Originally Posted by
Stella23
I believe you must have an excessive amount of something. I think it is great UA is working for you!
I just flew UA last weekend with my family. I have flown over 200k miles this year. We were treated poorly on every connection. In fact on one flight , the minute we stepped on the small jet, the FA started nagging us about our carry on items and made one of us move to accommodate a woman with two children.
On our last flight of return there were two small children crying and screaming (until one finally threw up) in first class for the entire 3 hour flight. There were only eight seats in first class. I was not in one of them. When I say screaming, I mean full lung capacity, no resting. It was miserable.
On several of my most recent flights, the FAs seem to hate their jobs and have acted like the passengers are just bothersome nags. Flying international business class is a complete waste of good money. The service is horrible and certainly not worth thousands of dollars.
I am sorry to hear about your experiences. I flew a little more than you did on UA this year and found the crews to be absolutely marvelous. On the rare occasion that I wasn't upgraded, I found the crews in E to be equally good. Everyone was courteous and professional. I've not seen any FAs act unprofessional or look like they don't care. I've also flown international in First and Business and have had very good experiences across the board. I find the service to be worth what I am paying. I hope your experience improves in the future.
Originally Posted by
hookthem
Not having read a lot of this thread, I have to say that anyone that is satisfied with UA is "ignorantly blissful". I just ended the year with 107 flights.
I ended the year with slightly more segments than you and I think this "ignorantly blissful" comment is unfair. After all, I also flew 150,000 miles on AA so that puts me in position to compare both airlines better than most others on FT. I can tell you from my experience that UA and AA are almost exactly the same when it comes to my 2014 flight experiences. I'd go as far as to say that folks who feel that UA is much worse than other airlines are "ignorantly blissful"
Originally Posted by
787fan
after all those praises I read on FT, i decided to try EXP match just for the fun of it
last friday I got a free sticker upgrade to AA domestic F cabin on a 5-hour non-premium transcon on a 738. the plane has that overpriced gogo WiFi, streaming entertainment but no movies are free, no in-seat live TV, better recline than UA F, roughly same level of service, and food quality only a small notch above UA (i'd rate AA as a B+ and UA as a B in food, but nothing totally drastic like what's portrayed here).
it was a decently pleasant experience (overall grading B+), but nothing like the "AA is infinitely better than UA in XYZ" that so many people love to proclaim. by the time I factor in their route network, the limited number of partners, potential challenges once they're combined in SOC, and the inflexible award routing rules, i've decided not to jump ship. I have yet to try DL F, but their list of partners is so fatally flawed that migration to SkyTeam is not remotely an option.
UA, despite its flaws in certain aspects, serves a Manhattan-based international traveler the best.
+1 AA is not infinitely better than UA. I think the emotions of those here who flew UA for years and are defecting to AA colors the boards.
I am the opposite as I'm a life long AA flyer (CK/EXP, 2.5 LT MM) and due to a job switch had to start flying UA in 2011. I am now a GS on UA and a CK on AA. I flew 200,000 miles on UA and 150,000 miles on AA this year. I agree with you - they both feel the same to me. The flight crews are equally professional and courteous. The FAs are just flat out nice on both airlines. I don't run into these sourpusses that seem to color everyone's perception of the airline industry. Given how much I fly, I find my experience to be the norm and not the exception. When I check with my colleagues, friends, and family, no one complains about UA (or AA).
I think we're going through a secular change in the airline industry where things will never be the same as they used to be. This is hard to endure and I understand that. I also think it causes a lot of emotion to enter into the picture and that's what you end up seeing here on FT. DAL and UA have made their moves and AA will do so in a year bringing parity to the industry. After that, it will be up to each individual airline to compete on service. I think better days are ahead but clearly the industry is moving to a new place - better for some, worse for others, but certainly different.
I also recognize that what is good for me today will be bad for me tomorrow but I'm pretty easygoing about it so it doesn't bother me.
EDIT: I forgot to add that I'm so satisfied with UA in 2014 that I won't be flying AA in 2015. I'm giving all of my business to UA going forward. I find the GS program to be better than the CK program at AA.