thursdaysd

http://www.salon.com/2015/09/30/10_w...rce=newsletter

gertie3751

Yes, I read that article on Alternet. Have to say I totally agree. Have been messed around so much by United in the past year or so I have said never again once prebooked flights are completed this year. Have decided this pretty much only applies to the US airlines as in other countries there is more choice.
Thing is, I cant see what we customers can do about it other than opt out!

thursdaysd

I used to fly Jet Blue for domestic flights, but that option has now been compromised by their new boss. It may have to be the train to New York as well as DC. For international flights I'm using FF miles for biz class on long haul flights. If I run out I may try Virgin or Icelandair to get to Europe, or finally take Cunard.

gertie3751

Oh, Cunard! The expense! And the glamour.... Or maybe not these days?
I am seriously looking at Turkish from Houston to London with a stopover in Istanbul. Now there's a thought! Lots of possibilities there.

NewbE

God, what an infuriating article! Thanks for posting.

DonTopaz

Everything in the article conforms to my experience as well. Of the US airlines, I agree that JetBlue stands out, though the signs of trouble are starting to appear. Of the major US lines, United is far, far, far and away the worst. Not so much for their service/fees, but their reliability: the frequency with which their flights are delayed and canceled is appalling. If you are thinking of taking a United flight overseas, you would do very, very well to either change your plans or to make contingency plans for being a day late.

Gardyloo

Meh. Memories are short.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/...oticed/273506/

Kathie

Hard to argue with any of their points. As a United Million-Miler, I feel like I'm stuck. I do fly United to Kauai every year, despite the fact that we have to get up at an ungodly hour to catch a 5:30 am flight to SFO, then change planes to Lihue. Why do we do it? Because we get two free checked bags up to 70 lbs and we usually get free upgrades to first. The baggage allowance is important to us because we spend a month there and we like to take some wines from our cellar.

We were very unhappy when United cancelled the SEA-NRT flight we have taken for years - and they cancelled the NRT-BKK flight as well. But we may have gotten lucky that we can no longer fly on United to our favorite city. Our upcoming Asia trip, which we purchased with United miles puts us in Biz on Asiana, Thai, and ANA. I'm looking forward to good service and comfortable seats on those flights!

eliztravels2

Great article, Gardyloo.

travelgourmet

Stupid article. I honestly feel slightly more stupid for having read it.

This nugget is particularly infuriating to anyone with half a brain: "The Air Travel Consumer Report from the U.S. Department of Transportation finds that in the first six months of this year, complaints from air travelers were up 20 percent over the same timeframe in 2014."

- Let's start off by considering that enplanements by US airlines are up by 12%, so that 20% is misrepresentative (possibly intentionally so).
- Then there are the complaints that shouldn't really be complaints: If you take away people complaining about pricing (if you can't afford the fare, don't fly), you take away another 7% points from the increase.
- And we should consider the fact that some of what is being measured is that there is variability in how frequently people whine. Case in point: on-time percentages are basically flat, yet there has been an increase in complaints about delays. Adjusting out the "whiner factor" deducts another 2% points from the increase.
- Finally, consider how rare complaints are. There were 9,542 complaints filed with the DOT in H1-2015. That is a lot. Until you consider that enplanements by US airlines totaled nearly 319 MILLION during the same period.

In short, the 20% increase in complaints is meaningless and Kali Holloway should take remedial statistics.

Sue_xx_yy

<i> United is far, far, far and away the worst. Not so much for their service/fees, but their reliability: the frequency with which their flights are delayed and canceled is appalling. </i>

DonTopaz, Air Canada can match United for this. However, I've learned to expect that phone call asking me to rebook due to a flight cancellation, and I have my answer (and my itinerary) ready when it comes.

I also won't book itineraries with barely legal connections in busy airports. If possible, I will have us overnight at the connection point. Doing so helps make an el cheapo fare class almost as low stress as a business class one.

I'm happy as a rule with flight service for the price I'm paying - it's not super comfy, but my ancestors traveled steerage, so I have a low standard for comparison. And I DID fly in the 70s, back in the high fare days, and it wasn't that great. No seatback entertainment, toilets that were far more subject to getting clogged (now, THAT is uncomfortable, I can make do with almost anything else going awry.)

traveller1959

"indignity" is the key word in the article for me.

I think it all started with Ryanair and everybody else is following. Even Lufthansa has given up service standards and is going to act like cheapo airlines.

But what do you expect if the majority of travellers is crazy to find just the cheapest fare?

scott26

Hard to argue with any of their points. As a United Million-Miler, then change planes to Lihue. The baggage allowance is important to us because we spend a month there. Our upcoming Asia trip, which we purchased with Rehlat puts us in Biz on Asiana, Thai, and ANA. I'm looking forward to good service and comfortable seats on those flights!