United to restrict low-fare flyers to one carry-on bag

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

I wonder when United will think of Ryanair's suggestion of installing pay toilets? It involved too many different currencies for Ryan, but it would probably work for UA domestic flights. With cheap fuel prices, this is an outrage, but one to be expected with the airline mergers that destroyed competition in the US airline industry. I avoid the US based carriers whenever possible. Ryanair has been talking about coming to the US for some years. I hope they do. I would fly them in a heartbeat over the phony full service carriers AA, UA, and DL, all of which have been very anti-consumer since the mergers. The US takeover of AA was the final nail in the coffin of giving any consideration to passengers in the airline industry in this country.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

So, until I see how this is actually rolled out, if I understand correctly I can pay the economy fare I now pay, get to choose my seat and can bring two pieces of carry on luggage. If I choose the new lower economy fare I don't get to choose my seat assignment ahead of time and I'm limited to one carry on (which is all I bring anyway). I'll reserve judgement until I see how this actually plays out.

What you will see is all the sale fares will be with these crappy restrictions. Heck, this is much worse on seat assignment from a passenger standpoint than the no assigned seat system of European LCC's. If you get a decent fare on UA, you will probably be stuck in a godawful middle seat.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

It will end when enough people vote with their pocketbooks by refusing to buy the tickets.

I think it also shows the importance of allowing the merger between Alaska and Virgin America to proceed, as that will create an additional viable coast-to-coast competitor in the US.

It is the past mergers that created the three very customer unfriendly airlines we have today. I am longing for NWA or the old AA before it was gobbled up by US,

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

It's the no seat assignment thing that has me most bent out of shape. I hated the People's Express cattle call way back when the earth was cooling and have gotten no fonder of it with age.

It could be argued that it is the continuous consolidation of airlines that is the cause of all these fees ( or at minimum why they keep getting away with it).

I enjoyed flying Virgin when I have. The LAX part, unless seriously discounted below SNA and LGB, has me flying United and Jet Blue. United just about owns EWR since the Continental merger.

CO was a much better airline than UA.

I never did the Peoples Express cattle call, but I have done the EasyJet cattle call, the SkyEurope cattle call, the RyanAir cattle call, and the WizzAir cattle call. I would take my chances in any of them over having an assigned middle seat with no chance of any alternative on UA.

To find the real scoop on UA, see the consumer site www.untied.com (note that is ''untied'' not ''united'')