abaheti

Small thing in the scheme, but: special meals. Terrible to pay for first/business and not have a vegetarian option -- or to have a really bad veg option.

Indelaware

Dear Mr. Munoz,

Put aside the demands of a small, but vocal, number of passengers for quick changes in first/business classes, for demands of upgrades, for different coffee/meals, and in the fleet.

The most important thing for you to concentrate on is respecting your employees. With that you will earn their respect. They will work better and harder. And they will be open to giving you real constructive feedback if your ears and heart are truly open to them.

Once you have your employees on board - and they are already hopeful and happy - then it will be much easier to win and (re)win customers. Customers, the ones that count, really only want one thing: to be treated with respect both by United management and by rank-in-file employees. Treat your employees right and they will respect each of your customers, both the high fare customer and the discount flyer; your employees will also help you to understand how United can best respect its customers.

Make sure that every employee knows that each of them is worth having and that each of them come from airlines with proud history. Take a lesson from Parker but go a step further: paint a few planes in former UA colors, a few more in former CO colors, and each of the other historical liveries. Boeing Air Transport, Capitol Airlines, Continental Airlines, Air Micronesia, New York Air, Pioneer Airlines, People Express Airlines, Texas International Airlines, National Air Transport, Pacific Air Transport, Varney Airlines, and Varney Speed Lines. By using each and every historical name, you won't offend anyone. Neither employees nor passengers.

But it all starts with the employees. With them United can win, without them, not.

CosmosHuman

Dear Mr. Munoz,
I'm not a very frequent flier, but when I fly I choose UA. I'm a social worker have seen everything. So, when I can afford a vacation I go big. I have been pricing airfare from CLE to Europe and am totally shocked. The price of fuel is down yet the fares are sky high. Economy is becoming unaffordable for me. I can't swim across the pond! Please, please, please give me an affordable airfare!
Thank you,
Lisa Scheer.

kale73

Dear Señor Munoz,

After reading many of the open letters addressed to you on this site, I have noticed a common thread: former Continental flyers liked the former Continental Airlines while former United flyers liked the former United Air Lines.

My advice is that you undo the merger. Divide the company in two restoring to each airline it's former routes, hubs, equipment, personnel, frequent flier program, clubs, branding and livery.

Just turn back the clock. That sounds like a monumental task, but it's probably easier than resurrecting a POTUS who's been dead for over 50 years.

Good luck.

BearX220

Dear Oscar:

It is heartbreaking that United Airlines needs to hear this prescription...

When United Airlines used to position itself as the delivery vehicle for this very prescription...


There is so much restoration to be done. If you care about United, I defy you to watch that old spot, knowing the state of things at the company today, without a lump in your throat.

Best

BearX220

pdx1M

+1!!! Thanks for dredging up that old spot. Always liked it and how ironic that it is now UA that desperately needs its advice.

GS8101

Dear Oscar,

Please make sure that the last few first class or business first class seats are not filled by upgrades until a few hours (e.g. 6 hours) before departure, so to provide those paid customers, who are willing to stick to flying UA, a chance to either buy or switch to those seats at last minute.

Currently on major routes (TCON, TOcean), too many times, first class or BF class are sold out more than 24 hours before flight time.

Thank you!

rambutan

Dear Mr. Munuz,

First let me wish you all the best in your new job. There are many customers, shareholders and employees who want to see you succeed.

It would be very symbolic, early in your tenure, if United reversed its decision to discontinue the p.s. service at JFK. To many of us, this recent move reinforced the image of an airline constantly consolidating, in a relentless drive toward “optimized mediocrity.” The p.s. flights between SFO and JFK are always full. People like me, who live on one coast but frequently have business on the other end, really appreciate the comfort and convenience of this service. If not for this service, then I may as well fly JetBlue or Southwest. As many others on FlyerTalk have noted, EWR is not convenient for many of us.

The United staff at JFK also stood out. After a day of meetings in New York, I enjoyed being greeted by the familiar and friendly staff at the lounge. These are the little touches that matter to customers.

I know that as the leader of a big company with complex operations and thousands of employees, you can only do so many things. You have to pick the initiatives that will have impact. I also realize there may be feasibility issues around this p.s. service, like lease issues. But if it is feasible to keep the JFK p.s. service, before it’s scheduled termination date, this would be a highly visible decision that would make a lot of people stop and say, “Wow, this new guy means business!”

KayufaAir

Dear Mr. Munoz,

Closing down the Bangkok hub [BKK] was a big mistake IMO. A large client base, especially Elites walked away with that move. Being a regular on the route for the last decade, I got to witness this one first hand.

Last year I wrote Jeff an email on the subject. His reply was:
"We were losing money on the NRT to BKK tag, and our great partner ANA now connects our passengers on it."

I urge you to take a look at the numbers again today. Past 5 years data, not just for the route cancelled but the region as a whole. BKK gets HUGE connecting traffic, now more than ever with low cost airline boom. I simply can't see how UA let this one go...

ANA's product for Economy travelers is anything but "great". More like "simply not up to par". Especially for Elites who get downgraded from E+ to E-. UA non-Elites have low seating priority and will 'win' a middle seat on 90+% of the times. Asian seating spec planes mostly, from what I've seen; A problem for anyone whose inseam is longer than 32" and or waist larger than 36". 7 hour flight. I've seen grown men cry on this one.

If re-opening BKK is not a viable option at the moment, may I suggest a couple of alternatives in order to lure the lost clientele back?
1. Offer UA customers the additional option to fly on Thai on NRT-BKK. Thai is also a 'great partner' of UA, just the product is way better.
2. Renegotiate with ANA for us, man! Better equipment is needed on this route; ANA has E+ class planes! Elites want the E+ and luggage rules benefits to to stay the same for the whole trip - to be a seamless experience. Apparently it was too much to ask. Right now the competition offers the same route with seamless experience for the same money or cheaper. What would you do?

One more item to the list!

Welcome to United!

SportsTech

The fact that there are only 100 posts in this thread should worry Mr. Munoz more than any specific complaint: it shows that a lot of passionate Flyertalk people have either given up, or left the building (ie gone to American or Delta).

Mrs ST had exactly the same reaction as the FT columnist: "why is he wasting my time with a meaningless message"?

Baze

I think we realize Oscar is not reading the thread. Or, like me, just waiting to see what he does.

ibuyyoufly

Totally agree. It can/will/should all start with the employees. They are the source for the service we so desire. See LUV. Heck, just read the ticker symbol.

However, there are obstacles that even Munoz might not be aware of that will be required to rectify before they can unite the two employee groups (pmCO and pmUA). A couple of examples. One group has a Pension plan, the other group none. One group has enhanced business/personal Pass privileges, the other group, much less, etc.

Parity across the board must be reached or employee harmony just won't be attained. We all know what that means.

mahasamatman

Or are realists and don't feel the need to vent for no purpose.

mlb1k

Mr Munoz,
My wife (business partner) and I left United earlier this year after 25 years of loyalty.
While we would echo the comments made on many of the previous posts, our decision to leave was based on United's horrid reliability. Twice in one week we were left stranded at one of your hubs and forced to rent a car and drive all night to get home. The only option offered by United was to wait 24 hours for a seat on the same flight the next day. Biz flyers need to get where they are going when they need to get there. Not a day or two later because every seat on every other flight is sold out. After flying Delta for 6 months now, its clear their employees do what ever it takes to accommodate IRROPS. We fly enough to know that Delta will eventually screw us over too but at least I don't have visceral fear of being screwed over when we walk into the airport.

LaserSailor

One of the few posts of value in this thread, but if a CEO doesn't understand this already, a letter will not change that.

Thanks for posting.