United Airlines bringing 165 call center jobs back home

by Scott Carmichael on

Here is a bit of feel good news from the travel world – hidden between all the bad news was an announcement from United Airlines that they were going to move 165 call center positions from their International Call Center back to the USA.

The new jobs will be added to their existing centers in Chicago and Honolulu.

This news is great for several reasons – it creates new (and badly needed) jobs here in the US, and it means you can call the call center without having to explain everything twice.

No offense to the hard working people in their International Call Center, but if I’m completely honest, it was always quite the hassle to deal with them, especially if it involved anything a little more complicated than a simple itinerary change.

Of course – with good news also comes some bad news; none of these new workers will be anxiously awaiting your reservations. All the new positions will be used to respond to complaints sent to the airline.

In fact – United Airlines is so tired of people picking up the phone to complain, that as of April 2009, you will no longer be able to call them with your rants, and complaints will only be accepted through email or regular mail.

So much for progress.

United Airlines working harder to clean up your mess

by Scott Carmichael on

United Airlines has always been the airline with the dirty planes, at least as long as I can remember. I’ve often taken flights with sticky armrests, seat pockets filled with crumbs and the general stench of uncleanliness.

The airline had recently been ranked last in class in a JD Powers customer satisfaction survey. A combination of sloppy passengers, increasing delays and decreasing budgets had forced the airline to put cleaning their planes on a low priority.

That survey forced the airline to start paying more attention to its planes, especially in this economic climate, you don’t want to be listed last on any kind or survey.

One of the big changes United made was in the way it tackled how aircraft are cleaned – a new process was implemented, and is making its way to all United Airlines destination cities. The first change was to clean the interior more often. In the past, the airline found it perfectly acceptable to wait 18 months for each “heavy cleaning”, when 30 days is the industry norm. The new schedule calls for a major cleaning every 30 days on domestic aircraft, and 15 days on long haul planes.

The changes are starting to pay off – 40% fewer customers now complain about dirty planes.

In an in-depth article posted by the Chicago Tribune, the reporter was allowed to get up close and personal with the cleaning crew tackling a United 747 that arrived from Hong Kong.

The photos show the kind of damage passengers make when they are stuck inside a metal tube for 16 hours; magazines and other junk is thrown all over the place, apparently passengers feel it is perfectly acceptable to be a bit of a pig when someone else has to clean up their mess. The article also has a gallery of photos showing just how much work is involved in getting a plane ready for a new load of passengers.

Get more mileage out of your miles: upgrade

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Before you book your next award ticket, think about what you’re giving the airline. Yeah, you read that correctly; think about what you are giving them. In the Wall Street Journal, that font of all things financial, the secret to screwing the airlines a little harder is revealed: upgrade.

Apparently, the most common use of miles is the bland, vanilla domestic coach ticket. That’s it. While you delight in your free ticket and lament the absence of a meal, the airline truly gives you as little as possible. You get a whopping 1.2 center per mile for the basic domestic coach flight. At 30,000 miles (the average price of an upgrade in miles), which is usually the price of admission, that translates to around $360. Depending on where you want to go (and when), your $300 in “free” travel could be more expensive than just buying the ticket.

According to “experts” cited by WSJ, you can get four times as much bang for your virtual buck by upgrading instead of just cashing in. shell out the cash for the coach ticket, the Journal advises, and use those miles for the upgrade. You could pick up a few thousand dollars in value … and that’s just on the domestic side. Fly overseas, and you could shaft the airlines to the tune of almost 8 cents per mile!

Of course, the party isn’t going to last forever. Airlines are beginning to add “co-pay” fees to upgrade awards. United is planning to pull the trigger on this starting July 1, 2009. You already take it on the chin with American, which can slam you for $700 to upgrade a discount coach seat on a flight to Europe. On Continental, it can reach $1,000. Nonetheless, upgrading still delivers the most value per mile.

And, there’s one more factor that tips in your favor. If you haven’t noticed, we’re in the midst of a nasty economic climate. All those large, faceless corporations are forcing more of their employees – even those more accustomed to having a bit more legroom – to ride with the proletarians. That means more seats will be open up front, and you can cash in.

United Airlines getting downright silly with their “Travel Options”

by Scott Carmichael on

Look, I understand that the airlines are in a pretty bad shape. But United Airlines is taking things a little too far.

The Chicago based airline started offering “a la carte” options to their flights last year. What started with basic upgrades to First/Business, has now morphed into a ridiculous array of nickel-and-diming.

Their newest tactic to squeeze that last bit of cash out of you is called “Premier Line”. This add-on starts at $25 (each way) and allows you to use the same check-in line, security line and boarding group that United offers its lower tier elite fliers.

This is insulting to two groups of people; those that actually flew the airline enough to earn status the hard way, and those that spent their money expecting some decent service from the airline. Sure; nobody is forcing you to add any of these options, but I can’t help feel that the airline should be paying more attention to increasing service for everyone, not just those willing to pay more for it.

I’m honestly not sure where this madness will end. Every time I fly United, I expect to see a coin operated door to enter the bathroom or the captain asking for donations to pay the fuel truck driver.

United Airlines Pilot Arrested at Heathrow on Suspicion of Being Drunk

by Josh Lew on

A 44-year-old United Airlines pilot was arrested at London Heathrow this morning on suspicion of being drunk. The man’s name has not yet been released. He was arrested under Britain’s transportation safety laws, which include a strict limit on the alcohol levels of pilots.

United made a statement about the arrest:

“United Airlines’ alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry and we have absolutely no tolerance for abuse or violation of this well-established policy. Safety is our No. 1 priority and the pilot has been removed from service while we are co-operating with authorities and conducting a full investigation.”

The man was scheduled to act as first officer on a United flight from Heathrow to San Francisco. He was arrested as the plane sat at the gate in Terminal One. He was bailed out of Heathrow’s police station soon after his arrest but will have to return on January 16th of next year to face an inquiry.