tuolumne

I'm just going to flat out be honest my friend. I've closely watched your posting history over the last few months and every post is bagging on United and boasting about Virgin Australia's 5 hour transcontinental service. I don't understand how it's producive to any substantiatice degree to continue to refer to Virgin Australia over and over and repeatedly call for United to enmulate their product (even though their actual hard product on that route is inferior to PS F). In reality, it's an exponentially smaller airline, working under very different yield, demand, and revenue enviroments. It's not anything close to the domestic US market, and has no business being treated as such for any sort of comparison purposes.

It's all rather strange really. You seem to enjoy comparing apples to oranges and making sweeping sensationalist generalizations, using big negative descriptors like you did in your opening post. And yet you also simultaneously want to speak of "objectivity"?

I hope this doesn't sound too harsh, but your credibility is going to take a big hit when you talk about doing as I say but not as I do, in this case saying you want to have an objective discussion based on your impartial and objective "analysis", then proceeding to open a thread with a list of sensationalist grievences all colectively underwritten by sweepingly negative and loaded descriptors. It really doesn't equate to anything objective by any measure and it makes you look like a partisan.

In my own opinion, it seems that you already have eatablished a personal preconceived narrative of what United is in your own mind. You then went on this trip only seeing what you wanted to see, whatever conviniently bolstered your beliefs, and plainly disregarded all that didnt (I.e. the positive). I really have no doubt you got out of bed that morning knowing exactly how you'd feel at the end of it.

Unfortunately, I doubt I am the only one who feels this way, based on the nearly unanimous rebuke of your analysis by those of us who fly on PS on a regular basis - 2, 3, 4 times a month. From my own perspective, I don't buy what you're trying to sell here. If the LAX and JFK RCCs are pathetic, or dumps, or however you described them, then so is every other airline lounge from ever other legacy carrier in the continental US. I know this notion of yours regarding what constitutes "un-pathetic" and acceptable lounges/food all spawned from your "research" (I.e. pictures.you found online) of one Virgin Australia lounge in SYD, and based on that alone, I can't take your"objective analysis" very seriously. I'm even wondering if your assertions of your travel are even credible at this point. It almost read like this was the first time you have flown, or ever stepped inside an RCC for that matter.

If you don't like United, find another carrier. But honestly, I'm not at all sure you are doing anything else but throwing around heavy handed fodder just to get a rise out of some folks here. What do you expect when you come and start spouting nonsensicle observances like you did, apparently have completely irrational expectations, compare the product not to an actual competitor, but rather a small airline from Australia that is in no way a competitor, conviniently disregard the " European" carriers you claim to fly have no premium domestic product, and then start actively slandering the product with every negative descriptor you could find in the thesaurus that day?

p.s., I'd be worried to see your reaction if and when you book a J ticket on AA's "Flagship" premium transcontinental service.

cbourl

Just my opinion -I travel ps 2-3 times a year -from JFK to LAX/SFO on my RTW trips - PS certainly is PS and Im very happy with it
cf Biz on LH or LX or SK or A3 intraeurope - PS beats them all hands down
And since i reside in Australia and have regular trips with QF in eco or biz - QF loses by far imho - I like PS biz and would like to see it on more routes in the US
Lounges are another matter - so you need ur priority pass or use ur Star Gold card in the non-USA Star Gold lounges where posssible

OH forgot to say - in AU I dont fly Virgin - theyre only a little above Jetstar/Tiger in terms of no fril lservice - No need for me to fly the PER-SYD route - and if I did you would NOT find me on any A330-200 let alone Emirate's A330-200 to Virgin hand me downs!

TA

We all like to compare airlines, and it's natural to do so when you fly overseas and see such better service.

But given the poor financials and dynamics of the US airline industry, the key issue that companies consider is not:

"how should we make our service and product top notch to be the best airline?",

but rather:

"what can we do to make our service and product just better than the competition, so that people will choose us instead of them?"

You will not hear them say this, but that's the underlying sentiment I believe.

Because for a domestic US airline's operations, there is no point to have bend-over-backwards great service. It simply doesn't pay -- being world-class will not get them that much more business.

Now, it could be embarrassing when you compare overseas, but in the short term, an airline's greatest worry is beating its competition. And US airlines' competitors are other US airlines, not Singapore or Cathay.

That is the system that our regulations, travel habits, and collective spending willingness (or cheapness) has created. Our market is not set up to reward excellence right now. Maybe on a macroeconomic scale it causes shifts in travel preference to other countries, but that's not something individual airlines can fix.

So what would providing iPads in C/F do for an airline, when no one else comes close to that on domestic service? It would be a waste. (until someone else does it)

UA has done enough with its PS product to make it good enough. And good enough is, in competitive terms, good enough.

uanj

We all appreciate wanting UA to be better, but on the p.s. routes it actually is better than the competition. I want to make the following comment in a kind fashion, excuse the wording and please take it that way.

You picked for comparison one route on one very small airline that has launched a business class service precisely because it fails to attract business passengers and has made no headway against Qantas and company in that regard. UA competes primarily with DL and AA on p.s. routes, throw in jet blue and Virgin America if you want. Do you not think p.s. is better already? You need to compare UA to its competition, not selectively choose some domestic route on a different continent out of the blue.

United needs to up its game, but needs to start that process in other areas where it is falling behind its competition.

sinoflyer

This sounds like rank amateur hour in the marketing department. Until Virgin can fly me to Toronto, Rapid City, Taipei, and Changsha, plus have a competent frequent flyer program, no, I do not wish UA were a bit more like Virgin.

I'll rescind this post after the Virgin branded airlines join *A.

1111

He did say the two premier cities, not three. I think "and also LA" was supposed to be understood.

LGA

Perhaps you didn't write the first post they way you should've rather than *everyone else* "misunderstanding" you.

Now you're sounding more reasonable. E.g., telling passengers in business that they have to buy a snack form the back if they're hungry after lunch/dinner and before the 6-hour westbound flight to SFO is over is tacky.

Were you at the Premier/1k/GS check-in area? I don't think I've ever been ordered to do that at that counter. In the sea of crappy service that is so often life in NYC, UA's JFK folks have been pretty good to very nice almost every time I've dealt with them. Go fly DL out of JFK sometime... Better yet, a few times... And see how often it's a hassle.

And give the Europeans another chance to point out Americans' lack of sincerity...? I do find people very rarely listen for an answer when they ask how you are. A smile of acknowledgment and an eye on what's going on during boarding would be enough for me... And I find they usually do that.

Give them your reasonable suggestions via UALSurvey.com and/or the Premier Exec email contact at United ([email protected] or is it [email protected]?). A lead FA(/purser/whatever) encouraged me to write to UA and CO with suggestions/comments. Neither she nor I want to see p.s. flights become eh... flights.

wpcoe

Really? The ps 757's are going to have First Class removed? I hadn't heard that before. Thanks for the info.

Flying Machine

Use of RCC Clubs when Flying NC Check
Row 9 Check
Nice food and drink Check
I Cream Sundaes and Cookies and Milk Check
Paying Coach and using a CR1 to U/G Priceless
I like PS. Way better than row 26..

endrond

I completely agree with those who like p.s. It's not perfect, but it's by far the best product for TCON out of SFO. As the previous poster said, especially when flying NC and sitting in row 9 (which I'm 5/6 of on p.s. flights in the past 3 months).

Always Flyin

You still haven't. At least not from UA or CO management.

TIMOS

I just guess we have different definitions of the word premium.
United could start by bringing the lounges in SFO LAX and JFK into this century. Updating the dowdy looking cabins. Having an acclaimed chef re-do the menu. And send cabin staff on a re-training course.

Then we'd be talking premium!

dsquared37

No, it's just that many of us have realistic notions of what is to be expected. You seem to desire much much more; unrealistically at that.

as219

Be careful what you wish for. You obviously never had one of the (in)famous "Charlie Rotter" entrees.

I_Can_Fly_US_Airways

Are you sure about that???