Why Fly UA?
Jun 12, 13, 10:52 am
#31
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 7,376
why fly UA? IDK, thats a very good question. I mean, who in the world would want to fly UA from LAX to SYD on their dumpy 747's when with a little hiccup in the weather, they have to divert the queen of the skies... DL and Virgin fly 777's and can make it NS without the diversion in the event of bad WX.
DL has its +/-, so does UA, it is all a matter of what is more important. Apparently, what DL offers to you is more important than UA, but that does not ring true for everyone.
For me:
1. SWUs/RPUs
2. E+
3. *A
4. UA's best-in-class award chart and rules
5. SDC
6. CPUs - when it actually works and they snap out of up-selling for a knock-off price [fare differential is fine]
Jun 12, 13, 11:42 am
#32
Join Date: May 2013
Location: DC
Posts: 254
1. IAD-SFO frequency. I moved from SF to the DC area 4 years ago and go back often to see family and friends. Nothing beats the 10 or so non-stops a day even if they're no longer on a widebody. With my girlfriend moving to Chicago for work, I'll be doing much more DCA-ORD trips and UA seems to have competitive fares and frequency with AA, with superior planes (I don't even want to chance being on an old, cramped MD-80).
2. *A. Most of my travel for work is short-haul east coast, which I do on US out of DCA. Needless to say I'm not happy that US is out and I'll likely be making the long slog to Dulles more often. Nice to be able to get anywhere in Europe on LH though, with good transatlantic service (I always book it over UA for no other reason than wine is still free in E). IMO MUC and even FRA are vastly superior to LHR and AMS for connections.
3. E+. I'm over 6'4", E- is pretty unbearable, even on short flights. That's the main reason I haven't switched to VX for my IAD-SFO flights.
And that's about it. As a Silver CPUs are way too few and far between so kind of irrelevant to me. Awards are hit-or-miss, and seem to be more difficult as of late, but I've only ever redeemed one award on DL years ago so I have little to compare it to.
2. *A. Most of my travel for work is short-haul east coast, which I do on US out of DCA. Needless to say I'm not happy that US is out and I'll likely be making the long slog to Dulles more often. Nice to be able to get anywhere in Europe on LH though, with good transatlantic service (I always book it over UA for no other reason than wine is still free in E). IMO MUC and even FRA are vastly superior to LHR and AMS for connections.
3. E+. I'm over 6'4", E- is pretty unbearable, even on short flights. That's the main reason I haven't switched to VX for my IAD-SFO flights.
And that's about it. As a Silver CPUs are way too few and far between so kind of irrelevant to me. Awards are hit-or-miss, and seem to be more difficult as of late, but I've only ever redeemed one award on DL years ago so I have little to compare it to.
Jun 12, 13, 11:49 am
#33
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: BA Gold, AF Gold Emirates Gold, LH Senator *Gold, AA LT PLT 2mm
Posts: 21,168
Yo, don't diss my old shoes. 
There is absolutely nothing wrong or cramped about AA's M80 in either F or Y. IMO, the Mad Dog F (and Y for that matter) seats are more comfortable than AA or UA's 73s, 75s or 319/320s. That plus 100% WiFi, something that is but a pipe dream on UA.
There is absolutely nothing wrong or cramped about AA's M80 in either F or Y. IMO, the Mad Dog F (and Y for that matter) seats are more comfortable than AA or UA's 73s, 75s or 319/320s. That plus 100% WiFi, something that is but a pipe dream on UA.
Last edited by SFO777; Jun 12, 13 at 11:56 am
Jun 12, 13, 1:12 pm
#34
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 156
UA Flying
We used to fly UA a lot for a decade, my wife and I near 1mm combined, and I spent a lot of money keeping Silver across my family, until it was devalued. The deal breaker for me was loss of guaranteed E+.
Now I fly a la carte based on price, schedule convenience, and my assessment of scoring ToD or Hod (I discovered freedom, and I like it!), and from the savings of no longer driving to hit UA Premier, I pay ToD (Domestic) or HoD (International) and fly up front on discounted C or domestic F more often than not on various carriers. Two weeks ago I returned from Munich on US, with HoD upgrade to Envoy at a total cost that was less than UA's then economy ticket quote.
Things have changed so much that on my UA flight this Friday (in First, thanks to discounted F), I am crediting US dividend miles program. This would have been unthinkable 5 years back.
Still, thanks to Chase, we score a couple *A international first class tickets every couple years, that's about it.
Unless someone is *G or above, in the new era of ToD, HoD, or ala carte premium seat, lounge, etc purchasing, I just don't see the sense in paying as much or more to fly UA and generally get poorer service than on many other carriers.
Now I fly a la carte based on price, schedule convenience, and my assessment of scoring ToD or Hod (I discovered freedom, and I like it!), and from the savings of no longer driving to hit UA Premier, I pay ToD (Domestic) or HoD (International) and fly up front on discounted C or domestic F more often than not on various carriers. Two weeks ago I returned from Munich on US, with HoD upgrade to Envoy at a total cost that was less than UA's then economy ticket quote.
Things have changed so much that on my UA flight this Friday (in First, thanks to discounted F), I am crediting US dividend miles program. This would have been unthinkable 5 years back.
Still, thanks to Chase, we score a couple *A international first class tickets every couple years, that's about it.
Unless someone is *G or above, in the new era of ToD, HoD, or ala carte premium seat, lounge, etc purchasing, I just don't see the sense in paying as much or more to fly UA and generally get poorer service than on many other carriers.
Jun 12, 13, 1:20 pm
#35
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: UA PS, AA GLD, SPG GLD, PC PLT, CC GLD
Posts: 217
1. E+
2. Award availability
3. Actually scoring some upgrades on leisure routes during holidays
4. Flies where I need to go
I live near BWI so my location isn't a huge draw to stick with UA, but in the past I was in NJ by EWR so convenience won out. I guess momentum more than anything kept me loyal but as a frequent traveler in Asia, *A has a broad network.
2. Award availability
3. Actually scoring some upgrades on leisure routes during holidays
4. Flies where I need to go
I live near BWI so my location isn't a huge draw to stick with UA, but in the past I was in NJ by EWR so convenience won out. I guess momentum more than anything kept me loyal but as a frequent traveler in Asia, *A has a broad network.
Jun 12, 13, 1:32 pm
#36
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: NJ, USA
Programs: UA MM
Posts: 652
We used to fly UA a lot for a decade, my wife and I near 1mm combined, and I spent a lot of money keeping Silver across my family, until it was devalued. The deal breaker for me was loss of guaranteed E+.
Now I fly a la carte based on price, schedule convenience, and my assessment of scoring ToD or Hod (I discovered freedom, and I like it!), and from the savings of no longer driving to hit UA Premier, I pay ToD (Domestic) or HoD (International) and fly up front on discounted C or domestic F more often than not on various carriers. Two weeks ago I returned from Munich on US, with HoD upgrade to Envoy at a total cost that was less than UA's then economy ticket quote.
Things have changed so much that on my UA flight this Friday (in First, thanks to discounted F), I am crediting US dividend miles program. This would have been unthinkable 5 years back.
Still, thanks to Chase, we score a couple *A international first class tickets every couple years, that's about it.
Unless someone is *G or above, in the new era of ToD, HoD, or ala carte premium seat, lounge, etc purchasing, I just don't see the sense in paying as much or more to fly UA and generally get poorer service than on many other carriers.
Now I fly a la carte based on price, schedule convenience, and my assessment of scoring ToD or Hod (I discovered freedom, and I like it!), and from the savings of no longer driving to hit UA Premier, I pay ToD (Domestic) or HoD (International) and fly up front on discounted C or domestic F more often than not on various carriers. Two weeks ago I returned from Munich on US, with HoD upgrade to Envoy at a total cost that was less than UA's then economy ticket quote.
Things have changed so much that on my UA flight this Friday (in First, thanks to discounted F), I am crediting US dividend miles program. This would have been unthinkable 5 years back.
Still, thanks to Chase, we score a couple *A international first class tickets every couple years, that's about it.
Unless someone is *G or above, in the new era of ToD, HoD, or ala carte premium seat, lounge, etc purchasing, I just don't see the sense in paying as much or more to fly UA and generally get poorer service than on many other carriers.
- have a zillion threads for that topic, right?
Jun 12, 13, 1:45 pm
#37
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: DEN
Programs: United Premier 1K, Marriott Platinum, Frontier, Delta, Hertz Gold, National Emerald Club
Posts: 928
1. E+ for family as Plat/1K
2. Star Alliance means large network and a LH domestic lounge once in a while.
3. UA's miles have value
4. SDC . . . you don't appreciate it until you need it!
5. 1K bennies like Global Entry, GPUs/RPUs, and 100% mileage bonus
Their route network is best out of DEN, but I could always fly a competitor, especially if I'm willing to make a stop. So the above are the reasons.
2. Star Alliance means large network and a LH domestic lounge once in a while.
3. UA's miles have value
4. SDC . . . you don't appreciate it until you need it!
5. 1K bennies like Global Entry, GPUs/RPUs, and 100% mileage bonus
Their route network is best out of DEN, but I could always fly a competitor, especially if I'm willing to make a stop. So the above are the reasons.
Jun 12, 13, 1:48 pm
#38
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: SEA & RDM
Programs: UA - 1MM, DL Diamond, AS MVP75, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 7,750
1. AA not an option for me from SEA (primarily Asia travel)
2. SWUs
3. Award Travel
4. Domestic Upgrades
5. E+
2. SWUs
3. Award Travel
4. Domestic Upgrades
5. E+
Jun 12, 13, 2:08 pm
#39
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 156
Why I fly UA
Jun 12, 13, 2:10 pm
#40
Join Date: Mar 2013
Programs: DL PM, MR Titanium/LTP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 9,792
1. SDC is huge for me, it's allowed me to get home earlier from a trip on business travel and has also allowed me to extend vacation on personal travel (especially around holidays when I've booked a cheap fare for say Sunday of Memorial Day weekend and then been able to SDC it to Monday evening)...I fly DL enough to be silver and their 3 hour limitation is a killer
2. From DCA / IAD it's more convenient for non-stops especially transcon (AA DCA - LAX v.v is at terrible times)
3. Customer Facing Technology Interface: This might be a little more disputed but in my experience once I knew all the tricks and tips to navigate .bomb/mobile.bomb/.bombMobileApp, they actually provide much more information (fare classes, plane tracking, etc.) vs. the other majors, which can make a huge difference as often this information comes in handy during IRROPS when dealing with the 1K line (the flip side being the 1K line should have this knowledge without me force feeding it to them but that's another thread)
2. From DCA / IAD it's more convenient for non-stops especially transcon (AA DCA - LAX v.v is at terrible times)
3. Customer Facing Technology Interface: This might be a little more disputed but in my experience once I knew all the tricks and tips to navigate .bomb/mobile.bomb/.bombMobileApp, they actually provide much more information (fare classes, plane tracking, etc.) vs. the other majors, which can make a huge difference as often this information comes in handy during IRROPS when dealing with the 1K line (the flip side being the 1K line should have this knowledge without me force feeding it to them but that's another thread)
Jun 12, 13, 2:19 pm
#41
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Always on the move
Programs: Something lifetime here and there
Posts: 1,867
Flying UA as my #2 choice
1) Lifetime 1K status.
As a BIS "lifer" (not one of those "infinity and beyonds"), I get the status bonus miles so, UA is my second choice carrier behind AA. So, IF I have to be there at a certain time and/or UA is really got an El Cheapo fare, I will fly them. If they don't its AA or OW carriers.
As a BIS "lifer" (not one of those "infinity and beyonds"
), I get the status bonus miles so, UA is my second choice carrier behind AA. So, IF I have to be there at a certain time and/or UA is really got an El Cheapo fare, I will fly them. If they don't its AA or OW carriers.
Jun 12, 13, 3:39 pm
#42
Join Date: May 2013
Location: DC
Posts: 254
Yo, don't diss my old shoes.
There is absolutely nothing wrong or cramped about AA's M80 in either F or Y. IMO, the Mad Dog F (and Y for that matter) seats are more comfortable than AA or UA's 73s, 75s or 319/320s. That plus 100% WiFi, something that is but a pipe dream on UA.
There is absolutely nothing wrong or cramped about AA's M80 in either F or Y. IMO, the Mad Dog F (and Y for that matter) seats are more comfortable than AA or UA's 73s, 75s or 319/320s. That plus 100% WiFi, something that is but a pipe dream on UA.
3. Customer Facing Technology Interface: This might be a little more disputed but in my experience once I knew all the tricks and tips to navigate .bomb/mobile.bomb/.bombMobileApp, they actually provide much more information (fare classes, plane tracking, etc.) vs. the other majors, which can make a huge difference as often this information comes in handy during IRROPS when dealing with the 1K line (the flip side being the 1K line should have this knowledge without me force feeding it to them but that's another thread)
I often forget how useful the app is in getting info in IRROPS until I'm on a different airline. Good luck getting any info out of the US mobile website! I didn't find out I'd missed a connection in PHL recently until I sprinted across the terminal only to find out the flight had left 8 min early. Agree that we shouldn't have to spoon-feed agents this info, but it's nice to have access to.
Jun 12, 13, 4:00 pm
#43
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 8,626
+1
I often forget how useful the app is in getting info in IRROPS until I'm on a different airline. Good luck getting any info out of the US mobile website! I didn't find out I'd missed a connection in PHL recently until I sprinted across the terminal only to find out the flight had left 8 min early. Agree that we shouldn't have to spoon-feed agents this info, but it's nice to have access to.
I often forget how useful the app is in getting info in IRROPS until I'm on a different airline. Good luck getting any info out of the US mobile website! I didn't find out I'd missed a connection in PHL recently until I sprinted across the terminal only to find out the flight had left 8 min early. Agree that we shouldn't have to spoon-feed agents this info, but it's nice to have access to.
As a bit of a nerd, I love all the information I have at my fingertips with UA.
It's kinda funny -- I spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to find US's mobile app during a recent trip before I realized that they don't have one.
Jun 12, 13, 4:28 pm
#44
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Toronto YYZ UA-1K 1MM,QFgold
Programs: Royal Ambassador/ SPG Platinum 75/Marriott gold
Posts: 14,283
I have a choice flying from Toronto or Air Canada or United since i fly mainly to Asia.
Air Canada isn't even in the airline business its so bad. So for me UA is #1
Air Canada isn't even in the airline business its so bad. So for me UA is #1
Jun 12, 13, 4:42 pm
#45
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: ORD
Programs: AA EXP, UA GM (2013 Gold, 2014 Silver), Hyatt Diamond, SPG Gold, IHG Platinum, Marriott Silver
Posts: 430
1) E+, but AA is installing this on their planes
2) CPU even though my % is only 50% as Gold
3) lifetime miles is significantly higher on UA than any other airline & I may hit 1 MM in the future
4) SDC as an option even though I've only used it once
If I ever fly 100k in a year, I think AA would be a better option due to the 8 SWU vs the 6 with class restrictions. But we'll see how that turns out after the US merger.
2) CPU even though my % is only 50% as Gold
3) lifetime miles is significantly higher on UA than any other airline & I may hit 1 MM in the future
4) SDC as an option even though I've only used it once
If I ever fly 100k in a year, I think AA would be a better option due to the 8 SWU vs the 6 with class restrictions. But we'll see how that turns out after the US merger.
