tom911

As I actually fly AA, let me offer a different opinion. I'm quite happy there. I've cleared 108 of my last 112 "free" domestic upgrade requests, and all my international systemwide upgrades have cleared this year (Paris, London, Tokyo in Jan, Feb, March). I've used miles this year on Qantas to NZ and Australia. I'm very happy with AA's program as a top tier flyer.

With UA, Million Miler requires actual flight miles. AA's equivalent, lifetime Platinum at 2 Million Miles, let's you use bonus miles, credit card miles, and flight miles.

cpx

Then again.. the benefits are going downhill across the board within US.
I moved to UA mainly because of the *A. I havent flown UA since
the move.. only other *A partners. I'm happy so far.

tom911

It's more than just flying. How about the UA web site or call centers? AA doesn't seem to have the running threads on either of those topics.

cigarman

Thanks for being the "posting police" we really are lucky to have you around for that.
My problem is EVERY single post and thread TWA1 has in this forum is negative about CO. $$$ got my money... blah blah blah. Great. We get it. You hate CO. We don't. Go fly somebody else already...
There is a big difference between well thought out constructive criticism and just complaining all the time.

cpx

This year I had to use UA call center about a couple of times and they took
care of the issues within a single call for me. Issues were bit complicated
to be honest. It was just a couple of calls... so my experience might be a fluke.

Bonehead

I think that we have been a bit spoiled; there is no panacea, but we do need to acknowledge that there are some areas vis-à-vis Continental where Joe Plat Flyer (aka Bonehead) has suffered a bit, namely with regard to upgrades and fares.

I wouldn't mind paying a somewhat higher fare (which I have done many times over the last five years) or taking a routing that is slightly indirect (DEN-EWR-SFO comes to mind), because I knew that I stood a good chance of getting upgraded, and/or needed the miles to assure myself of upper-tier status (see "getting upgraded"). Now I'm more inclined to go back to a more "normal" way of buying travel. This is especially true because Continental's coach product frankly stinks for people like me (6'3", 220). I flew WN to LAS recently, and was astonished to find that I was comfortable in a coach seat on a packed 737.

Bonehead

Nothing like NJDavid, though. Ahhh, those were the days.

BigPoppaCO

And thank you for being a "regular guy type customer"

cigarman

I agree with this post. I have many of these feelings myself. They are straining the bonds of frequency programs loyality. I was pleasantly suprised by an airtran flight this week. This is constructive criticism. Unlike the other posters "comments". But, I still want to make continental better!

cigarman

Have we seen TWA1 and Nj David in the same room... hmmm...

Bonehead

I was thinking the same thing (although this incarnation seems a tad "kinder and gentler")...

Bonehead

Me too. Here's a suggestion: Give me a CO version of E+ (which I have lept at when UA offered it for ~ $30 or something). I cannot abide being smashed into a coach seat DEN-EWR. Fugettaboutit!

CO 1E

It would be great, but the CO brass expressly have rejected this idea as financially impossible (unless things have changed). We have quasi-E+ in row 5 on the 737s (except the 800 mid-cabin lav and 900, where we have 6DEF and 7ABC) and the reclining exit rows on the narrowbodies. That's not a true E+ product of course, but it's better than nothing.

Bonehead

As I bounded up the stairs just now, I realized that an E+ section would likely never happen. Right now, I cherish the reclining exit-row seats (including 12A on the 145s, which is FC on those flights). Perhaps a real attempt to keep the middle seats open in the elite section would help (as has been the subject of many a harangue on this board).

Problem there is the darn full flights...darn those full flights. Can't Larry do something about that?

TWA Fan 1

First, I am not NJDavid in a different incarnation (I don't even know who that is, actually).

Second, Cigarman, I agree with you that my posts about CO are largely critical. Why? Because I have seen the benefits and service of CO diminish to the point where there is no incentive for me to fly CO.

The point of my posts is in fact to provide constructive criticism because I absolutely loved the value model created by Gordon Bethune in the 90's.

You may think of it as complaining, but what am I supposed to think when I consistently find CO at least twice as expensive as the competition, or in the case of my upcoming trip to Des Moines, 7 times as expensive (for a trip largely in RJ's)?

I have been a loyal CO customer for a long time and always spent more to fly CO becasuse this loyalty was rewarded in a tangible way.

Now I simply don't feel that it is, and while it's a little irritating to me, the main thing is that I think the CO management team, for all its vaunted financial acumen, is losing sight of the basic Bethunian tenet: "Anybody can cut costs, creating value takes b**ls"

Yes, I know the 90's are gone and we should not expect that level of perks any more. Fair enough.

On the other hand, while Smisek and the crew are busy sarcastically pooh-poohing every innovation and amenity being introduced by competitors, I believe that CO is being a little blinded by its (relative) success.

I mean, let's not forget, although CO didn't declare bankruptcy this time around they have lost a lot of money since 9/11.

And while the competition is busy introducing more legroom in coach, or ptv, or premium economy sections, upgraded business class, etc. CO has taken their model, which essentially consisted of rewarding frequent flyers with numerous upgrades and they have revamped it to such an extent so that there is in fact little or no tangible reward for customer loyalty.

Of course, I don't like it but my basic motivation is that I respect the terrific hard-working men and women of CO and I hate see them led down the wrong path by a management team that, in my opinion, is overly focused on the very mild relative success CO is enjoying now, when in fact the next chapter in the airline business could very well catch CO aboutsix years behind the value curve.