Originally Posted by
iahphx
As a 1K, I only get upgraded on UA when the plane is relatively empty -- which means the middle seat in the emergency exit row will also be empty. The difference is comfort between flying Frontier and flying UA in the emergency exit row with the middle free is minimal. Yes, as a 1K UA will give me free food and drink in the exit row, but what is that worth? Less than 10 bucks for me, since I usually get plenty of free lounge food and drink at the airport.
I would also note that domestic FC isn't very good. Just flew 5 hours to Hawaii in first on UA, and I really wasn't happier than in an emergency exit row with a middle seat free. I also flew in Premium Economy (like Frintier's "stretch") on a UA 777 and that was LESS comfortable (narrower seat) than flying on Frontier aircraft in stretch.
It's probably worth noting the availability of AC power on UA vs no power on F9. Being DEN-based, I have never connected on F9, and my laptop battery can last the duration of their longest flight from Denver. So it's been a non-issue.
That said, I'm about to fly them to PUJ (which requires a short connection -- not enough time to recharge). I am thinking of bringing my GoLabs power station with me to power my laptop, my wife's laptop, and my kid's tablets. Do you think that running extension cords between or seats in the first three rows will look too ghetto? Or is that just on-brand for F9....