United Airlines

New menu, look (and scent) in United Clubs

Lounges, ,
United Clubs menu

New complimentary menu items in the United Clubs. Photo Harriet Baskas

Good news for travelers who spend time in the United Clubs: United Airlines is upgrading the complimentary menu items in all the clubs, renovating many club rooms and tweaking some of its customer service procedures.

The menu items are a big step up from the packaged cheese, crackers, yik-yak snacks and impossible-to-open hummus packages you may be used to and include an oatmeal station, bagel sticks, Greek yogurt with fruit toppings, hard-boiled eggs, scones, cereal, fresh fruit and Spicy Bloody Mary Trail mix in the morning.

United_Club Menu _ eggs with condiments

photo -Harriet Baskas

The afternoon offerings will include hummus with pretzel crisps and sliced red peppers, Mediterranean salad, vegetable soup, salami and cheddar cheese, Trail Mix, brownie brittle (danger: VERY good!), and breads.

United_new menu items cheese-salami

The new menu items will be available starting this week in Chicago O’Hare, in Houston, Denver, Newark, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington Dulles by the end of summer and everywhere else by the end of the year.

United - chairs in club

During this year, United is also renovating lounges in Chicago O’Hare, Washington Reagan, Hong Kong and Tokyo Narita, building new clubs in Atlanta and San Francisco and starting on changes in Los Angeles. Changes will include improved seating and amenities, design schemes that highlight United aviation history in the various cities, a special signature scent and a classy design for the restrooms where, for example, the mirrors in the women’s room evoke the windows on an airplane.

United - club bathroom

The staff in the United Clubs seems to already be made up of courteous and truly helpful people, but United says it is also re-training United Club agents with a new program that draws on the know-how of the hotel and hospitality industry.

Not all the upgrades are reserved for those with access to the United Clubs: in O’Hare (and hopefully elsewhere) the airline is also updating the seating, power plug availability, boarding lane design and counters in many gate areas.

United - new boarding areas group signs

(All photos by Harriet Baskas)

Limited edition & PGA-themed amenity kits from United Airlines

Amenity kits, Sports, , , ,

PGAUGFAmenityKit-large

United Airlines has been making upgrades to its premium cabin service and this week rolled out its latest perk: a new set of commemorative amenity kits and the promise of a PGA-themed kit that will arrive in April.

Why a PGA theme and not a rock & roll, football or pirate theme?

(Wouldn’t those be fun?)

United is the official airline of the PGA Tour, so PGA-themed kits it is.

These will double as shoe-bags and include traditional amenity kit items plus tees, golf balls and a golf-related discount offer. Look for these kits on international flights departing and arriving the United States.

UNITED FIRST CLASS PGA AmenityKit-large

In the meantime, United is distributing a new set of limited edition tin amenity kits.

united amenity kits

Global First and United BusinessFirst customers on international flights departing from the airline’s seven mainland U.S. hubs and Honolulu will be offered these tins showcasing skylines of London, Frankfurt, Toyko, Beijing, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Dubai or Honolulu.

A set introduced in 2014 featured images of mainland domestic hubs.

United Airlines has a new super shopping app

Shopping, ,

United_MileagePlus X image

A select group of United Airlines Mileage Plus members are testing out MileagePlus X, a new mobile app (different from the existing United mobile app) that lets them use their smartphones at participating stores and restaurants in the real world – not just online – to earn bonuses miles on top of those already earned on certain credit cards.

Here’s how it works: once you download the app, you add in your Mileage Plus account information and the credit cards associated with it. Then, when you’re out at a participating restaurant or store (that the app will help you find) you can use the app to purchase an electronic gift card that you then use to pay your bill – and collect extra bonus miles on top of those your affiliated cards already offer.

Will other airlines do the same? I bet yes… and soon.

Thanks for the car ride, United.

Fun Stuff, Getting around, , ,

I felt like an imposter.

I’d been upgraded on my flight home from a press event in London to tour the new Star Alliance Terminal 2 at Heathrow – and United’s new lounges there – and, unbeknownst to me, someone at United had added the Global Services code to my reservation.

That program is invitation-only and offers upper echelon travelers special treatment and services. And while I’m special, of course (my mother taught me that…) and old enough now to have flown on enough purchased tickets on United to get million mile status, I’m certainly not permanent Global Services program material.

But, I can see the appeal.

A Global Services rep with my name on a sign met our flight when it arrived in San Francisco.

“Am I in trouble?” I asked. (“Someone’s dead,” I thought)

“Certainly not,” she said. “I’m here to greet you as a Global Services customer and get you to your next flight. We have a car waiting.”

I tried to tell her I really wasn’t a Global Services customer, but she was having none of that.

So I went along with the fairy godmother service and got escorted through several lines, out a door leading to the tarmac and into the back seat of an SUV – a Mercedes-Benz SUV – that drove on the tarmac to take me to the connecting terminal for my flight home to Seattle.

Along the way, I learned that United started this Global Services perk a few weeks ago in San Francisco after rolling it out in Chicago, Houston and Newark Liberty Airport and that usually the ride is offered to Global Services customers with very close connections.

I had about a hour between my flights so wasn’t feeling stressed about getting from one terminal to another, but if the flights were tight (and I was used to being treated special) I can see how this service would endear an airline to a high-value customer a bit more than, say, a free drink or a personalized luggage tag.

So I did enjoy the ride and – just like a real Global Services customer, my escort assured me – I did get my picture taken with the car there on the tarmac.

United car service

United’s new lounges at Heathrow Terminal 2

Lounges, , ,

I’ve been wanting to get a look inside the new Terminal 2 – The Queen’s Terminal –  which is due to open on June 4, 2014 at London’s Heathrow Airport.  So I was pleased to be invited by United Airlines to come by for a preview of their two Terminal 2 Lounges.

Heathrow T2

25 airlines – all the Star Alliance carriers, as well as Aer Lingus, Germanwings and Virgin Atlantic Little Red – will operate out of Terminal 2, which has a main building and a satellite terminal (Terminal 2B).

But to try to make sure the move-in goes smoother than the notoriously glitchy opening of Heathrow Terminal 5, there will be a phased move-in of carriers, with United as the kick-off tenant on June 4th.

On move-in day United will move its 17 daily flights from Terminals 1 and 4 over to Terminal 2 and will have two lounges available for premium customers: A United Global First Lounge for first class passengers and the United Club for those with United Club memberships and those traveling on business class tickets.

Here are some of the photos I snapped during the preview tour:

United Global First Lounge

United Global First Lounge Heathrow Terminal 2

Egg chairs, couches and vintage photos from the airline’s archives create comfortable work and chat spaces throughout the lounge.

Big Ben-style close at United T2 lounge

A Big Ben-inspired clock in the tea lounge section is one of the “you’re in London” touches.

This lounge also has a quiet zone with couches and privacy drapes (no snoring, please), private phone booths and a wine room where a la carte meals can be served.

The United Club

Next door, the United Club also offers floor-to-ceiling windows and complimentary food and beverages.

There’s seating here for up to 280 guests, private phone booths and eight shower suites that include a handy valet service that will freshen up and press your outfit while you wash up.

The United Club at Heathrow Terminal 2

The United Club at Heathrow Terminal 2

pop up power at United Club

A nice feature of the tables in this work area are the pop-up power ports in the tables.

Of course, these lounges aren’t the only cool things in Heathrow’s Terminal 2. Stay tuned for a few more posts and more photos of the shops, restaurants, art and amenities – and notes on some features that are missing.

Flight Attendant Celebration Day at SFO Airport

Flight attendants, History, , , ,
United We StandFemale Flight Attendant Uniforms of United Airlines

United Air Lines stewardess uniform 1957–1958, courtesy SFO Museum

If you happen to be at San Francisco International Airport on August 20th, 2013, make your way over to the library at the Louis Turpen Aviation Museum in the International Terminal for Flight Attendant Celebration Day.

The event will run from 10 am until 3 pm and celebrate the history of flight attendants with talks, short subject films and commemorations, along with complimentary refreshments and free validated parking.

Here’s a link to the scheduled events of the day.

Even if you can’t be on hand for Flight Attendant Celebration Day on August 20th, be sure to stop by the museum to see the current exhibition United We Stand: Female Flight Attendant Uniforms of United Airlines, which will be there through the end of September 2013.

Mixed reviews for new uniforms on United

Flight attendants,
United_uniforms in the terminal

Courtesy United Airlines

Virgin America employees got swanky Banana Republic-designed uniforms last year. This past spring, Virgin Atlantic, All Nippon Airways and Qantas Airways unveiled fresh, designer-made duds for their teams as well.

Now flight attendants, customer service agents and many of the more than 64,000 United Airlines employees worldwide have shed their old work outfits for a new wardrobe that “brings all of our employees together in a cohesive look and lets our customers know that we’re all on the same team,” said United spokesperson Charles Hobart.

United’s new flight attendant uniforms, for example, are built around a core wardrobe of black trousers, skirts, sweaters, vests and blazers with two rows of silver braid on the sleeves. There are also two styles of dresses, including a blue dress with a black stripe detail.

To come up with what United describes as its “more modern, sophisticated wardrobe,” the airline asked its employees to give on-line feedback, serve on uniform review teams, vote for their favorite designs and wear-test a variety of garments “They told us that comfort, functionality and durability were elements of a uniform that were important to them, as well as something that looked good,” said Hobart.

“If United really did design these uniforms based on employee input for comfort and durability, I applaud them,” said Tiffany Hawk, a former flight attendant and author of “Love Me Anyway”, a novel about life at United Airlines. “Satisfying your employees should be far more important than satisfying fashion critics. Flight attendants work five or six legs a day, 20 days a month, so easy maintenance and durability is key.”

Fashion-wise, though, reaction to the new uniforms is decidedly ‘meh.’

“The overall look screams of function and comfort and not style. They seemed to have missed an opportunity to have made a more fashionable and current statement,” said Karen Giberson, president of New York-based Accessories Council.

“The new uniform looks depressingly like the old uniform and is not flattering at all. I’m deeply disappointed” said Cliff Muskiet, a KLM purser and curator of Uniformfreak.com, an on-line museum of flight-attendant uniforms. “After the merger with Continental, United had the chance to come up with a great new uniform, but they didn’t.”

(My story about new uniforms for United Airlines employees first appeared on NBC News.com Travel)

United offers baggage/upgraded seating subscriptions

Air Travel, Baggage, Fees, Seating, , ,

United Airlines white chocolate

On Monday United Airlines announced subscription programs offering customers either a year-long access to seats with extra legroom in the Economy Plus section of the cabin, or a year’s worth of pre-paid checked baggage fees.

United says it is the first domestic carrier offering these services in subscription form.

Prices start at $499 for the Economy Plus subscription and $349 for the checked-bag program and go up depending on which region of the world you choose (Continental US or beyond) and how many companions you bring along.

Are the plans a good deal?

Baggage subscription fee

United Airlines passengers flying on an economy ticket within the continental US – and to Hawaii or Alaska – currently pay $25 to check their first standard bag and $35 for the second bag.

With a baggage subscription, a traveler pays a yearly fee of $349 (plus a $50 initiation fee; currently waived). Travelers may add a second checked bag to the package for a $50 yearly fee, the bags of one companion for $100 and the bags of up to eight companions on the same reservation for $300.

The subscription only covers bag fees in the continental United States, so someone flying to Hawaii or Alaska would need to add on the North America/Central America option for an addition $100. Adding additional regions will rack up additional fees.

“With this program, a traveler would need to check a standard bag on 14 one-way, continental US flights before they broke even on their investment,” said Tim Winship, publisher of FrequentFlier.com. “That’s 7 round-trips. And if you are traveling that often it’s going to be true for most people that they’ll earn elite status in United’s frequent flier program, which already includes bag fee waivers as one of the perks.”

Economy Plus Subscription

Travelers purchasing an economy class seat on United can upgrade to Economy Plus at the time of purchase, if those seats are available. “The prices of those seats vary,” said May, “It can start at $9 and go up to $215.”

The Economy Plus subscription package starts at $499 (the $50 initiation fee is currently waived) and includes automatic upgrades to Economy Plus seats – when available – in the continental United States only. To add Alaska and Hawaii, a traveler would need the North America/Central America upgrade, for $100. Adding a companion to the package costs $200 and adding up to eight companions on the same reservation is $400.

Finding the value tipping point on this option “is a bit of a quandary,” said Winship. “I used a figure of $40 for a domestic flight upgrade. And using that figure it turns out that it would take 13 flights before that subscription price gets covered.”

“If you’re flying that much you may want to consider elite status on another airline that gives you these seats for free,” said Brian Kelly, founder of thepointsguy.com.

He can see some of United’s Premier Silver elite members buying this package because, due to a recent change in United’s frequent flier program, that group must now wait until check-in to claim their complimentary Economy Plus seat.

“Otherwise, casual travelers should probably just buy the one time passes,” said Kelly.

Overall, “I find the subscription plans puzzling,” said Winship. “Presumably the market for this is the traveler between the infrequent leisure traveler and the elite traveler. But the cynical way of looking at it would be that the targets for these subscriptions are gullible travelers who don’t really understand the value proposition here.”

(My story: United offers baggage/upgraded seating subscriptions first appeared on NBC News.com Travel in a slightly different version.)

SFO Museum displays vintage United Airlines uniforms

Museum Monday, Museums, , ,

The SFO Museum at San Francisco International Airport is currently displaying eighteen United Airlines flight attendant uniforms, some of them dating back to the 1930s.

United We Stand Female Flight Attendant Uniforms of United Airlines

United Airlines stewardess uniform – with cape. 1930-1932. Courtesy SFO Museum

The exhibit is part of a donation of fifty-five flight attendant uniforms given to the SFO Museum by the United Airlines Historical Foundation and which represent the full history of the airline’s company-issued cabin crew attire.

United We Stand Female Flight Attendant Uniforms of United Airlines

Look for the exhibit – United we Stand: Female Flight Attendant Uniforms of United Airlines – through September 15, 2013 at the San Francisco International Airport Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum in the International Terminal, Departure Level, near the entrant to Boarding Area ‘A.”

United We Stand Female Flight Attendant Uniforms of United Airlines

United Airlines uniforms 1968-1970 – courtesy SFO Museum

 

There’s no admission to enter the museum, which is open 10 am to 4:30 pm, Sunday through Friday.

Here’s a link to more images from the exhibition.