Originally Posted by
CO_Nonrev_elite
As with any airline, it really depends on the aircraft on the day and the crew on the day. You fly LAX to ATL on an express jet or fly it on an internationally configured 777. If you happen to get the good aircraft on the day, then people assume that is the norm for the specific airline, then they fly an E175 the next time and think it's the worst.
I flew 6 Emirates longhaul (8hrs or longer) segments in Feb/March in business and in first class. 4 of the 6 flights didn't have 180 flat beds. Everyone assumes that every one of these mega carriers (EK, SQ etc) all have flat beds, but they do not. I have had multiple AF, LH, TK etc flights recently for longhaul and none of them of late have had 180 flat beds. Every United International plane has 180 flat beds.
I'd say that the customer service on all of the others is consistently better on the others though.
I flew on an old 767....it was old and sure showed it's age. There wasn't much room, the staff was using empty economy plus seats as busing stations and piled up dirty dishes etc on the seats.
The lack of privacy was the most disturbing part, it really felt like economy plus with better food.
The sleeping situation was decent, it was actually about the same comfort as on EK business in their A380, it's just that the seats weren't leather, you didn't have your own mini bar, no snacks through out the meal etc.
Again the food was great, and reading the CEOs letter I can see that his message has spread throughout the airline.
Honestly United doesn't need to have the best hard product, they just need to focus on the core things, food, privacy, and customer service. Everything else is a plus or minus that I can factor out of the equation.