I thought United retweeting an article containing questionable customer service and reference to “losing†an unaccompanied minor was bad. But today British Airways waaaay outdid United in retweeting the following expletive-loaded tweet: I was visiting my parents today and on my laptop scrolling through Twitter before we headed to a pre-Thanksgiving/Thanksgiving lunch and nearly shouted,…
Commentary
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Delta Terminates Frequent Flier’s Account: Was It ‘Right?’
In the news this week is a story about Lynn Harrell, a world-renowned cellist, whose Delta Air Lines SkyMiles account was terminated for a violation of program rules. For years, Harrell traveled the world and always bought a second seat for his cello under the name of HARRELL/CELLO. The cello even had a SkyMiles account,…
Elite Perks at Hotels Are Great, but Outreach Keeps Me Loyal
When it comes to having elite status with a hotel, my two favorite perks are by far free Wi-Fi and access to the club lounge. I also appreciate the other amenities that vary by hotel chain – and even brand within a chain – including room upgrades and welcome gifts (free bottled water, food platters,…
United Awarded Marketer of the Year, Plus Some Insightful Nuggets
Last week, the Direct Marketing Association named United Airlines and Macy’s joint marketers of the year. Initially, the United nod had me scratching my head. But after reading a bit more of the background and realizing how different and specialized the email are that I receive now post-merger, I pretty much agree. They still have…
Will United’s Boeing 787 Inaugural Occur on November 4?
[Edited 10/19/12: A Media Relations representative responded to me (via my CNBC request) that the inaugural IAH-ORD flight is still on for November 4!] Rumors are floating around that United is experiencing technical issues with the sole Boeing 787 Dreamliner currently in its possession. And delivery of United’s second 787 may be slipping. Flyertalk member…
Using a Previously Cancelled Ticket for a New Reservation at the New United
I encountered something new that irritates me with the new United Airlines yesterday. It might be common to former Continental fliers (I’m assuming it was their policy), but it’s new to me and I figured it might be fair warning to anyone expecting the process to work the same as it did on the old…
Poll: Should Award Redemptions for Others Inherit Your Status?
I’ve pulled myself away from my irritation over United’s fare class availability removal long enough to read another Flyertalk thread that got me thinking. And I have a quick poll at the bottom of this post asking for your opinion. My parents recently returned from a trip I booked for them on my miles. A…
United Airlines to Remove Fare Class Information Online
In an absolutely horrid and lack-of-transparency move, United Airlines is disabling the “expert mode†feature tonight on their website. It allows anyone to see inventory allocations in every fare class and “bucket†on a given United flight, such as: If this type of display is alphabet soup and meaningless to you, tonight’s change won’t be…
American’s ‘Preferred Seat’ Allocation a Bit Excessive?
Besides booking a ride on the United 787 today, I’m also looking into future travels on American Airlines. Happily, I’m Executive Platinum due to their very generous status match of United 1Ks (I was Gold before the match). And while I enjoy complimentary access to American’s “Preferred Seats,†I never really paid attention until now…
United’s Official Response to Yesterday’s Outage, Upcoming Webcast
As many of you know or experienced first-hand, United Airlines had an outage yesterday impacting SHARES. More than 500 flights were delayed and several cancelled. United’s official response to me at CNBC was: So much for “fully redundant.†To United’s credit, they did issue a travel waiver for all cities late yesterday. It’s gone now…