United Airlines

This post will be both a small rave and a longer rant.

United Airlines.

I flew with United Airlines from Aspen to Chicago to Newark the other day coming back from my meetings on participating in a documentary on the “spirit” of the late and great singer John Denver.

More on that in later posts.

United Airlines! From my perspective is the "cattle call" of airlines.

In most of their terminals they have boarding group lines from one to five. Depending on your group number, you stand in line and file through a station-like opening to board the plane.

It seems to me that the specific airlines should be able to figure out a way to freely board the plane as passengers arrive at the gate. Most trains do that; you arrive, you get on board. The process would eliminate the lines. It would however, require that early boarding passengers be fair and not put their carry-ons in someone else’s overhead space. And that’s not likely unless the flight attendants on board supervise the process.

The first leg of the flight was freezing. I had my coat and gloves on because the cabin heat was low or turned off. Several passengers asked about it.

Once onboard the second leg and during the flight there was a video screen of Direct-TV fourteen inches from my face. I could not turn it off. I was subjected to visual advertisements, promotions, and annoying visuals the entire flight. If I’d had a pin I would have put a paper napkin over the screen.

Next the attitude of the flight attendants was nearly robotic. Gone were the days of friendly smiles and the camaraderie that used to be there. Granted, I was in steerage, but so were the majority of the passengers. Collectively we were the high payers of the flight, not the sixteen in first class, yet steerage gets short shrift and far less service. Food was a box or a drink if you wanted to buy it.

At the end of the flight the flight attendants did not announce the baggage claim area. At the claim area the sign said one carousel and the bags were delivered to another.

United you suck!

Oh, yes, the rave. United left on time.