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I have a paid United Club membership. Those lounges are already pretty full a lot of the time, and one of the biggest reasons I (and many of the other members I
by zippergz 10y ago
I have a paid United Club membership. Those lounges are already pretty full a lot of the time, and one of the biggest reasons I (and many of the other members I know) pay for it is exactly the situation you describe. When something goes wrong with a flight, it's well worth the cost of the membership to have helpful agents, minimal lines, and a nice place to relax. It's not about the free mediocre food. Having a place to be during a disruption is one of the primary value drivers, so they're not going to give that away. And if they let in everyone who had a disruption, it would be quickly overcrowded.
There's no excuse for them being rude about it, but I don't think your expectations were especially reasonable either.
- technofiend 10y agoAnd a spot to recharge your electronics along with free wifi! Don't forget those parts.
- tarlinian 10y agoWhat kind of airports are you people flying out of where the entire airport doesn't have free wi-fi and outlets (this is actually one thing about most airports that has gotten significantly better in the last 10 years), but is still large enough to warrant a United club...I feel like I've been seeing more and more of these exaggerations since the incident...flying on any American airline is kind of crappy, but complain about the right (real) problems. Otherwise, there's not chance of anything improving.
- robbiemitchell 10y agoI recently flew between two NYC airports and LAX and did not encounter free wifi or plentiful outlets. They have outsourced wifi to Gogo (paid). Some airlines will take over an entire terminal at an airport (e.g., JetBlue, Virgin America) and make it much better on both fronts. But in my experience that is not the norm.
- throwaway2048 10y agoO'Hare dosent have free wifi, presumably because they are being paid by one of those "30 minutes of wifi for $20" ripoff companies.
- technofiend 10y agoThe kind where the FBO has decided to make a little extra money via a revenue sharing agreement for wifi.
- dagenleg 10y agoI too do enjoy paying the bribe just to get an acceptable service! Oh, it's just like when visiting a poor post-Soviet country. I am so glad that United officially incorporated this wonderful custom. No longer do I need to decide on the bribe amount on a per-case basis, I can now just pay once!
- zippergz 10y agoIt's market segmentation. Most of the traveling public is cheapskates who will buy the lowest fare they see, no matter the consequences. This is an option for those who aren't purely driven by budget to pay for a better experience. I guarantee you that if United increased fares to hire enough staff to provide the same level of service you get in the lounge (with almost no line to talk to someone even in event of a major disruption), most people would switch to another airline.
- dagenleg 10y agoIt feels to me like you are trying really hard to justify to yourself and to everyone else paying $500 for the membership.
- arkadiytehgraet 10y agoIt is truly funny to see how instead of solving the root cause (airline shitty attitude to customers) you treat the symptoms (paying for the consequences of shitty attitude) thus making the root cause not only not going away, but make it actually worse since you are encouraging the airline to screw you.
- nojvek 10y agoUnited - You get what you pay for!