thetallone

I would love to hear your experiences, both positive and negative about the United Premium Service... program... or whatever you want to call it.

I'll never forget the first time I boarded one of these jets. I'd never seen such an enormous business class to economy class ratio. And I was impressed at how easy it was (just throw down 15k miles) for an upgrade to business.

Sure, the business class seats have tiny massagers, lots of room, and a nice foot rest system... and the food is much better than Mr. Snack Box... but why are they using 1970's seats? Thanks for handing out tiny media players United, I'm glad you recognize that the CRT monitors you are using to display video is unacceptable. Its really fun dealing with 13 thousand cables when trying to watch something on your little player, and having to put it away when its time to eat. And First Class? What a joke! I see no improvement. Lay-flat is an exaggeration. Its more like, lean back, really far. I feel bad for the folks who bought a first class ticket on P.S.

Upgrades. I've been upgraded for free on P.S. before. In fact, one time I noticed that my name wasn't on the upgrade list on the monitor (because I thought that P.S. was subject to UDU, which it is NOT), so I called customer service and complained... they gave me 9000 miles as a compensation. Probably by mistake. It took several phone calls to realize that UDU does not apply, but I HAD been upgraded before! I later found out that these were upgrades done out of need, so that they could open more economy seats for standby passengers.

And economy plus on these planes? Give me a break. I'm glad they have a power outlet, but just prey that it works. I've had three instances where the outlet was broken.

I hope the CO merger will get rid of this horrible service... or at least upgrade the plane so that it meets with early 2000 standards.

Your thoughts and experiences, please....

WineCountryUA

actually F is lie-flat and it would be nice to have the new C seats -- but it would mean fewer seats. Since most PS flights are not "sleeper" flights, I'm OK with the recliners.

As for no UDU on PS, that old news on FT. In fact, it had a good bit with the rebellion to restate CR1 -- just for PS flights

other threads on PS (of which there a dozens)
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...-then-now.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...s-product.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...s-f-class.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...-then-now.html

BTW, the media player has recently been changed http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...-2-1-11-a.html
must disagree -- if you don't like it, don't fly it

FriendlySkies

So the CO 737s without DirecTV and power on transcons are better than p.s. C & F?

sbm12

I've heard rumors that the aircraft will become 2-class with the new CO 752 flat BF seats and then coach, with E+/E-. I've got no proof nor a time line, but that's what I've heard being talked about.

FriendlySkies

I've heard the same rumors. Too bad they can't put the UA lie-flat C seats on p.s.

hungarianhc

P.S. service has indeed had its ups and downs, with the overall trajectory being downward, but... I had a p.s. flight in business class today... and one last sunday... On both flights, the food was way better than on a normal first class domestic flight. They really do a pretty good job of making it a full three course meal. The seats are really comfy. Sure they're not the lie-flat sleepers on the international config, but we're not going across any oceans here. For red eyes I know we'd all appreciate lie-flat in business, but oh well...

Also, the entire flight, my laptop was charging without worry of battery, i had free wifi, free drinks... I mean c'mon it's a pretty good experience.

I actually think some of the cuts they made weren't a big deal. Like back when they used to give you that truffle... You know how United literature is. When you read about it, it makes it sound so over-the-top. In reality, it was like just getting a little piece of chocolate. I prefer the cookie anyways. And the toblerone in the snackbox is just as good.

There's always room for improvement, and the "experience" definitely depends on which specific FAs you have, but I find the hard product to be pretty darn good, even if the food has gotten slightly worse over the years.

eightblack

I reckon the PS service is a cracker. As a International 1K - I look forward to it and have done the SFO-JFK many times as a part of my SIN-JFK legs.

Ok, the hard product is getting a bit "soft" around the edges - but bang for your buck, its terrific. And as someone quite rightly said previously, it's better than what's on offer by virtually anyone else.

I hope the OP sticks around to engage in the conversation, rather than walk in - break wind, and then leave

FriendlySkies

Maybe the OP had an incident with "Dave's Insanity Sauce" and the lavs, on a recent p.s. flight

sknyski

grump.....

hope it gets better before my flight tonight!

ORDnHKG

1970's seats ? Curious how long have you flown UA and how long you actually been flying ? The C seats on PS flights are the same kind installed on international C in the late 90s/early 00s. You obviously haven't seen what is old and what is new. Remember one thing though, PS is domestic and not international. The product maynot be new, but certainly not the kind one can say from the 1970s.

If you have flown one of OZ's 74M that just retired last year, then you would truly know what is called old seats in both F and C, and that plane flew with much longer routes.


If you don't like the F seats on PS, then I can assure you that you won't like to fly SQ C on their 744 and 772E either, as this is exactly what they are using currently. The only difference is on SQ, those C seats are purple in color, and that is what they called as "spacebeds"

thetallone

I go to dinner, come back, and get lots of comments.

To those of you crying about my negative comments; get over yourself. Geez, this is the internet. This is a blog about flying. I fly a lot, and have been for many years. I'm not bragging, I'm giving you perspective. Stop whining about my whining. JEEEEEZ

So no, I'm not here to break wind and ditch. I'm genuinely curious about your thoughts and experiences with P.S.

I fly JFK to SFO and LAX frequently, and so I spend a lot of time on P.S. I want to know what you'll think about it, and what you've heard of in terms of improvements. THANK YOU to all who responded warmly and kindly

And my comment about the 1970s was an exaggeration. Good god man, THIS IS THE INTERWEBS! HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR OR EXIT THE INTERNET.

Yes I know that UDUs not being accepted on P.S. is old news... but guess what? Some people may be new to this frequent traveling thing, don't they get to learn things too? If I give you facts that you already know, don't simply state that you already know them, just confirm them. There will ALWAYS be new people to this site and to frequently traveling in general, and I know that when I was one I sure would have wished I knew about this site and all of the information therein contained...

I find the food to be delicious in business class, and the comfort of the seats are... good. One thing you should know about me is that I'm 6'6", so I really push seats to their comfort limit. I've just seen much better first/business class seats on domestic flights. Namely, every Continental flight I've ever been on. I just feel like when you add the title "premium service" to your flights, you ought to throw in some premium features... not just standard features. Sure its a 3 class cabin, but who gives a hoot when the outlets work three quarters of the time, and there aren't any televisions in the seats themselves. And I don't know about you, but I can't feel those massagers all that much.

UGGG SO MUCH NEGATIVITY THE TALL ONE... CEASE BEING SO NEGATIVE

I do like that there are outlets in economy, I do like the business class seats as they are preferable to economy, and I do like that hot fudge sundae they serve you... yummm....

How is that?

thetallone

I've been flying since 1986. The 1970's bit was an exaggeration/humor/sarcasm.

eightblack

thetallone

This is the UA forum. We don't do exaggeration/humor/sarcasm very well. As you can see.

Now that you've decided to stick around, enjoy what might turn into a 200+ post thread about the relative merits of PS.

My personal view is that the new United will abolish F and turn PS into a J, E+ and E product. The 757's need a good wash and a lot of the duct tape needs to be removed. In fact, the cabins need refitting.

The best thing I find about the service is inflight wi-fi with GoGo. Last flight, I think I was online virtually the whole way.

I also think one of the ways to perhaps improve the onboard experience is to run a dedicated PS crew - based on merit and not tenure.

saaws

well, an incorrent, misinformed exaggeration is, still an incorrect, WRONG information.

if you find the food to be delicious in P.S. business, good for you. it may have been good when they first introduced the sourdough chili bowl 2 YEARS AGO and still exactly the same menu again & again. (one thing I hate about p.s.)

I flew CO's international 752 (the older recliner version) and their EWR-SFO 737 in F. if you seriously think either is better than p.s. C, I don't even know what to say. There's a reason why CO sells EWR-SFO in first for 1900 when P.S. business sells for 2900.

thetallone

I very very much appreciate the response. I will try to reduce the relative level of sarcasm and humor to a minimum. Its important that everyone know that I'm not someone who just wants to vent, I really am curious about all thoughts on P.S.

I spend so much time on it that I feel like I've earned the right to... address my grievances about the service. I was frustrated recently by the fact that my wife was put at the bottom of the upgrade list while I was put at the top. Her ticket was a companion ticket (meaning that I bought it at the same time on .bomb as my own). Although she is a UA mileage plus member, she has no elite status. But on my most recent P.S. flight, I was upgraded and she was not. She is my wife, we have the same last name... why does she end up at the bottom of the upgrade list? How does UA expect that to work? When the UA representative came up to me to offer me the upgrade, I told her I had to decline unless my wife could come with me. Did she expect me to just ditch my wife in e+ and head for the high life in business? (believe me, the thought DID cross my mind).

But I have had good experiences too. Free upgrades... mostly.

But I couldn't agree with you more. The cabins just feel old, out dated, and by no means "premium"! I think a two class, updated cabin makes more sense. I just don't see the value in calling the service premium just because there are three classes and its a long flight.

I agree with you about the internet. Pretty useful. But I'd argue that virgin atlantic, JFK to SFO offers all the amenities P.S. has to offer plus billions of more modern amenities for the same price. But of course, no elite status with virgin.

All in all, I think P.S. needs to go away or they need to really make it premium. Thats what I think. And again, I appreciate your honest thoughts

Clearly you don't know what an exaggeration is. By definition it is incorrect if compared with fact. I recommend a good dictionary, you can read it on the plane.

Why so defensive and angry? Just chill! Its the internet, learn to take it less seriously and enjoy yourself. No need to get your knickers in a twist!

I didn't expect so many... interesting... individuals to come out of the woodwork to comment on P.S.

All the more interesting this topic it maketh. Again, my issue is with the phrase "premium service" to describe a regular airplane experience. Check out BOS-SFO to see what I mean.