Please let me know if this is posted, I couldn't find it.

I am, for the first time in 25 years of flying UA, on a code share flight on US Airways Metal.

For a while I have been trying to select a seat, even called US Air, and was told I can only sit in the back middle, that the only open aisles are reserved for their elites. I also asked to add my United MP number, and was told its already on my record since its code shared.

I checked in today, and am still in a back middle. I was offered to pay for checking my bags, and my BP says I am to board in Zone 3. I thought Star Gold boarded before Zone 3.

Any ideas on what do do? I feel like I am simply flying on a non Star Alliance carrier for the first time and getting nothing from them.

If you are flying the shuttle no assignments in advance for the most part. You should not be in zone 3 if your uamp# is in the pnr. I would call back and talk to another agent. does your bp say star gold on it?

Its regular US Air, LGA-CLT. I have called 3 times and they say my MP # is on the PNR, so I will earn miles. But they also say that I have no status with US Air, and that my MP status is only good on MP.

your bp should say star gold on it. something is not right here.

I am guessing I will just have to give them my 1K card at the airport. Thats what I hat to do when I flew TG. But that wasn't code share, this is. So wired. I guess ill avoid US air for another 25 years. Do they still charge for beverages on board, like water? That was the latest I heard.

I can't help there. I only take the shuttle on US and drinks are free because they compete with DL.

No, they backed off that a few months back.

I have recently booked an itinerary on ual.com with entirely code-shared flights on USAir metal. Using the PNR provided by UA and departure date, I was able to go to "my trip" on usair.com and select seats online.

I am based out of Vegas and am 1K on United but get stuck flying USAir often. I always call after I make my reservation and ask if I can get an aisle up near the front and have never been denied (but technically they don't have to do it). There's nothing like E+ on USAir so where you sit front, middle or back really makes no difference. As Star Gold you should board in Zone 1, you get to check a bag for free and that's about it. You won't get a comp upgrade and non-alcoholic drinks are now free.

Also, there is no IFE on any domestic USAir flights so bring your own.

Wow, I don't like US Air.

So I go to the airport and try to change my seat and ad my UA MP# at the US Air Mr. Chicken. Nothing offered. So I go up the an agent, and am told the same thing, that my UA MP number is already on my reservation. I ask then why am I in Zone 3? She says that my status on United doesn't' apply to US Air. I pull out my 1K Star Gold card. She says to just show that to them when I board.

It works, but I have never seen so many gate lice ever before, no one is turned away, Zone 4 is boarding when they call Star Gold. On board, every one is putting their roll-a-boards on sideways and the FAs do nothing. Also, the old plane has the TVs removed, I can see where they were, and it reeks of mildew. Also I have now learned to appreciate E+ so much more than I already did.

The return flight started a little better at check in. The agent who helped me says that my reservation has been entered incorrectly, gives me a "choice" seat for free (since the charge for Aisle or Window), and prints a new boarding pass that says Zone 1, and Star Gold.

Unfortunately, the flight had some of the rudest PAX, again more gate lice than ever on UA, and this plane stinks like boiled hot dogs.

I may never complain about UA again!

US has so many boarding groups, zone 3 might still be elite boarding.

They only had 5 zones this weekend, I observed on my first flight, and waiting to go standby on an earlier flight. They also said they don't work the standby list until everyone has boarded, then they do a seat count. I guess the computer isn't as smart as UAs.

Here was the order for both flights.

1. People with children or who need extra time.
2. First Class and Chairmans Elite members.
3. Zone 1 *G and US Gold, Plat and Chairmans.
4. Zone 2 *S, US Silver Elite, US Credit Card Holders.
5. Zone 3-5 WILMA.

I also forgot to mention the mid-flight sales pitch for their US Airways credit card, the guy talked about it so long I assume he gets a commission. Then they walked up and down the aisles trying to get people to sign up.

I've been a UA 1K for a few years now, and I'd say about 10% of my qualifying flights per year are on US Airways, including one last saturday! Some things to note...

1) They have these things called "choice seats" that are technically only available to their elites for free. They sell for between $5 and $25ish online to normal customers on online check-in.
2) They frequently mess up when entering your mileage plus number. If your BP doesn't stay something like "*G" or "STAR ALLIANCE GOLD" it is because they messed up. Go fix it.
3) You can't get "upgrades" but in the case of irregular ops, you get treated fairly well. For example, I was flying LAS-CLT-DTW. The LAS-CLT flight was overbooked so they called my name and put me on LAS-DTW in first class. I even got more miles since the re-book qualified for 50% EQM bonus.
4) US Airways is pretty awful. The only reason to fly them instead of UA is if you think you'd prefer a nonstop or if they're cheaper and you're paying for the ticket.
5) I have about a 50% chance of getting a "choice seat" for free if I ask the GA before boarding, if they have space
6) You can get your seat assignment on US Air's website in advance. So even though you book it on United.com, and it's a codeshare, you need to go to US's site to get your seat.

Hope that info helps! US Airways sucks pretty bad... I can't change that, but I can help LOWER your expectations for next time, so your experience APPEARS more pleasant!

I recently started a thread here about *Gold reciprocity on UA, (I am US Chairman). Ironically, my rant was that I could not get a decent seat on UA and that the phone agents could offer no help, (one even going so far as to say that US fliers got treated poorly on UA because UA fliers get treated poorly on US). About half the replies suggested that everyone gets treated poorly on UA and about half suggested that I was a US whiner. I utilize UA for about 5% of my annual flights and always use my US number.

At the end of the day, I think those of us who are elite on a certain carrier tend to defend that carrier. Unfortunately, I think we also expect to receive at least some elevated treatment on a reciprocal carrier - but the reality is that Star Alliance, and I suspect One World means very little in the domestic market.