flights.

However, a little creativity will net you a REALLY cheap F-fare to SNA. (I think I paid something like $400 all in, o/w)

mishugana

How do you transfer?