weero

Sounds like you were flying CO before, keep flying CO, and keep being proud of its superiority.

I haven't noticed any of the above, so I cannot follow you. It has been an eternity since I have seen a flat bed in Biz, my last PS flights was decorated with an certificate because there was no power, my flight options get drastically reduced because UA's 747s and 777s are getting substituted by UACO's 737s ... and the beer @ NRT - I am pretty sure - has been unchanged. And with cheaper J awards TATL, I assume you refer to the 90K-105K-100K evolution whose last step was sold as a major goodie to the members.

I have to concede though that my perspective is of course from someone who sit on transpacs and is based in Asia. I am indeed agnostic to domestic 'enhancements'.
no ... I did not say that.
How would I know? I didn't fly CO in a long time. All I know and said is that UA's FFP was a whole lot better than UACO's.
To upgrade a full fare (B) it was 12'500 miles now the chart says 30000 miles. And UA tried to charge me that amount for a fare which I purchased before the hike was announced .
No idea. I do and did not refer to CO which I hardly know, I talked about the new beast, the hybrid UACO.

And of course I refer to my perspective: I can get out from here on UA only via HKG or NRT. So all the other changes have less impact on me and offer no benefit for me.

rruaco

I thought that was only for international flying and full reciprocal rights are new? I could be wrong - but it doesn't matter, the challenge was to find one thing new, and there's certainly at least one from that list

I believe the hikes were pre-merger. So I agree the overall change was bad - but starting from the day-of-merger baseline it is an improvement.

weero

Possible ... but it came in fast sequence. It's immaterial anyway as there is no availability anyway.

100K for a coach ticket from Asia to Europe that is pretty unheard of though. That is 10K more than what I 'paid' for a Biz ticket in 2009.

MP turned so bad that I don't even care about the miles anymore, all I still crave are the SWUs but hey, those have been crippled too!

robyng

It isn't really off topic to me. Because I like to use credit cards that give me benefits on the airlines I use most of the time. That's why AMEX MR worked so well for us for years (on CO and DL). So - at least on my part - I'm not only thinking about the new COUA - and Delta - but about other airlines - and credit cards too. Like I mentioned to weero - I looked into Southwest Airlines (which is merging with AirTran) - but it doesn't seem like a good fit for us. AA has very few flights out of JAX. Ditto with US Airways and Jet Blue (with the last - I'd have to hub through JFK to get just about anywhere - including LAX). And this is my total list of choices (these are the only airlines that fly out of JAX):

Airline Terminal
AirTran Airways Airlines, FL Concourse A
American Airlines, AA Concourse C
Continental Airlines, CO Concourse A
Delta Airlines, DL Concourse A
JetBlue Airways Airlines, B6 Concourse A
Southwest Airlines, WN Concourse C
US Airways Airlines, US Concourse C

So maybe it will just be a question of sticking with DL and COUA - and "playing my cards" differently (I just did the Chase Sapphire deal - perhaps I will look for a good deal on some kind of Delta card next - maybe the Delta AMEX - we shop a lot at Costco - which only takes AMEX). Don't think I'm ready to start churning credit cards once a quarter - but I am certainly ready to re-evaluate our current card situation. Robyn

pareto

I actually started to make the move last year. Decided not to spend the $1k on MRs to keep 1K and matched to AS. I have found my experience on AS to be far superior to UA... Still flying UACO, but don't have nearly the same loyalty that I did before.

Solyesh

I am a CO Pres Plt and have 2.5MM on AA. I have 140K EQM year-to-date and the second half of the year tends to be my heavier travel period. I spend too much time on airplanes and was happy with AA. I switched to CO when we moved to northern NJ (I used to take AA hub out of MIA to Latin America) - I actually have grown to like CO and I have been extremely distressed ever since the UACO merger was announced (although originally from Chicago - I have avoided UA as much as possible due to fairly negative experiences over the years - which were reinforced in recent UACO code shares operated by UA).

Although I really do like CO and have been loyal these past few years, I am seriously thinking about contacting AA and asking them to match my status at EXP (I'm already lifetime Plt on AA) - although this would mean flying in and out of JFK (and adding about 2 hours to each trip) - my worst fears about the UACO merger so far have been realized (unfortunately).

I have little confidence that the UACO management is putting their customers first in this merger.

willyg2me

I just read through this thread. I jumped last year after Smisek screwed the CO MM & employees. For the first time I just started flying the most convenient vs staying w CO or partner. I also used to skip long private flights when I could to keep my status.

I have as much loyalty to UA/CO as they have to me . . . ZERO.

As a MM I can't stand that I have been penalized vs the UA MM. CO employees can't use buddy passes, even for immediate family in the case of a death in the family. UA employees unaffected.

I made the decision last year to "walk" away with my money. CO/UA doesn't care. More of the UA mentality.

Never knew how much I would miss Bethune. Kinda like Bush

mduell

Huh? The MM programs remain separate, with their different accounting and reward systems. Where's the screw?

willyg2me

UA MM get equivalent of gold. CO MM get silver. For a year now, UA MM have been put "miles" in front of CO MM on both metal. UA pple flood CO planes and take perks and upgrades over CO MM. They keep saying "soon" but a year is not soon. Hence; no loyalty. I actually prefer to fly a different airline as I only get frustrated flying CO/UA.

Carolinian

And, of course, the RyanAir-style luggage routine UA is testing for carry-ons at LHR and HKG is just one more incentive to move.

mduell

UA MM flew 1MM BIS. CO MM flew 1MM EQM.
With 50% COS bonus, DEQM, partner travel, 1MM BIS can easily be 2MM EQM.
Why should CO MM get the same perk for flying less than UA MM?

robyng

Can you explain what the RyanAir routine is? Robyn

Luvs2snowbordbut1kSEA

Bye- Bye... I might join you, who knows. We can, however, agree that CO management is ruining a once great airline... Nice job Smisek.

milepig

At ORD the wait times are random, and seem to have to do with how many people the TSA puts on the line. One day it will be 10 minutes, and the next 0. I've seldom had a 25 minute wait (other than the day LH added three extra jumbo flights), but 15 can seem like 25...

mbluecpa

My thoughts exactly. I'm confining my UA/CO flying to cities not as easily served by AS or a partner, and flying just enough to maintain *G. That leaves enough on AS, DL, and AA for MVPG. Makes lounge access a little tricky, but so be it.