I can't let my 40K BA balance go to waste. A few AA Q-UPs and an SPG transfer, and I should have the 160K needed to to LAX-SCL-IPC and back in J on LA. After that, I'll choose a new program.

I only base it on the product, as I am not a UA 1K. The p.s. E+ seats are craptacular but no worse that CO's Y product. The other E+ seats are generally OK and the E- seats are, again, no worse than CO's product. I actually like the CO domestic F seat better, but the UA F seat is fine. With the exception of that one FA to SYD the others have generally been fine. Sure, I get a disinterested flight crew every now and then but I get that on CO, too. I still give an edge on the non-flight customer service to CO over UA based on GAs and PC/RCC agents, but my guess is that status drives that more than the carriers' actual operating mentalities.

I guess I could avoid BA by just doing a straight-up SPG transfer for 40K more miles, then do a CC trade for the other 80K.

The last BA flight I was on was an AVR:rolleyes:

Mmmmmm....last night's pork tenderloin on an everything bagel, with tuna macaroni salad that has been in the fridge for about 2 days.

See points A and B in the post below:

The release by the Commission had a number of great quotes, including:

"Tropicana Casinos and Resorts, failed to meet strict state licensing requirements, including a lack of business ability, a lack of financial responsibility and a lack of good character, honesty and integrity."

Or the particularly brutal:

"In some respects, this has been the most difficult of cases because the Commission has had to apply its institutional regulatory expertise derived over the life of this agency to tell a long-time and otherwise apparently successful businessman that he lacks business ability," (emphasis added).

Well, at least you let someone know so when the EMTs find you we'll be able to tell them what happened. ;)

The line about character, honesty and integrity was only in there because the Commission found out that they had been lied to, and in NJ that is an equal sin to lying to the Mafia Commission. Both of those actions spell the end real quick. What amazes me is that the lone dissenting vote on licensure came from the Commissioner who used to run the NJ State Police.

My opinion is based entirely on my experiences with UA's domestic hard and soft products. While I still prefer CO domestic F seats (I like the pleather better than the UA cloth and I find the UA seats to be a bit hard), the UA soft product is not much different from the CO soft product. Chelsea catering still beats UA catering overall, but UA's domestic F meals have improved quite a bit. Booze and wine quality basically is the same on both carriers.

I also like being able to fly larger aircraft than 737's on domestic routes and the greater frequencies UA provides on many routes. My *G status allows me to avoid non-elite check-in and security lines and gets me into the RCC's to use the agents therein for rebookings or other modifications to my itinerary. In addition, I have not encountered many surly employees recently. In my experience, one is more likely to get a surly agent at EWR with CO than at any of the UA domestic hubs. Nonetheless, CO's lounges are superior to the RCC's and CO still runs a more reliable operation. CO also has newer planes that tend to be in better condition (on the interior) and offers IFE on more flights than UA.

Overall, CO still offers a domestic product that I prefer to that of UA. That said, UA's overall domestic product is not far off from CO's, and UA's service seems to be improving. Thus, my opinion of UA continues to rise.

I'm trying to clear out the fridge and get rid of the nasty stuff. While my mother is on the cruise before we meet up in AMS, I'm going to try to eat as healthy as I can. Less crap, more olive oil, etc. Of the 12 dinners that I have planned, only one is really truly nasty on the nutrition side.

I miss my year off. That was a fun year.

The O&A week was a bit insane. I remember doing a SAN-LGW MR on Fri-Sun. Getting back to SAN Sun night and taking a 8am SAN-IAH-LGA trip to spend the night, go into the studio that morning and then hop on the eve EWR-SAN flight to go to the opening of a new club/rest that I had to be at.

Needless to say, by the time Wed rolled around I passed out.

+1 As someone who's spent a fair amount of time on UA in the last few years, they've actually gotten better then they were back in the mid-90s (which is the last time i regularly flew them).

Hopefully i'll find out this weekend. :)

It's not that hard, especially with the ridiculously cheap transcon fares UA pushes out at times and their super-loose routing rules. It's also not too bad getting on segments. You used to be able to do ORD-IAD-CLT-PIT and back for under $80 and do it all in one day if you did it right.

Welcome to the club!

The 80k US-Europe reward, do I remember correctly that one could not use WBC for the over water segments?

My two cents on airline bashing overall. A couple of years ago people on the NW board were complaining about how bad the FA's had gotten as all of the "good" ones had left. I thought the FA's at that time were a huge improvement compared to the past. NW really was the sit down and shut up airline back in the 80' and 90's.

This is also the last flight out of DEN (for CO), departing at 16:45. I wonder why so many elites on this route.:confused: All the skiing in the mountains??

KL metal only, IIRC. And KL metal only once in Europe. Segments in the USA can be any carrier.