BE-58

Let me be the first to suggest that SFOBOS would greatly benefit from this configuration! I think they could make a ton of money from the tech crowd as AA has abandoned this market.

Also, I want to express my thanks for keeping Channel 9. Although it seems that many captains are opting out recently, I feel this is a real differentiator for UA.

AZjohns

Thanks for your posts UA Insider (though your gender keeps flipping around the past couple of months….lol).

I personally appreciate these hard product changes and upgrades (I consider them upgrades). For me, it’s all about getting to lay down and sleeping horizontally and converting all your wide bodies and 757’s to this configuration is great.

But coming from the UA side (I know you are from the CO side), I am still very concerned on your soft product changes, as there seems to be a huge difference between the two airlines prior to this merger. I look forward to hearing from you (either Scott or Shannon or ??) when you think the time is right about these upcoming changes.

In the mean time, I am just sticking to reservations I have and in a holding pattern

phatom701

These are great news. I especially appreciate Channel 9 now being widely available.

I think the captains need to make channel 9 available instead of hiding behind myths promoted by bad pilots (pilots who got disciplined for wrong doing but blame channel 9 instead).

UA should make it a policy where captains who got too many complains about not enabling chnl 9, s/he would not be eligible for bonus or something like that.

Channel 9 is a very key differentiator against other airlines and it's the one reason why many of us chose to fly UA over other airlines. If the pilot purposely mess with such key factor, s/he should really not work for UA.

Just like in other industry, we are not allowed to mess with things that make our product unique. Doing so would get us fired.

UA_Flyer

These improvements are positive indeed, and hope it will carry over to soft products such as in-flight meals and services.

I will definitely give back some of the flyings that I used to do on United if these positive changes continue to pop up.

JFKflyer26

Scott, will the 767-300s also get new overhead bins?

SunLover

Thanks for the clarification Scott. Always appreciate your participation.

I wonder if the JFK-LAX/SFO transcon route will continue to be branded Premium Service in the future; since the removal of F and addition of E- makes it fundamentally no different than the average UACO bird.


SunLover

ual1960

I've made snotty reference in past posts to "changes you'll like". But these are changes I *will* like. It's good to see long-delayed investment in UA.

As for the soft product, start by making the C-class chow vaguely worthy of the fare and then I'll really cheer. (The salads posing as apppetizers, the former Y-class desserts now served in C and the really gross, soggy mid-flight snack sandwiches are egregious examples.)

And I reserve the right to be snotty in the future if a) UA deserves it, and/or b) I'm in a bad move due to a UA foul-up.

halls120

BusinessFirst is a ridiculous concept. No one - other than a few delusional souls - really consider it to be First Class. It's a fine business class product, and that's what it should be marketed as.

sbm12

Given the other infrastructure needs (i.e. satellite systems that simply are not in place right now) that would be required for in-flight internet I'm guessing no on that front.

Except that no other routes are guaranteed the premium forward cabin product on all flights like the p.s. routes are. A one-off aircraft flying a utilization/positioning route is different than a dedicated sub-fleet.

I am definitely intrigued by the reference to possible other uses for those p.s. aircraft. I would bet that they are seen on international routes before additional domestic routes show up. The reference to SFO-BOS above is a good reason why. If AA has already abandoned the market then why should UA offer something more than just a non-stop flight to attract business. Unless they're trying to pull customers away from JetBlue they probably don't need to.

belfordrocks

+1

All this BusinessFirst silliness should end, and I'm glad it has. You can market it as something else, such as Envoy or BusinessElite, but to imply that it is somehow better than business class is just insulting the intelligence of your customer base.

sgopal2

Sorry for my earlier post, I made a mistake. I've flown all of the various 777 biz class configs (UA 7 across, UA 8 across and CO 6 across). The CO 6 across flat bed configuration are definitely my favorite.

My point is that if I'm a paying business class customer, then I'm going to choose the airline that provides me the most comfort without fiddling around with SWUs or upgrade chances to first. I'd rather get a decent business class seat (like the CO 6 across flat bed) rather than take my chances with buying a ticket for a UA style 8 across flatbed and then try for an upgrade to First. SWUs are too hard to use anyway, they are practically worthless.

For the long-haul routes, a 2 class configuration with CO style flat bed seats is what I think UA/CO should be striving for. Otherwise I'm afraid a lot of premium international travelers like me will flee to other airlines with better options for business class.

belfordrocks

+1

Like I said, two-cabin business will always be superior to three-cabin business- more as a psychological thing than anything else.

kb1992

hehehehe the percentage of SMI/J batting changes I don't like is down from 99.5% to 90% now.

But we still face massive cuts in benefits. One after another.

Just did CR1 upgrade on CO flights AUS-IAH-SFO. I am a bit surprised that R>0 on many CO flights.

Renard

Sounds good but I think we need to worry about Oct 1st and the MP roll-out. That could be the deal killer. As much as the 'ghetto bird' was maligned on here, I liked the extra UDU upgrade advantages to Hawaii that it provided, especially as you could UDU them. I suspect lie-flats and UDU upgrades from CA to Hawaii will be axed by CO dba UA not to mention UA 1...err I mean UA 201 ord-hnl.

EWR764

I think a point a lot of us miss is that the dynamics of the JFK-LAX/SFO market have changed substantially since 2004 when the p.s. product was introduced. JetBlue and Virgin America have entered, putting downward pressure on yields and seizing about 17% of the market collectively, while Delta has grown its franchise, especially on JFK-LAX. As many have noted, the SAG agreement was a major driver of F demand, and this provision has been modified, causing F demand to dry up considerably.

As for E+, previously the airline was giving away a product it could not capture much of a revenue premium for. Now, the legroom will be increased to match the rest of the fleet (a major criticism of p.s. E+ in the first place) and UA will have the opportunity to upsell the product to non-elites. This is a net positive, in my mind.

Finally, the improved C hard product will be a quantum leap over the existing C and a dramatic improvement over the current F. As p.s. F is not highly differentiated from p.s. C to begin with, I find it difficult to spin this as anything but a favorable development.

The domestic 767-322/ERs have been uprated to match their longhaul sisters.

Speculation is that JFK will be one of the early United Club renovations, which will result in the removal of the IFL to create a larger lounge, complete with showers and improved amenities. Just a rumor, though.

PMCO ETOPS-rated 757-33N (ex-TZ) are candidates for Hawaii service, since they have similar capacity to the outgoing domestic PMUA 763ERs.

Just like so many were absolutely certain that E+ was going away, then when that didn't happen, that PMCO F capacity would be removed to accommodate E+, and that international F service was dead in the water. We'll see what happens.

At any rate, capital expenditures for aircraft interior upgrades are recoverable. From an accounting perspective, the operating expense of a frequent flyer program and capex are apples and oranges.

A half-billion dollar fleet improvement plan might be the most expensive diversionary tactic I have ever seen!

Where are the UA lieflats to Hawaii (besides HNL-NRT)? CO implemented EUA West Coast to Hawaii before the merger, I doubt it goes away.