In the spirit of positive reinforcement, in this post I’d like to share the things that I think United Airlines does well. In separate posts, I’m taking a look at the things that American Airlines and Delta Air Lines do well, as well as my least favorite things about the “big three” US carriers.
Among US airlines, there’s no denying that United is the carrier that has been gaining the most momentum and trending upward in the past couple of years, and that’s exciting to see. However, as you’d expect, much of that is still a work in progress. In no particular order, below are the things I like about United…
Global route network & ultra long haul flying
Everyone will have different opinions about which airline has the best route network based on where they live and where they like to travel. However, United has by far the most global and interesting route network of any US airline. Not only does the airline serve so many destinations across six continents, but United also isn’t afraid to experiment with new new types of flying, which American and Delta shy away from.
It really is incredible to see how United’s route network has evolved over the years. From extensive service to Africa, to ultra long haul flights to Asia, to seasonal flights to secondary cities in Europe, United never ceases to impress me with its route network. Hell, seasonal flights to Greenland and Mongolia? You can’t help but want to fly United simply for the places the airline can take you. The airline flies to significantly more countries than its competitors.
Scott Kirby’s focused leadership
I’m not here to suck up to any airline CEO, but I do have to give United CEO Scott Kirby credit for being the most focused and competitive CEO in the US airline industry. Frankly that’s a sentence I never thought I would have written a decade ago, when he was number two at American Airlines (and US Airways before that, and America West before that).
Personally I think Kirby is a breath of fresh air, and one of the most effective US airline industry CEOs we’ve seen in quite some time. He actually has a vision, he communicates clearly, and he’s leading the airline in the right direction, in my opinion, even if the company still has a ways to go. Oh, he’s also good at lobbying, or something. 😉
Some people might say “wait, how can you give Scott Kirby credit, but not Ed Bastian?” No disrespect to Bastian, he seems like a smart and nice guy, and is a fine leader. However, I don’t view him as having changed Delta in any sort of a transformative way. I very much think previous CEO Richard Anderson set that tone, and if we’re going to give someone in Delta’s current management team credit for being the mastermind, it’s Glen Hauenstein.
Bigger business class cabins
Among the “big three” US carriers, United has the most consistently large business class cabins on wide body jets. This is great for upgrades and award availability.
Just as an example, United’s standard Boeing 787-9s have 48 business class seats, while American’s standard 787-9s have 30 business class seats, and Delta’s standard Airbus A350-900s (the most comparable plane) have 32 business class seats.
Now, American and Delta are starting to follow United’s lead with having larger premium cabins, including on some of these planes, but it’s an area where United has consistently beat the competition. United has the highest average number of premium seats on wide body international flights.
Polaris business class seats & bedding
In addition to the sheer size of United’s business class cabins, the airline has an incredibly consistent business class hard product. At this point United has finished reconfiguring Boeing 787s, 777s, and 767s, with the current Polaris business class seats. You just won’t find this product on select 777s (intended primarily for domestic routes) and on 757s (which are narrow bodies, but operate some long haul flights).
The Polaris business class seats are quite good, and they’re especially impressive on the Boeing 767, where you have a 1-1-1 layout (compare that to Delta’s 767s, which have a much worse business class product). All of this says nothing of United soon introducing a new Polaris business class seat.
On top of that, United has excellent bedding in Polaris business class, which I think is another competitive advantage over American and Delta. I’d argue it’s the best business class bedding in the world. Unfortunately the rest of the Polaris soft product improvements are more or less a thing of the past.
Huge Economy Plus cabins
First class upgrades can be really tough to come by nowadays. So I’d argue that on balance, the most valuable elite “upgrade” perk is to the extra legroom section. Each of the “big three” US airlines have such a product, and United’s version of that is branded as Economy Plus.
The reality is that on average, United has far larger extra legroom economy cabins than competitors, and I think that’s valuable, since it maximizes your odds of snagging one of these as an elite member.
To compare aircraft types flown by all of the “big three” US carriers, on Boeing 737-800s and 737 MAX 8s, United has 54 of these seats, Delta has 36, and American has 24. On Airbus A321neos, United has 57 of these seats, Delta has 42, and American has 35.
Cutting edge narrow body aircraft cabins
While American has spent the past few years ripping seat back TVs off its narrow body jets, United is going in the opposite direction. The airline is in the process of modernizing its narrow body cabins, with 10″ personal televisions at all seats, high speed Wi-Fi, AC and USB power, and even bluetooth audio. These cabins are awesome!
Admittedly United is playing catch up with Delta here, though United has a bit of a recency advantage. So while more Delta planes have seat back TVs, more United planes have cutting edge tech (like bluetooth audio).
United app, website, & tech
United does a great job with technology. The United app is excellent, in terms of the amount of information it has about flight status, seat maps, upgrade lists, etc. It’s simply in a completely different league than American’s app, and it’s also superior to Delta’s app.
Similarly, I find that united.com is pretty good in terms of being able to self-service reservations.
The network of Polaris Lounges
United Polaris Lounges are generally very good, among the better ones you’ll find at US airlines. The lounges have a la carte dining, a solid selection of drinks, and good amenities.
Now, I think Polaris Lounges are a significant step up from American Flagship Lounges, but not quite as good as Delta One Lounges. So why do I view Polaris Lounges as a competitive advantage? Well, the airline actually has these lounges at its six biggest long haul hubs, which include Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, and Washington.
That’s a contrast to Delta, which has great lounges, but they’re not available at some of the biggest hubs. So United deserves credit for consistency there.
Million Miler lifetime elite status
While I don’t think United MileagePlus as such is a competitive advantage, the United Million Miler program is the best lifetime elite status program of any major US airline. There are four thresholds:
- Lifetime Premier Gold at 1MM
- Lifetime Premier Platinum at 2MM
- Lifetime Premier 1K at 3MM
- Lifetime Global Services at 4MM
That’s great in and of itself, but the icing on the cake is that you can also appoint a companion to have that status. This is an awesome program that really incentivizes staying loyal to the airline in the long run.
United MileagePlus miles pooling program
I don’t see MileagePlus as a competitive advantage, with the exception of a couple of points. The first is the lifetime elite status program (mentioned above), while the second is the fact that United allows miles pooling, whereby up to five people can pool their miles.
This is such an underrated feature for families in particular, since it makes rewards rack up much faster. Sure, maybe not everyone in your family flies frequently, but there’s actually value to the miles of less frequent flyers if they can be pooled with those who fly more often.
Generous same day flight changes
United has one of the best same day flight change policies of any airline, which can be useful if your plans change last minute, or if you’re just trying to find the cheapest fare with the hope of changing your flight later.
MileagePlus elite members can make the change for free (non-elite members have to pay $75), and you can even change your connecting city when making such a change. You can also change to a flight within 24 hours, so you can fly on a different calendar day.
I’d say United’s policy is slightly better than Delta’s, and significantly better than American’s.
The value of the Star Alliance
While I prefer oneworld Emerald status to Star Alliance Gold status, Star Alliance is the world’s largest airline alliance, and has the most global coverage. So being able to earn and redeem miles on the alliance that’s the largest is a big draw to United.
Inflight cold brew (yes, seriously!)
I’m a huge fan of coffee, especially when traveling. Most people would probably agree that airplane coffee typically sucks. That’s why I think United deserves a lot of credit for serving cold brew onboard flights. It’s complimentary in premium cabins, and available for purchase in economy.
This is such a nice alternative to the other coffee drinks available on planes, and I just wish other airlines would catch up. Honestly, this probably ranks in the top three things that I like about flying United over competitors.
Bottom line
United Airlines has a lot of things going for it, ranging from the size of its business class cabins, to its global route network, to its solid tech. The airline is headed in the right direction, and I’m excited to see what the airline looks like a few years down the road.
I’m curious to hear what OMAAT readers think — what do you think United Airlines does well?
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.