Thoughts on United

[disny_luvr]

We are very loyal to Southwest. I think I’ve only flown another airline a handful of times, but for our trip this summer (to Utah not Disney) Southwest is coming in really expensive. We can actually fly from our small, local airport on United for a few hundred dollars cheaper than driving to Philly or Baltimore and flying Southwest. I’ve never flown United. Any thoughts on them? I’m not sure if I should bite the bullet or wait and see if Southwest drops in price.

 

[hardcorestitch]

We are very loyal to Southwest. I think I’ve only flown another airline a handful of times, but for our trip this summer (to Utah not Disney) Southwest is coming in really expensive. We can actually fly from our small, local airport on United for a few hundred dollars cheaper than driving to Philly or Baltimore and flying Southwest. I’ve never flown United. Any thoughts on them? I’m not sure if I should bite the bullet or wait and see if Southwest drops in price.

United will certainly have a better IFE compared to Southwest (BYOD not required on most mainline flights but United Express flights have no seatback IFE). If that’s the cheaper option… go for it!

 

[gottalovepluto]

What do you think is the difference between them anymore? UA isn’t a budget carrier so I think you’ll find UA similar to the New WN.

 

[Kailunkat]

In general United is good option. Based on the length of your trip (East coast to Utah) you should have a large aircraft and be very comfortable. We fly United a lot because we are near a hub for them and I would say they rank around the middle of the pack for service.

 

[SnowWhite09]

We fly United from Australia to LAX and we enjoy our flights with them

 

[japanese maple]

We fly United all the time. Never an issue outside of normal delays, etc.

 

[pens4821]

We fly either United or Southwest. As a matter of fact I’ve flown United more than Southwest lately. Their prices are always the same (for trips I’ve looked at) and I like being able to pick my seat (not an issue anymore) so that gave them the leg up on SW for me. We haven’t had any issues with either airline so can’t comment on resolutions to issues but I’d fly either and not think twice about it.

 

[CarolynFH]

United is our airline of choice because we live near one of their hubs, and we haven’t had any problems with them. We never fly SW because “their” airport is an hour or more further away from us.

 

[nono]

Make use of the app. You will get delay updates, hints on how to navigate the airport, etc.

 

[jimmymc]

They're nice. I rarely use them because of the cost from my home airport, but I would if they were cheapest.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We used to use Southwest 75% of the time up until about 8 years ago. Then the pricing became less favorable and the service became less engaged on some of our trips. We moved over to United and have preferred it ever since. We'll still use SW for some flights where it's necessary, but for what is often around the same price, we'll head to the United gate first.

 

[disny_luvr]

OP here. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I think we’re going with United. It’s about $500 cheaper than SW and only about a 20 minute drive from our house to the airport vs. a longer 1 hour 45 minute drive to the airport so it’s really a no brainer.

A few questions:
1. Do they provide a drink and snack during the flight? It’s not a big deal if they don’t, but I want to be sure to grab something in the airport before boarding since we are looking at a 4 hourish flight.

2. We have to connect through Dulles both ways of our trip. How big is that airport? Is it easy to get from one gate to another rather quickly?

3. Is the only different between Economy and Economy (fully refundable) is that one is refundable and one is not? I just want to make sure I’m not missing another difference between the two.

 

[japanese maple]

OP here. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I think we’re going with United. It’s about $500 cheaper than SW and only about a 20 minute drive from our house to the airport vs. a longer 1 hour 45 minute drive to the airport so it’s really a no brainer.

A few questions:
1. Do they provide a drink and snack during the flight? It’s not a big deal if they don’t, but I want to be sure to grab something in the airport before boarding since we are looking at a 4 hourish flight.

2. We have to connect through Dulles both ways of our trip. How big is that airport? Is it easy to get from one gate to another rather quickly?

3. Is the only different between Economy and Economy (fully refundable) is that one is refundable and one is not? I just want to make sure I’m not missing another difference between the two.

You get a free drink (pop, coffee, etc, not alcohol) and a free snack (cookie maybe?).

The only difference is yes one is fully refundable. Just be careful with wording, sometimes I read that people get fully refundable with a credit and not cash.

I don't know about Dulles.

 

[CarolynFH]

OP here. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I think we’re going with United. It’s about $500 cheaper than SW and only about a 20 minute drive from our house to the airport vs. a longer 1 hour 45 minute drive to the airport so it’s really a no brainer.

A few questions:
1. Do they provide a drink and snack during the flight? It’s not a big deal if they don’t, but I want to be sure to grab something in the airport before boarding since we are looking at a 4 hourish flight.

In the United app, click My Trips and tap on your reservation. Scroll way down to the long list under Manage your trip and tap on View Menu. That will give you an idea of what will be available to you, based on your fare class.

2. We have to connect through Dulles both ways of our trip. How big is that airport? Is it easy to get from one gate to another rather quickly?

Dulles is huge, and I don’t know whether all the United gates are near each other or not. You can look at the airport’s website flydulles.com and the United app to see which gates your flights fly into and out of each day, and you can also check a website such as Flight Aware to see which gates, but gate assignments can vary from day to day.

3. Is the only different between Economy and Economy (fully refundable) is that one is refundable and one is not? I just want to make sure I’m not missing another difference between the two.

Sorry, I can’t answer for sure, but I believe that’s it.

 

[gottalovepluto]

... Do they provide a drink and snack during the flight? It’s not a big deal if they don’t, but I want to be sure to grab something in the airport before boarding since we are looking at a 4 hourish flight.

Yes they have a full beverage service, all of it is free except alcoholic bevs. You can usually chose 1 from a couple different snacks but they are only a few bites. Sometimes they'll come back through the cabin with like a water or coffee service later on. If the weather is turbulent they won't do service during that time. (With a 4 hour flight you'll likely see service but if you're looking at numerous storms on your route might want to grab a bottle of something at the airport- just don't store it in the overhead bin lol.)

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

Pro tip - get the stroopwaffles as your snack (though the chocolate is also weirdly worth trying), and if you’re feeling really indulgent you can stick it on top of your coffee cup (like a lid) for a few minutes to warm it up.

 

[Simba's Mom]

DH used to use United all the time, and he traveled ALOT for business-he's been retired for 10 years, and still using the frequent flier miles he accumulated. He didn't have any complaints with United when he was using them. But when he retired and I now need a wheelchair, we found their disability sorely lacking. Last year we used United to go to his mother's funeral and didn't have a good experience. However, if you don't need wheelchair assistance, no problem.

Pro tip - get the stroopwaffles as your snack (though the chocolate is also weirdly worth trying), and if you’re feeling really indulgent you can stick it on top of your coffee cup (like a lid) for a few minutes to warm it up.

Good tip!

 

[japanese maple]

We never get a choice of snack in economy unless we want to pay for it. We just get what they give us. Usually it's the stroopewaffle. See tip above!

Maybe because our flight is only about 3 hours?

 

[disny_luvr]

Pro tip - get the stroopwaffles as your snack (though the chocolate is also weirdly worth trying), and if you’re feeling really indulgent you can stick it on top of your coffee cup (like a lid) for a few minutes to warm it up.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[pindecisive]

For about a year I flew around 30+ flights with SW. I had signed up for their card as did DH and we both got companion passes for each other. It was worth it at the time for us.

The year after we switched to United because SW has a lot of layovers from West to East and United is frequently Nonstop. We could expect at least one if not two plane switches with SW, then we could expect to be in different boarding groups if we didn't set an alarm and check in asap in tandem. It was exhausting.

I have the United credit card which means I get two bags free and through spend alone I'm Star Alliance Gold, which means I also have access to Star Alliance lounges, am boarding group 1, and get to choose my front seats for free.

I mainly fly on points, ie, I don't pay anything more than security fees for my tickets almost 90% of the time. Also if you pay with points and don't check in, you can change your flight around for free, say if you decide to leave earlier or later. Basically flying on points with United is fantastic and I highly recommend it.