sbm12

The salad should have had a protein of some sort - grilled chicken or shrimp are most common - on it as well.

Not sure what is particularly "wrong" with a cheeseburger as the main entree. It wouldn't be my first choice but I don't know why it is so wrong as implied here.

FriendlySkies

When? I've never heard of a burger being served on p.s.

boolean64

I had a similar meal...I think it was actually chicken artichoke soup, not broccoli cheese. Although I at first thought it was broccoli cheese too.

So far i've been pleasantly surprised with CO first. I've gotten upgraded on three of four flights as a 1K. The only flight i didn't get upgraded on was AUS-IAH so didn't really care. It did give me a chance to truly appreciate E+...and that I value E+ more than Directv.

I thought the food tasted better than United (although not as "upscale", e.g. the cheeseburger).

The biggest disappointment has been the almost purposeful lack of beverage refills after the meal was served. On all three flights (one of which was four hours long) the FAs never once asked me if I wanted a refill.

Big fan of the choice of any pre-departure beverage.

cl.lurker

It's been around for quite a while, both on F and C. It's actually not bad, honestly....if anything, I think it's too big.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...l#post12675448

youreadyfreddie

I question the thinking of a caterer serving broccoli or burritos to people who are going to be on a plane long enough to digest a meal.

pigx5

Yes, they do serve burger on p.s.

As a UA1K and CO platinum, I like the UA domestic first seat then CO's.
1. The headrest won't be a problem after take off and it's much better than CO's.
2. The UA domestic first seat is comfortable even when it's not reclined but the CO's isn't.

I can sleep well when I take United 1st but I can't when I take CO's domestic first.
I do love the Direct TV and power port on some of CO's flights but I prefer to take UA's seat for any flight longer than 2 hours.

ExCrew

In theory, you're right...there's nothing "wrong" with a burger...it's just not something that can be enjoyed correctly in the sky. Everyone eats one with a different array of condiments to their liking...and ONE ketchup packet just doesn't cut it for most, including me. What's wrong with a nice pasta or chicken breast dish (with VEGETABLES!). Pickles and an onion slice is not what I consider a vegetable serving...although ketchup once did under the Regan administration.
Serving uninspired meals is not something that differentiates the soft product...unless one is trying to harken to the days of "bad airline food," circa 1978 (cue David Brenner's routine regarding such).
Meals in first, domestically (save for the Charlie Trotter fare), are clearly more interesting/appetizing then what's currently being served on CO. Let's just hope that CO's chefs/kitchens don't reign supreme once the merger dust settles...lest we collectively reach for a bottle of Pepto. (blerg)

WIRunner

who cares about the burger. I'm tellin' ya. It is all about the mushroom soup on CO.

danville 1K

If I want fine dining then I'll book Gary Denko's or The French Laundry. In the air I'm more interested in a seat my rear end fits comfortably into and a cozy place to put my feet without my knees touching my chin. The food, whatever it is, is just a plus to having a comfortable seat. As long as they aren't serving liver

ExCrew

Over the last 4 weeks, I've flown exclusively on CO, 4 legs each week. After 14 flights logged since then, I thought I would post my opinions and experiences. Although CO has some very nice "wins" attributed to them within this list, the "fails" far outnumber those, sadly.
Feel free to add any additional observations I may have overlooked.

FYI - All of the flying I did was domestic. Anyone with experiences with international trips, feel free to chime in with your perspective as well. I'm very curious to see how their BF or 1st product stacks up against UA.

Wins:

Direct TV and consistent, working Power Outlets throughout most of the 738/9 fleet, throughout the aircraft
- By contrast, UA has inconsistent power, at best. As it's been well documented here, only a few of the UA domestic aircraft have working power, and when it is available, it's only in 1st class. Likewise, UA has only overhead IFE which only changes twice per month. Huge win for CO on this one.

Continental iPhone app, which allows you to check in, check the flight status, as well as where you fall on an upgrade or standby listing
- UA has no apps, nor have we seen any indication that they will anytime soon. They do have a "mobile" website, however the information I was alluding to here cannot be checked from it.

CO customers can check the availability of upgrades/stand by and see where they fall in the pecking order via continental.com. UA has never offered this feature.
- On UA, one must wait until in the boarding area, then suffer through multiple cycles of different info screens.

Pre-departure drinks can be anything you want them to be, including cocktails (except for premiums...more on that later).
- On the majority of UA flights...it's orange juice or water.

Fails:

Pre-boarding of elites
At CO, 1st class boards the a/c first via their blue carpeted "Elite Access" lane. After that, any and all elites are welcome to board. At any of CO's elite heavy hubs (EWR/IAH), imagine the crush of people trying to board at once? *shudder* It's awful. Of course, since so many are boarding at that time, everyone else who sits in coach believes the entire aircraft is boarding as well...and comedy ensues (dark, unfunny comedy).
- I like how UA separates out it's top tier elites from the rest of the pack when boarding. The Red Carpet is limited to only 1st, Business and 1K passengers. Period.

F/As unwilling to give up closet space for bags
(anecdote) Although I was late boarding early one morning, I was booked still in 1st. Likewise, there were 2 more 1st seats still open. Bin space in 1st was full, but there was room in their closet. When I requested to put my roll-aboard in it, I was flat out told that "that space is for crew bags only." (...?) When I asked if there was somewhere else I could store it, I was told, curtly "No. You have to gate check it." Huge fail.
- UA would have (and has) found a place for it, somewhere.

No warm nuts, no matter the length of the flight. So far, I've only seen packaged nuts...usually cashews. And if they were warm, it was only by coincidence.
-UA has warm nuts on most every mainline flight longer than 2 hours. Some under 2 hours.

No (or poor) recourse follow-up for a bad experience. The "We Care" line, from what I'm told at CO is useless, and they rarely give out compensation for situations where they dropped the ball.
- On UA, there's 1KVoice (and it's ilk), as well as onboard "sky kits" for situations happening on the aircraft.

Freezing planes
- This could be on any airline...but provides a great segue to the next topic...

No blankets and no pillows
In first class, domestically, there simply are none. This is just beyond the pale, especially seeing how COLD they keep their planes.
- On UA...I've yet to experience an a/c without pillows/blankets throughout the 1st cabin...and many times abundantly in Y as well.

Crowded seats
Even in 1st, I felt the leg room was cramped. The seat itself in 1st was comfortable, but lacked the forward adjustable headrest (it just moves up and down) unlike UA which can be moved forward as well. Trivial, but it does come in handy. In Y, it goes without saying that the pitch is ridiculous. The seats themselves seemed a bit light on the cushion padding, adding insult to injury. In a word: cramped
- UA's E+ beats the pants off of what CO offers in coach, plus the Y seats are more comfortable.

No E+
See above

A flight attendant that wakes you from sleep to ask you about whether or not you'll be having a meal
I don't want to be "that dork" who has to put a sign "please do not disturb" on my person. This just seems like common sense not to wake a sleeping passenger, but I have been awakened at least 6 times over the past 4 weeks. Why? Is this contractual? It's really obnoxious.
- On UA, they let you SLEEP!

No channel 9
I've heard rumors that in addition to LiveTV, they'll be adding Sirius/XM radio to their a/c. One would hope that they consider putting channel 9 as part of that mix.
- UA has it, and it's fantastic!

No WiFi to their a/c
I've been looking, but I see no plans for CO to add WiFi. Doesn't make much sense not to?
- To be fair, UA has no advertised plans to offer this beyond PS either.

Crap food in 1st, domestically. CO only seems to get breakfast right. Everything else is below UA standards. A cheeseburger in 1st for dinner CO? Really?
- UA at least has some decent-ish food on flights.

If you don't like or don't prefer the meal in first, you are not given the option of having something available from Y without paying.
- UA f.a.s know the food isn't great in domestic first...and haven't thought twice about getting me a BOB meal from the "back," if that's what I prefer. I don't know why it's an issue at CO.

The ovens on CO have a distinct, metallic smell to them. When they are used, it permeates the cabin. Although I've noticed this on UA, I find it overpowering on CO. Likewise, it creeps into the taste of the food as well. Case in point, the (quite tasty) cinnamon roll served with breakfast...tastes like the oven smells.

Charging for a premium cocktails
- UA has never done this for customers in 1st. It's just TACKY.

Final observation: I had the opportunity to sit next to many CO golds and plats. From what they conveyed to me, it's clear that UA treats their top tier elites MUCH better. During my last 4 weeks, I also sat next to many other UA 1ks and 1Ps, also flying CO. I couldn't even get close to find a single one who disagrees with any of my observations.

Please feel free to add to the list, or share your experiences or "takes" on flying CO.

1kBill

I flew CO F on two flights last week:

No pillows and blankets in F as noted above. What is this? I found the seats to be just OK except that the lower back support is non-existent. Since this could be alleviated by a small pillow, I bought one tonight for my return later this week. Clearly, improvement is needed.

The food was decent, in fact I thought the short ribs on my IAH-PHL flight were much better than anything I would have gotten on UA on a comparable flight (<3 hours). Only one quibble: could we get a roll with the meal? As always, YMMV.

Direct TV is fantastic. What more can I say? Beats the pants off anything UA has domestically in narrow body fleet. And I don't usually watch much IFE.

Upgrade experience was much better than UA (once I figured it out.) I bought a B fare on CO and upgraded all segments almost immediately after booking versus a more expensive waitlist on a UA H-fare.

channa

Very good summary.

A couple of points to clarify:

- CO does have blankets, but they are on request from the FA for F customers only.

- The upgrade list on the CO website/PDA site shows the airport upgrade list only. This is the one the GA processes. If you're upgraded via the EUA system (the automation that runs up until about 30 minutes out), it uses a slightly different ranking. So it's possible you'll see yourself as #1 on the list, and then #2 gets the upgrade, so take the co.com site as a rough guide, but not totally accurate.

iquitos

future?

CObigtimefan

The honest truth: the difference between UA F and CO F is minimal, at best. Sometimes UA is better bc of the FA's, sometimes CO is better. You can nit pick all day - but they're basically the same.@:-)@:-)

UA-NYC

for the fact that UA's F upgrades go by status first, not by mileage upgrades from kettles, YBMs, or tens-of-dollars cash grabs.