Originally Posted by
StingWest
Agree with you on that - and on the uncomfortable seats. Another thing that was irritating was the choice of ultra-right-wing NewsMax TV as the default channel on a flight in January. That alone would make me seek out other carrier, if I hadn't done so already. (well almost - I've already switched to Virgin Atlantic and BA for international)
Yes, I can compare United Continental sCO aircraft to AA and to VX and to AC, all of which I've flown in the past few years, and all of which had seat back video in Y. I've flown other airlines, also, but these are the ones I've flown that have had seat-back video monitors on them.
None of them do this.
I find this to be illustrative of the general anti-customer and penny pinching greed-driven attitude that has been instilled in the company. It's clear to me that nobody thought about customer experience or customer happiness but rather the motivation appears to be pure greed - by pushing as much advertising as physically possible into your faces, they can sell more advertising, and thereby monetize those systems to the maximum conceivable extent without any regard for customer satisfaction.
It has been mentioned in FT several years ago that Continental never paid for those horrific systems. They were installed for free and paid for by Direct TV.
I don't know how other airlines do it, but I'm guessing that others, such as AA and VX and AC, actually paid for and own their systems, and designed them with consideration for the needs and desires of customers.
Originally Posted by
jamesinclair
I absolutely detest the lack of an off button on those screens.
Virgin America has a clearly labeled off. On a recent overnight flight, maybe 90%+ screens were turned off by passengers.
United doesnt. So it was the exact opposite, 90% of the screens were on, blinding you as you tried to sleep. Nobody was watching, they just didnt know how.
I also hate that the video system removed the free radio option.
So, this supports the point I was making upthread, that the experience in Y is not the same across all airlines, there are material differences, and the sCO version on United Continental aircraft is materially worse than any other airline I've flown in Y.
I don't think it's any coincidence that United Continental has been driven to the lowest ratings in virtually every measurement of performance or satisfaction by the same people who made the decision to install those horrible systems on Continental aircraft before they took over United Airlines and renamed it United Continental Holdings, Inc.