"The Points Guy" takes the mickey out of United & Polaris
Aug 11, 2017, 2:11 pm
#166
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Aug 11, 2017, 2:18 pm
#167
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Aug 11, 2017, 2:40 pm
#168
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I agree that worst J product beats any Y. The "worst" long haul J product I have flown is AA's angled flat "NGBC" and I'll take that over the best Y seat.
That said, when people say "I'd rather fly Y over United's IPTE" they may be looking at a cost/value perspective: maybe they mean that they would rather pay $700 to fly Y instead of paying $3000 to fly IPTE.
That said, when people say "I'd rather fly Y over United's IPTE" they may be looking at a cost/value perspective: maybe they mean that they would rather pay $700 to fly Y instead of paying $3000 to fly IPTE.
Aug 11, 2017, 2:45 pm
#169
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I had a broken footrest in my barcalounger LAX-LHR at the beginning of the IPTE transition. When I brought to the FAs attention during boarding, a mechanic came and taped it down really well (so it was completely useless). Sure, it was the...legacy product...at the time, and they weren't investing much in maintenance. But UA also realized they weren't pricing a broken-down legacy product, so they had to make good. I got a $500 ETC out of it (which wasn't bad, since it was only half my MEL-LAX-LHR SWU).
if this writer had gotten that large an ETC the complaints would have been very muted
but I am glad he got stiffed to be honest.
Aug 11, 2017, 3:12 pm
#170
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I've had at least half a dozen United business class experiences where I definitely would have been happier in Economy on another airline -- Lufthansa, SQ, even Air Asia or EasyJet.
I have NEVER - NOT ONCE - had staff on any of these airlines say deliberately degrading or insulting things to me as I have on United. You guys can get all gushy about the seats on United. United Business Class seats are definitely better than Economy seat elsewhere -- as they should be at 5X the price. But for many of us, the treatment matters more than the hardware.
And the treatment frankly sucks. It's little things like not putting the tray on your tray table or making you pick it up, because they are too lazy to bend a few degrees and get it. The TPG author clearly clued into this right away. But what lurks behind that is much bigger and worse things. --and the underlying antagonistic attitude toward customers that pervades United. We saw th
Can you imagine as a member of a minority to have somebody call you "little boy?" Think about that. I've only had that experience on United.
I have NEVER - NOT ONCE - had staff on any of these airlines say deliberately degrading or insulting things to me as I have on United. You guys can get all gushy about the seats on United. United Business Class seats are definitely better than Economy seat elsewhere -- as they should be at 5X the price. But for many of us, the treatment matters more than the hardware.
And the treatment frankly sucks. It's little things like not putting the tray on your tray table or making you pick it up, because they are too lazy to bend a few degrees and get it. The TPG author clearly clued into this right away. But what lurks behind that is much bigger and worse things. --and the underlying antagonistic attitude toward customers that pervades United. We saw th
Can you imagine as a member of a minority to have somebody call you "little boy?" Think about that. I've only had that experience on United.
Last edited by euslaner; Aug 11, 2017 at 3:20 pm Reason: addition
Aug 11, 2017, 3:35 pm
#171
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I'm starting to believe that the guy is fishing for a position in the White House.
Last edited by DoTheBartMan; Aug 11, 2017 at 5:32 pm Reason: Words, grammar, etc.
Aug 11, 2017, 4:39 pm
#173
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Aug 11, 2017, 7:00 pm
#174
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Originally Posted by 5khours
Honestly people. The TPG report on UA is spot on in substance.
1. UA's soft product is about the worst there is.
2. Their new hard product by the time it gets fully rolled out will be at best marginally competitive.
Honestly people. The TPG report on UA is spot on in substance.
1. UA's soft product is about the worst there is.
2. Their new hard product by the time it gets fully rolled out will be at best marginally competitive.
In the past 12 months, I've flown international premium product on UA, DL, OZ, JL, NH, CX, BR, VN, TG, SQ, EK, TK, LX, and LH.
Of these, UA definitely has the worst soft product. FULL STOP.
Even ignoring the fact that they're eliminating F, UA's new hard product is not significantly better than any of these carriers. If you consider the lack of F, UA will be about on par with VN or BR.... albeit with a lot worse service.
Aug 12, 2017, 2:43 am
#175
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I can only speak from personal experience.
In the past 12 months, I've flown international premium product on UA, DL, OZ, JL, NH, CX, BR, VN, TG, SQ, EK, TK, LX, and LH.
Of these, UA definitely has the worst soft product. FULL STOP.
Even ignoring the fact that they're eliminating F, UA's new hard product is not significantly better than any of these carriers. If you consider the lack of F, UA will be about on par with VN or BR.... albeit with a lot worse service.
In the past 12 months, I've flown international premium product on UA, DL, OZ, JL, NH, CX, BR, VN, TG, SQ, EK, TK, LX, and LH.
Of these, UA definitely has the worst soft product. FULL STOP.
Even ignoring the fact that they're eliminating F, UA's new hard product is not significantly better than any of these carriers. If you consider the lack of F, UA will be about on par with VN or BR.... albeit with a lot worse service.
Aug 12, 2017, 4:23 am
#176
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This isn't a UA-specific problem...service on US3 suck. Soft product is inconsistent.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Aug 12, 2017 at 7:36 am Reason: Please stick to the thread's topic
Aug 12, 2017, 4:47 am
#177
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I have followed this thread for the last a few days. and I am surprised with some of the assertions made.
UA is not perfect, and may be just average, but there are a lot of average airlines out there. We all have our preferences, however; honestly, I do have doubts about whether some of the posters have actually flown as many C and Y on a FREQUENT OR REGULAR basis. I think sample sizes have to be equal to be fair.
I hardly fly airlines outside of *A. If I do, it is Qantas, Virgin Australia, Silk Air and some of the airlines in Asian where domestic and regional routes lack *A coverage.
To claim, Y is better than PMUA 777 C is simply hard to comprehend and understand.
Within *A, I fly about half UA and half other *A carriers for my annual roughly 350K BIS flights, I assert that PMUA seats are definitely comfortable than most of the *A C seats.
Yes, I rank SQ and OS very high, but their seats are just not that comfortable to relax and sleep. I just had a few amazing flights on SQ A350 C and their seats comfort really needs to be improved.
My point is that I find it difficult to understand those who make statements so definitive and blunt that often questionable.
UA is not perfect, and may be just average, but there are a lot of average airlines out there. We all have our preferences, however; honestly, I do have doubts about whether some of the posters have actually flown as many C and Y on a FREQUENT OR REGULAR basis. I think sample sizes have to be equal to be fair.
I hardly fly airlines outside of *A. If I do, it is Qantas, Virgin Australia, Silk Air and some of the airlines in Asian where domestic and regional routes lack *A coverage.
To claim, Y is better than PMUA 777 C is simply hard to comprehend and understand.
Within *A, I fly about half UA and half other *A carriers for my annual roughly 350K BIS flights, I assert that PMUA seats are definitely comfortable than most of the *A C seats.
Yes, I rank SQ and OS very high, but their seats are just not that comfortable to relax and sleep. I just had a few amazing flights on SQ A350 C and their seats comfort really needs to be improved.
My point is that I find it difficult to understand those who make statements so definitive and blunt that often questionable.
Aug 12, 2017, 5:21 am
#178
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Click bait
I was intrigued by the large numbers of posts about a travel blog article. I find reading tpg equivalent to cheap fiction. It's not my thing. I do actively accumulate and use points but only as a byproduct of my travel not as a source of income. But I was intrigued and WASTED a few minutes reading all of this thread and the two referenced articles. My thoughts can be summed up in one word, really? As a points related blog it fills space and generates income. But It's obvious that tpg doesn't like UA. A straight up comparison of two offering sounds good. Comparing US domestic flughaffen experiences to Euro international flughaffens is apples to plums and I especially like the comparison of the aging 777 to a 747-800.
Aug 12, 2017, 7:01 am
#179
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Aug 12, 2017, 9:45 am
#180
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And since we're discussing travel blogs, as a counterpoint here's a critical but balanced review of UA J from OMAAT, published today.