...really, it isn't!

And I would have never thought that I would be saying this, but UA knows its stuff!

After flying with a lot of other Star Alliance carriers (Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Lufthansa, and - most recently - SAS), I must admit that UA topped all of my experiences (except of course with SQ but then again that is an unfair comparison).

Granted, right now I am very, very disappointed with SAS (let's not discuss the fare I paid for the flight ), as I am stuck in CPH due to my flight being delayed from PVG by over 2 hours because of ATC. Once I arrive in CPH I ask to be rebooked on tomorrows flight to Frankfurt or Munich on Lufthansa, but because my Lufthansa ticket was booked seperately, SK is claiming no responsibility as they brought me from point A to point B.

Yes, yes, yes - I know they are right by law, but in the grand scheme of things I feel as though there is a level of customer service that is required for any such situation.

Take this scenario as an example - I arrived on a UA flight from SYR in SFO on a cheapo economy class ticket, and was supposed to connect on SQ 1 to Singapore, for which I had a full fare F class ticket. However, the flight from ORD to SFO was delayed by weather for over 5 hours, and therefore I missed my SQ flight. However, the UA agent - without much hesitation - immediately issued hotel vouchers and food vouchers until my SQ flight the next day.

Right now, I am sitting at the 7-11 in CPH and am waiting for Maersk to open their counters so I can head to MUC - SK didn't really care that I would need to spend the night at the airport if they didn't show some sort of assistance and a level of customer service. And while the SK ticketing lady did start shivering and become slightly apologetic when I informed her of my experience with UA, in addition to showing my 3 Gold cards (I just HAD to do it!), she just said that she had carried out her part of the contract, and that she has no responsibility from now on.

I still sometimes feel as though being a 1K really doesn't mean anything on UA, especially since they seem to be fast tracking and selling the status to anyone who wants it, but there are situations like this where it really does show that UA still cares for its customers.

Oh, and before I forget - inflight business class on UA is MUCH MUCH better than SK! Fine, the inflight entertainment is a little more dodgy on UA than SK, and there aren't any games, but the seats are much, much, better, the food is absolutely fabulous (in comparison), and at least they try to make you feel more important on UA (the read your name on the manifest, status does count, they thank you for your loyalty). On SK, they are - generally speaking - more friendly and don't go "Uhu" when people say thank you, but other than that I would choose UA over SK any time...

'nuff said