i find it amazing the amount of 'entitlements' that are expected for whatever unjustified reason. between self help upgrades, which i have never witnessed, and the threads on the united board over who should get what bonus miles because of their on time performance this summer, i am shocked at the moaning.

we vote with our dollars, period. there is a choice, even if it is limited, even if it is with an airline you wouldn't normally fly even if they were the only one (america west for me!).

when i talked to customer service at ual, they offered vouchers and upgrade coupons all of which i denied except for a token 1-segment upgrade. when asked what i wanted, i responsed "i want my flights to be on time". being reliable is the number 1 priority, everything else is second.

no one is owed first class even if it is empty. do i blame the airlines for this? sure i do. uncomfortable seats, crammed together, marginal food, high prices, late flights, labor problems, lost bags, i could go on. there is a lot that needs to be done. i send letters to ual every so often with a suggestion based on an experience that i have, either positive or negative. maybe they implement it, maybe they don't.

point here, if you want to sit in first, request the upgrade, buy the coupons if you dont have any, ask for a comp, etc. if you dont get it, so what, at least you may get to your destination on time.

f