EWR764

At one point, CO was a very good airline. Customer service was better, airplanes were new, food was good and the amenities were nice. That was then, this is now, and the industry has changed.

Years of cutbacks have eroded some of the perceived benefits of CO and policy changes have made it difficult for employees to deliver a high level of customer service. There are still some very good people at the airline (from both sides of the fence) but integration-related problems have strained everyone's patience, from top-to-bottom.

In the meantime, other airlines have improved, the revenue environment has changed, and all carriers have adapted their business models dramatically, which means the customer-facing experience had to evolve.

Finally, nobody likes change. For UA flyers who had grown accustomed to the United way of doing things, the transition to the merged carrier has taken them out of their comfort zone, which is never a pleasant experience. I'll caution that the grass isn't always greener, though.