Kevincm

It's still better than Row 99Z in the back of the bus. Commonly known as my home in the air

HIDDY

Thanks cyclogenesis.

The boat tour is definitely worth taking just for the view from the lake alone.

Seems to be the general opinion. Bit of a shame they can't do something about those bad long haul crews. They really do damage the brand.

Thanks Kev....I was thinking of you when I was there after reading your reports. I know you're a regular visitor. Certainly lots of great photo opportunities in that city.



You really do love it down there though.

If it's only a good seat you want and you're not too fussed about the service then new UA F is pretty good.

UA_Flyer

Thanks for the excellent report.

It is good to hear from someone who is not a regular United Flyer.

United has been consistently inconsistent when it comes to services over the years. I have found CO a little (but not much) better. I am not sure if the new United will be any better, realistically.

Kgmm77

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3G: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

Excellent trip report and well balanced in the comments. Chicago is a wonderful city and the Architectural Boat Tour is a great way to see it. Made me really want to return.

HIDDY

Do let me know how you get on Eastbay1K. I would be very interested to find out.

Thanks UA_Flyer.

Two flights....one very good and one not so good. I'll give them the benefit of doubt till I try them again.

Thanks Kgmm77.
Yes I liked Chicago very much.....there is something about the place that makes you want to return.

Eastbay1K

If you come into the city with a bottle of whatever on "no alcohol election" day, I'll tell you first hand!

BA304

Gosh you're right. I thought it was some kind of apple turnover.

Thanks for the report HIDDY. Pity the crew weren't up to scratch. I've only ever flown UA domestic which seems to have friendly crew in my experience.

BearX220

Domestic F on UA, as with all carriers in the States, is a sort of super-coach product mainly for upgraders and to reward elites. Few pay for it. UA's international product is so marred, so often in all classes by appalling staff, I stopped flying UA overseas years ago. Sadly they seem to have invested in a quite competitive F seat, but endemic service issues negate the edge. I think HIDDY did an excellent job reporting an experience that is, if not the norm, far too common.

UA's problems make BA's MF teething problems look like nothing, although UA's stem from older, bitter crews bent on sabotage... not young puppy dogs tumbling about ineffectively.

I'm glad you enjoyed Chicago and Seattle although you were not in the latter city long enough. Next time PM me in advance and I'll buy you some pints.

HIDDY

That's music to a Scotsmans ears. ^

I shall of course reciprocate your generous gesture by paying for the nuts.

Gaucho100K

Excellent report... thanks for sharing. I guess I should be thankful that my previous life as a I-...... allowed me to "enjoy" the days when United served lobster and Dom Perignon in F.....

Lovecraft

Nice report, Hiddy. I see you're much like me, I also hate when they overcharge for things. $4 for a trolley, I made exactly the same remark on my trip report on an Argentine forum.

And you know you were lucky, 15 minutes to go through immigration and customs at EZE it's the exception, rather than the norm.

HIDDY

As a I-...... ? The mind boggles.

Yes I remember well when Ezeiza used to charge for a trolley...in arrivals of all places. Thankfully they stopped that silly practice. I wonder why some airports in the US have this trolley charge?

Yes we've been really lucky over the last few years. Late afternoon and evenings are definitely the best. Also helps when coming off an A320 rather than a wide body.

Kevin AA

Excellent trip report (both parts). Thanks! ^

Eastbay1K

All the carts just about everywhere are owned/operated by a private company (Smarte Carte) that actually filed bankruptcy several years ago. They are now owned by an Australian bank. In the airports w/o a charge (i.e., the int'l arrivals @ SFO, after a long campaign by Herb Caen, started providing complimentary carts), the airports are paying the vendor.

TPJ

This is the same with oneWorld: domestic, paid F on AA would not get you access to Admirals Club. oneWorld Sapphire/Emerald status on non-AA program would, however, get you access. The same is with Star Alliance: Gold status on non-UA/CO/US program would get you access (on any fare in any class).