Hey All -
I finally had an opportunity to fly a UA flight via the US-UA codeshare and was VERY impressed with UA's service, from check-in thru baggage claim. The agents in both DCA and ORD were extremely courteous, helpful and motivated, and several thanked me (as a US1) for flying UAL. And, I hadn't seen a plane that clean or comfortable (I was in Economy Plus on an A320) in ages. The on-board service was also more than US's first class service on short haul routes: Full can of soda PLUS a coffee service before landing. (The F/As on my PIT-SEA flight the next day served the F meal and disappeared.)
Granted, UA probably hasn't seen the really deep cuts sink in just yet; US cut a lot of things once RSA came into play. But, I sure hope US management see this: US needs a major shift in strategy (or perhaps a strategy?) if it intends to survive long term! I realize US employees have been through a lot, which explains the extremely low morale. Whatever management thinks, this IS seen by your frequent customers. Also, the on-time departure/arrival record is abysmal: What good is the UA-US codeshare if the US flights feeding UA's can't arrive in time for the connections?! I've also given up any hope of leaving on-time lately. And, FWIW, this is not totally due to weather. I've seen PERFECTLY CLEAR days all along the east coast, yet for some reason I still can't seem to have a flight that departs on-time. And, for god sakes, hire some more cleaners to clean the planes -- I've seen cleaner bathrooms and carpets in college dorms than I have on US planes as of late!
At any rate, I know everyone on this board sees this stuff each and every day. But, coming from a US1 who so far has 250,000 tier miles this year, I'm now actively booking UA flights to give them a try. UA Economy Plus is just fine for the majority of < 1000 mile flights, so I'll gladly give up the upgrades if what I experienced on my one UA flight holds for other flights. I'm so embarassed by US's service, too, I'm now actively encouraging others to try UA, especially if a nonstop is available over a connection on US.
Is there anything we as passengers can do to bring light to these issues? Whatever happened to that customer focus group that met once a quarter? Has Consumer Affairs distributed talking points about some of this stuff?
I finally had an opportunity to fly a UA flight via the US-UA codeshare and was VERY impressed with UA's service, from check-in thru baggage claim. The agents in both DCA and ORD were extremely courteous, helpful and motivated, and several thanked me (as a US1) for flying UAL. And, I hadn't seen a plane that clean or comfortable (I was in Economy Plus on an A320) in ages. The on-board service was also more than US's first class service on short haul routes: Full can of soda PLUS a coffee service before landing. (The F/As on my PIT-SEA flight the next day served the F meal and disappeared.)
Granted, UA probably hasn't seen the really deep cuts sink in just yet; US cut a lot of things once RSA came into play. But, I sure hope US management see this: US needs a major shift in strategy (or perhaps a strategy?) if it intends to survive long term! I realize US employees have been through a lot, which explains the extremely low morale. Whatever management thinks, this IS seen by your frequent customers. Also, the on-time departure/arrival record is abysmal: What good is the UA-US codeshare if the US flights feeding UA's can't arrive in time for the connections?! I've also given up any hope of leaving on-time lately. And, FWIW, this is not totally due to weather. I've seen PERFECTLY CLEAR days all along the east coast, yet for some reason I still can't seem to have a flight that departs on-time. And, for god sakes, hire some more cleaners to clean the planes -- I've seen cleaner bathrooms and carpets in college dorms than I have on US planes as of late!
At any rate, I know everyone on this board sees this stuff each and every day. But, coming from a US1 who so far has 250,000 tier miles this year, I'm now actively booking UA flights to give them a try. UA Economy Plus is just fine for the majority of < 1000 mile flights, so I'll gladly give up the upgrades if what I experienced on my one UA flight holds for other flights. I'm so embarassed by US's service, too, I'm now actively encouraging others to try UA, especially if a nonstop is available over a connection on US.
Is there anything we as passengers can do to bring light to these issues? Whatever happened to that customer focus group that met once a quarter? Has Consumer Affairs distributed talking points about some of this stuff?
Just a suggestion though, many on this board refer to US Airways as U (as well as US). United is usually referred to as UA or UAL...
