FJY787

Having moved to SF bay area, we were ecstatic at the news of CO and UA merge. Often we noticed the CO website gives better price than UA for the same itinerary. But that's another discussion.

My wife and I just completed SFO-ICN. I believe CO/UA had an incredible fare at about $600 US AI for this trip. So we decided to get some miles.

We certainly didn't expect much from the scheduled flight. We knew it was old and tired, but still majestic 747 both ways. No AVOD. still E+ quick upgrade based on my *G.

Boy, the SFO to ICN leg was worse than I expected. The earphone gave out some annoying static all trip long. Food, man oh man. Probably the worst food I had ever in last 20 yrs of flying. Not even a piece of bread. one main inedible entree and a brownie. and a drink. That was it for lunch. the breakfast looked and tasted exactly the same as the lunch. horrible.

Surprisingly the return leg was much better, food-wise. Better service too. Hmm. UA seemed to have the old flight attendants ever. I'd say most were probably older than 45. both men and women.

I can see why other Asian carriers charge so much more. And it certainly shows.

Well, UA despite of its issues got me there and back. safely. rather inexpensively I might add. so maybe I shouldn't complain so much.

rankourabu

well duh, comparing US carriers to Asian carriers is like comparing a chevy to a benz.

You got exactly what you paid for. At least you had economy plus and free wine Your post could as well be describing a CO flight in Y to Asia, without economy plus and the wine that is but with AVOD. The age of the FAs would have been the same, just as the hit and miss service.

ACC2008

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Unfortunately, it is the norm with UA then exception.

Often, I have flown to Asia (BKK, SIN, HKG, etc.) only to realize that food is very bad and FA's are old, tired and set in their ways. At times, I have actually stopped at a subway before boarding the flight and got me a footlong as it is much better then anything being served on board. Isn't that sad?

FA's on other carriers look at their job as an opportunity to work. UA FA's take it as their right - which is fine but they have lost touch with providing excellent experience to a paying customer.

Hope that someone at UA may be reading this post and may have some pull to put in programs to help re-train those old flight attendants. They sure can take lessons from the Asian FA's.

fireworksboy

"probably older than 45" THE HORROR! I can't believe you even let such senior citizens attend to you.

"men and women"? :baffled: Is a 45 year old woman older than a 45 year old man?

Ya think?

notquiteaff

Why does > 45 age matter? What's your age? Do you think UA should discriminate against older employees? How'd you like it if our employer (assuming you have one) did that?

andrewwm

How much was Asiana on this route? Probably hundreds more right? Are you willing to pay hundreds more for an economy seat with somewhat better food and AVOD but less miles?

You get what you pay for, not sure why you expect United to provide excellent Y cabin experience, generous frequent flyer miles, and a cheaper fare than competitors.

I view United long haul in Y as being locked into an aluminum tube for 10 hours and plan accordingly. Anything United gives above that I consider a bonus.

What's age got to do with anything? My best service experience ever on United was with a crew from LHR that were all generally +45 plus.

How many miles did you get for your United flight? How many would you have received on Asiana?

1) You got (at minimum valuation) $200 worth of miles for a $600 flight.
2) What else do you expect from Y cabin experience for that price other than getting you there safely?

Everyone loves to complain about how kettles that shop by price are putting so much downward pressure on Y cabin service. Frankly, though, I don't blame them. If the difference in price is a few hundred $$, just think of the nice meal + wine you could have on the ground instead of getting an extra roll and a salad with a few extra olives on the plane.

EnvoyBoy

Well, they must being doing something right since you fly UA enough to be a 1K. You obviously find their "norm" acceptable on some level.

PTahCha

Just a quick fact correction - you got comped E+ presumably because of your CO status, not because of *G. Otherwise, E+ upgrade is available to everyone with cost.

kampret

for some reason when comparing flights fare to asia, I found SQ to have better fare than UA. you might want to consider that since you will earn points anyway.

SQ economy >>>>>> UA E+

IADtoWhere

Yeah but does that fare earn UA EQM/RDM? Probably not.

kampret

it does actually. I got 18k in EQM last year from SQ. helped a lot to get my 1P status.

uastarflyer

You don't get the elite bonus miles though. A full 18K extra for a *Gold.

re. fares, SQ being cheaper is the exception not the norm. And SQ sells many special fares with zero mileage accrual - need to watch out for those.

OP - on the 747, during the flight go to the galley - they leave some snacks out there but don't advertise it. They'll pour whatever you want as well. I usually grab 45C to cover myself if the UG doesn't clear - so access to drinks and snacks is just a couple steps away.

kampret

elite bonus miles? you meant the 25% extra mileage for premier and 100% extra mileage for premier execs?

I wasn't on any status when I earned the 18k so I wouldn't know...

uastarflyer

That's the best time to fly SQ! After gaining status, especially Premier Exec, it's pretty tough to turn down the 100% bonus...

SFOSpiff

btw, that bonus previously applied to flights on UA, CO, US, and LH, but now appears to apply to AC as well. I don't remember seeing that a few months ago, but I could be wrong.