I saw a comment from a UA manager that he and his dept "ran on diet coke" and they were most upset at the switch.... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

As an aside to the PA, TW served Pepsi item, Ansett served Coke...

(from the sublime to the...)

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RichardMEL, UA 1K
A Star Alliance Member.
* * *
Ansett Australia: In memory of "One of the world's great airlines"
Feb 17, 1936 - March 4, 2002. R.I.P

If you're really that upset, then seriously, bring your own food/drink aboard. Yes, you are allowed to bring Diet Coke in your carryon (I have done it for years since I want to ensure that I have my 'creature comforts' while travelling). If the bottle is open, the security people will ask you to take a drink of it (same with water). If not, no biggie. The FAs don't care if you bring your own beverage aboard (as long as it's not alcohol). And, bring your own food. After all, UA rarely serves food anymore. If you do this then you will have a most pleasant flight I'm sure.

Although I previously posted that I was not happy to see this change, perhaps you're being a bit rabid about this?

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR OWN PLEASURE!!! If food and drink are important to you while you're flying then bring things you know you'll enjoy! Problem solved. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

robb, if it means keeping your business at UA, what if i purchased a year's worth of Coca Cola Classic for you to keep in a closet in your home and grab a few cans everytime you fly??

-nate

But bringing my own coke onboard actually seems more extreme than switching airlines.

While I don't terribly mind freaking out in front of my happy little flyer talk family (clearly we're all allowed to every once in a while http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ), it would seem to be the height of tackiness to whip out my own picnic and beverage service.

Even if I got over that, doesn't it seem offensive to pay major carrier fares for less service than I'll get on Southwest?

Doesn't it seem easier just to switch carriers so I don't have to worry about it? AA will surely comp my status, they'll serve me a nice cold coke so that I can at least enjoy my peanuts in coach, and they're far more likely to upgrade me.

Again, I'm not saying I'm leaving, but I will certainly consider it. People change airlines all the time, and there's always one last straw behind it, and this may be it for me.

Truth be told, though, I'm more upset with Coke than with United. Why are they ceding the travel industry? Of course, that doesn't affect my decision about United as it wouldn't really be anger based but feature based, but just the same it would be United I'd leave.

I really do find this amazing. I rarely drink cola, and when I do, I am not fussy about which cola I drink. Yes, I can tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi, and yes, I tend to buy Pepsi when I purchase a cola to have around the house. But if Coke is on sale, we drink Coke.

Regardless of how passionately you feel about your choice of cola, I do find it staggering that some of you are actually considering LEAVING United because of their choice of beverage vendor.

Would you stop eating at your favourite restaurant if they switched cola brands? Come on, the beverage choice makes up SO little of the flight experience, it seems silly to worry about it. Yet here we have four pages of posts.

Sigh. What is the world coming to?

Next thing you know, Merry will be threatening to leave BA if they keep serving fish. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

OK, I can understand that there are many who either don't drink soft drinks (I can't really understand those who don't care - the difference is so vast that it would require a very undiscriminating palate), so try to imagine that the world was divided into coffee and tea.

United just announced that they're replacing coffee with tea.

Would everyone be OK with that and think it silly for someone to consider changing to a coffee-serving airline?

I'm really amazed at the people who think nothing of packing their own soft drinks! This seems really extreme to me, and why would you go to so much trouble when it would be so much easier just to change airlines to one that has the services you're looking for.

Are any of you suggesting that, relative to UA, AA or DL won't get me to my destination comfortably and safely? Are you suggesting that I'd be giving up the awesome tour de force that is the United Entertainment Network? I would be giving up Channel 9, do you think it's ludicrous that I should choose my own comfort over Channel 9?

Why on earth wouldn't I at least consider changing airlines if the alternative is to pack what amounts to pressurized gasses in my limitied carry-on space; deal with the inevitable, occasional explosion; deal with the occasional FA or Security Agent who will surely think it's against the rules; and just generally go through extra hassle every single time I fly?

So much easier just to write a letter to get a comp, spend some time taking a look at the route network of another carrier, and start going to a different terminal (Actually, same terminal in IAH - Just turn right instead of left).

Why owuld anyone think that extreme?

You make it sound like leaving an airline is a seminal life-event of some sort. The decision to fly a particular airline is a choice of about the same significance as the soda you drink.

Maybe less so, because we drink soda more often than we fly.

I'm a coke drinker, not pepsi. I don't care enough about it to switch, but some people do.

And if people are already on the edge of switching airlines, this could push them over the top.

Coke vs. Pepsi is no more trivial than AA vs. UA.

Interesting point. United, like most American airlines (and restaurants, sadly), is incapable of making a decent cup of tea.
Which is a great shame, because I'm a tea-drinker.

British Airways and British Midland, on the other hand, make a pretty good cup of tea, all things considered. But sadly, they tend to be more expensive, have an inferior route network and less convenient schedule, and seats that I find less comfortable. They also have restrictive upgrade policies.

Net result: I continue to fly United. When I do, I either drink coffee or resign myself to drinking inferior tea.

I may prefer Coke, but drinking a Pepsi isn't going to kill me. I can understand PREFERRING one cola over another, but LOVING one and HATING the other? Nah, that dog doesn't hunt.



All three will get you to your destination safely. But if you want the comfort of a business class seat to Europe, it'll cost you 5K more miles each way on AA. Want to upgrade domestically on a DL flight? Sure hope you aren't on a LUser fare.

All I'm saying is that Coke vs. Pepsi is NOT the basis I use for choosing an airline. Heck, I don't even use it to choose a restaurant.

No, I take it all back. You're right. I'd go to the effort of writing to the airline, requesting a comp, comparing route networks and schedules, mileage programs, and so on.

I mean, really, who drinks Pepsi? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

As I've been drinking water on my flights for at least a year rather than Coke, the actual impact of this change on me will be negligible.

However, I am a confirmed Coke drinker and if I'm in a new restaurant, I will ask if they serve Coke or Pepsi; if the latter, I ask for water. In some instances, I will make a restuaurant decision based on the cola they serve (I don't drink alcohol).

I am not surprised by the depth of feelings on this thread, nor the press coverage this decision received. Nor am I surprised that some travelers would consider changing their airline of choice over this.

It was only 17 years ago that the folks at Coke made their "Edsel" decision, introduced "New Coke" and discontinued the formula that had been the cornerstone of their success for 80-90 years. That decision almost made Pepsi the #1 cola company in this country and was the second worst (American) business marketing blunder of the 20th Century. Coke's market share tumbled and in a highly visible press conference four months later, Coke essentially plead guilty to stupidity and said they would bring back "Classic Coke".

Like Coke, the bean-counters at UA appear to have underestimated the emotional and passionate ties a segment of the American public have with their cola. I highly doubt UA will call a press conference in several months to reverse their decision.

However, IF -- I repeat, IF -- UA is not a survivor in the coming airline industry realignment, their Pepsi/Coke decision will be but one of many (poor) marketing decisions which are second-guessed and are elements in the list of factors which resulted in their not being able to "go it alone," necessitating their merger with ___ Airlines.

[Edited for typo and clarification.]

[This message has been edited by Nevada1K (edited 03-26-2002).]

Exactly, it's not the only thing you would consider, but if BA and UA were equal and all the counts you just listed, you'd choose BA for the tea, right?

That's all I'm saying, is that I'd like to look into how equal these other airlines are for my travel particulars and weigh this new competitive difference in with the rest.

It's why I don't storm off and say that I'm leaving right away never to return, because I might have to eat those words (hey, they do serve food! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ) if UA still comes out a net winner, but yes, it's a big enough change that I'll at least look into it.

OK, two things here.

A) I'm comparing that level of effort to the effort to pack my own cans of coke on every flight.

B) We're Flyertalkers! We live to compare route networks and FF programs! We love to learn the nuances of a new program! You act like this fun project will be so much work.

They are two totally different beverages. Perhaps you missed the uproar when Coke changed their formula in the 1980's, but there's no way I can be marginalized as being ureasonable for loving one and hating the other.

And are the British trying to steal our Texan sayings now? That old dog won't hunt! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

As do I. I may be rabid about this, but I don't for a second think that UA will rue the day. As someone pointed out a large portion won't care, another large portion will care but not very much (it will register about as much as Noise Cancelling Headsets), and a small portion will be pushed over the edge.

On the financials of a corporation this size, I'm under no illusions that they'll be brought to their knees by rabid Coke fans, so I'll consider this only on the basis of my personal comfort, not as a political act of anger or retaliation. I call for no boycott.

They'll lose a few customers and the savings will probably more than make up for their departure.

However, I don't think that they'll pick up customers. Those who prefer Pepsi tend to not be as rabid as those of us who prefer Coke. They're also more used to not being able to get their preferred drink in so many restaurants that it won't really register. Pepsi fans aren't like us and wouldn't even include it on their airline scorecard if they were actively planning an airline change.

[This message has been edited by robb (edited 03-26-2002).]

I was listening to Channel Nine over Alaska and Northwestern Canada, so I did hear you :-) Odd thing though: I only heard the controller and UA 800 pilots. I was unable to hear the pilots of other planes, such as a Cathay flight that was in the air at the same time.

Why is it that I could not hear the other pilots?

I'm assuming the first was the United Commitment? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Controllers often work more than one frequency, especially in remote areas. When the controller transmits, he transmits on all the frequencies he is working, but the pilots only hear the aircraft on the same frequency. This is why you (may have) heard the controllers in Alaska say "United 800, come up on my frequency 132.82". Same controller, different frequency - which is why our check-on is shorter. Also, sometimes a single frequency will cover a large area, with the controller having multiple transmitters. We may have been out of range from the other airplane, but hearing the controller from a nearby transmitter.

--Mark Rogers

Robb, I agree with you 100%!
I had a friend who always brought Diet Coke on her TWA (evil Pepsi) flights. She said at first she felt kind of lowbrow. But then the the flight attendants expressed their jealousy, so she started bringing extra for them and they'd have their own little party while everyone else had to drink the Pepsi.
I mean, who drinks that stuff? No one I know.