UA Will Never be a World-Class Airline Until They Get Rid of CRJs on Major Routes.
 

In Denver Major UA Hub yesterday going to the Worlds Busiest Airport ATL.

Really UA. If you can't compete on that route get out of it completely.

Those mini jets were designed for flights to 2nd level airports. Not between 2 of the busiest airports in the world.

Yesterday flight was full. Thought we were going to back out from the gate and then baggage handlers came on the airplane asking if there was room for bags.

Supposedly a weight and Balance problem . So they brought 8-10 bags that I am amazed they could stuff in those ridiculous overheads. They were able after a lot of pushing etc.

Then the Captain advises because airplane has an Altitude restriction, they have to add more fuel for the possibility of an alternate airport.

Great pre - planning??

Finally the fuel is loaded and we begin to taxi . All of a sudden we pull off the taxiway and the Captain informs us the airplane is too heavy for take- off so we have to sit there for 15 minutes to burn off fuel.

Are you kidding?? You are the one who loaded the fuel and now you have to waste it sitting in place.

Real confidence builder in people in the cockpit. Now I a m praying no weather in ATL because I don't want my life in the hands of this amateur.

This is what happens when you have mini-jets piloted by low time pilots on major routes .

Get out of Atlanta completely if you can't compete but stop sticking us with these mini jets and pilots who have a fraction of the experience of a Captain of even a B737.

Uh - 2 of the 3 frequencies are 737's. The third one is on a -700. While it's a tad smaller than a 737, it's 2-2 seating in steerage and has close to full-sized overheads.

Do you have any data suggesting that there's a market for the larger aircraft on this third frequency which trumps whatever route to which it's currently assigned?

Who ever suggested UA wants to be a world class airline? It wants to be a profitable one.

Hey look there was plenty of space left in the overheads for G5!

it's interesting that Delta has eight mainline flights a day (at least on the day I checked) vs. three on UA (one mainline and two RJs on the day I checked). That's a huge difference in capacity.

Similarly, I did an E70 between EWR and DFW a few weeks ago. Of course it was oversold and they were looking for volunteers. Fairly sad.

If you're choosing to fly UA into ATL (or MSP, DTW, or SLC), presumably you're doing so based on some benefit (price or FF program) which is perceived to outweigh DL's superior frequency, reliability, and service quality.

Yeah that was my reaction.

UA typically avoid competing into DL hubs. Has pretty much always been true.

+1000 - they don't aspire be one and to be honest, in their defense, they don't pretend to be... If I were to sum it up - their strategy from a consumer perspective is simple: "We suck the least of the US carriers"

There are about 50 things UA has to change / repair / renovate in order to be an airline people want to fly, as opposed to one they are resigned to. Long-stage RJ ops are up there but not #1. #1 is total operational reliability. But remember the current UA business plan is based not on reliability or excellence, but on reduced choices for captive consumers. 80% on time is good enough for captives.

They would rather have an oversold E70 on EWR-DFW than a 752 that is 70% filled -- and their takeaway from the oversell is that nothing is wrong. When that E70 starts going on half-empty, and with no elites aboard because they have all jumped to AA, perhaps then UA will take a second look.

All I know is that since they brought the RJs on this route, I've been booking Delta.

There are 12 non stops per day EWR-DFW (June 9th).

The 6 AA flights are on MD-80's and 737's.

4 out of the 6 UA flights are on A320's or 737's. Two are E-170's.

There are two AA flight options on mainline that compete almost directly, schedule wise, with the two UA RJ's.

Similar to the OP, the fact that you ended up on an E-170 is a self inflicted wound. You could have, and should have, known better...

Apparently a strategy you need to make others here more aware of...

That would be ok except they are not even close to being the best US carrier. In fact I'm not sure who they beat? Certainly not DL who is light years ahead of them. Their only claim to Fame is Star Alliance and availability of awards. Other then that they are pitiful in all respects.

This from a 1K for 3 years until this year and will not even be Gold next year which is what I think of them now.

And of course I will never book a ticket with them that includes a RJ , CJ etc.

Interesting that nobody has commented on the pitiful performance of the Cockpit Crew and Ground personnel that always knew the plane was oversold and the luggage that would likely be loaded.

Amateur Hour!!

United will never be a World Class Airline because they do not aspire to it. They are large enough to be mediocre....until the next economic downturn. Then we'll see if the strategy has created a survivor.

United sucks the most of the US carriers precisely because there is much wasted potential.

And this is the #1 problem I have with UA. All the other stuff people complain about (reducing FF benefits, TOD upgrades...) well, I can convince myself that UA is possibly doing the right thing. After all, they need to make money.

But there are simply no seats available on flights. Loads are so high that if you misconnect (which seems to happen frequently, these days) you face a Herculean task getting to your destination in anything resembling a reasonable time. And if you paid for domestic first? Forget about it. You will be in coach, or you will be waiting forever for a flight with an open seat in first.

I want an airline to get me to where they promised me they'd take me. Everything else is gravy. The insane load factors lead me to question whether UA is actually interested in delivering people to their final destination, as much as they are interested in making money. (Though to be fair, this is an industry-wide issue).

The business is there to serve its shareholders so it needs to be a profitable one - and that's, in the long run, good for customers too. I cannot for the life of me understand why customers care if it wants to be "world class". Pan Am wanted to be world class but didn't care about profitability and we all know what happened. "World class" is a meaningless concept. We might want UA to offer more customer goodies for less money, but that doesn't make it "World Class".