Flyers to United: Kiss Our Loyalty Goodbye

Archived Comments:

• Vee - August 27, 2008

  I will not fly United next year for my now yearly trips to London . I find some of these changes absolutely insane. With as much money as it cost to fly why would you take away the "free" meal that comes with this flight. I think United better rethink this little idea .

• UAL flight Attendant - August 28, 2008

  As a United flight attendant based out of Dulles, I'm embarrassed to be required to sell meals to our loyal passengers going to Europe. Most of the underlings of CEO Glen Tilton, and he's made it very clear that that's exactly what we are, are disturbed by the recent decisions of the upper management. Shrinking the amount of flights may be needed to keep operations running, but eliminating service is exactly the opposite of what is needed keep customers flying our formerly great airline. Does the management want to run the airline anymore or do they simply wish to shrink it enough to be allowed to sell it off under the anti-trust laws? I'm applying for the furloughs offered today. I can only hope I come back to a better, more cohesive management team. Many people have said that the Union Employee's will always whine about what they get, it's not illegal for a company to ignore their employees. Maybe now, that the airline is shunning it's stockholders by destroying its customer base, people will listen. Geln's Gotta Go.

• Andrew - August 28, 2008

  Why fly an American carrier to Europe with no service when European carriers still offer acceptable service? Even better - think outside the box and go with neither American or European - if you're flying LA to London, you can fly Air New Zealand and experience one of the best long haul service levels in the industry. And Air India flys cheapest across the Atlantic while still serving food!

• Teni - August 28, 2008

  I still have 160,000+ Mileage Plus miles sitting in my account. I'm taking a trip to London in two months, and guess who I'm flying with? Virgin, on their Premium Economy service. And I do believe I will get meal service with them. I initially looked to see if I could use my miles for this trip, and no go (surprise!). No free trips, no upgrades. I've been saving my points in futility--I will probably just donate what I have through the Hero Miles program and I can wash myself clean of United altogether. United, I loved you back in the day, but no more!

• Longtime UAL Premier Executive - August 28, 2008

  The food and wine is so awful these days it will scarcely be missed. If I could get it through security, I'd rather bring my own. But as it is, I will switch to a foreign carrier for my multiple annual trips to Europe. Latest insult: United doesn't even have sparkling water onboard.

• A 1K member - August 28, 2008

  They have clearly lost sight of the fact that the international sphere is a different competitive marketplace than domestic. It has been proven that added fees and service reductions will be adopted by all domestic operators--except Southwest--as a new norm. Not so once you cross borders. United markets Lufthansa flights across the board and yet flights on a United aircraft will be markedly different, and inferior, to a United flight operated on Lufthansa equipment. Anyone with minimal observation skills will see the difference and make sure that they choose more carefully in the future. As a group, the US carriers have the worst reputation for service of any in the world. If you stay in the closed loop of domestic travel, there is little differentiation. That goes away completely when the competition is based anywhere else. For those planning United's future, they need to come to grips with the fact that they are not going to get buy in by foreign carriers--or perhaps even other US competitors. One other point is that, having worked for a European carrier for 30 years, I know that in most cases economy catering costs are about $10-12 for a transatlantic flight. Is the backlash worth that minimal saving?

• doneindenver - August 28, 2008

  Maybe United will go out of business and we will have real choice in Denver. Most of our flights are to friends and family in the East, where Southwest and Frontier haven't ventured as widely yet. Anyone want to trade a lot of miles?

• budman - August 28, 2008

  I have been a loyal United flyer for almost 30 years and a 1K for 6 years. I travel frequently domestically and sometimes have to go through IAD to get to my destinations frequently north of me in CT. They are now charging outrageous prices of almost 1200. for a trip that even the crummy US Air charges 550. for in this market with 2 week advance purchase. They are pricing themselves out of my market and if it continues I will be forced by the corporate travel to switch out of United completely. While I am on the subject, you should see the terrible service that they have at Dulles, the worst in the system.

• Rich - August 28, 2008

  Enough already!!!!! You bozos cry about cuts in service but you want the absolutely lowest airfare and will shop till you drop on Orbitz, Kayak, Expedia, Priceline to save $10 on a fare. UA, AA, CO, DL, NW all have to compete on the fares despite bleeding money to get your business. I don't work for an airline or travel agency, I am just a regular traveler who is willing to pay a fair fare to get good on-time service and be able to bring my underseat and roll-aboard on the plane. I don't need their food on short flights. Coffee and a can of soda all that we need. We even bring food with us on transatlantic flights on AA when we use AAdvantage miles to upgrade from coach to business class each time we fly. Even the Business class food on AA transatlantic flights is not as good as it was 5 years ago.

• Kiki - August 28, 2008

  As far as I can see, there is no reason to fly United internationally. They offer nothing. I guess they are trying to lose all their customers now. What is next - pay toilets? I have been flying European carriers for some time as their service is so much better. My favorite has always been British Airways, even with their problems at LHR.

• Louie - August 30, 2008

  Thanks, for the tip and sites Rich, I saved $90.00 on my next travel, and you said we were bozos!

• Baffled - August 30, 2008

  As previous posters note, there are many yet untapped sources of revenue the airlines. What I find baffling is that they pay crazy salaries to the mangers to think of them when a bunch of amateurs like us can do it easily for free, What I believe a well-run organization should be paying these managers to improve service and attract customers away from the competition. They seem to have it backyard.

• GermanyCalling - September 2, 2008

  My wife is from Germany and we have friends in Scotland which means we fly overseas frequently. We live in Seattle and going to our European destinations takes three flights. We have been taking SAS for about four years because it only requires two flights. Additionally, Lufthansa now flys from Seattle to Frankfurt. We receive United mileage credit since both SAS and Lufthansa are in the Star Alliance. United has lost our business.

• Rich - September 2, 2008

  To: Louie What did saving $90 save you in the long run? I am willing to pay for a confirmed seat, on-time arrival, getting my FF miles, reasonable service on-board, etc. When youspend a couple of thousand on a trip $90 one way or the other does not matter. What is your time and convenience worth? Just wait until something gets changed in your itinerary by the airline and you gotta sort it out with Expedia or Orbitz rather than directly with the airline. Who is the bozo then?

• OakFlyer - September 2, 2008

  There's a lot of mis-information in the posts. I found the PR. Here's the actual press release from UAL's site: http://www.united.com/press/detail/0,6862,59740,00.html

• flygirl49 - September 2, 2008

  I flew British Midlands from Chicago to Manchester, England using up some of my United miles--BM is a partner of United. My friend, on the same trip, paid cash to United, the equivalent of about $150 more. Same plane, same service and she sat next to me. Very nice flight btw and far less expensive than going to London. I would do this any time rather than deal with United (they told me there were no seats and said I could not use my miles). Oddly enough, their flight, with my friend on it, was scheduled to depart several minutes before mine did. Must explain the bigger fare. But I got off first.

• Resigned - September 2, 2008

  As a long-time 1K and million mile traveler with United, I gave up with this airline several years ago and now fly them only when I must and require that the 40 managers that work for me avoid United whenever possible. It's never a good idea to reward unacceptable service with loyalty and revenue when there are good alternatives.

• OakFlyer - September 2, 2008

  UAL just sent out this email: Open Letter to Our Valued Customers Policy announcement: meal service on flights to Europe Dear Mr (X), Thank you for your direct, candid feedback on the test we had planned to launch in the fourth quarter for food choices on some of our flights. We heard you and have decided not to move forward with the test of offering customers buy-on-board options in United Economy on certain trans-Atlantic flights. We will continue to offer complimentary hot meals on those flights. The response from you and many of our corporate customers, even before we launched the test, told us what we would have undoubtedly learned had we proceeded: you value our hot meal service in economy class for international flights. In this environment, where higher costs driven by volatile fuel prices are now the norm, we must continue to tailor products and services so that we provide you with choices and competitive fares. As such, we will continue to be proactive in testing new ideas. On October 1, we will proceed with the test of new, complimentary options for United Business customers on three-cabin aircraft used for domestic routes, which represents 16 daily flights. Customers on these flights will receive complimentary fresh sandwiches, salads, breakfast, snack boxes or snacks, depending on the length of flight and time of departure. They will also continue to enjoy complimentary beverages, including beer, wine and cocktails. We will evaluate the results and determine next steps by the end of the year. It's also important to note that full meals will still be served on our p.s. transcontinental flights.

• cls223 - September 2, 2008

  Since I'd just booked my overseas Christmas travel on United, I was concerned when I read this, but like the previous poster, I too received an email from United indicating the meal reduction will not take place...at least this year, I was happy to see that United paid attention to what its customers said and decided this idea wouldn't fly. From a purely practical standpoint, just imagine the delays this would cause at security, as some clueless TSA screener tries to decide whether or not your carry-on meal can be used as a weapon!

• loyal1kflyer - September 2, 2008

  Having just flown United Sunday from LAX to HKG on their last non stop service between LAX & HKG I was one of only 20-25 passengers in business class. The food was the worst and the wine, please! mad dog 20/20 would had tasted better, and the service? what service. After the first round of drinks and the meal sevice I did not see a flight attendant for hours. Unless I had got up to get my own water I would have dehydrated. I have been a loyal 1K flyer for years traveling between the U.S. and Asia several times a year and the service compared to most Asian carriers is non-exsistant. Listening to the flight attendants constantly complaining about how bad management is while they provide some of the worst service in the industry. One little known fact is United just announced last week they are closing their Singapore and Bangkok flight attendant bases. These were some of the best flight attendants United had. Flying intra Asia on United was like flying a different airline, their service was significantly better and comparable to most asian carriers. Now those flight attendants will be gone soon and so will any reason to continue flying United. While management may be bad at United their flight attendants have managed to provide just as bad service onboard. If United wants to survive as a carrier they better start figuring out a way to work together and try and keep, and win back some of their loyal flyers that are now leaving for other carriers with better service. With over 1.6 million miles in my UA FF account I hope I can use them on SQ, LH and ANZ before United shuts their doors.

• Lonnie at IAD - September 3, 2008

  As a long time United 1K Mileage Plus Member, I have observed nothing but declining service, and frequent flier perks at United Airlines. However, United's food in First and Business has, in the past 12 to 18 months, improved to a certain degree. I do not think it is a wise decision to "TEST" cutbacks on the Quality of Food in Business Class on their 3 cabin aircraft. As they state: it is only 16 flights per day. The cost savings will not come close to covering the cost of the wrath of there egregiously disrespected loyal customer base if they go forward with this ill-conceived plan! I can assure them it is their 1k and Premier Executive "Best Customers" that fly and upgrade on those 16 flights. It is those same flyers that will be exploring all other air carrier options and seeking to align themselves with an air carrier that understands, appreciates, and recripricates for "customer loyal."

• Former UAL flyer - July 6, 2009

  UAL always had the worst service from Europe in business anyway. Why are we surprised that they have done away with meal service? I fly British or Lufthansa or one of the Star Alliance carriers.