venk

I think in most businesses, the business provides service to the customer. In many companies, especially from Houston, they believe customers serve them.

I am not sure by COer if you mean CO employees or CO people on the board here. If the latter, I will bite... which CO traveler (not just an investor!) here believes UA did something bad here that they would personally fault them for....

Anyone?

sllevin

That's a fallacious argument. One could just as easily argue that United's recent improvements have been directly because of service at this level.

Steve



[This message has been edited by sllevin (edited 10-19-2003).]

JeremyZ

????!!!!!!!!

The link you provided is for *international* flights. That's not the topic at hand, and certainly a smaller proportion of total asms for any of the airlines in question.

I asked for facts, but I guess we're still pimpin' AA, no?

Saying "No major airline of the world has it worse than CO in 2-class or more planes" is simply not based in fact, as your "data" is only for international flights.

Jeez.

mymiles2go

If you want, - I'd be happy to help you in getting in contact with some folks who I'm sure would fix all the "errors" and "help" you received and ensure that you didn't get any of the things you received as part of good customer service.

Kaeokai

I am with ya' venk. I don't think our friend has any idea of what real business is about. I have been self-employed for over ten years. I frequently make accomodations for my best customers. The way I look at it is "big-picture". Am I willing to overlook a place I could make $100 on a customer in order to get the big contract? You bet. It is called smart business. My customers know that I am fair, and will not hit them for every namby-pamby nickel-and-dime item. When it comes time for the big dollar contracts, most of the time, they go to my company.

I am not saying to give away freebies, but in the example that was cited, I think UA went above and beyond for Avek. In his trying to slam them, he has increased my opinion of UA. Even if UA loses some small revenue from the favor they did, most people would recognize the effort put forth, and would reward UA with additional business in the future.

Who knows, if NW follows CO, I may head UA's way because of Avek's advertising.....


K

fireworksboy

At UA they go out of their way to give the customers what they want??!!! I haven't flown UA for a year or two but with my Gold Elite at CO in hand for the year, avek00 you have convinced me to give them a try. I just booked a Y fare on them instead for the airline that gives us one GLORIOUS day after another.

venk

Easy there. For the major US airlines, the domestic configurations are not very different in coach from International since they use the same philosophy except for a few configurations. You can go to

www.seatguru.com

and check for each plane.

BTW, why did you think the original statement was only for domestic?

ClueByFour

www.seatguru.com (their data is culled from the carrier's own websites).

All of the CO fleet is listed as 31 or 32 inches of pitch in coach. Most of the domestic narrowbodies with the exception of the 753 seem to be listed as 31 inches.

All of AA's fleet is at 33-35 inches, with the exception of one of the 762 variants, listed at 32-34 inches.

US' Airbus fleet is 32 inches, with the exception of the 330, which is 33-35. The US boeing fleet is 31 inches.

UA's pitch varies, from 31 on some planes, to 36 in E+. Generally, the E+ seats carry 33-36 inches of pitch. I have status with UA, thus I sit in E+ seats.

How would you characterize the difference?

Again, for those who missed it--there is published data to suggest that CO's pitch is horrid in comparison with their competition, but I've yet to see anything about the service levels on United or American (except the off color ramblings of those with an agenda to troll).

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Don't feed the trolls.

JeremyZ

I give up. Clue, we've been down this road before, but you're once again letting anti-something hostility get in the way of the facts.

There is no appreciable coach pitch difference between the fleets of NW, CO and DL, let alone any difference a right-thinking person would describe as "horrid." US also operates 42% of its aircraft at a 31" coach pitch - the nine A330s are the only aircraft with an economy pitch in excess of 32". UA operates the *vast* majority of its aircraft with a 31" pitch outside of economy plus.

AA is really the only "competition" that offers more than an inch additional space than CO/DL/NW throughout the cabin, throughout the fleet.

An inch.

CB4, consider yourself (once again) debunked.

Flying Buccaneer

As a OnePass Gold Elite who has endured the horrid--OK, maybe miserable is a more appropriate word--31" seat pitch on CO, I think it's fair to criticize the seat pitch in CO's economy cabin. Why? Because a OnePass Elite who doesn't upgrade is relegated to the 31" pitch, unless he/she snags an exit row seat. On UA you get E+, on AA you get MRTC. UA and AA give their elites 2 - 4" additional pitch. That's a big difference.

I am 6'5" and even an inch makes a difference. With a 31" pitch, my knees are already pressed against the seat in front of me. With 32", it's tight but I can move my legs (carefully) without hitting the seatback. Even WN has a 32" pitch!

I guess the bruises on my knees are another enhancement.

ozstamps

As always avek00 offers only a fraction of the real FACTS. AND his "over the past 6 weeks" time frame of course is a total lie. But back to the FACTS:

Truth is he wanted to route totally illegally by backtracking on a Star Alliance award that requires "most direct routing". Everyone past third grade that can read can see that is what the award involved, but not avek00, who wanted to route from ATL backtracking to east coast (IAD and JFK) and THEN flying west to Asia. ATL-SIN westwards is the legal routing.

By his own admission elsewhere he contacted EIGHTEEN United staffers whining and blubbering and haranguing to get what HE wanted done. Plus any other staffers he contacted past that point in August.

It appears United simply gave up on him as their time wanted dealing with his obvious nuisance calls had already cost them $100s in wages, for an award that was on a partner carrier anyway, (for which they pay real money) using miles he transferred over from CO via Amtrak anyway as I understand it.

Has ANYONE here ever phoned an airline EIGHTEEN times over one booking?

(So much for the CO cheerleader - He knows a biz It'l award on CO is a pipe dream.)

So AFTER united bow in to EIGHTEEN+ calls to staffers driving them nuts he chooses to serve this up as an example of what a crummy airline United is.

Some folks have absolutely no gratitude.

Someone gets BETTER customer service than anyone could ever DREAM of from any airline you are a proud SILVER elite member of, and yet bag them and their airline when they come good.

But wait - isn't the very same person who started a thread about this titled"

"A job well done by United"

Aren't you the SAME person avek00 who allegedly typed this to "The inmates who run the asylum at United" about this same incident?:

"Kudos to the UA folks involved in making lemonade out of my lemon reservation. If you're reading this, know that my complimentary letter to UAWHQ is on the way."

I always get it mixed up - does one spell hypocrite with a 'y' or an 'i'?

ANY airline would go broke if all "customers" took 18 calls to acheive something they know darn well is ILLEGAL right from the get-go. Period.

For anyone with the time or inclination, this is the REAL thread with the FACTS, that like most of Avek00s United threads, got locked down. And 4 x FT'ers got timed out over:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum50/HTML/021715.html



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Don't forget the FT Party In Paradise 'PiP' Hana Hou - in HNL Oct 25-27

chemist661

I did a LH FC award to the DUS DO this past July. It took one phone call to make booking, one trip to airport to ticket, and one phone call to change outbound date. (I could have the ticket mailed but since I was ticketing another ticket anyway, I chose to ticket at the airport)

It was my first Star Alliance FC award. Very simple process.

Edited to correct mistake.

[This message has been edited by chemist661 (edited 10-20-2003).]

avek00

Ozstamps:

Since you have elected to continue to grossly distort the facts, as well as try to label me a liar "because YOU say so", I will not dignify your preceding remarks with a detailed response.

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Has YOUR airline won an award lately?

Jim Phillips

The kid obviously has too much time on his hands.

Jim Phillips

Neener neener neener! Your face is like a wiener!

Avek, please go back away.