[Roundup] The 30 Year Old United Airlines Commercial Everyone’s Talking About

by Gary Leff

News and notes from around the interweb:

  • Data-driven analysis of Southwest Airlines route changes from a former Southwest network planner

  • The American Express Centurion lounge in Houston has re-opened, and DFW is about to as well.


    American Express Centurion Lounge DFW Airport

  • Capital One now lets Venture, Quicksilver, Savor, and Spark cardholders cash out miles via Paypal, albeit at a poor value of 125 points per dollar.

  • The 30 year old United Airlines commercial everyone’s talking about, how a ‘phone call and a fax’ doesn’t replace face-to-face business meetings. Good luck going to visit clients whose employees aren’t back in the office, though.

  • We rate this claim true:

  • The absolute worst of democracy, using it to take stuff from one group and give it to another (in this case, to Parker himself and other shareholders). And to do it in the name of a civil rights hero! In 1961 John Lewis became one of the 13 original Freedom Riders to promote… airline subsidies?

  • Etihad lands in Israel. We really have seemed to make progress on Mideast Peace, even if much of it is de facto rather than de jure.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

More articles by Gary Leff »

Comments

  1. The United ad was one of the best made, most thoughtful ads I’ve seen in years, maybe ever. Today, it strikes me more about business in general than United itself. Thanks for posting it.

  2. Parker sure has been on the virtue signaling roll lately – first dining with one of the plebs (And a black one at that!) and now babbling about John Lewis (Whom he probably never spared a thought about until he died a few months ago). How does he find the time to run an airline?

  3. Just remembered that the great Gene Hackman was the narrator of that great commercial.

    Classic voice, great actor.

  4. I remember the add. I think this is why business travel will return. When we are back in the office i will be ready to visit, share a meal and catch up in person. I miss our customers who have become good friends.

  5. I gotta tell you I got a little bit of chicken skin just watching this probably one of the best ads United ever did.

  6. Good add but business travel is not coming back to where it once was as business has figured out other options during COVID.no SKYPE or Zoom when this was made.If business travel does return it will take many many years

  7. Sorry by Skype and Zoom do not work as well as person to person interaction. Last week I did a presentation of course it was on Zoom. I could not interact with those in attendance. I could not ask them questions, I could not see how they were reacting, I could not discuss things with them after the session was over. I talk to many people who are tired of the Zoom calls and are ready to get back to face to face meetings.

Comments are closed.