bhavit

Hello There,

I have been an avid CO flyer for many years and now am a 1K Million Miler with the new United. I have noticed my benefits erode out of SFO - with disappearing upgrades, inability to use global premier upgrades, and surly/rude agents/flight attendants.

I am leaving United after all these years. I want this incredibly knowledgeable groups opinions on what airline would be a good alternative out of SFO to be recognized as a human being

Thanks in advance for your advice.

aacharya

Where do you fly normally?
Do you book normal economy, or do you book high economy last-minute travel domestically?
Do you book economy or business internationally?
Do you value wi-fi, upgrades, or award mile bonuses?

American seems to be the best alternate for many here. VX is too hub to hub and WN has no international to speak of.
Alaska might be interesting, especially due to its tie-ups with AA and DL.

bhavit

appreciate your response.
Have a wonderful day.

nyr2299

UA has by far the most coverage out of SFO. If you need an alternative, it would be specific to the destination. A little more info would help with the recommendation.

frontrangeFF

Can you fly out of San Jose or Oakland?

LarkSFO

See also:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...eaving-ua.html

bhavit

Thank you all for the advice. I didn't know there was another location and i'll put future comments there. MY travels take me to - Arkansas, UK, Asia, South America.

I think AA is my best alternative. Since most of my travels within US require a stop, Houston or Dallas won't matter much.

Flying on UA out of SFO mean flying old 747's to Asia or UK. I'd rather do a stop a fly a newer equipment or fly BA.

Thanks all.

L Dude 7

The downsides of AA: Connections can take a long time in DFW. Getting to UK, you are limited to BA. To Asia, you'll pretty much have to connect in Hong Kong or LA which takes you in the wrong direction for most Asia destinations.
For United, ANA, EVA and Asiana are good alternatives to get to Asia. (There is also Air China, but they make United look good.)
Delta could also be considered. They have a nonstop to Tokyo and have SkyTeam members China Airlines (TPE), China Eastern (PVG) with nonstops to Asia (as well as Virgin Atlantic to London)

LarkSFO

From the other thread I linked above, starting at post #1667:

If your travel is: 1) SA 2) UK 3) AK 4) Asia, then AA certainly a viable, many would say superior, choice.

If Asia is your number one destination, then I would think hard before ditching UA. (this depends as well upon your destinations within Asia)

thumbun

Not to be arugmentative, but I disagree with the premise of your question. I am 1K and a Million Miler too. I considered defecting last summer after a number of post-merger disappointments and service failures. At the time, however, I was well on my way to requalifiing as a 1K for this year, so I stuck it out. While UA at SFO (and elsewhere) still has issues, I have seen a marked improvement in operations. I am at SFO at least 2x/week -- this year most of my travel has taken me to LAX, ORD, IAD or BRU (via ORD.) On domestic flights, my upgrade success rate is about 85%. I have been fairly lucky with GPUs and RPUs. More importantly (and this is purely subjective), I've noticed that the SFO ground staff seems to be making an effort to improve its customer service. Sure, there are still some surly agents, but compared to last year things are much better. On a side note, the international flight (all transatlantic) I've taken this year have been a delight -- great service all around.

bhavit

Glad to hear thumbun. My experience has been the opposite - I have not received upgrades on most of my flights except may be 1. GPUs have been impossible to use.

I agree that the staff is making an effort, but to me it seems a little too late. I will likely stick it out since I am well on my way to requalifying but will switch next year.

Thanks for your comments.

Indelaware

No, not just BA to the UK. One can fly AA with only a single connection at ORD, DFW, or JFK. One can fly AA/IB with a connection at ORD or JFK and a connection at MAD.

UrbaneGent

I think you should write a letter to UA and tell them when you why you decided to leave. You never know, you may create change...

I have decreased my flying by 95%, the rest goes to whoever has the best product to where I am going (first or biz).

Safe travels!

burlax

There are no good alternatives to UA that cover AR, SA, EU, and Asia from SFO.

AA has non-stop service to LHR, NRT, and PVG from LAX and to many SA destinations from MIA. So, you will have at least one connection ( with non-stop service SFO-LAX and SFO-MIA ).

If you mainly fly a lot domestically and if you're ok with coach, then WN may be a good option.

lhrsfo

I would have thought AA/BA would suit the OP well - with the major caveat that AA's merger will likely cause some short term grief.