Albert

That's what I want for a bonus when I hit a million miles flown! I'd love to sit in the pilots area during a flight. I think that would be a blast.

United, are you listening? I'll hit that million mark in about two years.

LAXadaisical

F/C lounges in SFO-NRT---excellent, as usual
However, ANA & Thai F/C lounges in NRT & BKK are pretty hard to beat, IMO---
(visited them all, these past 2 weeks on my BKK trip)

F/C seating--- Since the gentleman in 1A and I were the only 2 passengers with a MP-FF# on our boarding passes (NRT-SFO), we has first choice of anything we desired, which amounted to a meal choice and about 63.5 minutes of hands on service, before the vanishing act. The rest of the cabin was filled with non-rev’s. Which is proof positive that no-one in their right mind would pay for F/C on UAL to Asia.

Trays, seats, and floor filthy beyond description which leaves open for debate whether I received a stomach bacterial infection on the flights over or rather up my wife’s Thai village.

Listening to the galley chatter between employees and crew for over 2 hours on both flights to and from NRT from SFO, about how screwed up UAL is might have also contributed to the gas that I had for 6 long days while bedridden in my hotel in BKK.

Transfer security screening in NRT--- UAL at one time had a person stationed at the entrance to this area to only allow GS and F/C passengers in the right line so they could make it to the lounge and showers prior to their connecting flight. Not on either of my connections. Waited behind about 75 others both ways, because of a cost cutting measure, I suppose.

Speaking of NRT--- Wanna have your carry on stuff rummaged through--- Be the first person allowed on the plane. The first person has been determined to be a very high security risk and will ALWAYS be searched- No matter what! So always hold back, which I messed up and forgot about on this trip!

So to answer the question posed by the OP, "What did United used to be like"?--- Fly from NRT to BKK (but due it soon) to find out what UAL should be like--- These fine professionals have been told that their days are numbered---

I highly recommend a pocket full of Cipro prior to boarding, especially on 747's that haven't seen a vacuum or a cleaning cloth in years--- It took 6 days but these pills worked for me!

tjl

They even served meals in economy class on domestic flights.

They let everyone check two bags at no additional charge.

They had something called Shuttle flying between SFO and LAX with 737 aircraft. It was late most of the time, unlike their all-737 competitor flying out of OAK.

Once upon a time, smoking was allowed in airplanes. Good riddance.

VivoPerLei

In 1997 I booked two business class seats for my parents to SYD and AKL. Took about 15 minutes to conduct the transaction and there was no problem whatsoever in getting the dates they wanted. I think it only took about 150K miles total, also. I also remember stopping by the city ticket office and booking an award for myself to Australia over Christmas. It was a very easy, no angst transaction. Basically it came down to, 'okay, when do you want to travel?'

I do remember the days when they served food on most domestic flights, but I also remember it being sort of crappy in Y. On DEN-DFW around 1995 they used to serve the greasiest cheeseburgers.

I also liked it when the purser would come to my row and introduce himself before the flight. They really treated elites well.

Paolo01

I have only been a part of the FF world for about three or four years now because really I did not know any better before. In those three years I have complained as much as anybody else about the enhancements United has levied down to us. However, my tabula raza was filled in with data in 2005 really, so that is my norm. I complain about the possibility of co-pays now because that is huge to me among other things.

For the more seasoned travelers on this board what were the enhancements which hit you previously that you were swearing about five years ago that were my "norm." I am assuming that pre 9-11 bankruptcy, this entire flying scenario must have been much different. If some of you traveling veterans could just list what your UMP status got you then and if possible the year of the enhancement that relegated it to history.

TYIA. I'd love to know, "what I should be missing"

mahasamatman

"For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: 'It might have been!'"

- John Greenleaf Whittier

Paolo01

You Mahasamatman, have no light to shed on the mysteries of elite flying pre 2005?

mahasamatman

I hit 1P for the first time in 2004 and don't recall any significant changes since then. My only significant air travel before 2003 was in the early 90s on BA and TWA.

cblaisd

Free confirmable same day changes for 1K/1P

Paper 500 miler certs that could be gifted to anyone.

And while not an elite perk, most of all United Connection software -- which could do things the web still cannot dream of doing.

linsj

I still have fond memories of that but gave up hope of ever getting it merged into the Web site. Think anyone at UA even remembers it?

cblaisd

It was forgotten within months of its demise

JoeTravel

Employees, no matter how bad a day/trip/experience/etc..... they had, still cared. United's employees were consistent and always took care of the customer. Leo Burnett had done a 20 years of United Commercials Video for United. There was a commercial with a new-hire flight attendant named Nancy. She was so very excited to start flying and practiced things on an empty plane. The crew let her go, and when she was done, applauded her. The background music talked about u my friend and fly the friendly skies.

I can remember to my childhood in the 70s when unaccompanied minors were treated like royalty. United really cared about us and our future loyalty, even in the pre-Mileage Plus days.

Always Flyin

It was about 1996 or so. Bu they weren't Sweet Spots (which another poster accurately described and came later).

I recall getting three of them a year. They were paper and were good for a one-segment upgrade internationally (well, domestically too, I suppose, if you wanted to use them for that). Prior to that there were no international upgrades other than miles so we thought the segment upgrades were great.

My fondest memory were the two-fer international award tickets. TWO tickets to Australia in F were 180,000 miles (as I recall, one was 120,000).

UA_Flyer

Since the resurrection of this thread yesterday, I received several PMs regarding the link in post #43 of this thread did not work. I have fixed the problem and the link in Post #43 is working now.

Very true!

I have not seen anything come close to United Connection in the last 8 years.

It is so sad!

One of the biggest blunder UA has ever made, IMHO.

gengar

Yep, during my first missed connection irrops experience as a UM in SFO, an FA on my flight walked me to customer service and had one of the agents there take care of everything. Hard to forget something like that when I had no idea what I was supposed to do.