Originally Posted by
Repooc17
UA, on the whole, is rather average (at best). It has its high points such as Polaris flat beds and IT; though I find the former item to be tight. UA also has many low points - e.g. its catering is absolutely dismal; its onboarding experience, even in business class, leaves a lot to be desired.
The whole premise AA and DL being the measuring stick is like saying most other students in the class also got a C, so UA is good enough. There are many airlines with better performing attributes which {some} will not even bat an eye because multitude of reasons, including not being able earn status/miles. That is all fine and valid based on personal preference. In the same regard, it does not make the criticism invalid.
My perception is there are people with reasonable expectations of UA who find them to be tolerably well met & there are those for whom UA is by definition horrible at all times across all dimensions. Where there definitely does appear to be a real dichotomy of experience, however, is with the service attitudes of UA employees. There are those, such as myself, who seem to be almost always treated with care & kindness on & off the plane, and there are those--whose experiences I don't at all doubt--who seem to frequently incur disdain & surliness. I have expressed my causal theory of this in the past, so no need to repeat it again.