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-   United Airlines | MileagePlus (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-airlines-mileageplus-681/)
-   -   United Club changes (drinks and Wifi) - Sept/Oct. 2013 (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-airlines-mileageplus/1498894-united-club-changes-drinks-wifi-sept-oct-2013-a.html)

mgcsinc Aug 30, 2013 7:04 pm


Originally Posted by Flying Machine (Post 21365778)
Why would you reply like that? Are you a member whose services have been impacted? Or do you feel that your idea may be seen favorably by others. Personally, I do not have an issue with siging in. Do you have club access? But I do have an isse with the language in your posts..

I'm not a member, but I (of course) have access when travelling internationally.

Sorry I insulted your delicate sensibilities.

UA-NYC Aug 30, 2013 7:10 pm


Originally Posted by trk1 (Post 21365609)
Drinks had a fee up till the merger so this has been an improvement for drinkers and not for others.

Not everyone would agree with this POV

UA-NYC Aug 30, 2013 7:18 pm


Originally Posted by unavaca (Post 21365572)
The UA club wifi was useless. There was nothing "well enough" about it.

Wow, that's 5 years of usage (often streaming Slingbox) that's news to me...

LilAbner Aug 30, 2013 8:02 pm

The ONLY reason I needed 3 or 4 fast g & t's in the UC was to calm me down and eliminate the possibility of going "Postal" when dealing with the crap wifi!!!

LarkSFO Aug 30, 2013 8:10 pm


Originally Posted by UA-NYC (Post 21365815)
Not everyone would agree with this POV

While the full selection of complimentary alcoholic beverages is not spectacular, there are a few drinkable items.

I am more excited about the 'additional premium offerings', as I would rather pay for something good than get something poor to average for free.

MatthewLAX Aug 30, 2013 8:37 pm

A lot of old T-Mobile RCC threads, and indeed pre-merger PMUA wi-fi was problematic, but the "United Club" networks I've used since the merger have not been problematic...


Originally Posted by unavaca (Post 21365572)
The UA club wifi was useless. There was nothing "well enough" about it.

Useless? Please...

Of course it will be nice if the upgraded internet has a greater bandwidth, but I don't understand all the problems people report. I am in a lot of clubs, all the time, and I cannot remember the last time I had an internet problem--EWR, great, LAX, great, SFO, great, ORD, great, IAH, great, BOS, great, IAD, great, DEN, great, JFK, great, PHL, great, CLE, great.

So are others really, truly having problems, or is that just what you're hearing from others?

unavaca Aug 30, 2013 8:57 pm

Evidently we have different standards of great. My experience at SFO, EWR, and IAH was "try it for 3 minutes, get pissed at how slow it was, and switch back to my Mi-Fi." I don't even bother trying anymore; it's a total waste of time.

You know your Wi-Fi is bad when AT&T LTE is kicking your butt.

unavaca Aug 30, 2013 9:07 pm


Originally Posted by UA-NYC (Post 21365846)
Wow, that's 5 years of usage (often streaming Slingbox) that's news to me...

As far as I can tell, this thread is only talking about the unprotected wifi that has been around for the last year or two. The PMUA T-Mobile wifi worked fine.

drowelf Aug 30, 2013 9:10 pm


Originally Posted by CAL PHL FLYER (Post 21365307)
OMG..Stop Whining..The changes are not bad..No poachers for the Wifi will mean faster Wifi for the club members paying to use it..The liquor pretty much all tastes the same..I wont notice any difference in my vodka/cran or rum/coke..if your a drink snob,you can pay for a more expensive call brand..Change is good..Better Wifi and same buzz..Enjoy things and quit complaining..The Club membership is a bargain for all the free drinks and Wifi that many of us use.

I've never had any issues with WIFI performance at the major airports I hang out at (IAH/EWR). Also its only occasionally that I see maybe 1 or 2 people hanging out around the entrance who look like they are getting WiFi Access.

I'll really miss my BB attaching to the UC Club as soon as I walk in. Since its my clients and its home is a Canada Telecom, the roaming charges for data access can add up quite fast. Having to log in each time is going to be a pain.

And how the multiple device access work, is a really question. Can we get UAInsider to offer up a comment on this.

:td::td: on this.

I don't drink alcohol, so those changes mean nothing to me. Wifi and a place to work in between flights are what I value from the Club.

kale73 Aug 30, 2013 9:16 pm

The few times I've used the UC wifi (DEN, IAH Terminal C, and LAX) it's been "adequate" - not lightning fast, but adequate. But, I have found the free public wifi offered at ABQ, BTR and PHX (the three O&D airports I frequent the most) to be far more adequate with, presumably, even more simultaneous users than even a crowded UC would have. Why the smaller airports (and PHX, which serves ~40 million pax/year) I frequent have so much better Internet access - for free - than the UA Clubs and hubs have - for hire - is a mystery.

As others have mentioned, the current UC access points simply connect to wireless devices without any clear indication other than the SSID that it is the United Club signal. There is no splash page, no terms of service to click through, no warning that non-members are "trespassing," etc. I really don't think it can be considered "stealing" when someone connects to an open wifi signal under those conditions. I presume the "new" setup will also require one to agree to terms of service and that approximately 0.001% of users will actually read those terms before agreeing to them.

littlegreenmen Aug 30, 2013 10:22 pm

I know this is a total broken record, but it really blows my mind how LH can offer made-to-order Havana Club 7-year Mojitos and UA can't even do Jim Beam or Smirnoff well drinks.

cerealmarketer Aug 30, 2013 10:39 pm


Originally Posted by LarkSFO (Post 21366020)
I am more excited about the 'additional premium offerings', as I would rather pay for something good than get something poor to average for free.

Unfortunately they are increasing the price of the premium offerings we have today - for example Grey Goose moving up to over $10 from $6.

My fear is the best thing going in the clubs - nice (for Costco) $40 bottles of wine like Jordan cab available for $10-$12 a glass - will disappear, and we'll spend $10-$12 a glass for a $12 bottle of Trader Joes wine like at the Delta clubs. Hope that is wrong.

Look at the overpriced 'Luxury Bar' at Delta and that's what we could be getting. Can go to a nice airport restaurant and get those prices with better atmosphere.

ContPlat Aug 31, 2013 12:41 am

Continental nearly always had free drinks (there are still some surviving life members that will get free drinks regardless! - nice story on that).

But, let's face it, thanks to our williingness to ignore reality, the airlines can do whatever they want to us without government intervention on our behalf - it's just not going to happen.

Regarding the improvements, as I read my email, I wondered how making it harder to log in to the internet was an improvement? I guess it is an improvment for those who like to know who is where and when on the internet. AT&T?

I guess it is like the improvement of going from "presidents club" and "red carpet" to "united." Perhaps they should have called the club "mergered."

It's just not going to happen. The airlines are above the law and will be for the foreseeable future.


Originally Posted by MatthewLAX (Post 21365331)
1.) it is an annoyance to have to login and 2.) a moocher or two does not compromise the internet speed.

I agree wholeheartedly and my privacy is important to me.

hirohito888 Aug 31, 2013 12:47 am


Originally Posted by MatthewLAX (Post 21366095)
Of course it will be nice if the upgraded internet has a greater bandwidth, but I don't understand all the problems people report. I am in a lot of clubs, all the time, and I cannot remember the last time I had an internet problem--EWR, great, LAX, great, SFO, great, ORD, great, IAH, great, BOS, great, IAD, great, DEN, great, JFK, great, PHL, great, CLE, great.

So are others really, truly having problems, or is that just what you're hearing from others?

I agree, the wifi at most lounges work perfectly fine as is. Only exception is probably EWR at 5pm right before all the evening TATL flights, when the lounge gets super crowded.

The UC at HKG is the only one with password I think, and everytime I transit through HKG I find it annoying to enter password.

lhrsfo Aug 31, 2013 2:39 am

Moochers can be deterred by building signal screeners into the walls by which they mooch. Not cheap but probably cheaper than issuing millions of plastic cards


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