NH_Clark

Thought I would give a United 1K perspective to flying on a CO international flight. This is my first time ever flying on CO internationally.

CO 105 5/7 ATH-EWR

I checked in online night before and chose 16B (762 aircraft) and noticed how extremely lite the load was <30 people. At the check in counter I requested an upgrade and was told that I had either needed to request 24hrs in advance or pay fare difference. I asked what the fare difference was = $4,000.00 I think there was a missed revenue opportunity for CO since I would have probably went for a $500-$600 offer. Considering the seats went out empty..

umm.. ok. 16B it is

In the gate area I notice a CO employee in a suit with an obvious british accent. I lamented the Chelsea loss with him and we struck up a conversation. Gareth is part of the "body" team that comes in and starts up seasonal operations (trains local staff, supervises ops until things running smoothly). Very nice person and was very accomodating about describing their service. I mentioned I had never flown CO internationally and he thanked me for my business. We also chatted about the CO to *Alliance membership in Oct. For the most part seems like everyone at CO is excited about it. We also chatted a little about Flyertalk of which he was familiar with ^ He also mentioned that if they can get the loads up on the EWR-ATH-EWR that they mihgt be able to go to a 2x-3x/week schedule year round.

On board the f/a's were very attentive and most went out of their way to say "hi".

The IFE in Y is nice and I enjoyed the selection of music and games. The movie selections were meh, and I didn't like the fact that the movies had to be manually restarted at the end and only after the longest one was done. Folks had to constantly remind a f/a to restart the movies. This is not unlike the UA IFE system. I wish our american carriers would improve this part of their service! I flew AF from LAX-CDG and loved the AVOD!!

Meal service was standard Y fare.. the little ice cream cup at the end was good. Water service throughout flight was attentive and consistent ^

16 B is an awesome seat on the 767-200 with the cutout providing plenty of leg room to stretch out.

Overall it was a very pleasant flight and the f/a's were very friendly and attentive.

I fly UA internationally frequently and would give CO high scores for every aspect of their service (except for the upgrade procedure ) ^

TommyC80

Glad you had a good experience. I agree with you about missed revenue opportuniy for CO on flights to BF markets going out with empty seats. As it stands, the only BF flights you can do a revenue upgrade on at the airport are to/from HNL.

Maybe revenue managment feels that if they offer revenue upgrades then people won't shell out the cash for F tickets or do the miles+copay upgrade process currently available.

sbm12

All of CO's 772 and 752 planes currently flying have AVOD; only the 767s are lacking it at this point and supposedly the 764s will get it this winter.

And I certainly understand CO's approach on not selling the BF seats at the airport. I'm not sure I agree with it, but I understand it.

Glad to hear that it was otherwise an enjoyable trip.

colpuck

+1 to the OP comments.

The BF system currently in place (waitlist killed at 24 hrs, miles + co-pay, and no day of revenue upgrades) does and is being changed. I personally care more about the co-pay but that's just me

marks88

If CO offered buy-ups on the day of the flight for 500-600 USD, there would be little incentive to use miles + copay for upgrade ... considering the copay is already 500 $ for the lowest fare classes for Europe - N America. Just my 2c.

texd

Did anyone else read this and wonder what was going on with catering?

Steph3n

for about 2 seconds...then ohhh Man U, chealsea, etc...

LordHamster

I thought they changed that so the wait list now persists till the boarding time like the domestic upgrades list.

ChelseaFC

You have to be kidding me... I have to hear about the loss on these forums as well!!

GIGFY

If it's any consolation, I am an Arsenal supporter; although must admit your lot did seem to be playing against 11 + ref.

Now that we have strayed off post, would add that I never bother with the movies, as much prefer iPod & flight map....

ual744777sta

+1 I'm such an airline geek.

Stripe

If there were only 30 pax on a 762, I'd stay in Y and stretch out in an empty row. No way would I pay extra for BF in that situation. The meal isn't that good.

bocastephen

Actually, you were never eligible for an upgrade unless you had sufficient miles in your Onepass (or DL or NW) account and paid the upgrade co-pay. If you don't have a OP or eligible partner account, you can only upgrade by paying the applicable fare difference.

Fanjet

What I find to be the main difference between UA and CO for int'l flights is consitency. CO's service seems to always be good and the same for each flight. With UA, it's a hit or miss. I live in the DC area and could use UA mainly for my trans-Atlantic trips, but I usually will go with CO and the connection in EWR. I can even sit for free in E+ since I'm 1P with UA, but I still try to book with CO. I don't even mind the 757s. I "heart" CO that much!

EWRCabincrew

Normally, the movies will restart automatically. It was probably a glitch that day. I never have that problem when I work the 762/764s.