1) What did you like most about fkaUA or fkaCO?


I don't expect anything for free. I wanted to pay a competitive price for a good product. I thought UA was good value for money. Good network. Good mileage program. Nice people.

2) What changes have had the greatest negative impact on you?

The steady decline of services. Announcements a number of years in a row have focused on reduction, rather than innovation. You keep thinking, 'ok, we've got that cost cutting measure out of the way, now we are going to start to see something new and exciting', but it never comes.

Crew and employee morale/trust is horrible. This did not start yesterday. Five or so years ago, I overheard a bunch of the crew stand in the galley and slag off the CEO. OK, this happens in every company. However, I have heard it more with United since then than with any other company that I have been a customer of. They are one unhappy lot.

3) What remains about the current UA that makes it hard for you to leave?

Before this latest announcement, the mileage program. I put up with a lot the transitional problems and if you have status with United, it offsets some of the decline of services. However, with the mileage program announcements last year and now this most recent announcement, the only thing left that makes it hard is the Star Alliance network. This is not enough though any more, so I'm shopping.

4) What airlines are you considering switching to? Or kayaking?

I am going to call American and see if they will grant me status. Regardless, I am going to give them a go. They might not be much better, but it is worth a try now. I would have never considered anyone else three or four years ago. I was loyal to United.

5) What benefits / improvements do you expect on your new airline?

Whatever class of ticket, I just hope to see a reasonable level of service. I recently took an economy flight with Lufthansa and was stunned at how much better it was. I did not expect first class treatment because I did not pay for it, but it was much better than the austere flights that I have taken with grumpy United crew. I have also travelled on Brussel Air and found the level of service to be superior to that which I had experienced on United.

6) What aspects of the new airline make it hard for you to switch to them?

I'm not running down United and have stayed years with them through thick and think, but their demise is making it very easy for me to shop around. I may be back on certain routes or if leadership changes I might reconsider, but my loyalty and trust is gone. It's a wide open market for me.