FlyerGoldII

I would of course prefer to fly AC - but sometimes one has the choice of only flying UA or US, when flying in USA with Star Alliance Airlines.

See this article:

http://www.portfolio.com/business-tr...yee-complaints

Even before the merger, I did not like to fly UA - I felt the service to a Star Alliance Gold member was less than AC's service to one of its own basic Aeroplan members? Pre-merger, I would fly Continental - for the reasons mentioned in the article. Post-merger, as mentioned in the article, the service is like UA system wide, not like CO - and of course one can not always predict which of the pre-merger planes necessarily flies on a given route?

Now, I would prefer US - even though it does not have all the services I want (eg last weekend - I flew from PHX to CLT and then from CLT to YOW - first flight had no overhead movie screens (for a 4 hr flight); the second flight was a commuter (economy class cabin only) for a 2 hr flight). The first flight of course offers boxed/packaged food items - I believe there was no snack in the second flight (not even nuts or pretzels). However, I would still prefer this airline over the merged UA - I believe I feel some appreciation as a Star Alliance Gold member on US.


PS-I wish Aeroplan would allow us to redeem front cabin seats on US with business class mileage, not first class mileage. Of course, we can now redeem such seats on UA with business class mileage.

acysb87

If i have a choice, I would take USAir over EEEUUUEEEHHH

As the article notes "Worst. Airline. Ever. Again." is EEEUUUEEEHHH

rankourabu

somebody is bitter because they make him sit in the very back of the bus in E-

AC treats other *Gs and people without status like crap too. You should try flying AC one day without status. Its so much fun being stuck long haul AC in Y At least on UA, I have 3-5" of extra legroom for free

The Blue-Eyed Sheikh

Any difference between the two is, IME, irrelevant beside the flight-to-flight variability of the crews. Really, for me, it comes to price / convenience.

This is, of course, only relevant to Y; I haven't flown UA (or pmCO) in J, so I can't speak to comparisons between the two in that regard.

TB-ES

yyzgigi

Last weekend flew both UA and US and still think that UA although far from great is better than US. On UA I got E+ on most of my flights and even got an op up to F for an oversold red eye. US is adequate, but has very old equipment and a whole plane of E-.

Mustang Sally

Problem is, that even with E+ seating you still have to deal with United.

So the question comes down to whether you'd rather be treated like crap by Americans or Canadians. Hobson's choice. But I think I'd take the Canadians.

acysb87

Bitter would indicate I still give or intend to give EEEUUUEEEHHH my business. Not unless I absolutely have to . Liked Continental and they have morphed into a mess too.

I have flown AC Y class long haul(very back of plane too), twice in the last 1.5 years. Both times I down gauged from J for earlier flight. IFE worked much better than on US carriers.

Your carrier treats you better because you have status with them as AC does with me because of my status.^

I would still pick AC Y over your carrier Y.

AA_EXP09

PMUA was better.
I would still prefer UACO over US. (No drinks in F in plastic cups!)

rankourabu

There is no such thing as "my carrier" I flew 18 carriers last year, and will fly 20 different ones this year.

Unlike AC lovers/apologists - I have no stockholm syndrome emotional attachement to an airline (or any corporation actually)

Being part of the "me" generation, Its all about what I can get out of a corporation, and I have no sense of loyalty for, or dont expect it from, an airline. And at the moment, when I can get one-way awards at half price, scamcharge free, and have missed 2 out of 30 upgrades in the last 2 years - I am sticking with Mileage Plus.

acysb87

What you do not understand is that AC has treated me fairly in almost every instance. They have had issues but unlike the "me " generation I have realistic expectations.

I have bought GM and Subaru products because the product works,is priced competitively and I get great service from the dealers.

Our company switched from a certain truck company to another when my dealer lost the dealership. I went with the guy who was the dealer and have a whole new fleet of trucks. Loyalty gets my fleet repaired while others have to wait.Not enough good mechanics out there these days.

I was a HUGE Marriott user at one time. I had 3 issues with them over 6 months and I dropped them and never looked back after the last significant concern.

We have different views, fair enough. Whether you call me an AC lover or apologist is not the point. AC has looked after my travel needs,do so at a price that works for me,and to a standard that is acceptable to me.That warrants repeat business IMO.

rankourabu

Yes it does.

What it doesnt warrant, is belittling anything that is not AC in a childish manner (EEEUUUEEEHHH?) just because it is not something you have chosen to purchase. Be just a little objective? "morphed into a mess"?? Really? And AC has not? Last I checked UA employees did not stage wildcat walkouts....
Sure UA has been crap on occasions and will continue to be crap on occasions, and you have to be masochistic to fly a UA 747 in E- Y to Australia, its the reality of their market. But so what?

At the end of the day, AC and UA are both subject to daily fluctuations in customer service, on board service, etc.

acysb87

IMO,I am objective. I have flown "UA has been crap on occasions" airlines more than I care to because they are the only viable Star A cnx in the US. Air Canada Express is also a Star A cnx partner and I am also stuck with them. I am quite happy with their service,btw.

From the OPs link;



'United has also infuriated its most frequent and profitable flyers, the elite players in the airline's MileagePlus program. The lowest-level elites are angry because the program reduced their benefits in the area of free baggage allowance and access to seats in Economy Plus. Mid-tier elites are fuming because their bonus miles have been slashed. And the super-elites, called 1K and GS (for Global Services), are livid because the data conversion in March targeted them for the worst service. For weeks, their calls were stuck in long queues, their emails were ignored, and, worst of all, their upgrades and seat assignments were lost.'



Heck, I consider myself lucky with AC

payam81

+1

I just wanna chime in that I also feel this whole ridiculous "EWWWAAA" or "EEUUUEEHHH" stuff doesn't belong to an adult conversation (if one is trying to make one) and sounds rather, frankly, stupid.

UA is not a great airline by any means but I feel they take more of a beating due to their sheer size. AC is a far smaller carrier compared to UA in pax carry capacity, fleet size or destinations so it's really no apple to apple comparison to begin with.

My personal experiences with at least 8-10 international legs on UA on average per year both in Y and J is that they're quite alright, specially after this forum sets your expectations so low.

In fact, my experiences on UA Asian legs, manned by UA Asian crews, have been pretty darn good even in Y and I've had better treatment as a *G on UA (FA found me an empty row towards the back of the cabin and asked if I wanted to have it to myself instead of my current seat without prompting from me! On multiple occasions!) than I've ever had as an AC*SE on AC in Y (Never, ever been acknowledged onboard or offered anything other than ordinary in 100s of AC Y legs over the years as an SE)

FlyerGoldII

There is a long thread on the UA forum, on this article.

link: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...folio-com.html

anotheran2

I prefer united so I get the status bonus of 100%. But schedule and price dictate which airline I fly