?
I have been reading so many negative comments about UA, and--while I have no stake in UA over any other airline--I am simply wondering what the issue is.
On September 20th, I flew LGA-DEN-LGA on UA, leaving LGA on the 8:13 AM and returning the same day on the 5:52 PM.
The outbound flight was on a spotlessly maintained and clean 752. Although I did not get UDU, I had a wonderful E+ with 35" of seat pitch.
The return was on an equally modern, well-maintained and clean A-320, again E+.
The interiors were spotless, elegant. The seats wonderfully spacious and comfortable (yes, I know UA's has older planes as well, I have been on them).
Both flights left on time and arrived early.
Every single UA employee I encountered was not only friendly, professional, kind, they all went out of their way to make us feel good about flying with them, certainly comparable to the best service one would encounter on CO.
Special kudos goes out to the f/a's on the return flight. This was a full flight and there was the usual lack of space in the overhead compartments. But instead of dealing with it in the typical uptight and unhelpful manner (which I must say I see quite a bit of flying CO), they were charming, funny and worked really hard to accommodate everyone's bags.
One passenger had a custom-made guitar which was fragile. With only a few minutes to go before departure, instead of being mean and nasty, the UA f/a's worked diligently (and with good humor) to find a safe spot for it.
The beverage & BoB service was followed by repeated passages through the cabin with water, coffee and tea and, finally, with free white wine not consumed by the folks in the FC cabin.
Yes, we did not have LiveTV, but at least the IFE was free (I watched The Joneses with David Duchovny and Demi Moore on the pop-down screens) and instead of Meals at Mealtime, we had BoB (whether on CO or UA, I would bring my own meal).
At the end of the flight, a passenger in the row in front of me, gave the f/a a thank you note and a tip. How often do you see that? I think it was completely merited.
As I have written before, I have flown UA 4-8 times a year since 2006, and this is how all my flights have been. I have never encountered anything but wonderfully friendly and professional people and consistently on time service.