United Airlines ?

[TDC Nala]

On the ORD-MCO flight BOB is available on TED - a snack box choice for $4. See their website for contents.

Will they tell me what happened to Carol and Alice?

 

[bavaria]

the folks on Flyertalk really like to poke fun at poor TED and BOB - TED even 'talks' like a pirate, according to them....

RAR!

 

[bavaria]

one last effort to help 'bab31' understand Economy Plus seating and the upgrade charge

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=671454

We perceive it as value; obviously other passengers do as well. Why shouldn't United charge for the upgrade? Kudos to them for doing something that no other American legacy carrier does, in an attempt to make additional revenues. And it works...

 

[bab31]

I understand the economy plus thing- I am dissatisfied with being unable to select my seat in the class rage for seats that I paid for- I will fly AA and midwest and be able to select my seat when I paid for it in the class that I paid for. Is this not what we are talking about? Sitting in the class of seat you paid for? That is my beef with UA... so please dont be condensending towards me

one last effort to help 'bab31' understand Economy Plus seating and the upgrade charge

I am not stupid- thank you.

 

[bavaria]

I understand the economy plus thing- I am dissatisfied with being unable to select my seat in the class rage for seats that I paid for- I will fly AA and midwest and be able to select my seat when I paid for it in the class that I paid for.

there are MANY examples of people not being able to select their seat at time of booking. Seats are held back for airport assignment on EVERY legacy carrier in America.

You got unlucky this time. I'm sure that if you fly often enough, you'll find the same with any other legacy carrier.

 

[DVCconvert]

I can personally attest that "MS B" flies more than 99% of the population - and that whatever she tells you can bascially be accepted as solid fact!

No agenda, she is honestly trying to help!

 

[bab31]

I understand that Bavaria flys often, I am just saying because I can select my seat when I paid for it with other airlines I will fly them. Being that I booked 6 weeks prior and not last minute I would think I could have selected my seat (in the class I booked). ( yes- I did read the 25% thing)

I had not flown UA for years and they have obviously changed their policy, when I booked my flight I was very surprised I could not get a seat assignment and if I could have gotten the seat assignment when I paid
for my flight I would not have been in the last row.

When asking for a different seat assignment does not mean I was asking for a free upgrade.

so between the fact that I can select seats on other airlines and that United rates are higher in general out of my area- no I doubt that I would fly UA.

 

[TDC Nala]

Airtran does not allow passengers booking at their lowest prices to select their seats until they check in. So, United is not the only airline that does this.

 

[bab31]

I really also see we are going in circles here, so ..yes we dissagree ...

I am off to bed ...sweet dreams to all....maybe my dream will be of flying off to Hawaii or someplace fun like that ( and not in the last row )

 

[bavaria]

I can select my seat when I paid for it with other airlines I will fly them. Being that I booked 6 weeks prior and not last minute I would think I could have selected my seat (in the class I booked). ( yes- I did read the 25% thing).

Perhaps someone who speaks English as a first language can explain it to you better than I - we appear to have a communication issue here, and apparently my English is not clear enough.

If there were no seats available for you to select, you could not select one.

It does not matter that you booked 6 weeks in advance. The flight could have been quite full already.

Up to 25% of the seats are held back for airport selection. Economy Plus seats were not available to you.

Therefore there were very few seats initially available for selection at the time you booked. That can happen.

and as TDCNala pointed out, it happens on other airlines as well.

 

[TDC Nala]

just pointing out to bab31 that they may not want to fly airtran, either.

 

[bavaria]

or Air Canada, then for that matter. I am elite with them.

Last week I booked a flight and couldn't get a seat assignment until check in.

And that was a middle seat in the back (I did eventually get moved into the elite zone window seat, but that's another story.... )

 

[n2mm]

We fly United as our preferred carrier. We leave out of Dulles and until recently they were the only non-stop carrier (SW and Jetblue just started flying out of Dulles non-stop). We like them for several reasons. One is the assigned seating and two, they participate in resort checkin and we can get our boarding passes and check our luggage on the last day. I love that you can check the seat map BEFORE you buy your ticket. If it shows no seats, that means the only thing left is the last couple of rows and the exit row seats. They do not assign them until the day of the flight. When you print your boarding passes 24 hours prior, often the last row seats are available then so you can select them. Once upon a time they served food, but no longer. I accept this because all other carriers are the same way. They now currently offer advance luggage checkin from home which I used last month. When I print my boarding passes it asked me how many pieces of luggage I was checking. Then when I got to the airport I went in the luggage line to get my tags and drop of my luggage. It took less then 5 minutes. What a timesaver. I flew United for a long time and last year I flew FLYI until they went out of business, then I went back to United. Now with SW and Jetblue the rates on my flights have dropped and United is once again more competitive with their fares. I paid $169 rt non-stop for my August and October trips and that was their regular fare--not a sale. We fly United 4-5 trips a year -- all leisure. We have no problem with them because any safe flight is a good flight. We are both up to 49,000 flyer miles so I will continue to fly with them as long as the fares are competitive. Our flights out of DUlles/Wash. DC are TED flights. I even flew with TED the first couple of weeks when they started and got a TED beanie and TED luggage tags. I am a satisfied TED/UAL customer. This was not a paid endorsement!

 

[bab31]

You know I so kindly tried to turn the tone of this thread and obviously that is not going to happen



I am glad that airtran has been unsuccessful in buying Midwest Express. And if I do fly airtran at least I will know going in that the seating situation is like that.

Bavaria I am saying that I had no idea when I booked my flight that I would not be able to choose my seat. I may not fly every week like you - I fly a couple times a year and this is the first time this has happened.

No need to take pot shots at each other...So lets be kind to each other and let this go now.

 

[TDC Nala]

You know I so kindly tried to turn the tone of this thread and obviously that is not going to happen



I am glad that airtran has been unsuccessful in buying Midwest Express. And if I do fly airtran at least I will know going in that the seating situation is like that.

Bavaria I am saying that I had no idea when I booked my flight that I would not be able to choose my seat. I may not fly every week like you - I fly a couple times a year and this is the first time this has happened.

No need to take pot shots at each other...So lets be kind to each other and let this go now.

Personally I don't see bavaria taking shots at you. She explained what happened. So did n2mm above. Your booking was apparently too late, on a busy flight, to be able to choose your seat immediately due to the fact that the airline holds some seats for assignment at the airport.

Airtran has a policy that if you pay its lower fares, you don't select your seat until checkin. That's a little different. I think most airlines hold back seats because I have seen some concerns with having families separated by changes to assigned seating. They're always told to get to the airport early and ask the agents about seats that were held open for assignment on the day of the flight.

 

[bab31]

maybe I am reading more into her tone than there is and maybe I am not..that is the problem when conversing on the internet


bavaria one last effort to help 'bab31' understand Economy Plus seating and the upgrade charge

my reply to this was that I felt Bavaria was being condensending towards me and implying I was stupid

Perhaps someone who speaks English as a first language can explain it to you better than I - we appear to have a communication issue here, and apparently my English is not clear enough.

( I actually took it to mean that I was stupid and maybe that is not what she meant - I thought it was cruel) Then again the more I read it maybe English is not Bavaria'a first language and that is trully what she meant. But Bavaria seems to command the English language as well as you and I.

Thank you Nala for trying to bring me back to earth

 

[TDC Nala]

maybe I am reading more into her tone than there is and maybe I am not..that is the problem when conversing on the internet


bavaria one last effort to help 'bab31' understand Economy Plus seating and the upgrade charge

my reply to this was that I felt Bavaria was being condensending towards me and implying I was stupid

Perhaps someone who speaks English as a first language can explain it to you better than I - we appear to have a communication issue here, and apparently my English is not clear enough.

( I actually took it to mean that I was stupid and maybe that is not what she meant - I thought it was cruel) Then again the more I read it maybe English is not Bavaria'a first language and that is trully what she meant. But Bavaria seems to command the English language as well as you and I.

Thank you Nala for trying to bring me back to earth

from what I understand, English is not her first language. Yes, she does quite well with it. But writing is more difficult than speaking.

Anytime. Ground Control to Major Tom. (That is a quote from a David Bowie song and I just think it's funny.)

 

[bavaria]

several of us take unwarranted 'heat' here for our straightforward style of posting. Not to pull her into this, but Safetymom has a very straightforward style of posting as well, and I often say that there is no pixie dust in transportation.

bab31, there are instances of pretty much every American carrier here where someone could not get a seat assignment in advance - AirTran, United, American, Delta, US Airways - at one time or another posters have come here and ranted about that.

In addition, NO airline guarantees that the seat you book at time of booking is the seat you will seat in during the flight. I have had my preferred seat suddenly taken away from me. (and often we elite flyers in first are 'FAMed' - I'll let the reader figure out who FAM is....)

If flyers don't like taking their chances, do what TDCNala does and fly SW. Savvy SW flyers take responsibilty for themselves and end up with the seats they prefer, by the sounds of things here.

It appears that your issue is that you couldn't get a seat assignment in advance - as explained, it doesn't always happen that you can get a seat assignment.

Then when you did get a seat, you were in the last row. Unfortunately on a full flight SOMEONE has to be in the last row - this time it was you.

I am just trying to go back to OPs original question re United and point out to readers that this is not a United specific issue.

 

[bavaria]

Perhaps someone who speaks English as a first language can explain it to you better than I - we appear to have a communication issue here, and apparently my English is not clear enough.

( I actually took it to mean that I was stupid and maybe that is not what she meant - I thought it was cruel) Then again the more I read it maybe English is not Bavaria'a first language and that is trully what she meant. But Bavaria seems to command the English language as well as you and I.

I don't call people names here or elsewhere.

As TDCNala pointed out, and as my user name indicates, I am not from America. Sometimes syntax and vocabulary can confuse readers. There are times when another poster will actually come along and clarify what I have posted, and I appreciate their efforts to do so.

 

[emerymt]

My complaint about united is they would not let me get a seat assignment until check in. I checked in on line and got a poor seat. I had 3 seats to pick from. When they moved me the person I was sitting next to checked in at the airport. Much better seat and not one of the choices I was given online. I also called United to attempt to get seat assignments for my trip back and was told if I went to the airport they could do that for me so I drove 30 min to the airport to be told no.
I would not pay an extra 120 bucks for a better seat -well maybe for first class!

I am pretty sure we will be in the same situation coming back, as we couldn't pick our seats though I booked them 10 weeks in advance. Thanks to bavaria my plan is to check in at the airport like the person you sat next to- why check in early and take a bad seat in E- when (if you wait) you get moved up to E+ for free because they ran out of the E- seats? I have not flown Ted before, so this will be interesting.

In general, I much prefer United over Delta. They are the main carriers to my neck of the woods, though sometimes we have service by America West (my favorite) or Frontier. Ticket prices here are horrendous. Usually, we upgrade, but not this year! I'm saving that for Europe, next year. That's when first/ business class really makes a difference!

Bavaria, if you're still out there, do you have to take a seat that's offered on online check-in?