Legacy UAL Crew Stopped a Defection to Delta
 

For the first time in a year, I flew legacy UAL from ID to DOH. Not one problem, orderly zone boarding both in IAD and DXB, friendly attentive cabin staff, proper and timely cockpit announcements, Channel 9 turned on, seatbelt sign attended to, Business Class food properly plated and served hot. This was my last effort before defecting to Delta after a year of abuse from EWR based x-Continental flights to and from Europe. Compared to my Caribbean flight to Antigua last week, a marked improvement. Sorry, Continental just sucks all around from surly gate agents to indifferent cabin staff. Seems x-UAL staff have just finally decided to save the airline from their own management. Props here. I'll be staying with legacy UAL flights and crew, scrupulously avoiding X-Continental routes. Nice job.

Not again. "All UA crews good, all CO crews bad. Me no fly CO routes." I've had fine CO crews, and some bad UA crews. There's both at each. As for routes, you'll find UA crews on some ex-CO routes and vice-versa.

I have yet to experience an ex-Con crew that wasn't bad.

If that's your experience, why do you stay?

sUA is a shrinking entity. This company is sCO and sUA is declining while sCO is increasing. As the systems, policies, and culture become more entrenched, the professionalism that you appreciate from sUA will become harder and harder to find. If your strategy is to stay with COdbaUA and survive by picking only sUA, your life will just keep getting harder, and your route network, smaller.

horrific, really?

It's just not worth it...

You could have flown EK, EY or QR (among others) and you chose UA??

Even before the merger I had nothing but good experiences on board CO flights. The crews were always polite and professional. Several times they made a point of thanking everyone for flying with them towards the end of the flight.

Legacy UAL Crew Stopped a Defection to Delta
 

There are many good/bad apples of each. While my evidence is that ex-UA crews are typically more personal, I also had similarly good ex-CO crews. Great and bad services are on both sides.

I do have a slight bias on better service from ex-UA crews. I do agree that ex-CO EWR based tend to be slightly more sour than other hubs. But no absolutes at all...

I would agree with you there, having flown a legacy CO route SFO to CUN and back last week with CO crews both flights. The FAs on the flight to CUN in Y were absolute shockers, unhelpful and unfriendly. Mrs IainC was occupying my CPU seat in C and was very upset at the rudeness of one of the FAs and her unprofessional and uncaring manner. To top it off, soon after meal service the FAs in both cabins disappeared behind screens in the galleys and were not seen again until the end of the flight. The return flight could not have been more different, the FAs did a superb job, very friendly, helpful and cheery throughout the entire flight. Boy the contrast between the crews was astounding we felt we had flown two different airlines!

I'm sorry. To me a horrific experience would be beig near the finish line at the Boston Marathon when the unthinkable happened. A surly FA etc is just not a horrific experience. And if you still think it is you have led way to sheltered a life.

Amazing how personally ex-CO flyers take it when people say service on sCO is subpar. Is it because it's true?

Obviously pmUA people have never flown EVERY sCO flight with EVERY sCO crew, so technically we cannot generalize. But I've seen sUA crews provide good service and never seen sCO do that. I wonder why.

I'm not sure what the merger did to them, but pre-2010 CO crews were really not that bad. Had good service and food on both sides of the curtain flying internationally.

subpar =/= horrific

Point taken. I edited prior post to change "horrific" to "bad."

Now, please keep calm and move forward.

it just depends on who you get - i fly NYC-WAS frequently (sometimes from LGA, sometimes from JFK, and sometimes from EWR). if it is on a ERJ-145 there very rarely is any service on the flight (usually ex-EWR). if i fly LGA or JFK, it is usually a CRJ-200 and there is almost always full beverage service on the flight. funny thing - both are now operated by EXPRESS JET - but you can tell who was part of the old CO express jet and who is part of the new ASA EXPRESS JET. both planes hold 50 pax - but the ERJ crews say too short of a duration to serve anything while the CRJ crews come through and offer whatever you want. flight time is the same no matter which airport.