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The worst airline is typically the last one you've flown.
Yeah, I've had issues with all of them at one time or another- wouldn't call any consistently worse than the others.
I have Lifetime Gold status on AA so usually take them, especially for domestic where I get free checked bags, priority boarding, etc. On transatlantics where I'm flying in Business so I get treated well anyway, I go by price, schedule and connections. I flew to Scotland on UA last October and got to use the Polaris Lounge in Chicago. Wow. Showers, nap areas, great food, open bar... they really put the Admiral's Club (which AA Business Class passengers use) to shame. Unfortunately, it was at the expense of the United Clubs which all other UA/CO passengers use- from what I've read, the new Polaris lounges in ORD and JFK were carved out of the older United Clubs, leaving very little space for people who had United Club access only.
This is a continuing theme, though- airlines keep upgrading their premium products to kiss up to high rollers and the rabble can just sit in the back, starve and develop deep vein thrombosis from being cramped into tiny seats.
This is a continuing theme, though- airlines keep upgrading their premium products to kiss up to high rollers and the rabble can just sit in the back, starve and develop deep vein thrombosis from being cramped into tiny seats.
Yep, and it won't change since domestic leisure travel is always going to book the cheapest possible flight even if it's 28" seat pitch and a fee for every "service" including carry-on baggage. The majors have to compete against the discount carriers and the only way they can do that is to run near-100% load factor in those tiny seats and slash labor costs in the back of the plane. It's a race to the bottom.
Personally, I think seat pitch needs to be regulated. 14.5% of American males are over 6 feet tall. 31" should be the absolute minimum.
I'm 6'2" with broad shoulders. I don't fit in the seat. Economy Plus is fine if the middle seat is open.
Personally I would not accept a Sales or high travel position because of this. I'm 6'1 and my circulation is not clinically bad, but it's not good enough to endure economy anymore. My hats off to you, I could not do it for both physical and mental health reasons.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JONOV
Delta did screw my plans up, twice, and they made it right by fixing their mistakes ASAP. But, I understand that they're not magicians either.
The debacle of dragging the Dr. off the plane and the ****zu in the overhead notwithstanding, most of their other problems are just bad luck or honest mistakes. The Veteran that had the toilet leak on his baggage? Really, its extremely unfortunate, but if it had been an investment banker flying from Chicago to Houston, it wouldn't be newsworthy. The Bunny Rabbit that died? I can't see how it was United that killed it. Etc...
As to Munoz...I think that enough customers, shareholders, and the board of directors would disagree of your assessment.
This is my point...United practically takes lawsuits to make the customer whole again.
I'm not talking about the rabbit. Mostly the dogs.
Bad luck? There's an equivalent chance of all this stuff happening to all airlines yet as I bolded in your comment - They take care of it before it gets out of hand.
The fact is that the shareholders DID agree with my assessment - United stock has repeatedly gone down particularly after Munoz fumbled announcements. And subsequently simply gotten bought up by those trying to get them cheaper and thinking they will ever correct course. Long term they have demonstrated they continue to intend to fly into the abyss...
Quote:
Originally Posted by athena53
This is a continuing theme, though- airlines keep upgrading their premium products to kiss up to high rollers and the rabble can just sit in the back, starve and develop deep vein thrombosis from being cramped into tiny seats.
This is why folks need to limit flying so they can feel the pain. Because the premium product isn't even that great. I would not call most modern day domestic first class short haul (3-4 hour) seats that much more comfortable aside from the increased pitch and legroom. The seat itself made my back hurt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffD
Yep, and it won't change since domestic leisure travel is always going to book the cheapest possible flight even if it's 28" seat pitch and a fee for every "service" including carry-on baggage. The majors have to compete against the discount carriers and the only way they can do that is to run near-100% load factor in those tiny seats and slash labor costs in the back of the plane. It's a race to the bottom.
Personally, I think seat pitch needs to be regulated. 14.5% of American males are over 6 feet tall. 31" should be the absolute minimum.
Domestic leisure travel is optional. Tell Mom and Dad to SKPYE next X-Mas. Enough people do it, they'll shape up quick.
Regarding competition with the budget carriers - It's just a poor product/competition strategy. Why in the hell is UA trying to compete with no-name carriers? If the equivalent of these things happened on a no-name carrier nobody would care. It is preposterous that people feel it's OK for the #2 airline in the world to have these types of incidents and lawsuits occur regularly and that it is a sustainable business model or strategy.
Flight attendants used to be a lot more helpful and treated much better than they are in regards to working conditions, compensation and contracts. Perhaps they should start there as well as addressing the pilot shortage. Both their hard and soft product are slipping egregiously.
And to the other poster who said I shouldn't be commenting if I'm not a frequent flyer - Bull. I formulate opinions based on trends, data and all available information. It is irrelevant whether individually I have a good or bad experience with an airline or not. Based on the data United has more negative PR articles than any other carrier in the past 5 years. Objectively, it makes no sense they enjoy a lead over any other top 5 carrier. I would say the same thing about Delta if they had as many issues.
When reading about the goofs of Delta they pale in comparison to United in terms of number and the nature of the incident.
And to the other poster who said I shouldn't be commenting if I'm not a frequent flyer - Bull.
I assume you're referring to me. I didn't say you shouldn't be commenting. Go ahead and comment all you want. But don't tell me (or anyone else) how WE should be conducting their own travel. Again ... YOU DO YOU.
I can't figure out why someone who only flies maybe a couple of times a year is so wrapped around the axle about this.
I assume you're referring to me. I didn't say you shouldn't be commenting. Go ahead and comment all you want. But don't tell me (or anyone else) how WE should be conducting their own travel. Again ... YOU DO YOU.
I can't figure out why someone who only flies maybe a couple of times a year is so wrapped around the axle about this.
You're just a rabble rouser, well I'm not falling for the bait.
United is bad, but not as bad as its made out to be. They still enjoy a good image. Every airline tries to be profitable, United is no different. Poor seats, no entertainment but thats the norm across many of the airlines. Looks like you are in the 70;s and expecting to be treated royally or as shown in the TV Ads.
I am the "minority" that you mentioned which United supposedly hates but never received any bad treatment.
Also I am in IAH area and hate their monopoly, but still get fair prices.
I hope they dont ask the Dreamliner passenger to download the app and watch in on phone
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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~2 flights a year = Fake news (maybe listening to national news ! REALLY FAKE!)
Thanks for the enlightenment.
Be careful who / what you listen to. It is SO easy to find CORRECT information from regular passengers (Points guy / road warriors / Mileage hounds... all have forums and people who fly 2-10 flights per week. )
4 flights this week. I have had days with 8 - 10 flights (mileage hound). There are HERDS of us (not complaining), yet living it DAILY (work and play).
United is bad, but not as bad as its made out to be. They still enjoy a good image. Every airline tries to be profitable, United is no different. Poor seats, no entertainment but thats the norm across many of the airlines. Looks like you are in the 70;s and expecting to be treated royally or as shown in the TV Ads.
They provide entertainment, just not the devices. Lots of movies and TV shows.
I hope they dont ask the Dreamliner passenger to download the app and watch in on phone
Why not? It's just an airplane like any other. If you're sitting in steerage on a steeply discounted ticket, watch on your phone. I normally have 10 movies on my iPhone to watch if I don't like the airline content. Any Blu Ray I buy has the slip of paper for the digital copy and I download Amazon Prime free movies. I can also toss a DVD in my laptop.
On my iPhone, iMessage and my Apple news feed both work without having to pay United any money for an internet connection. Last night, I was texting my girlfriend and reading my news feed for much of my 3 h 10 minute flight. I was thinking about watching Amazon Prime Hunt for Red October on my phone but never got to it. The weekly feed from The Economist for my online subscription is available for download on Thursdays so I opted to read that instead of watching a movie.
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