Easy Update - Worthless?
 

Hi,

I just received an emailed "Easy Update", informing me that my NRT-SFO flight is due to depart in 3 hours.

However, that flight actually departed over 36 hours ago, and I've already been home in SFO for over a day!

What is the point of these "updates" if they're not delivered in a timely fashion?

-J

Never mind.

Being discussed here.

However, to answer your question of it being worthless...when it's working right, I find it quite useful...especially when it zaps me to advise of an upgrade clearing.

Welcome to the wonderful world of UA's IT.

Scatological characterizations are most accurate.

Helpful when working...
 

Agree with UNITED959...when it is working it has saved my posterior several times on flights several segments ahead that are delayed. Gives me the opportunity to hit the RCC or the phone and book around the problem.

For whatever reason, I never receive any notices from Easy Update about my upgrades clearing. The only ones I get are about flight delays and cancellations, which come late half the time anyways. I learned to not rely on it.

Check you profile on-line. If you were an AT&T user and switched to Cingualr and now back to AT&T, there have been issues.

How do you know it is not your phone service where the lag occurs?

EasyUpdate is a bit useful...It provides a few chuckles when it's being particularly hapless. It's sort of like the Wile E. Coyote of the electronic-notification world. ;)

A lot of times it does not work......but when I get delay messages, it helps me with my planning. So, when it works, I like it.

Is it possible (although based on your time line not liely( that since a flight leaving a this exact local time (14:38 ORD time on the 3rd of August, 2006) is actualy 04:36 Am on the 4th of August in NRT, and that either a preference of time zone/date line thing is not working so good? Maybe it waited for your local time preference setting to notify you about a flight that had departed?

(not likely, but looking for any excuse.)

fwiw, i'm and old at&t wireless (now cingular) customer and i just tested my easy update and it works. my cell phone address is: ##########@mmode.com. you can also use ##########@teleflip.com as i tested that as well. not sure if i'd use "teleflip" as my primary but it does work.

Here's an example of the value of 1K over 1P status...

Last night, I'm standing in the TSA line of SJC with SeeYa who is a 1K. EasyUpdate calls her to let her know that our SJC-LAX flight has been delayed. I figure I'll get a call soon for the same notice, but I never got one. I checked my settings this morning, and the information is correct and I have no quiet times blocked out. Anyhow, about 10 min ago, EasyUpdate finally got around to let me know our flight last night was delayed, over 16 hours after calling SeeYa.

UN easy update
 

Last Saturday I got an easy update phone call at 4 am telling me my flight from SJC to IAD was going to be about 20 minutes delayed. I would have preferred to sleep without the annoying phone call and found out about the minimal delay when I checked in.

One time I got a three hour delay notification for my Sunday commute. Knowing that SAN has a curfew, I was able to get on the phone and rebook for Monday morning, and got the upgrade to boot. ^ Saved a lo9ng night at the airport.

When it works, it's helpful. When it doesn't, it's useless. I have low expectations.