fastfxr

THIS. When I leave UA, it will be for this reason and this reason alone. I don't mind flying UAX, I just have a severe hatred for UAs treatment of RJ aircraft and departure prioritization....or lack thereof.

KenInEscazu

I was initially relieved when I boarded a CRJ700 in SJO last week headed for DFW, as it had the new seats, and I was in 2A. My first impression was that they were firm and supportive. About an hour into the flight, however, they felt closer to a park bench. By the time I arrived in Dallas, I hurt all over.

But they do look nice.

zero savings

I left UA about three years ago as the deal UA was offering didn't stack up.
Starting in 1996 I was 1K for about 15 years in a row, now at 1.8m miles with no desire (or incentive) to be a 2mm.

As someone who flew T-PAC and intra-Asia often, the UA deal was: "Look, we're not a very good airline. We know our planes, seats and service are sub-standard compared to most Asian carriers. But here's a ton of upgrades and benefits that help bridge that gap".
That deal fell apart a few years ago and I departed.

But what's amazing to me is that the stalwarts of the FT UA board for all those years, the people who were incredibly knowledgeable, frequent posters, and strong proponents of UA, are here in this thread talking about how they have dumped UA.
As a MM and regular reader of the UA forum, I was often awed by their knowledge of the intricacies of UA and advice they gave.

I am talking about posters like SkiAdcock, Boraxo, kokonutz, SanDiego1K, OzStamps, who were among the wise elders of the UA forum for a decade.

But now they are Kayaking or at AA and in this thread advocating non-UA actions. Wow. It takes a huge effort to turn off passionate and loyal supporters, but UA is doing it.

MPsince1984

^^ That quote sums it up pretty well for me.

As my FT user name suggests, I've been a loyal (and enthusiastic) UA passenger for 30 years, and that's despite spending most of the past two decades living in a NW (now DL) fortress hub. I've been one of those folks who actually took the concept of "loyalty" programs to heart. United earned my trust over many years, and I embraced United.

I'm a few months away from booking my big annual international trips, so I'll be doing due diligence before that time to see what airline(s) make the most sense for me, starting this year.

I'm still below 600K BIS lifetime and I don't fly for work, so the odds are low to zero that I'll make MM any time soon. My odds are better of getting STPT status (Star Trek Premium Transporter technology) before then.

goodeats21

Agreed. They also have a bit less leg room...and no wall between First and Coach, which means no place to store, much less hang, coats.

They took a big step backwards with this reconfig....

chinatraderjmr

Thats cuz the UA business plan is very simple - they would rather have 10 customers that fly 1-2 times a year, each flying 10K miles on UA then 1 customer that flys 100K miles a year. They don't have to give any Elite benefits to those 10 customers, they get to collect E+ and luggage fees, etc.

As a customer, I can't stand the "New" UA and the way they do business but as a business person, the model above might be the right way to go for them. So many people are flying these days that it does not matter how many customers they lose, there will always be someone to buy that empty seat, pay luggage fees, pat for E+, etc. Unfortunately for us Elites, this is just he beginning. Anyone that thinks AA & DL won't follow the exact same model is fooling themselves

AAExPlat

Until the next major recession...that's when the kettle bookings and elective trips evaporate (at least at fares that can make money). And that's also when the loss of HVFs will be most apparent and when they will rake in relatively greater losses than the competitors who either provide a better product, a better loyalty program, or both.

ATXflyer

You mean after we get of this major recession...

rwm818

I went from 1K (every year from 2001-13) to only earning 47k last year. I'm 1mm - so I still get to keep Gold...I did reduce my UA, but a lot of my flying is on Gov contract fares - so I don't always have option. I just went to more DL cities last year (earned Plat on DL)...

It is still much easier to upgrade on UA than DL (at least for me) - and no comparision when talking about award tix (DL never has Saver tix available in my experience)

PV_Premier

Wait, UAX is flying SJO-DFW now??

KenInEscazu

They have been for quite a while. I think I have been on one mainline over the last couple of years, although I have flown that route many times.

The last time I looked (I'm not checking now, as I simply don't care), it was 2 RJs and 2 mainline per day. I just seem to have really bad timing. Either that or UA does.

LarkSFO

United is operating 4X daily frequency on this route?

That is more surprising to me, even if two of them are on smaller regionals.

PV_Premier

There's gotta be a stop in IAH. But still UAX on that route is surprising.

LarkSFO

I briefly looked at Kayak, and I do not see any direct DFW-SJO UA options.

Ken - What the heck are you talking about? Am I just not looking at the right days?

In my brief look, IAH-SJO is mainline. 3X daily on a 737.

KenInEscazu

Wow... I screwed that up but good. I was writing/reading SFO-DFW. Still drinking my first cup of coffee.

DFW-SJO does have a stop at IAH. That's my most frequent route, and they do operate mostly RJs between IAH and both Dallas airports. Even worse, they are heavy on ERJ145s.

AA has great frequency DFW-IAH on all mainline, and WN has even better on DAL-HOU if you aren't connecting.