United/Continental airlines???

[Sarah in SC]

Oh, yes, the first flight was to London. The second is home from Tokyo (and Mongolia). We're taking the bus in between. I'm sorry it was confusing.

[HFWR]

Coach.class.sucks.

I think it was in 2007 that ice storms crippled much of the midwest. I had a Southwest flight from Love Field to Detroit, via St. Louis. I knew the conditions, so I checked SW's web site, LUV's site, and STL's site. No mention of any closings or delays. "Confident" that I'd exercised due diligence, I drove to the airport, and was on my way.

We flew to STL, circled the area, then the pilot announced that the airport was closed, and proceeded to fly us to Kansas City. On the ground there, I got to stand in line for an hour or so, before I was issued a new ticket. To Baltimore...

So, after a flight to Baltimore, and a two plus hour layover there, I finally got on a plane to Detroit.

Southwest lived up to their slogan that day: "You are now free to move about the country..."

[supernova72]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MovingtotheCove We have been flying for business and leisure now for over 40 years. So many of the names in our past such as Pan Am, Ozark, TWA, Eastern, etc. are all now gone. Most of our flying today on Delta, American, and Allegiant. We have one upcoming trip planned on United. Wow...even before departure their schedule changes and customer service are awful....have never seen such a poor quality call center with off shore staffing and very poor training and product knowledge. Hope our flights next month are better than the prep for them! Has anyone else had bad phone center experiences with United recently or did we just draw the short straw! A good name and good product seems to have slipped....

If you are flying to or through Narita Japan by chance taking a leg on their partner airline ANA is a dream (and I was on a Dreamliner 787). The flight attendants were so friendly. I did so on my way to the Philippines.

My flight home was on a United Flight 777. I'm 52 and felt young compared to the "staff" who looked like they wanted to be anywhere else but on that flight. It was like a 180 degree difference than my ANA experience.

I have found the mileage website is pretty cool tho. Very user friendly. For what it's worth from Seattle WA to SE Asia the airline of choice for my friends is EVA. Suppose to be a very favorable flight and service. Very new 777-300 ERs. Cheers.

[Lsbcal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC I just booked award tickets a week apart for us to fly to London in July. Can't beat that 30k miles and $5. And nice to be able to transfer Sapphire points 1:1 to United.

We're going to London on United next week. Before that I had cashed out our Sapphire points.

Is there an advantage transferring Sapphire points to United for a planned flight? Did I miss a deal?

[Sarah in SC]

Lsb, I don't think it was anything special. But a friend who is all into the points game told me that transferring exactly how many points you need from Sapphire to United is the best way to go (ie, use of Sapphire points). I'm very much a newbie at this stuff, though. I've been working on our return, and wow, is it confusing!

My buddy seems to specialize in getting these long layovers and open jaw type tickets, and business class upgrades, but that's because he's open ended on travel dates and has a million points. I, OTOH, can't lollygag much as I eventually have to show back up at work if I want to keep the checks coming!

[bUU]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR Coach.class.sucks.

This. We've done a great job as consumers rewarding our suppliers for rushing to the bottom. It's gotten so bad that I'm firm in my intention to not fly anywhere I could legitimately drive or take the train. That includes the Boston to Florida trips, since we can leave on Saturday morning and still make it to Florida by Sunday noontime (if we left really really early Saturday morning, and took the Auto Train from Northern Virginia), enjoy five days in the sun, and still make it home by Saturday night.

[ronocnikral]

most people here are complaining about "Back of the bus" service. If you want better service, pony up for premium cabin.

Here is the seat I am flying to Asia this summer, booked through United. Sure, it's 70k miles and about $10, but premium cabin is well worth it IMO.



If you're flying domestically, they all suck. First class, coach, it doesn't matter. Some are better than others. Jet Blue is my favorite, a little bit extra pitch, leather seat, free TV, good service. If you're flying any other airline, the seat will be the same size and service just about the same. As I said earlier, pick your poison. It sucks. And I've had just as crappy service with every airline. I pray to my higher being everytime I fly that there won't be any hiccups. I suggest you do the same. If you don't have a higher being, you may want to adopt one for your air travel.

[explanade]

That can't be only 70k miles ...

[Sarah in SC]

ronoc, DH is beyond excited just for the chance to fly business. I'd never let him see that photo of your lady friend in first.

[ronocnikral]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade That can't be only 70k miles ...

We talk in one way mileage requirements. Here's my seat on the return which is 67.5k miles (AA).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC ronoc, DH is beyond excited just for the chance to fly business. I'd never let him see that photo of your lady friend in first.

While that lady is pretty, there were many prettier attendants on my last Asiana flight (and don't get me start on THAI). If flying from Mongolia, you may want to try and connect through seoul. Their airport is great and if you fly business, their QS seat is superb (even makes you wonder if you need first class). QS isn't on every plane, but I can help identify if you need. And asiana has their 1st class suite going to JFK now. for 10k more miles, it is well worth it IMO.