Comprehensive List of Expected Changes/Lost Functionality when United Moves to SHARES
Jan 3, 2012 | 12:44 pm
#106
Moderator: Mileage Run, United Airlines; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: The City/Honolulu
Programs: UA 3MM; Hyatt Glob*****; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 14,491
Jan 3, 2012 | 12:58 pm
#107
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Chicago
Posts: 887
Multiple Unused Tickets Against a New PNR -- UA can exchange up to three (3) unused tickets against a new ticket on a new PNR. CO's systems require that the ticket remain against the existing PNR, so if you have multiple unused tickets, they cannot be combined into a new, larger ticket.
Jan 3, 2012 | 3:31 pm
#108
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1K/MM, AA GLD
Posts: 1,725
I'm reading directly off of an Electronic Travel Certificate from a CO VDB last year:
5. If the face amount of this certificate exceeds the cost of the ticket for which it is surrendered any residual amount will be applied to the same pin for use toward another ticket until either the original issued amount is depleted or the expiration date has been reached.
Jan 3, 2012 | 4:45 pm
#109
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 2,056
Is it received wisdom then that it'd be best to get rid of these e-voucher appreciation certificates before March? I am pretty concerned about losing the way to use these before they expire after the system switch. I am sure other 1Ks are as well.
Jan 3, 2012 | 6:08 pm
#110
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Now MFE... formerly SEA and DCA
Programs: Now UA free!, AA Ex Plat, AS MVP, Marriott Titanium for life
Posts: 664
If so, what a short sighted decision... I really hope this is all fixed before rollout, I have MEX and EZE late February to mid March
Jan 3, 2012 | 6:57 pm
#111
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1K
Posts: 1,085
This makes me look even less forward to the changeover than before. I can't believe there were so many things we took for granted before.
I'm especially enjoying the ironic timing of this thread as one of the four new intro videos of the new safety vid talks about all the positives of moving to a single system for the whole airline...
I'm especially enjoying the ironic timing of this thread as one of the four new intro videos of the new safety vid talks about all the positives of moving to a single system for the whole airline...
Jan 3, 2012 | 8:04 pm
#112
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Alexandria, Va - National Airport (DCA)
Programs: Free Agent (i.e. NO STATUS!), Hilton Silver, Marriott Silver, CBP Global Entry, Hertz Five Star
Posts: 384
Please correct me if I am wrong, I am sure many of you know more about this than I do.
Basically SHARES is a fight management system running on a mainframe using IBM DBMS software developed in 1983. The system has been modified to the point it is no longer supported, so all development and testing must be done in house. SHARES has a user interface, which they have enhanced far beyond what the delivered Green Screen can do, however it does not operate off of any real time database triggers, requires a lot of manual work, and any process/jobs must be scheduled and run on the mainframe during certain maintenance windows.
Most carriers are now using ERP systems, which are running on modern servers, not mainframes, and do not require the system to be borough down for processing windows, and do not require everything to be done by jobs submitted on the ever. Modern ERP systems can manage costumer information and update accounts in real time based on triggers. Several ERPs still use jobs and job sets to schedule certain batches as too many real time processes can effect system performance.
I am under the impression that PMUA uses a modern ERP system, however significant licensing fees are paid to be abel to use this system, while SHARES is no longer supported, and thus has no licensing fees.
Again, this is what I gathered from interviewing with them, they could have been feeding me BS, they may not have been. They never told me any of this information is confidential, so there ya go.
Basically SHARES is a fight management system running on a mainframe using IBM DBMS software developed in 1983. The system has been modified to the point it is no longer supported, so all development and testing must be done in house. SHARES has a user interface, which they have enhanced far beyond what the delivered Green Screen can do, however it does not operate off of any real time database triggers, requires a lot of manual work, and any process/jobs must be scheduled and run on the mainframe during certain maintenance windows.
Most carriers are now using ERP systems, which are running on modern servers, not mainframes, and do not require the system to be borough down for processing windows, and do not require everything to be done by jobs submitted on the ever. Modern ERP systems can manage costumer information and update accounts in real time based on triggers. Several ERPs still use jobs and job sets to schedule certain batches as too many real time processes can effect system performance.
I am under the impression that PMUA uses a modern ERP system, however significant licensing fees are paid to be abel to use this system, while SHARES is no longer supported, and thus has no licensing fees.
Again, this is what I gathered from interviewing with them, they could have been feeding me BS, they may not have been. They never told me any of this information is confidential, so there ya go.
For the record, mainframes are "modern servers" and typically have higher availability than the ERP systems you mention. Every major carrier continues to rely on them heavily - including the PMUA systems.
Perhaps the SHARES application is antiquated and should be replaced. Unless you work for or with the airlines in IT I don't think you can speculate either way. Even if it should be replaced, the "mainframe" isn't the problem - it's the application.
Can we stay on topic and not stray into speculation regarding IT minutiae?
Jan 3, 2012 | 8:05 pm
#113
Join Date: Apr 2008
Programs: UA1k 3mm, HH-LifeDiamond, Mar-LifePlatElite
Posts: 367
So I want to ask about the big elephant in the room...
The debate over what is gained and lost is helpful as a guide, and I know peoples passions are high on this, but something that I see as a bigger issue is the system itself.
There have been rumors and speculation that SHARES is running on dinosaur age tech that is pretty much unsupported, if you take previous posts at face value. The general consensus is that there are 3x more PMUA Elite members than PMCO. I haven't read the overall volume of flyers and reservations per company, but if we continue on the 3x more, that is not an insignificant capacity increase!
It was not that long ago when the tech at phone and cell companies would result in the callers "Mailbox is full messages", and we all remember getting emails from our own places at work saying to clean out our mailboxes because the servers were "full".
Remember NWA's system crash (someone pulled the plug on a server) or the US Crash???
Does the term system overload come to mind for anyone else???
I am sure UA has hired a lot of IT brains to figure out this problem, and just like Y2K, March may just slide by with few hiccups, but still I'd love to hear some real solid assurances that the old tech is being "upgraded" or something to that effect... (ok I'm a nerd, i'd love to know what they are really running on in terms of servers and systems but that's just me
)
The debate over what is gained and lost is helpful as a guide, and I know peoples passions are high on this, but something that I see as a bigger issue is the system itself.
There have been rumors and speculation that SHARES is running on dinosaur age tech that is pretty much unsupported, if you take previous posts at face value. The general consensus is that there are 3x more PMUA Elite members than PMCO. I haven't read the overall volume of flyers and reservations per company, but if we continue on the 3x more, that is not an insignificant capacity increase!
It was not that long ago when the tech at phone and cell companies would result in the callers "Mailbox is full messages", and we all remember getting emails from our own places at work saying to clean out our mailboxes because the servers were "full".
Remember NWA's system crash (someone pulled the plug on a server) or the US Crash???
Does the term system overload come to mind for anyone else???
I am sure UA has hired a lot of IT brains to figure out this problem, and just like Y2K, March may just slide by with few hiccups, but still I'd love to hear some real solid assurances that the old tech is being "upgraded" or something to that effect... (ok I'm a nerd, i'd love to know what they are really running on in terms of servers and systems but that's just me
)
Jan 3, 2012 | 8:20 pm
#114
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Alexandria, Va - National Airport (DCA)
Programs: Free Agent (i.e. NO STATUS!), Hilton Silver, Marriott Silver, CBP Global Entry, Hertz Five Star
Posts: 384
So I want to ask about the big elephant in the room...
I am sure UA has hired a lot of IT brains to figure out this problem, and just like Y2K, March may just slide by with few hiccups, but still I'd love to hear some real solid assurances that the old tech is being "upgraded" or something to that effect...
I am sure UA has hired a lot of IT brains to figure out this problem, and just like Y2K, March may just slide by with few hiccups, but still I'd love to hear some real solid assurances that the old tech is being "upgraded" or something to that effect...
Jan 3, 2012 | 8:51 pm
#115
Join Date: Jan 2012
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 82
Failure to Show -- CO's systems will immediately delete all remaining flights if you fail to be loaded on a flight. So if an agent forgets to or incorrectly boards you on your flight, you will lose your connecting, downline, or return flights. This is not the case on UA, as UA reconciles it later, so if you make the connection, you'll still be okay.
My wife and I had LAX-LAS with another couple on UA and took the VDB. The agent gave us all UA ETKT's (with MP #) on AA with no seat assignment. We got that at the AA kiosk and flew to LAS. The day before our fight back I noticed I did not get the courtesy email from UA. I checked "my reservations" and my flight itinerary was gone. I called UA and they were finally able to put my flights back into the system. I called the other couple and the same thing happened to them. If UA reconciles when do they do that? Our flight was on Friday with a Tuesday return.
Jan 3, 2012 | 8:52 pm
#116
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: UA 1K/MM, MC Life Plat, HH Gold
Posts: 722
As much as I do anticipate degradations in service over the next couple of years, I'm actually pretty relaxed about it myself. Let's face it, those of us who have travelled extensively for years and who hang around on sites like this have generally experienced all kinds of travel disasters and system limitations that we've learned to work around. Whatever happens, I feel that I'll tend to come out ahead of most others and pretty much get what I need out of the system.
In a way what ties my loyalty to UA as much as anything else is my familiarity with the nuances of their policies and systems. I've had to go through a steep learning curve to get up to speed with the PMCO side in the past year, but threads like this have helped a great deal (as well as transferring my elite status from PMUA). I expect to benefit from this knowledge in the coming years on COdbaUA and would prefer not to start from scratch learning the quirks of AA (been there, done that).
I'll just add that things will eventually work out with the IT system, one way or the other. Maybe the IT department will pleasantly surprise all of us, or maybe we'll see a total meltdown, followed by the airline bringing in a new staff that will do a better job with the replacement system.
In a way what ties my loyalty to UA as much as anything else is my familiarity with the nuances of their policies and systems. I've had to go through a steep learning curve to get up to speed with the PMCO side in the past year, but threads like this have helped a great deal (as well as transferring my elite status from PMUA). I expect to benefit from this knowledge in the coming years on COdbaUA and would prefer not to start from scratch learning the quirks of AA (been there, done that).
I'll just add that things will eventually work out with the IT system, one way or the other. Maybe the IT department will pleasantly surprise all of us, or maybe we'll see a total meltdown, followed by the airline bringing in a new staff that will do a better job with the replacement system.
Jan 3, 2012 | 8:53 pm
#117
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: DEN
Programs: UA Gold-MM, AA Gold-MM, F9-Silver, Hyatt Something, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,443
I think the math in the change fee line is wrong. Or else, it confuses me.
Jan 3, 2012 | 9:07 pm
#118
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 72,280
I'll just add that things will eventually work out with the IT system, one way or the other. Maybe the IT department will pleasantly surprise all of us, or maybe we'll see a total meltdown, followed by the airline bringing in a new staff that will do a better job with the replacement system.
Jan 3, 2012 | 11:23 pm
#119
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: TUS and any place close to a lav
Programs: UA 1.7MM
Posts: 5,424
Great list. Downgrade is even more apparent now. Gonna be ugly. I've talked to a bunch of RCC agents who all say they won't be able to provide the level of service previously given due to systems limitations.
Now we need to have an equivalent thread of SHARES benefits over UA's systems
(Crickets chirping...)
Now we need to have an equivalent thread of SHARES benefits over UA's systems
(Crickets chirping...)
I was aware that SHARES was lacking in functionality compared with APOLLO, however I was not fully aware of the extent.
Holy Crap!
The UA/CO reservation system integration day will be 1,000,000 times WORSE than the HP/US SHARES migration a few years ago.
Jan 3, 2012 | 11:35 pm
#120
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: San Francisco
Programs: DL Diamond / UA Gold 1MM.
Posts: 419
One thing I haven't seen mentioned in this thread is automatic rebooking if your flight is cancelled. I can see how this could be a policy difference or a system limitation - but isn't the consensus that you'll automatically be rebooked by UA but you have to call CO?