chinatraderjmr

If the system worked as its supposed to you might have a point but as many here have pointed out, you can earn 1K by spending MUCH less all year then a person who just buys one C or F international seat. I'm sorry but chances are a person paying over $10,000 for a ticket certainly deserves first choice or at the very least the same choice that a GS has.

mike1968

think you're slightly off-base on this, as someone that's fits what you describe. pmUA indeed offered a value prop to the F paying pax that unfortunately the CO-run version does not. For me it was simple, Veg meal + Ch9 + great in-flight F service + good on the ground recognition = my business.

Start taking those things away and so long. I wish DL could replace someone at ORD, but barring that, AA now offers a consistently better F product, especially as the CO blight (aka 737-something) and their surly/disappearing F FAs + we don't care attitude spread into ORD...so UA still lose the $1000+ domestic premium over a $300 Economy tix to SFO or LGA b/c they can't stand the thought of allowing a vegetarian to request said meal that honestly probably costs less than the factory farm/tortured chicken product they love to serve.

Or the fact Smisek seems to think a CO FA who may be "present" on the flight somehow is working more than a pmUA FA that actually works an entire flight (what's the CO FA ratio; 1 hour worked for 4 hours flown?).

Obviously AA also decided to screw anyone wanting a special meal, but so far I've been able to get the pasta on them vs. the wretched meat choices on CO-branded United.

My premium dollars will stay with AA until veg meals in F make a comeback. Then I'd just throw a fit about those wretched CO F FAs until they're re-trained.

TomA

So, for Delta, you were a one-off flyer, which kinda makes my point here. You--sorry to say--are not worth as much to Delta as one of their high status members. You may have expected first choice, but in reality, Delta would be kind of foolish to give it to you over one of their Diamond members. I realize you have a different opinion on the matter and I have no intention in arguing about this issue, but that is the way I (and many others--and apparently now UA management) see it. A full fare F tix does not come with first choice of meal anymore. Fact.

Exactly.

IflyfromABE

hm
Lot's of bickering IMHO about today's UA meal choices at F and who should choose first. Seriously. The choices are so bad, that most of us should really be focusing on that fact, instead on who should get the chicken or the pasta or the mystery meat first. Frankly, I don't care if I get any of them.

Just my 2c

channa

I don't think it's silly. The attention vs. importance ratio seems high, as you point out, but that's because this merger has been death by 1,000 cuts for many 1Ks.

You can take any of the downgrades and make it look like these folks are whining. No pillows, hidden blankets, Jeff McMuffins, meal choice, upgrade rates/TOD upgrades, IRROPS handling, technology snafus, on-time performance, customer service, two-faced corporate doublespeak, etc., etc., etc. They all look like small items (some smaller than others). But the Elite program is a relationship program, so you're looking at all aspects of the relationship when you make an assessment, and if the aggregate hits the tipping point, then that's when people bolt.

For someone that may be that fourth pasta dish in a month after the fifth unexpected overnight in Chicago this year because it would take too long to endorse to AA in CO's crappy system. It's not for me or you to judge.

But if all they downgraded was the meal choice, I think it's fairly certain people wouldn't be bolting to AA in droves like they have been.


I think all customers should be treated well. However, frequent customers should get additional recognition and accommodation. Clearly the company realizes now that makes good business sense.

UA-NYC

Don't put made-up claims in my mouth that I'm clearly not articulating

Agreed, it makes as much sense to bring in as you using the fallacy of only citing the meal order as the #1 criterion of a FF program

Please cite a link to any UA flyer saying they're defecting to AA solely due to the old meal policy. I'll save you the trouble - you won't find one.

cranky1K

+1

Sulley

Here is a serious question. What if everyone in the F cabin is either GS, 1K, or full fare? I've seen it.

mbluecpa

Per post 99, it appears that first choices would be allocated amongst GS, then 1K, then all other revenue customers.

tuolumne

This was what some rallied during integration - disqualify criticism as nothing more than banter from a handful of FTers. As the evidence shows, that was a loosing defensive strategy, as most every possible & probable issue that was presented has become reality. FT is a microcosm of what's happening on a broader scale, so if you or some management wants to play with the "it's only a few whiners online" strategy, you'll see you grossly underestimated what's actually happening.

That's fine and dandy, but this isn't AA or DL - this is UA, an airline that has long gone about meal priortization in this way. What those carriers are doing on this field is inconsequential to the UA flyer who now has to face this change. And frankly, if the Front-Back policy was as equal to UA's system as your spirited defense is implying it is, the company wouldn't have felt a need to be switching back.

Second, this stuff about the converts not complaining about AA's meal prioritization - again, this is a loosing argument. It's the individual pieces that complete the puzzle - and UA has a lot of pieces that are souring HVFs, AA has less, even if the meal prioritization is a downgrade from pmUA. Nobody ever stated this was some black and white, zero sum game. Just because a convert may find a few pieces of AA that is inferior, that doesn't suddenly mean they're going to come roaring back, as if meal prioritization is more important than timely customer service.



There's a large problem with this logic - these people are working for an effective new company. They were forced to move halfway accross the country and execute their job function on what they have long targeted & considered to be their largest adversary in the business.

You're free to feel that way. From what I've both seen and heard from them, I have very little doubt they are still very much invested in one side of the company over the other, just as their top boss, the CEO, is.

UA-NYC

Actually, I'm sure most 1Ks, if not all, would be just fine with paid F pax being equivalent to 1Ks for meal priority - after all, that's how it was on PMUA, and it worked quite well ^


Along with a new ad agency, I think they need some new meal description copywriters too

mike1968

agreed...although I always ordered the AVML without issue, but when travelling with no status wife on paid F, there was never a meal issue. My gut says AA gets this as even with their system, I've gotten the what I wanted even preferring the back F seats and I even had a manager? (not the GA or FA) come on board and thank me for choosing AA during Thanksgiving flight. I thought that was a nice touch. the oldUA used to do a lot of nice things for us even though I'm usually in the premier exec range...we were usually the ones getting the bottle of wine of something that was never expected, but always appreciated

FlyingNut724

I've never had an issue not getting the meal I wanted on AA. I think they pack extras.

Seat 1F

Actually, several posters on this thread were suggesting Premiers should get meal preference over Paid F passengers.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

I would suggest 1Ks (not other premiers) should get preference over Paid F passengers with lesser or no staus with UA. If the Paid F is also GS or 1K, they would get their meal choice. It's the non-loyal or infrequent Paid F passengers that may be in line after the loyal and frequent 1K passengers.