BWIflyerman

Rant. If mods can find appropriate discussion, ok to move. Late April BWI-IAH-SAT-IAH-BWI. Today's change landing to takeoff at IAH-SAT reduced inbound to 40 minutes. IAH-BWI outbound goes from 737-900 to RJ 170 with flight time of 3hr11min. Only IAH-BWI mainline was to an outbound with 7am SAT takeoff meaning too early for spouse accompanying me. I recall a WSJ or Forbes (?) article recently about making us so uncomfortable that we'll pay more just to have an acceptable experience. I canx'd this United trip and will pay someone else for mainline. Did I overreact since three out of four legs were now RJ and transfer time at IAH went into the rush zone? We are both over 65.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

IAD is UA's main airport in the area and it's not surprising regional jets pop up in/out of BWI.

From BWI to SAT, the obvious choice in terms of price, convenience, and plane would have been Southwest Airlines, plus you wouldn't have to change terminals like you probably would have to do at IAH w/ United.

With the change of a/c, you might have requested United to make a change to IAD as you origination and destination to/from Houston because those are almost always mainline. There's also 3 non-stops to SAT. Probably a bit farther for you to drive, but it is what it is...

Yes, If you insist on flying UA out of BWI instead of IAD, you're not going to get the better options.

jh6000

Did you try calling them, telling them the changes were unacceptable and seeing what other options they could give you? I have done that twice in the past (rather than just accepting their changes), and they have accommodated me on both occasions in terms of finding better routings for me.

John

Often1

Saturday's are RJ days on most carriers which have access to them because there is less demand. The alternative is to cancel frequencies.

Unless OP is physically in BAL and it is inconvenient, UA would almost certainly rerouted him x DCA. If in WAS, it's 10 minutes to the airport and another 10 minutes to the gate with the same in reverse.

The change of operating carrier from mainline to Express justifies a cancellation and refund.

As others note, there's always WN.

BWIflyerman

I asked for alternatives, but still ended up on RJs. This was Wed. inbound. Sun. outbound. Only mainline was way too early a wake up call (4am) in downtown SAT hotel for spouse. WN and DL tickets are on hold. I'm thinking of flying F via DL to test out my experience last year to DTW which was exceptional service. With my DL miles it becomes a reasonable fare. Also, lifetime Sky Club so layovers in ATL are acceptable. WN is non-stop. Still pondering.

Bonehead

w/r/t the RJ vs 739, I would think that if one is traveling with a companion the 2-2 configuration on the RJ would be better than the 3-3 on the 739 (this is assuming you're traveling in coach).

The connection time reduction is a serious issue, of course.

mahasamatman

Never ask for alternatives. Do your own research and request the flight you want. Even if it's more expensive and on a different route, I've never had a problem when a flight has changed carriers.

transportprof

I flew out of BWI last week - originally booked to ORD on mainline. Many months in advance, the equipment was changed to an E145 - this was on a Wednesday, not a Saturday.

I wasn't looking forward to the flight, but it was actually much more pleasant than my A320 connection to YVR that evening.

You just never know which flights on UA will be good - the UX crew was very capable, flight arrived early, and I had plenty of room in my single seat row.

On the A320, flight was packed, a number of difficult pax made life unpleasant for the crew and those around them, and the rampers couldn't get bags to match the manifest resulting in a 45 minute departure delay.

I knew when someone brought a 'personal support animal' on board - a big dog with no harness, vest, or other service attributes, that the flight was not going to be fun. After 5+ hours confined under a window seat, including the delay, fido left a present for the cleaners to deal with on arrival. I could not wait to get off that aircraft!

Moral: you just never know what to expect on United. After the sked change, I would have bet that the UX flight would have been less enjoyable than mainline that day, but I'd have been wrong!

Bonehead

@:-)

"A" side on ERJ-145 (especially 18A) > mainline coach for the single traveler.

fly747first

Do it. You won't regret choosing DL over UA.

halls120

True - if he'd booked out of IAD, there are 3 nonstops to SAT on CR7s, and all the one stops through IAH are on mainline.

Often1

+1 - When you ask for alternatives, all you get is someone reading back to you the point-to-point you already hold. Particularly with a destination such as WAS with three stations served by UA: DCA, IAD & BWI, it makes great sense to do the research and then call in and ask for the specific flight(s) you want.

3Cforme

If the OP likes BWI and hates RJs that much he really ought to be flying Southwest. Lots of BWI flights, lots of destinations, no change fee, 100% mainline everywhere/every time. There's even a SAT-BWI non-stop six days a week (at present); plus another direct 6x/week.

sincx

I don't think domestic F pricing is ever justified on any of the big 3 US airlines. Maybe for lie-flat transcon, but that's it. I'd go with WN for the nonstop.

Bonehead

The canard that mainline is always better than RJ drives me nuts. After experiencing WN's new seating on a full flight a few months ago, I can say definitively that I'd rather be in "A" on a 145 than on WN.