SPN Lifer

To the contrary, this is the most insightful fine dining change UA has made since the introduction onboard of the Dole™ Fruit Cup®.

Speaking as a life member of the United Club, I am absolutely delighted that they are now serving delicious Shasta sodas!

For hundreds of thousands, dare I say millions of us, a Shasta soda evokes wistful memories of summers in the 1960s. The Summer of Love. The Space Race. Especially in Northern California, where Mt. Shasta is a prominent landmark.

If Shasta soda becomes popular enough during this trial, maybe it will become permanent. 💚

If UA can save a bit of money thereby (instead of going to the leading members of the carbonated beverage industrial complex), so much the better.

EWR764

What, exactly, have been the nickel-and-diming cost cuts at the United Clubs under Kirby? The all new or renovated lounges with more, and better hot food than ever before? The comping of draft beers that used to be charged? The special food spreads for holidays and local events? The Fly concept with grab and go food in addition to new lounges at DEN? Sure, they are not SkyClubs, but we don't have SkyClub crowding with 20-minute lines, either.

I'm as critical as anyone of UA when it's warranted (onboard product, chiefly), but sorry, I need to call out alarmist madness when I see it.

narvik

re: Shasta at UA UC

This is not actually bothering me that much. Whereas Shasta doesn't have the name recognition as CocaCola has, the ingredients are likely pretty close to being identical.
Can't speak of taste, but I fail to see what the outcry is about; it's just pop.
Both companies are old, by the way, separated only by three years.

Xyzzy

Would you rather that they had Shasta or nothing? United is clearly not switching to Shasta. There was a supply issue of sme kind.

manstein58

Alarmist madness! Kudos! I'm a GS and can go on about the nickel & diming to that program. And I fly internationally quite a bit but others have noted how poor the UA J soft product is and how it has deteriorated since its inception (and the hard product is just "meh" for the cost) so I'll let others speak to that. But have you been to the United Club in EWR A? Pretty big operation with lots of traffic. Food is mediocore at best but have you been to the men's room there? Two pissoirs and two stalls- that's nickel & diming par excellence

SPN Lifer

"It has ta be Shasta!"™

lincolnjkc

All of the club F&B and housekeeping is (at least domestically) outsourced -- I think there a re a few different vendors but it's part of the reason the uniforms for "real" UA staff (e.g. those who can assist with travel needs, credential verification, etc.) and outsourced staff are completely different -- just look at the name tags [not ID badge] if nothing else.

As others noted UA and Coke have a pretty broad agreement and the F&B operator is, generally, going to serve what UA specifies. Does UA specify "Coke" or do they specify "Soft drinks"? Does UA's exclusivity with Coke extend to clubs? (Since IIRC UA operates as the master lessor for concessions in C at EWR it would seem no since I can find Mountain Dew at least occasionally in the terminal)

Conscious decision? United's? This seems like a quick judgement assuming facts not in evidence -- I doubt that at a corporate level this even made a blip in either the decision making or costing (there are very few clubs that serve canned beverages) and as mentioned the F&B vendor may have had to make the substitution for operational reasons. If UA is actually providing the beverages I would have to assume in the quantities UA is buying truckfulls of Coke (for inflight, etc.) are cost competitive to a few cases of Shasta for one popup club.

But I'm also expecting "Winter" for C93 based on what I've heard and what I know about construction generally... If they're hanging lights now there's a LOT between then and getting customers into the space. And that's if everything goes perfectly.

I think most people don't care enough for UA to care about brand of fizzy liquid. I mean sure I prefer Mountain Dew (hey, I'm a programmer first and foremost... have to fall into the stereotypes ) but when I ask for a "Coke" at a restaurant my level of care about if that's actually Coke(R), Pepsi, Shasta, President's Choice, RC, or any one of the millions of other colas is not particularly high. And my primary purpose for visiting a United Club certainly isn't because I can get a free can of any of those.

EWR764

Plenty of other examples of nickel and diming elsewhere, like I said. But if the only example of the same at United Clubs is the restroom situation at the new EWR A club, then I think that illustrates my point directly.

Put differently, if a one-off substitution for Coke at a temporary lounge is the biggest gripe about United Clubs in some time... I would say they are doing something right.

Again, much ado about nothing.

Dublin_rfk

What is this cola wars? Come on people, if you can't pronounce what's in it you probably shouldn't ingest it anyway.

leftysauce

Can United Gold+ use the new A Club? (or has anyone tried)

Air Canada website claims:
"An access policy consistent with AC's ... Lounges" which should meant that any *G is eligible traveling on *A flight

https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/...!lounge@newark

Repooc17

On a domestic itinerary? No, UA *G cannot access. It's a UC despite AC co-locating.

​​​​​

leftysauce

Lol maybe there's a maple leaf section/entrance within UC

why does it say the location offers "an access policy consistent with Air Canada’s Maple Leaf Lounges" then

Kmxu

There is only one entry for this UC. You can scan your boarding pass. If the gate does not open for you, you will be denied for entry. This is quite simple.
By the way, I only used one one-pass coupon for two persons at this club last Friday. Both of them are UA 1Ks. Perhaps, AC granted me entry while denied my wife.

dmurphynj

Not to prolong this but I have a really, really hard time getting upset with a conversation that goes something like "Hey Phil, the soda guy didn't show up ... Called the distributor, truck's broken down on the side of the Turnpike, and we're running low on drinks out here." "OK Mike, go run to Shop-Rite, get what you can for now and I'll see what's going on with the Coke distributor."

I mean, we just had another thread going here on FT about employee enablement. This kind of creative problem solving seems to me to be exactly that --- letting folks (yes, even contractors) solve problems.

Which is a better answer to a customer inquiry?

"Sorry, I know you're thirsty but the delivery truck hasn't arrived yet. Sorry the fridge is empty; no, I don't have any more in the back."
"Yes, I know we usually carry Coke, but the delivery truck hasn't arrived yet, so we got what we could. There's cold ones in there - have you tried the ginger ale?"

Answer's brutally obvious.

sbtinme

I've searched and can't find the most recent update on when the new C74 club will finally open. I'd earlier seen end of August, but was told last week in EWR it would be October. Is there an official word?

C74