Although it is hit or miss, if you have flown United Polaris Business Class lately you may have received this cute stuffed animal– I received one on my flight home from Frankfurt last week. If you notice, the bear...
Why I Love the Upper Deck on United’s 747
From the first time I flew on a United 747-400 in business class in 2004 to now, I always make it a point to sit upstairs. But now I have a whole new reason. I’ve been on four United...
United Airlines Closing 787 Base in Houston, Moving it to Washington Dulles
United Airlines is closing its 787 base in Houston and moving it to Washington Dulles. Starting with the Winter 2017 schedule (begins on 29 October 2017), United will operate the Dreamliner to: Beijing London Heathrow Paris Charles de Gaulle...
United Scraps NRT-ICN Flight, Last Intra-Asia Flight from Tokyo Hub
United Airlines is ending its service between Tokyo Narita and Seoul Incheon this autumn, eliminating its last remaining intra-Asia flight from its Narita “hub”. Currently United operates a 737-800 between NRT and ICN on the following schedule: UA079 / Tokyo...
Beef Chili in a Sourdough Bowl: United p.s. Business (+ A Funny Story)
For this week’s Meal of the Week I look back on a unique (in terms of airline food, at least) lunch I had on United in December 2010. United p.s. service, which ran between New York JFK and San Francisco/Los...
Breaking: United Ground Stop at Houston IAH
Multiple reports of a United Airlines ground stop at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airprot (IAH) have now been confirmed. A computer issue Here’s the official ground stop verbiage: CTL ELEMENT: IAH ELEMENT TYPE: APT ADL TIME: 2013Z GROUND STOP PERIOD:...
Mints on United vs. MINT on JetBlue
If you’re on a United flight this month, keep an eye out for complimentary mints. Yes, not to be confused with MINT (business) class on JetBlue! The Mileage Plus Explorer Card from Chase has an increased sign-up bonus of...
This Problem Cost Airlines $5BN Last Year
I suppose it should come as no big surprise, but airlines generate a lot more waste than I ever imagined. According to a Guardian report— Airline passengers generated 5.2m tonnes of waste in 2016, most of which went to...
Seatless in Seattle: United’s Polaris Problem
United’s seat problems continue. Two weeks after news that its new Polaris seats would face delivery delays due to “industrial issues” at Zodiac, United faces new short-term delays. The result: United is parking its brand new 777-300s in Seattle. “Short...
United Airlines Warns Employees Over Leggings Incident
Last post on the United leggings controversy. I promise! United Airlines is understandably unhappy about #leggingsgate. What should have been a non-issue has turned into a PR nightmare to a degree that many now label the airline as sexist against women. A...
United, Leggings, and the Power of Misinformation
Nothing like a dishonest tweet exploding into a firestorm on an otherwise quiet Sunday… I’ll address United’s pass rider dress code policy and the specific incident below, but let’s start with the tweets that set this all off: Turns out,...
United Leggings Incident: What REALLY Happened Yesterday
I will offer pointed commentary later this morning on the events surroundings #leggingsgate, but want to use this post to succinctly lay out a timeline of what REALLY transpired yesterday. Someone needs to. Here is what we know: Incident...
Lie-Flat Beds Return to Schedule Between BOS-SFO on United
Earlier this month I wrote about United Airlines offering lie-flats seats on all flights between Boston and San Francisco starting on 08 June 2017. Two weeks later, I followed up with news that United swapped in 737s with standard domestic first class seating for...
United Ends Duty Free Sales
Citing a lack of sales, United Airlines is ending onboard duty free sales at the end of this month. In an AFA news release, the demise of duty free sales was blamed on “declining sales revenue”– United announced this week,...
Why United Won’t Sweat the Polaris Seat Delays
Zodiac Aerospace, the seat manufacturer for United’s new Polaris Business Class seat, is in trouble. With labor issues threatening production schedules, United faces further delays in its Polaris retrofit program. Nevertheless, I contend United will not lose too much sleep over this setback....
Great Flight on United Airlines 787-9 Business Class
I don’t want to be known as the United Airlines fanboy, but I turned lemons into lemonade earlier this week and had a great flight to London on United’s new 787-9. Thanks to a mechanical delay out of Burbank,...
Huge Bonus Miles Offer for New York City Residents on United (Targeted)
United Airlines is offering select New York residents a huge mileage bonus for flying United thru the end of June. In an email that went out to select NYC-area travelers yesterday, United invited MileagePlus members to enter their MileagePlus number...
Airline Meal: Carbs with Carbs and a Side of Carbs
Last week I wrote about United Airlines resuming service between Chicago and San Jose, CA. I flew the route once, in August 2007, and was served a meal in first class I will never forget. In honor of the...
A Kind Gesture at LAX Makes My Day
It has been a rough travel day — a mechanical delay out of Burbank meant a long day for Heidi, me, and the baby. But a kind gesture at LAX made my day. We had bags to check and an infant...
United Will Now Call You Back During Long Holds
Welcome to the 21st Century, United! Many airlines now offer a call-back option so you do not have to sit on hold, sometimes for hours, with a stale sound track that eventually drives you mad. United’s digitized version of Rhaposdy...
