DJC

Good to see. I just booked LGW-PHL with US as opposed to my original intention of going LHR-IAD-PHL with UA (since I would have had E+).

On another note, I see that you can only pay for E+ access if you are an MP member. Could you have a basic MP membership and make an E+ access booking with that and then switch to your alternate *A number (in my case AC SuperElite) and keep your E+ seat assignment?

I've had nothing but form responses from UA customer service to my e-mails so am in the process of writing a little to Tilton copying the CEO of Air Canada. The last time I complained to the CEO of Air Canada was in the Hollis Harris days and he called personally to apologize for the matter at the time.

SleepOverGreenland

I guess you are referencing to Heineken and the red brew, what they call a Cabernet or Merlot.
^

Flying Lawyer

The only way to get UA back on track is to have their Elites complaining that other Carriers react recriprocally. And that requires the reciprocal benefits have to be abolished. Make the FTL lounges star gold and the discussion is over. The wine you get there is ten times better than the Merlot they have in the UA international hubs.

Flying Lawyer

The new seat LH is different as the armrest is movable so it can be modified to a wider seat. And the seat pitch appears to be wider, too.

And to be honest: For 50 minutes flight from LHR to DUS I could not care less. I do not pay for the seat but I pay for the flexibility of the ticket. Fare systems in Europe are different compared to Asia. As you are certainly aware of there is hardly any difference between full fare economy and C Class. If you need fully flexible tickets you have to pay.

And when talking about flights in Asia: TG uses the movable curtains on 737s either. And you get what you pay might be correct for C Class, but for sure not for First Class. Whoever experienced TG on a Melbourne to Bangkok on that antique 747 or a Bangkok to Hongkong flight on the even more antique MD 11 or SQ on Singapore to Cairo on a 777 will happily even fly First Class on UA....

flysurfer

I actually liked my antique TG 743 on BKK-HKG in F. Sure, the seat was only twice as wide as in LH European C and only offered about 4-5 times the LH legroom and just 10 times the LH recline. And admittedly, the TG FAs were only three times as friendly as their LH counterparts. However, on the positive side, we got a 4 course meal, Dom champagne, and the lavatories offered full-size bottles of various Eau de Colognes. In the end, that made this exhausting three hour flight almost bearable.

Flying Lawyer

Nothing against the Dom. But you for sure never tried to use this seat as a sleeper seat - did you? Sleeping is my first and most important reason to fly First. I can have every bottle of champange on this globe at home....

derpelikan

well lets face the fact. it was great for us all to get E+ acess. E+ is a nice product.

but it was a mistake to give it as a freebie to all Star Gold/ Silver.

Instead of taking away all Star Gold members, they should have limited it to

StarGold Members, and all members of UA who have flown at least 25K EQM the year before and have status.

anyway, UA will in my eyes see a drop of connection passeners in some month, as many people now dont have an incentive to book UA.
if people are now complaining the one good thing is, that this proves that

a.) E+　is a good product and that
b.) revenue managers are idiots at united.

anyway, in my eyes, the lounge discussion has nothing to do with the E+ concept, as E+ is not a starwide benefit, never was , and never will.

i was thinking in booking a flight to HKG in e+, but as this cant be confirmed now, i just bookedy an award with ANA...

anyway, after my 4 UA exp. this year, i think i can say, that i happily wont fly UA if i can avoid it, even in UA F.

and about TG, if you pick the right flights on TG, than you dont wanna fly UA ever again even in F.

btw. the TG is switching their F /C constantly becaue the planes are not ready yet, but at least they are investing money, even they did lose a lot last year...

so comparing TG ( a these days first class airline) with UA ( an airline in which FA are allowed to chew chewing gum..) this shows, that you still have to try TG a bit more

i love TG for different reasons, but sure not everybody might love TG like i does.
and i am chosing TG anytime over SQ too, if they have the new C/F cabin.

but maybe i am treated that well because i am a thai gold. dunno about how TG treats other elites.

dp

derpelikan

if you get the old first class, sleeping is not an option.
but try sleeping in UA C, not possible too... in my opinion.

anyway, for short hops, the MD11 F is still ok.
but for a flight greater than 6 hours, if you are stuckin such a seat, you are lost...

flysurfer

Why would I sleed on a 3 hr afternoon flight?

Anyway, since the TG F seat reclined almost flat and had legrests, sleeping would have been a little bit easier and marginally more comfortable than in LH's intra-EU C seats on a similar 3 hr flight.

flysurfer

So far, they treated me very well. Can't say that about UA.

flysurfer

SEN lounges aren't a *wide benefit, either. They are an exclusive LH benefit in addition to the Business/FTL lounges, and UA doesn't have anything comparable. Sure, they have a few IFL lounges that actually could be compared to SEN lounges, but then again, SENs and other *G do not have access to UA's IFLs. So IFLs don't count.

LH's standard *G lounges are their FTL/Business lounges. They all display the *G sign at the entrance. Hence access to SEN lounges for *G pax is an added benefit, very much like access to E+ used to be. So the lounge discussion has everything to do with the E+ concept. And since LH and UA are permanently competing with each other in the "enhancements department" (aka service reduction), it's only a matter of time until *G access to SEN lounges will be history, or at least more restricted than it is today. It's no secret that *G have already experienced problems getting into certain SEN lounges, proving that this perk is volatile. The overall downtrend will continue. The only things that are going up are prices and the hassle factor.

Traveloguy

Maybe it is time for *A to set up something more akin to OW with three separate tiers?

flyingcat

Excellent Idea

I always thought that Star could use a Platinum level.

Hagbard Viking

To accomplish what?

The root of the "problem" is that *A does not have a consistent product. Some member airlines offer First Class, others don't. Some have Premium Economy, others don't. Some have two levels of lounges, others don't. Some offer complimentary food and/or alcohol on-board, others don't. Some extend additional (beyond the *A minimum) benefits (access to upper level lounges, preferred seating, priority security...) to other member airlines' elite members, others don't, etc... Given this, what exactly would be fixed by introducing a third tier? Perhaps they should start by cleaning up what they've already got?

Kiwi Flyer

Replace *A with OW and you can say the exact same thing.