Apple flies United but would prefer to fly Cathay
Jan 15, 2019, 6:53 pm
#1
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Apple flies United but would prefer to fly Cathay
As part of the revelation about UAs top corporate accounts, although Apple is directed to fly UA, unsurprisingly they would rather fly CX:
https://daringfireball.net/linked/20...ed-staff-apple
https://daringfireball.net/linked/20...ed-staff-apple
They fly other airlines when those 50 seats are already full, and that’s not uncommon. They also apparently fly a ton on Cathay Pacific because it’s a nicer experience than United.
Jan 15, 2019, 10:07 pm
#3
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Of course, CX requires a connection at HKG whereas UA flies nonstop to TPE, PVG and other Chinese cities from SFO. I'd certainly hate to fly UA's old J sardine can 2-4-2 seats compared to CX's 1-2-1 reverse herringbone cabins.
Jan 17, 2019, 12:17 am
#4
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There always seem to be a bunch of Apple/Google types whenever I fly HKG-SFO. I can certainly imagine going out of my way to avoid UA, as a matter of fact I do go out of my way most of the time when flying PVG-SFO to avoid UA
Jan 17, 2019, 3:53 am
#5
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Personally, while I understand that Apple staff prefer to fly CX over UA, I sincerely hope that they will continue to fly with UA as much as possible, so that the CX J and F cabins ex-SFO won't be filled up by these Apple Genius Bar chaps on every flight... 
: Finally understand why HK is among the first destination to get Polaris (to avoid further revenue loss to CX)
Jan 18, 2019, 3:39 am
#8
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I don't know how apple works but presumably similar to other US corps when it comes to travel. Firm policy is there but you can choose a different airline as long as you can come up with an excuse. I suspect 2-4-2 vs. 1-2-1 may not be a valid reason but it's apple so you never know. My firm is listed on the banner but I never flew UA for international flights. My reason for not wanting to fly UA on this trip to India (I needed an excuse for choosing non-approve airline) is that UA requires domestic connection at BOM/DEL. BA and EK are approved airlines for us (CX is not) but BA was full and I got around EK (which at USD 3.5k was less than half of what CX was charging) by claiming I didn't feel comfortable transitting at DXB ... 
Jan 18, 2019, 5:12 am
#9
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I don't know how apple works but presumably similar to other US corps when it comes to travel. Firm policy is there but you can choose a different airline as long as you can come up with an excuse. I suspect 2-4-2 vs. 1-2-1 may not be a valid reason but it's apple so you never know. My firm is listed on the banner but I never flew UA for international flights. My reason for not wanting to fly UA on this trip to India (I needed an excuse for choosing non-approve airline) is that UA requires domestic connection at BOM/DEL. BA and EK are approved airlines for us (CX is not) but BA was full and I got around EK (which at USD 3.5k was less than half of what CX was charging) by claiming I didn't feel comfortable transitting at DXB ...
Jan 18, 2019, 5:21 am
#10
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For several years when I was a road warrior I managed to persuade my employers that oneworld Explorer (RTW) tickets made more sense than roundtrip business class tickets from HK to Europe or the US (the OWE was extraordinarily good value in those days). As a result I got an extra 14 or more flights per trip for vacation or mileage running just for the cost of the taxes! Happy memories!