Tag Archives for united airlines.
United Airlines has been adding seat back video screens to planes, and they’re planning to put the fastest internet in the sky on board – Starlink – starting next year. This is great for customers, but it’s all part of a plan to monetize the eyeballs of customers sitting on their planes.
Let’s check in on how that’s going.
A woman with her toddler came over and plopped themselves down in that middle seat. She explained that she didn’t have enough space in the middle seat she’d been in further back in the aircraft – so she self-upgraded to “economy plus” extra legroom seats.
That way, she said, she’d be “more comfortable” with her kid – while her husband remained in an aisle seat farther back.
I’m going to make some readers mad talking about flight attendant pay for a moment. Flight attendant unions love to highlight the struggles of their newest members, but rarely represent those members well.
A MileagePlus 1K passenger had an “absolute meltdown” seeing another passenger come up from economy trying to use the lavatory in first class. Are they actually permitted to do this, though?
Here’s what happened, according to a United Airlines captain,
A father flew business class from Chicago to Beijing while they left their kid in coach to annoy and be cared for whatever strangers happened to sit beside them. I hadn’t seen this story before, but it’s just been resurfaced. What’s unique is how one passenger decided to take revenge on the poor parenting – by doing a little poor parenting themselves.
I’m genuinely struck by the shift in United Airlines CEO Scoott Kirby since taking the reins at that airline. He was President of US Airways and American Airlines under Doug Parker, and known as a straight spreadsheet guy. At US Airways he wouldn’t even add inflight wifi until he could actually see customers booking away from the airline because they didn’t have it.
United is still careful with cost, and their new premium image often outstrips the reality of the product and experience, but they make investments in customer experience others aren’t making and take risks for payoffs that will be harder to quantify. And it’s working out for the airline.
Wednesday afternoon’s United Airlines flight 557 from Charleston to Denver left about half an hour late. During the flight, a lavatory toilet started spewing water, according to a passenger on board. It came from one of the lavatories by the rear galley of the Boeing 737 MAX 8.
Not all of these are going to work! So surely they won’t all last. Maybe they’re trying too hard, taking too many chances with a large incoming fleet of planes. But they’re certainly playing an exciting game at United. It’s not small ball. In total United will serve more than 40 destinations across the Atlantic and 147 total international destinations.
They are asking for 3% – 4% more than what American Airlines flight attendants just won. The bigger percentage increases are for more senior crew, who already earn more. And they are asking for bigger future raises, too.
A woman was reportedly removed from a United Airlines flight after making racist remarks – and trying to open the emergency exit door. As she was ushered off the aircraft, the first class cabin burst into laughter.
Her final moments as a passenger were captured on video.
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 »
