Why I will never fly United again
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Christian Graus wrote:
Unlike QANTAS, United doesn't have a decent in flight entertainment system. They have a pull down screen that displays a movie in what looks like 340x220 resolution
This could just depend on where your plane was in the upgrade cycle. I know someone doing the system upgrades for ???, IIRC he's on a 2y contract for the entire airfleet, which probably translates to continual upgrades at each biannual overhaul.
dan neely wrote:
This could just depend on where your plane was in the upgrade cycle.
Two planes. QANTAS are in an upgrade cycle too, they are going from personal screens to video on demand. Air Canada has video on demand on a lot of flights. United are pulling down a screen still, they are definately behind the game. Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
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Hmmm. I figured that out six years ago, when I discovered that flights would be cancelled because the pilot didn't feel like showing up, and what flights there were, were always taking off late (and I mean hours, not minutes) and landing later. The attendants were rude, the "good" food was at a minimum so by the time you got your choice, it was down to one choice--hotdogs. And the ticket prices were astronomical. Marc XPressTier
Some people believe what the bible says. Literally. At least [with Wikipedia] you have the chance to correct the wiki -- Jörgen Sigvardsson
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
hot dogs ? Man, my food was not THAT bad. The attendants were OK, as well, although I gave one a credit card for a duty free purchase, and was asking where it was 6 hours later. Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
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Brigg Thorp wrote:
All airlines are *normally* charging extra for bulkhead and exit row seats.
Not Southwest. Just get there early enough to be first in line. A small price to pay.
Brigg Thorp wrote:
I've flown many of the US based airlines (American, United, US Air), and the service is horrific.
Which is why I exclusively fly Southwest. That way, I don't have complain about crappy service. Actually, the service for what Southwest does provide has always been great. And I couldn't care less about an entertainment system. I bring my own. A book, my laptop, and if I'm travelling with my son, cards and pocket games. Marc XPressTier
Some people believe what the bible says. Literally. At least [with Wikipedia] you have the chance to correct the wiki -- Jörgen Sigvardsson
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
Marc Clifton wrote:
I bring my own
Well, on a 14 hour flight, if I can't sleep, a movie is a nice option. My notebook will play about 80 minutes of DVD before the main battery dies. My second battery sits in the same bay as the DVD drive. Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
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Christian, Just FYI. All airlines are *normally* charging extra for bulkhead and exit row seats. You get more legroom, so these seats typically go faster. I've flown many of the US based airlines (American, United, US Air), and the service is horrific. I just flew Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago and the service was impeccable. The entertainment system was a little old (I was in a 747-400), but it was still OK. The stewardesses (no men) were extremely friendly and kept referring to me by name. Granted, this was business class, but still, with 24 people in the upstairs seating, that was a lot for one person to remember. Regards, Brigg Thorp Senior Software Engineer Timex Corporation
Brigg Thorp wrote:
Just FYI. All airlines are *normally* charging extra for bulkhead and exit row seats.
Serious? I thought it was just luck of the draw; i've certainly never paid extra.
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I'm just now back from 2 weeks in the US and Canada. It was mostly a good trip. The main thing that sucked - United Airlines. So, up until now I have flown QANTAS. Having all my stuff stolen on the last trip made me open to change. Someone suggested that United had good frequent flyer plans, good service, etc. So, I gave it a go. On the way out, we were late by 90 minutes in leaving. Why ? Well, they told us that the toilets were broken and they were trying to fix them. In the end, they took off on the basis that we may have to 'hold on' and they would take a pit stop in Honolulu. Luckily, the dunny started to work after take off. Unlike QANTAS, United doesn't have a decent in flight entertainment system. They have a pull down screen that displays a movie in what looks like 340x220 resolution. But that's nothing compared to the service. On QANTAS, you get a bag of goodies to get you through the night. On United, you got close to nothing. Worse, they don't give you an eye mask to help you sleep. There's something I didn't even consider, I've always got one on an international flight ( along with some bed socks, no less ). So, I got no sleep on the flight over. And the food was REALLY bad. On arrival in LA, my United flight to Dallas Fort Worth was just fine. I don't believe I flew United to Toronto, if I did, it was operated by Air Canada, with touch screen entertainment and generally adequate service. On the way back, I flew United operated by Air Canada to Denver, Colorado, and connected to a United flight to Portland. It ran 90 minutes late. And kept changing gates. But I got there OK. The Columbia River Gorge is one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my life. Flying home, I flew to LA from Portland, not sure what airline ( I didn't pay for/organise that one ). I got into LA at 11:30. My flight out was at 10:45 that night. We went to United, and queued for 30 minutes, to be told that I couldn't check in my bags until 6. So, I wandered around LAX with 2 heavy suitcases, my backpack ( which weighed a ton, it had CD's and DVD's, my notebook, two digital cameras, two portable hard drives and anything worth any money in it ) and a box which contained a glass blown bowl I bought for my wife. I got back at 5:30, expecting a 30 min wait again. There was no queue, so I waited 15 min, then went up. They told me no, I had to come back at 6:30. So, as there was no queue, I stood at the head of it and put some tunes on while I waited. I was exausted at this point.
I've read it twice and am still looking for the horror story in there. Next time you come over fly Air Canada via Honolulu. Then you will have stories. cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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I'm just now back from 2 weeks in the US and Canada. It was mostly a good trip. The main thing that sucked - United Airlines. So, up until now I have flown QANTAS. Having all my stuff stolen on the last trip made me open to change. Someone suggested that United had good frequent flyer plans, good service, etc. So, I gave it a go. On the way out, we were late by 90 minutes in leaving. Why ? Well, they told us that the toilets were broken and they were trying to fix them. In the end, they took off on the basis that we may have to 'hold on' and they would take a pit stop in Honolulu. Luckily, the dunny started to work after take off. Unlike QANTAS, United doesn't have a decent in flight entertainment system. They have a pull down screen that displays a movie in what looks like 340x220 resolution. But that's nothing compared to the service. On QANTAS, you get a bag of goodies to get you through the night. On United, you got close to nothing. Worse, they don't give you an eye mask to help you sleep. There's something I didn't even consider, I've always got one on an international flight ( along with some bed socks, no less ). So, I got no sleep on the flight over. And the food was REALLY bad. On arrival in LA, my United flight to Dallas Fort Worth was just fine. I don't believe I flew United to Toronto, if I did, it was operated by Air Canada, with touch screen entertainment and generally adequate service. On the way back, I flew United operated by Air Canada to Denver, Colorado, and connected to a United flight to Portland. It ran 90 minutes late. And kept changing gates. But I got there OK. The Columbia River Gorge is one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my life. Flying home, I flew to LA from Portland, not sure what airline ( I didn't pay for/organise that one ). I got into LA at 11:30. My flight out was at 10:45 that night. We went to United, and queued for 30 minutes, to be told that I couldn't check in my bags until 6. So, I wandered around LAX with 2 heavy suitcases, my backpack ( which weighed a ton, it had CD's and DVD's, my notebook, two digital cameras, two portable hard drives and anything worth any money in it ) and a box which contained a glass blown bowl I bought for my wife. I got back at 5:30, expecting a 30 min wait again. There was no queue, so I waited 15 min, then went up. They told me no, I had to come back at 6:30. So, as there was no queue, I stood at the head of it and put some tunes on while I waited. I was exausted at this point.
I'm flown United from Melbourne to the US of A a number of times and have always been satisfied. We did fly Business Class once which was nice. We also got an upgrade on an LA Chicago leg once, which as sweet. Believe it or not, I've never flown overseas with Qantas. The last trip, late last year to Europe was with Emirates, who I definitely recommend. They are becoming a real force in the market place. Neville Franks, Author of Surfulater www.surfulater.com "Save what you Surf" and ED for Windows www.getsoft.com
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I'm just now back from 2 weeks in the US and Canada. It was mostly a good trip. The main thing that sucked - United Airlines. So, up until now I have flown QANTAS. Having all my stuff stolen on the last trip made me open to change. Someone suggested that United had good frequent flyer plans, good service, etc. So, I gave it a go. On the way out, we were late by 90 minutes in leaving. Why ? Well, they told us that the toilets were broken and they were trying to fix them. In the end, they took off on the basis that we may have to 'hold on' and they would take a pit stop in Honolulu. Luckily, the dunny started to work after take off. Unlike QANTAS, United doesn't have a decent in flight entertainment system. They have a pull down screen that displays a movie in what looks like 340x220 resolution. But that's nothing compared to the service. On QANTAS, you get a bag of goodies to get you through the night. On United, you got close to nothing. Worse, they don't give you an eye mask to help you sleep. There's something I didn't even consider, I've always got one on an international flight ( along with some bed socks, no less ). So, I got no sleep on the flight over. And the food was REALLY bad. On arrival in LA, my United flight to Dallas Fort Worth was just fine. I don't believe I flew United to Toronto, if I did, it was operated by Air Canada, with touch screen entertainment and generally adequate service. On the way back, I flew United operated by Air Canada to Denver, Colorado, and connected to a United flight to Portland. It ran 90 minutes late. And kept changing gates. But I got there OK. The Columbia River Gorge is one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my life. Flying home, I flew to LA from Portland, not sure what airline ( I didn't pay for/organise that one ). I got into LA at 11:30. My flight out was at 10:45 that night. We went to United, and queued for 30 minutes, to be told that I couldn't check in my bags until 6. So, I wandered around LAX with 2 heavy suitcases, my backpack ( which weighed a ton, it had CD's and DVD's, my notebook, two digital cameras, two portable hard drives and anything worth any money in it ) and a box which contained a glass blown bowl I bought for my wife. I got back at 5:30, expecting a 30 min wait again. There was no queue, so I waited 15 min, then went up. They told me no, I had to come back at 6:30. So, as there was no queue, I stood at the head of it and put some tunes on while I waited. I was exausted at this point.
The Columbia River Gorge is one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my life yup. Do the chickens have large talons?
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I'm just now back from 2 weeks in the US and Canada. It was mostly a good trip. The main thing that sucked - United Airlines. So, up until now I have flown QANTAS. Having all my stuff stolen on the last trip made me open to change. Someone suggested that United had good frequent flyer plans, good service, etc. So, I gave it a go. On the way out, we were late by 90 minutes in leaving. Why ? Well, they told us that the toilets were broken and they were trying to fix them. In the end, they took off on the basis that we may have to 'hold on' and they would take a pit stop in Honolulu. Luckily, the dunny started to work after take off. Unlike QANTAS, United doesn't have a decent in flight entertainment system. They have a pull down screen that displays a movie in what looks like 340x220 resolution. But that's nothing compared to the service. On QANTAS, you get a bag of goodies to get you through the night. On United, you got close to nothing. Worse, they don't give you an eye mask to help you sleep. There's something I didn't even consider, I've always got one on an international flight ( along with some bed socks, no less ). So, I got no sleep on the flight over. And the food was REALLY bad. On arrival in LA, my United flight to Dallas Fort Worth was just fine. I don't believe I flew United to Toronto, if I did, it was operated by Air Canada, with touch screen entertainment and generally adequate service. On the way back, I flew United operated by Air Canada to Denver, Colorado, and connected to a United flight to Portland. It ran 90 minutes late. And kept changing gates. But I got there OK. The Columbia River Gorge is one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my life. Flying home, I flew to LA from Portland, not sure what airline ( I didn't pay for/organise that one ). I got into LA at 11:30. My flight out was at 10:45 that night. We went to United, and queued for 30 minutes, to be told that I couldn't check in my bags until 6. So, I wandered around LAX with 2 heavy suitcases, my backpack ( which weighed a ton, it had CD's and DVD's, my notebook, two digital cameras, two portable hard drives and anything worth any money in it ) and a box which contained a glass blown bowl I bought for my wife. I got back at 5:30, expecting a 30 min wait again. There was no queue, so I waited 15 min, then went up. They told me no, I had to come back at 6:30. So, as there was no queue, I stood at the head of it and put some tunes on while I waited. I was exausted at this point.
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Christian, Just FYI. All airlines are *normally* charging extra for bulkhead and exit row seats. You get more legroom, so these seats typically go faster. I've flown many of the US based airlines (American, United, US Air), and the service is horrific. I just flew Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago and the service was impeccable. The entertainment system was a little old (I was in a 747-400), but it was still OK. The stewardesses (no men) were extremely friendly and kept referring to me by name. Granted, this was business class, but still, with 24 people in the upstairs seating, that was a lot for one person to remember. Regards, Brigg Thorp Senior Software Engineer Timex Corporation
Brigg Thorp wrote:
I just flew Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago and the service was impeccable.
Cathay Pacific is good, but you gotta try Singapore Airlines. It's probably the best airline I've ever been in - specially for long distance flights like the ones from India to North America. Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
Currently working on C++/CLI in Action for Manning Publications. Also visit the Ultimate Toolbox blog (New) -
I'm just now back from 2 weeks in the US and Canada. It was mostly a good trip. The main thing that sucked - United Airlines. So, up until now I have flown QANTAS. Having all my stuff stolen on the last trip made me open to change. Someone suggested that United had good frequent flyer plans, good service, etc. So, I gave it a go. On the way out, we were late by 90 minutes in leaving. Why ? Well, they told us that the toilets were broken and they were trying to fix them. In the end, they took off on the basis that we may have to 'hold on' and they would take a pit stop in Honolulu. Luckily, the dunny started to work after take off. Unlike QANTAS, United doesn't have a decent in flight entertainment system. They have a pull down screen that displays a movie in what looks like 340x220 resolution. But that's nothing compared to the service. On QANTAS, you get a bag of goodies to get you through the night. On United, you got close to nothing. Worse, they don't give you an eye mask to help you sleep. There's something I didn't even consider, I've always got one on an international flight ( along with some bed socks, no less ). So, I got no sleep on the flight over. And the food was REALLY bad. On arrival in LA, my United flight to Dallas Fort Worth was just fine. I don't believe I flew United to Toronto, if I did, it was operated by Air Canada, with touch screen entertainment and generally adequate service. On the way back, I flew United operated by Air Canada to Denver, Colorado, and connected to a United flight to Portland. It ran 90 minutes late. And kept changing gates. But I got there OK. The Columbia River Gorge is one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my life. Flying home, I flew to LA from Portland, not sure what airline ( I didn't pay for/organise that one ). I got into LA at 11:30. My flight out was at 10:45 that night. We went to United, and queued for 30 minutes, to be told that I couldn't check in my bags until 6. So, I wandered around LAX with 2 heavy suitcases, my backpack ( which weighed a ton, it had CD's and DVD's, my notebook, two digital cameras, two portable hard drives and anything worth any money in it ) and a box which contained a glass blown bowl I bought for my wife. I got back at 5:30, expecting a 30 min wait again. There was no queue, so I waited 15 min, then went up. They told me no, I had to come back at 6:30. So, as there was no queue, I stood at the head of it and put some tunes on while I waited. I was exausted at this point.
You should visit www.untied.com. You can tell your story there. Yes, that is UNTIED (as in not tied), not UNITED.
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dan neely wrote:
This could just depend on where your plane was in the upgrade cycle.
Two planes. QANTAS are in an upgrade cycle too, they are going from personal screens to video on demand. Air Canada has video on demand on a lot of flights. United are pulling down a screen still, they are definately behind the game. Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
Hey, at least you didn't have the fuselage rip off in flight so that you could have a panoramic view, something better than what you can normally see through those portholes. And perhaps get to a destination - like the Pacific Ocean - that was not on your ticket. It has happened on a United flight. Google for airline disasters.
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Brigg Thorp wrote:
I just flew Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago and the service was impeccable.
Cathay Pacific is good, but you gotta try Singapore Airlines. It's probably the best airline I've ever been in - specially for long distance flights like the ones from India to North America. Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
Currently working on C++/CLI in Action for Manning Publications. Also visit the Ultimate Toolbox blog (New)Try flying from Singapore to Madras/Chennai and see what treatment you get when they lump you with all the manual laborers.
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hot dogs ? Man, my food was not THAT bad. The attendants were OK, as well, although I gave one a credit card for a duty free purchase, and was asking where it was 6 hours later. Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
Christian Graus wrote:
hot dogs ?
It came with microwaved fries. :jig: Marc XPressTier
Some people believe what the bible says. Literally. At least [with Wikipedia] you have the chance to correct the wiki -- Jörgen Sigvardsson
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
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Try flying from Singapore to Madras/Chennai and see what treatment you get when they lump you with all the manual laborers.
Vivic wrote:
Try flying from Singapore to Madras/Chennai and see what treatment you get when they lump you with all the manual laborers.
The Singapore-US stretch is what I was talking about :-) Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
Currently working on C++/CLI in Action for Manning Publications. Also visit the Ultimate Toolbox blog (New) -
The Columbia River Gorge is one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my life yup. Do the chickens have large talons?
I was in a cabin in White Salmon, right up a hill and my room was the upper floor, the window pointed right at the mountain ( Mt Hood ? ). It was beautiful. Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
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Flying from Australia to the USA via Air New Zealand ( or Air Canada for that point ) just seems wrong... Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
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I've read it twice and am still looking for the horror story in there. Next time you come over fly Air Canada via Honolulu. Then you will have stories. cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
I wouldn't say it was a horror story, the only horror would have been if we actually flew without access to toilets for 12 hours. Which they were happy to subject us to, the toilets started working after take off. Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
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My back is near broken, but yeah, I have all my stuff. Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
Have you heard the new Iron Maiden[^] single? The sound reminds me a little of his solo work. I really dig the guitarrs... (and of course Bruce's voice - as always)
-- Broadcast simultaneously one year in the future
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Christian, Just FYI. All airlines are *normally* charging extra for bulkhead and exit row seats. You get more legroom, so these seats typically go faster. I've flown many of the US based airlines (American, United, US Air), and the service is horrific. I just flew Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago and the service was impeccable. The entertainment system was a little old (I was in a 747-400), but it was still OK. The stewardesses (no men) were extremely friendly and kept referring to me by name. Granted, this was business class, but still, with 24 people in the upstairs seating, that was a lot for one person to remember. Regards, Brigg Thorp Senior Software Engineer Timex Corporation
Brigg Thorp wrote:
All airlines are *normally* charging extra for bulkhead and exit row seats.
I've never heard of that before. A couple of friends of mine were actually "compensated" once when they sat in the exit rows.
Scottish Developers events: * .NET debugging, tracing and instrumentation by Duncan Edwards Jones and Code Coverage in .NET by Craig Murphy * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog
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Have you heard the new Iron Maiden[^] single? The sound reminds me a little of his solo work. I really dig the guitarrs... (and of course Bruce's voice - as always)
-- Broadcast simultaneously one year in the future
Wow - thanks, I'll check it out. Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog