Hidden in one of the new United Airlines television ads is a sneak peek at the redesigned united.com homepage:
Here is the commercial:
Very sleek, slightly reminiscent of delta.com, and hopefully highly functional. United.com is stuck in the 90s right now, but I have become accustomed to it and in a way I hate to see it change.
When Delta updated their website last year, it opted for simplicity and aesthetics over functionality, no longer allowing class of travel to be specified on the home page and thereby requiring a click on to the advanced search page in order to specify travel class. Delta only last week remedied the inability to choose your travel date from a drop-down monthly calendar (versus having to scroll through month by month) on the homepage. Quite annoying when your trip is 10 months away…take note American Airlines! I trust United will not make these same mistakes.
(tip of the hat to Sulley on Flyertalk)
It looks like the old, terrible marriott website – at least the underlying functionality part.
Delta removed the option of specifying class of service from the home page because the new site displays both economy and first class fares side-by-side. Delta hopes to encourage more passengers to buy up to first class by highlighting the sometimes insignificant price difference.
If you’re looking to specify a specific fare class (e.g., K to ensure SWU eligibility), then I agree the new design requires additional clicks. Otherwise, I think the side-by-side fare display is an elegant solution.
Mark, I should have specified I meant award travel, which requires the advanced search page or a click on the calendar availability tool to switch from the coach default to first/business. Very annoying.
Yes, but then the whole Delta award booking experience is an abject nightmare.
True ‘dat.