Often1

That should have happened years ago, but it has not. They can handle the primary passenger. But the rest of the rules simply are not baked into the system. Not hard as these things are binary.

E.g., the guest's BP is either on the same flight as the primary passenger or it is not. And, when the primary passenger leaves, he is reminded that he has a guest to fetch.

SS255

I think that the only thing standing in the way of UA changing the member guest rules is the fact that they’d have to notify members. After the COVID cutbacks to locations, hours and service, I don’t see UA making one more devaluation right now to convince members not to renew. But the day of reckoning is probably coming, assuming service levels return to something resembling 2019. Then we’ll need another separate thread for lifetime members.

econ

Actually, I've been noticing on the last few UC entries it's taken a good 2-3 seconds after boarding pass scan to get the confirmation beep.

lincolnjkc

It's an awkwardly long period of time and has been for a while -- though now that I've typed that, boarding (particularly when I'm the first to board) doesn't seem to be substantially faster

fumje

I'm pretty sure the UC beep is significantly longer. I usually have time to do two full visual sweeps of the room before the agent can say "Welcome". For boarding, I have barely enough time to find out who boarded just before I did and where that person sits.

PSPAirliner

This could have turned into a huge customer service win if they just used a bit more judgement. I can see they don’t want people guesting folks in line, but after all, this lady was in a wheelchair so she could have stayed seated in it

IAH-OIL-TRASH

Huge? Me thinks your sense of scale is off a bit if the incident occurred quietly. If it was publicized, I can see a line of wheelchairs out the door of all the UCs (and miracle cures, once guested in).

PSPAirliner

IAH-OIL-Trash ....... no not on media... just the folks around there and whomever she shares it with.

As it is, it’s here on FT.

iluv2fly

My experiences with this:

At SFO, the person in front of me tried to get in and was denied. I told him he could be my guest. The agent protested but I told her that a guest can be someone I have known all my life or someone I just met. We argued a bit but she finally allowed him in, telling me that he was my responsibility and had to leave when I left. (He actually left before me.)

At LAS, I guested people in a handful of times. The agents always allowed it and actually thanked me for doing it. No lectures, no stink eye. (Great agents there - wish that club would open up again.)

Most of the agents at ORD know me very well so I never had a problem there, although I haven't done it many times there (but would should the opportunity arise).

JamesLoughney

Good point, which I interpret as meaning that old ladies should not be stereotyped as dependant, broke, needing knights in shining armour etc. On the other hand, it is equally stereotyping to assume that a youngster on spring-break would be after free alcohol, and seats to put their feet up on. Or - here I go - one ought not assume that all old ladies, wheelchair bound or not, are nice people, worthy of generosity, and unlikely to drink to the point of losing control, cause a ruckus stuff their purses with free snacks etc once let loose in the Lounge. They may also be financially well able to pay any admission charge.
Instinctively I think there is a security issue at Airports about people being where they should not otherwise be; also I would personally have no interest in assuming any level of responsibility for a stranger's behaviour, in a place where free booze is to be had.

derekno

They always over-enforce the rules to the point of invention. Next time, approach the kindly older gentleman: they've seen it all and no longer care.

geo979

Haa! Maybe LAS closed because the "great" agents encouraged people to flood the club with guests.

Ctssyount

Yes United has reached new lows in greed & unfriendly service. I recently flew United from HNL, and when I attempted to use a United club room pass earned by our United Chase card, the agent informed me I would need a separate pass for every flight segment. One pass used to cover connections, but not anymore. That agent was at least friendly and apologetic, but still an incredibly greedy policy.

That was a few weeks ago, but we too experienced a United Club Dragon Lady at HNL airport on April 9. This time my husband, a club room member & Million Miler, attempted to guest me into the club, but they required to see my boarding pass as well as his. That particular day I was flying American, so they would not allow me in as his guest. I know they claim it’s to keep the club from being over crowded, but there was hardly anyone there. While that was annoying, my bigger issue was how the agent treated me. She would not allow my husband to even ask a question about a seat change until she had seen my boarding pass, and during the entire 5-min interaction she did not even acknowledge my presence. She addressed only my husband and did not so much as look at me, much less greet me or treat me like a worthy human being. Does United’s new elitist policy also include a rule to make non-members feel unworthy to clutter up their entry? It was incredibly rude.

In addition, my United Million Miler Gold Member husband was 40-something on the waitlist for an upgrade, while my equivalent status and upgrade certificates “earned” each time I fly American had confirmed my upgrade on the long overnight segment when I checked in. This in addition to earning BOTH of us an upgrade on the long flight when we had flown AA to HNL a few weeks before.

I am a “former but never again” loyal United flyer. For years we had two United Chase cards, two United Club memberships, and I typically reached 1K status. Yet I still seldom was upgraded, and never on long flights. Since they implemented the Global program a few years ago, all perks go to those “invitation only” flyers. And that status is not earned by being a loyal flyer. Oh no, to get that invitation requires generating lots of revenue for United by being an executive at a company or similar situation where you have the clout to bring them revenue from more than just your own loyalty. They no longer reward customer loyalty with similar loyalty, for United it’s all about the revenue you bring.

I am the unofficial travel agent & book flights for about 20 friends and family when they travel, many of them on our United profiles. But I’ll be taking mine and their business elsewhere in future.

cybdiver

People pay big money for the privilege of using the lounge, I know it sounds mean and selfish but think of it this way if they let in all those guests they would be filling up the lounge and the very reason people join is to get away from the crowds. Then the price of the lounge would go up since now all those guests are using the facilities and eating the free foods. On the other hand she was an elderly lady I think there should be some discretion. Seriously who in their right mind turns away grandma?

Often1

1. UA has required a per segment pass for several years.
2. UA, along with both AA and DL, have implemented the same day boarding pass requirement over the past 18 months.

Neither of these are new and neither are greedy. Both are intended and do keep the overcrowding down. They are reasonably effective although measurement is hard because of the pandemic.

You may certainly take your travel agency business elsewhere. But, depending on the routes which you and your clients fly, you may find it hard to find a carrier which has a club which admits people who are not flying on the carrier that day. You might try AS, although I suspect that you will see AS align its club access policy with AA as part of its OW integration.