Originally Posted by
eponymous_coward
UA treats non-elites like [expletive deleted]- there's a reason why non-E+ seats on UA are called "E-" (the pitch in that section is usually 31", not 32"). As a 6' 3" MVPG (who has been known to hop standby flights and get 30D), I feel for you, but I'm not a big fan of degrading the coach experience for the majority of passengers so elites can be more comfy when they are in coach. One might also note UA scores pretty low on those JD Power customer satisfaction surveys, even with all that E+.
B6 is using Airbii sans any F, which is why they can get away with wider seats AND better pitch. To be honest, I sort of wonder if that is the wave of the future as F slowly gets whittled down- maybe at some point, airlines will just charge for more legroom, charge for drinks, food, IFE and WiFi, and be done with it.
6'2"+ MVPGs of the world, unite!
You said, "UA scores pretty low on those JD Power customer satisfaction surveys, even with all that E+." It would make just as much sense for me to say, "B6 scores pretty high on those JD Power customer satisfaction surveys. It must be because of the 34" and 38" pitch." In truth, I'd argue that...
...UA probably is liked for E+ by the elites, disdained for its service by all,
...AS is liked for its service, not its legroom, and
...B6 is liked for both (note that I'm going on hearsay, as I've never flown B6).
Honestly, domestically, I don't give a hoot about the amenities of F beyond leg room and recline. I typically don't drink in flight. The meals aren't good. AS doesn't have power ports and UA's only work maybe a third of the time at most. I just want seat width (so I can type without elbowing the person next to me and vice-versa) and pitch (so I can open up my laptop screen). If there's enough pitch that I don't feel like a jerk for reclining a little, so much the better. So I think I'm agreeing with you -- maybe we move away from F and towards something more like Y and Premium Y. (I haven't flown any true Premium Y offerings, but from what I've seen, they look like just like what I want domestically.)
I admire AS tremendously for how they run their airline -- so much so that I just bought some of their stock for my IRA. And I want my hometown airline to prosper! But, for me personally, I can't and won't keep flying them if I'm only upgraded a third of the time and in E- most of the rest.