Are things getting better?
 

So I was a 1K flyer who made the switch when AA offered the ExPlat match. I have not really looked back at all. But this morning I was wondering - are things gettting better?

I read the threads and know that there apologists for the airline - but since a large number of 1Kers exited, are upgrades easier? Is service getting better? Is the SHARES system doing a better job now that it is almost SIX months into this merger?

Open and honest thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I am pretty happy with the service. The only remaining gripes I have are:

1) The elimination of reasonably priced day of departure cash upgrades on international flights (UFCs and PCUs).

2) Inability to apply upgrade instruments (RPU, GPU) within 24 hours of flight time.

3) Inconsistent availability of award tickets on some of the PCMO routes (e.g. EWR<>NRT).

2) can be done with a phone call or with a GA if there is R availability. You just can't waitlist within 24 hours.

No and No. COdbaUA is just as much as a disaster as it was on 3/3.

All of the mechanical delays and cancellations over the past few months have made many people begin to question whether or not the airline can reliably take them from point A to point B.

Nope. Better CS (MP is back to being closer to MP and not OPdbaMP), but things are still bad.

Operations that are getting worse, not better
"pricing glitches" (aka TODs)
Difficult employees at times / low morale
Mileage clawbacks and other posting issues
Latest - major holiday flight cancellations over the weekend that has Jeff'd up travel for many of us
CPU still getting stuck

I've just started my AA flying and it truly is a breath of fresh air.

I stuck with COdbaUA. But am not an apologist. I think four points have to be made. 1. As far as upgrades go I have no complaints. After some initial problems I get upgraded on most flights either with or without instruments. 2. Shares is atrocious. Nothing is quick on the phone anymore. What used to take one minutes takes ten. If time isn't important then COdbaUA is the airline for you. The website is missing several functional items that used to be on the old UA site and require you to call and go through the Shares molasses process. 3. The airline continues to make major blunders and refuses to apologize or come up with with customer friendly solutions to the problems. IRROPS, botched promos and mistake fares are examples of this. 4. Lastly, it is clear that elites of all stripes are not important to this airline. They are tolerated (barely) but general members and the money they spend on fees and upgrades have priority over elites including GS.

No, not getting better. I had three mechanical cancellation on 3 consecutive itineraries. My email to 1kvoice on August 2nd is still not addressed/answered. It takes 1-2 weeks to get canned/non-personalized response from 1Kvoice and all subsequent correspondence to the original message is ignored.

On the upside, I have had pretty good luck with the cabin crew(both FA and pilots) on the last few flights - but customer service and mechanical cancellations are getting out of hand for me(oh, and CPU is NOT getting better at all - I am batting way worse than pre 3/3 switch).

a mixed bag
 

While I'm getting more upgrades in the last couple of months, I'm also losing half days or more of my life due to IRROPS and MX delays.

Consistency of customer service is highly uneven, ranging from rude to pleasant. There are still many problems crossing the sCO to sUA operational divide.

Management doesn't seem to understand the risks of turning the people who spend the most time working in and with the airline into unhappy campers. United's reputation depends on rebuilding some goodwill among these groups, and this is not (yet) on the corporate agenda.

1. I am somewhat annoyed with various ticky tack issues from UA - e.g. the whole disaster where US gives the bonus miles, then recalculates and takes the miles away. My GPU's clearance rate is 1/4, and losing confirmed trans-pacific upgrade due to cancelled flight.

2. I am still flying United. All the other stuff they are doing are keeping me on United for the time being.

3. What I want to know is from some "old timers". That is, as human, we tend to romanticize "the good old days" and forget the bad and only remember the good, but there does seem to be a lot of complaints about United these days. What I am curious about is what the United forum looked like 5~8 years ago. Are there more or less complaints? Is United really a (much) worse airline than it used to be?

I'd say things are getting worse, they lost a child and killed a dog in the past month.....

but what about the guitars?

That was pre-merger :)

Nearly 6 months post integration and things are not getting better, but agents do seem more adept at overcoming the system limitations.

While Fters can be a critical bunch, take a look at the myriad complaints on this board and you will see that United is doing a poor job at many of the basic airline functions with numerous delays, cancellations and software issues. You can't count on United to deliver you in a timely manner, notwithstanding the other issues.

One begins to wonder what other problems may lurk behind the scenes.

Although I do feel for the poor Taylor guitar :(

I have my own "how is the airline doing" gage. Its the number of gripe FT threads started /passengers carried. If you take a snapshot today you will see UA the clear loser. US used to be the posterboy, but if trueth be told they are approaching WN as clear winners in the ratio. AA is doing better post bankruptcy with fewer gripes while Delta has held steady. This is my internal Metric

I guess I qualify as an old-timer (joined MP in 1983 and almost 15 years as a 1K).

The past 5 months on United have been somewhat of a nightmare for customers and employees alike. I've been a fairly consistent proponent of various ways to improve employee performance and the "soft product", but with the limitations of SHARES, it's hard to imagine anything so frustrating as having to take a step backwards in computer technology and go through a merger at the same time.

That being said, I still feel valued as an elite flyer. I get calls from CS occasionally, and when I complain about some pricing or credit issue, it gets straightened out, though it might take a while. It certainly takes longer than usual to get things fixed, but I'm still fairly happy. United has pretty much the best hard product of any of the US airlines, all considered, and a very robust schedule.

My upgrades have cleared 9/10 in recent international flying (TATL), so I'm happy in that regard. But bear in mind that I'm not your typical domestic road warrier who has been affected by higher levels of IRROPS etc.

There was one other time about 4-5 years ago that, fearing for the future of United Airlines (pilots on strike, company facing bankruptcy) I built miles and status up on an alternate airline (Virgin Atlantic), but those problems became less urgent over time.

So, in summary, there are a lot of valid complaints being aired here on the FlyerTalk board. But to put it in perspective, it's wise to remember that a lot of posters here have already made the switch to AA or elsewhere because it makes sense to them. Their or my decision parameters are not what's important - you have to look at your own situation and make a decision. It's my feeling that things are slowly getting better, customer service for example, so I guess one has to extrapolate into the future a bit too.

I'd say that this is even more irrational than most of the threads. :eek:

Also, how do you account for the thread merges? ;)

I chuckle at the people who went to AA with its MD80's and NEW 777 coming with 3 4 3 in economy. Its fleet is at least 2 years away from E+ and new layflat business class seats.
I guess the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. :D
For me all my upgrades clear on international flights and really once i have E+ exit row do i really care when i miss an upgrade to domestic business class? NOT!
UA still hands out tons of certs when they screw up and they do all the time.
About the only think I am getting upset about is how i dont get the "priority" boarding as a 1k that i was used to...:mad:
Today boarding is a cattle call with everyone who has a credit card.

How true! and that uncertainty factor just keeps creeping up!

I'm definitely glad I stuck with UA but as a CLE flyer, it's not like I have much choice.

* I have been upgrade on 90%+ flights that I booked five days or more in advance. Even got one last night on a completely full MCO - CLE flight.

* Being able to change flights within +/- 24 hours is worth its weight in gold. I frequently travel between CLE - ORD and am able to adjust my flights as needed.

* E+ to the ex-CO planes has been a lifesaver for the times I am not upgraded.

* Surliness, for the most part, has left the FAs and GAs and business appears to be back to normal.

The recent press hasn't been kind to them.

I chuckle at those who don't realize how much greener the other side can be. ;) A small sample size of three flights in the past week (with three more in the next week), but from what I've observed:

1. Boarding process is nice and orderly - no gate lice
2. Food is a definite step up from UA
3. EXP is top dog - no GS ahead of you
4. Upgrades clear reliably - no TOD shenanigans, no YBMs
5. Crews are uniformly pleasing & seem happy
6. Operations are frightfully smooth

Oh, I'm typing this on a flight to DFW right now, on a nice new BSI plane.

* Being able to change flights within +/- 24 hours is worth its weight in gold. I frequently travel between CLE - ORD and am able to adjust my flights as needed.



I did not know you can change flights as a Gold within +/-24 hours. Is this for free?

http://www.united.com/web/en-US/cont...daychange.aspx

Gold, Platinum and 1K get free same day changes.

+1. Their PR/public perception has been terrible as of late but I think some of it is from just pure bad luck.

Watched ABC this morning and saw them talking about UA.

This is the same article but has the news clipping below:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headline...uniteds-fleet/



As long as your fare class is available.

BUT....but, on AA (and all the Eagle flying personally) AA has gotten me where I'm going ON TIME.
I leave for home on Friday nights and return on Sunday afternoons. I don't have time to dither with UA for hours anymore because their planes are always broken now or their staff are timing out.
No MX issues and just one 40min. weather delay on AA so far.
Their staff are keeping their composure in the BK environment.
My AA experience so far has been very remeniscent of my UA experience circa 2011 and prior. ^

Holy crap........now this is getting dangerous?
Or are there just tighter focused lenses on UA?
Any other airlines having these newsworthy malfunctions with their fleet?

I thought that they would release all the fare classes within 24 hours of travel, so as long as the cabin class is open the GA could rebook you. Is this not correct?

No -- they will generally open up all classes 3 hours from scheduled departure time IF there is any room left. UAs flights have been much more full/tight so making changes (esp Fri and Sun) is pretty rough on heavy pax routes.

Here..Hhere and +1. I'm pissing in my pants at the thought of my upcoming MR to SFO with UA in Sept/Oct. I just did a random check on the EWR-SFO flights this month and noticed an average of two cancelled flights each way for about two weeks running......YIKES!!!!

I just need to hit 1k this year and get my SWUs for an upcoming trip to ACC late in Nov/Dec and then I'm done. I will be 1MM come my last MR to hit 1K.

This is too much for me and HKG is my favorite airport and I love flying CX. I would rather it's AA flying so I can use my EVIPs but I have learned to love CX for the past three years.

Case in point, I got upgraded to C when my Y ticketed flight from MNL-HKG-JFK was cancelled due to a typhoon. To make matters more intersting, AA gave me the mileage credit for a C ticketed flight. I also cannot count how many times I have gotten Up-Op on the JFK-HKG flights with CX.

It's also a laughing joke when I arrive at HKG to catch my connecting HKG-BKK or HKG-MNL flights to see a beautifully dressed CX CSR holding my name on a board with a new boarding pass for an Up-Op to C. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

It pays to be a Top-Tier FF in ONE-WORLD.

Things are improving as far as knowlege and remembering entries and string commands in SHARES (Repetition = retention). However what we really need is SPEED.

This is not possible when one entry necessitates doing 3-4 more. If you make a mistake or miss a beat, you have to do it over. Losing time means you cannot rebook, synch and issue an exchange ticket in a short period of time (i.e., one minute before a closeout or x-minutes needed for the person to haul over to another airline).

Even if I'm using "Check-It" to synch a ticket, I still have to toggle over to SHARES to issue an itinerary and copy of the new e-ticket number. "Check-It" is good and improvements are added almost daily but it's still not fast enough, does not yet contain all the entries that can only be done in SHARES - entries that are necessary, especially during irregular ops.
What used to take seconds but now takes 2-5 minutes will make it or break it for the passenger.

Here is an example (in SHARES - cannot be done in Check-It to waitlist a passenger who missed his original flight - there were no seats left on three more flights - so waitlist only) -- This example takes many steps: --

1. Retrieve PNR -- (Flight nbr, date, name ROY/ROBERT)
2. Add waitlist segment -- 0(sell)123T18AUGSFODENPD1 (priority waitlist)
3. E. (end PNR)
4. 6:W123/18AUG-ROY/ROBERT (-/+bag if applicable)
5. 6:BX123/18AUG-ROY/ROBERT ( " )
6. 6:BF123/18AUG-ROY/ROBERT
7. 6:LD123SFO#SL (to look at the waitlist)

Supposedly these steps will be forthcoming in Check-It but we don't have a timeline. There are still roadblocks during irregular ops - If a person is traveling on one segment (i.e, SFO-IAD but now can only be protected SFO-DEN-ORD-IAD -- from a single flight to a double connection) -- , this exchange cannot be synched in SHARES. It would get even more convoluted if one or more segments are on another airline. It would necessitate a call to the Help Desk to reissue the ticket. You can imagine the time involved if there are only minutes to spare and it's the last opportunity for the day or destination. We might even be "on hold" with the Help Desk.
So for those who say UA agents are lazy or unmotivated to help passengers, this is what we are dealing with.

Other than CSRs being better with SHARES, and sometimes less frazzled its just as bad. I've had zero on time flights since March. Average delay of about 1 hour.

As a 1P, I don't expect many upgrades, but my upgrade rate as a 2P pre-March was much higher. I've missed several upgrades due to TOD and the SHARES PNR splitting. I shouldn't have to decline upgrades just to avoid a split PNR.

I suppose a recent change I like is that more crews are skipping the Smisek pre-flight message :)

Sorry, but when I read your post, right next to it was a ubiquitous "You're In" credit card advert... Almost as if they planned it that way :)

The recurring theme in the responses, to summarize a little, is that operations is a major issue. Are things better than the mess that was the first month? Sure. Are things better enough to be satisfactory to most frequent-flyers? Speaking for myself, no.

No things have not gotten better.

SFO/DEN on a 757. Auto checked in, #1 on up grade list. TOD offer of $100.
A few hours later, number 5 on upgrade list, but still lots of available seats, and still a $100 TOD.

By the next day, #7 on list, F checked in full. :mad:

Under UDU, this upgrade clears all the time.

I was a lowly Prem Exec pre-merger and now (also lowly) Prem Plt but this describes my experience SNA-DEN exactly if I compare from about 12 mos pre-merger til now.

This has been my experience with CX as as well! I have been op-uped no less than six times this year LAX-HKG-LAX and another another handful of times inter-Asia. CX really seems to appreciate AA EXPs (something that SQ never did for UA's 1Ks and GSs) and I always feel appreciated!

Last month, when we had a last minute mechanical on my HKG-LAX segment (connecting from KUL) CX sent its Marco Polo Diamond members and AA EXP members to the Mandarin Oriental by individual limos...and we ended up with a suite with a butler!!! Add an unlimited meal tab at the hotel's restaurant (Two Michelin Star restaurant and adult beverages included) and it was quite a nice 24hr delay for my wife and me! The next day when we returned to HKG, as we were in in line to board our flight in Premium Economy, a CX "suit" called us up to the desk and put us in F...and gave us a certificate for two free tickets in C on CX as an apology for the inconvenience! I felt almost guilty in accepting this..."almost";)

CX definitely gets it...as does AA and other OW carriers...customer service means something. Yes, the grass is greener...I can't believe I put up with UA so long:rolleyes:

What it really all comes down to is safe and reliable transportation with a modicum of comfort and good customer service! As someone who has flown UA for over 40 years and was an unabashed cheerleader for the airline...the "new" UA is failing in the above miserably. It is hardly reliable...there are questions about their safety and customer service is a foreign concept/disease to UA management. So no, UA is definitely not getting better in those things that are important to this frequent flyer!

This whole merger has Accenture written all over it IMO. Any one know if they are on United's payroll for this thing?

nope, stay away. UA is done for...downward spiral.

Seems that everyone agrees that operations are still an on-going mess.

Forgot to mention that United's operation had been very unsatisfactory in one incident that I was involved with.

1. I had purchased tickets through Orbitz for my sister's family to visit Europe. Outbound was on United (LAX-ORD, ORD-CDG), Inbound was on Air Canada.

2. Upon purchase, I had all 5 members of her family squared away in 5 adjacent seats.

3. United then did an equipment swap, took out a 777 and replaced it with a 767 on the ORG-CDG segment. The reservation the scattered all 5 members of her family to 5 different places.

4. I tried, over the course of 5 phone calls and 3 weeks to get them back together. Some CSA's were completely clueless, as they insist to me that they've changed the seat assignments, and that's that. Even when I asked them to check, they implied that I was somehow insolent in asking them to check something they already said they did. Finally I managed to get a very experienced UA 1K CSA, who realized that the equipment change on the second segment of the flight (same flight number from LAX-ORD as ORD-CDG, but different equipment) somehow put the computer system into a paralyzed state and no one could change seats - not myself through the web interface, not any CSA, not her at the 1K desk with web services help. Her final advice was just to let the GA fix it, since the GA has the power to move people around, and since my sister has a 3 year old, she was certain that the GA would be more than accommodating to move people around.

5. After 5 calls and finally finding the one very experienced agent who seemed to know the in's and out's of what was happening, I accepted her advice and told my sister and brother-in-law to have the seat assignments fixed in ORD.

6. After the flight, I asked my brother-in-law what happened. He told me that

A. The theory that the GA would fix things is a good one, but

B. the ORD-CDG flight was oversold by 6 passengers. They had no seats to give to to the folks on standby. They had no seats to move anyone around. The GA was completely uninterested to try to move people around.

C. After some discussions and some passengers helping out, they finally managed to secure two adjacent seats for my sister and her 3 year old. Her husband, and the two other kids (both less than 12) had to sit next to strangers scattered across the cabin.

7. After this flight, my brother-in-law vowed never to fly UA again. (He's no stranger to travel, he flew 100+ K miles on USAir a few years back) I can't say that I blame him. After all, the seat assignment problem was known a good 2+ months in advance, and I used my elite status to make call after call to try to get the problem fixed, but the computer system stood in the way.

I've been meaning to write a nasty gram to UA on this matter, but since I wasn't the one separated from my family scattered across the Y-cabin for 7 hours, it just kept on slipping my mind. The sad thing is that I don't think I'll get anything more than a form letter and a few thousand RDM's for my brother-in-law - RDM's that he's never going to use to fly on United...

You do know that being #1 on the list at T-24 doesn't mean you're actually the highest ranked person waiting for the upgrade, right? Even without the fare difference to upgrade there is the very real possibility that others were ahead of you on higher fares or earlier purchases.