jamielv

Does that mean you avoid airlines w/ business class and first class too because it's not fair that people w/ more money had extra leg room?

Indelaware

We simply have different perspectives of PMUA and PMCO which is not surprising. Those who liked CO dislike the new UA because it is not like the old CO and those who liked the old UA dislike the new UA because it is different. Besides integrating labor, merging customer expectations is a very difficult thing for any management team to do. At worst, UA will see PMUA and PMCO customers leave for AA, DL, and US. Leaving is a choice customers can make and they are thus happy with the new airline once the choice is made. But when changes come as a result of a merger customers of both prior airlines dislike the changes because they are not changes they would have made. One thing saving UA from all of us leaving: consolidation has gone so extreem and planes are so full, there is not enough space for everyone to not fly UA.

bowdenj

Very cool article! Thanks for sharing.

snic

Uh, yeah. I'll believe it when I see it. UA does not have sufficient personnel at airports to implement a program in which people walking off a plane during IRROPS are just handed hotel vouchers and a new boarding pass. It is simply impossible for me to believe that a team of 30 employees at headquarters would somehow cause this to happen when some event causes massive cancellations and delays across the route map.

And as for providing "service better ... attuned to what the customers want and expect," yeah, it's nice that some UA managers get it. Too bad the rest of them seem to be of the "elites are over-entitled" camp.

I_Can_Fly_US_Airways

I am still shocked at number of horror stories that I hear about on a regular basis.

I am SO greatful that I bailed 3/3 & switched to US Air...

ULMFlyer

But, but, but...they have "30 staffers devoted full-time to customer service issues. Among them is a new manager who handles service outages proactively."

milesmuncher

I see, well I'm 6'6" and I travel enough to get E+ provided as a perk. Since E- doesn't fit my needs or travel pattern, I think UA should get rid of it. Only provide E+, and only allow elites to book a ticket.

Boogie711

Thank you for proving what we already suspected.

Guess what - the world comes in many different shapes and sizes. I'm 6'4", self employed, pay for a lot of my own travel myself, and require a computer while I fly because I'm meeting clients at the other end.

The only reason I fly UA is because of Economy Plus. US or AA is probably more convenient for me, but for me, that extra legroom is more than a 'funny thrill.'

WineCountryUA

With that line of thinking, would you also eliminate the premium cabins? after all those seating in front either used more money or elite benefits to gain more space than the 6'5" person in back.

halls120

It sounds like InDelaware would rather fly B6 or WN. That might be fine for him, but I suspect many of us aren't so egalitarian.

For my money, the day United gets rid of E+ is the day I stop being a United customer.

garykung

I am totally confused.

Ditching E+ is an idea before the merger (without pmCO involvement) or what?

Kremmen

If you don't think that people should be allowed to pay for the product that they want, I think you're in the wrong country, possibly the wrong planet.

If you don't think that people should get any benefit from airline loyalty, you are definitely on the wrong web site.

WineCountryUA

the article was referring to the period of time the new UA was uncertain if it was going to continue to provide E+ post merger.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/conti...here-stay.html

char777

The article quoted in the OP says that PMUA (that's right, UA before the merger) seriously considered, or even planned, to axe E+. A lot of the squawk boxes on here are either misreading that, reading over it, or didn't bother to read the article altogether and jumped to attack mode.

It was also reported several months ago that the new UA also went through another evaluation as to whether E+ should continue. There was a quote from Smisek at that time (or perhaps it was one of the other executives) who said something along the lines of that E+ was a 'no-brainer' to keep just looking at the cost benefits and not even considering the loyalty aspect. I tried to find the quote quickly just now but couldn't.

Look at the article again. The article in the OP says that PMUA was planning on axing E+:

If what this article says is true (and admittedly it can be difficult for journalists to pick up complex details like this and convey them properly), we can say that "United" evaluated E+ twice: once right before the merger, and once during/after the merger w/r/t extending it to the PMCO fleet.

garykung

Thanks - It is difficult for me to believe PMUA want to axe E+ (I remember around that time, DL rolled out EC to compete with E+).

BTW - I am the OP.