halls120

I'm not insisting that anyone be denied the option of flying on a 757 direct to Europe. I'm countering the idea that those of us not based out of EWR should be happy to connect through EWR to get to OSL, instead of through a european hub.

Always Flyin

TXL (Berlin) to Newark. Once. Stopped for fuel.

Learned my lesson. Won't do it again. I now connect through MUC on LH.

Guess you are still blind as to why people are crapping all over United these days.

star_world

Don't believe there is any "increased" frequency of these at all.

JOSECONLSCREW28

I've been working as a CO FA since 2005 and most of my trips are on 757s so the fuel stops don't really bother me i'm like hey extra money for me lol

From our (sCO FA) contract:

N. Holding Pay
Flight attendants will be paid $15.00 per hour pro rata by
minute as holding pay, for all unscheduled ground time
over thirty minutes (:30) if required to remain with
passengers or perform customer service duties. Flight
attendants will be paid such holding pay in addition to all
other compensation.

mduell

While it's easy to mock UA for using the 752 TATL, the winds were pretty exceptional Sunday and US Airways had 3 widebody TATL diversions:
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/A...955Z/EBBR/KBOS
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/A...010Z/LFPG/KBOS
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/A...915Z/LSZH/KBDL

halfpny

Currently sitting in the lounge before this flight today and was already told that we will be stopping for fuel on the way. I'm hoping the 757 has the in flight map so I can see the head wind speed.

lensman

I don't think anyone has put forward that idea. The idea being floated is that fuel diversions are totally unacceptable and that only a 0.1% rate should enable an airline to schedule a flight.

Don't spoil the fun with facts!

expressboy

I was on this flight last week and was (proactively) offered $300 e-cert/12500 miles/20% off by email. The plane stopped in Bangor and was about 90 minutes late.

PV_Premier

Looks like at least some of this had to do with ATC too.

halls120

On this thread, they haven't. On almost every other 757 TATL discussion since the merger, I've been told by several posters that I should prefer the superior 757 out of EWR.

mxr

I would suggest that these diversions are also due to the recent cyclone in northern europe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Bodil
Honestly, there are some situations where an airline cannot do much. If you take a general look at flights during those days (7th december), you'll notice that even widebodies were delayed.
One example: LH412 MUC-EWR http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DLH412

I am happy that UA offers direct flights between many destinations in Europe and EWR. It is just so convenient to be able to go to a small(er) airport such as HAM or TXL and arrive in EWR 8-9 hours later.

Some of you who criticise UA here probably have not heard about the cyclone in US news. Obviously misinformed and clue-less in this case.

chinatraderjmr

+1^^^ Of all the games UA plays, the fact they use 757's in the winter on TATL flights shows they have absolutely NO desire in seeing their passengers happy. We the passengers are the ones to be blamed for this. They are plenty of wide body flights that we can choose from over these 757's but God forbid we may lose out on miles

Personally, I won't take a 757 for a TATL flight and if I don't earn miles, so what. But knowing what we know about these cancellations, anyone who knowingly chooses to take a 757 to earn miles has no right to complain when they end up in Canada for a few hours

mduell

Sure, but so are 757 diverts away from EWR. They may be able to make it to EWR with required reserves, but don't have the margin to hold endlessly at EWR.

TWA Fan 1

I am not especially thrilled about flying a 757 TATL either, and I certainly have no stake in defending CO dba UA.

But here are a few points to consider:

1. UA is not the only airline to fly 757's TATL. AA and DL, US fly them as well (and BA used to)
2. Yes, the range is definitely limited compared to widebodies (especially those in operation today) but, as noted above, diversions can occur on virtually any a/c, for a variety of reasons
3. In some cases, the 757's serve secondary European markets that would otherwise require a connection at a European hub. There are exceptions, of course, such as CDG and LHR.
4. Even with the fuel stop, the direct flight on a 757 from a secondary European market is almost always quicker than making a connection at a European hub, if your final destination is EWR.
5. If you really don't want to make a fuel stop, though, as long as you avoid flying these planes in the late fall and winter you should be fine.

hughw

A tempest in a teapot. Typical PMUA bashing of PMCO. Fly TATL with a connection, which will take longer and have the uncertainty of missing it, than fly direct with a relatively unlikelyhood of a fuel diversion if you don't like it. Fly a wide body, if you don't like a narrow body, and leave the rest of us alone who are quite happy with the personal attention in the small BF cabin, and in Y pretty much the same except a higher proportion of window seats. The only downside as far as I'm concerned ---- no expresso machine in BF.