Originally Posted by
zorn
Not picking on you in particular (for now), it baffles me how we can have such diametrically opposing experiences in our travels.
Now, as promised, to pick on you in particular
So now you avoid UA and AC at all costs. How long until you avoid CO? AA? What will you do when you run out of airlines? Will you drive? Until you have to avoid Ford, then Chrysler, then Toyota, etc., and then walk? Then you'll avoid Nike, then Asics, then go barefoot? Then you avoid asphalt? Then grass? At some point will you be forced to float in the air, hoist, so to speak, by your own petard?
Get in line and.... pick away
In my experience, AC & UA are roughly equivalent - generally rude crews, malfunctioning equipment, and a could-care-less attitude. So, yes- I try and avoid them both. Where AC is the absolute worst, is in post-flight customer service, if you could even call it that. CO & AA aren't perfect, but when I call to complain about some particularly egregious mess-up, then CO usually sends me a $175-250 voucher(s), which is at least an acknowledgment that they have something to make up to you. AC is simply an insult to the average consumers intelligence. Let's see - I use an upgrade on a 12hr. int'l flight. The avod is down for the first 6-7 hours, then the laptop power goes off for the rest of the flight. Did I mention no overhead light or call button. Oh, and the crew were good enough to close off one of the 2 bathrooms for their own use the entire flight ! So I ask the in-charge for a compensation card. He makes a snide remark about 'you being on an upgrade' before giving me one. AC is generous enough to credit me with 2500 miles - whoopee ! So, no. This kind of disgusting attitude is (in my experience) thankfully exclusive to AC / UAL, who will probably both be back in bankruptcy soon enough anyway....
This is typical of the AC attitude I see on almost every international flight. Yes, the ICN-YVR crews are excellent, as are the odd crew out of YYZ, but exceptions only highlight the general rule. It would probably take an activist hedge fund to clean this mess up.
So thank God for the competition and the increased offerings ex-YYZ from other airlines, not to mention all the $$ you can save.
Oh, and not even a unionized car or sneaker could ever manage an AC attitude, but nice try....LOL