Traveling with United

I’ve never flew with United. This is my first time. I was a little worried about them being in bankruptcy…

Typically I fly Alaska Airlines. They are a dependable carrier, their service is acceptable. Most of my flying is somewhere on the west coast which Alaska has a good percentage of the market.

The first difference is the aircraft. I don’t know what United’s fleet is composed of, but I am on a Boeing 757. As far as I can tell it’s longer than a 737 with slightly bigger engines.

Secondly, is boarding. Alaska Airlines boards the plane by seat number. If you have a seat at the rear, well then you get on first, unless of course if you are in first class and then you can get on at anytime. Most first class people get on first – why anyone would want to be on an aircraft any longer than they had to, is beyond me. I digress. United has seating priorities. If you are a gold card holder/first class you get on first. After the first group people are assigned a number from 1 to 4. I was a 4 of course. Meaning I was one of the last people to board the plane. Doesn’t make all that sense to me, it seems it’s based more on how much you paid for your ticket, than an efficient process.

Thirdly, the steward people (pc) don’t perform the seatbelt, emergency spiel that Alaska Airlines does, instead United shows a video. Some of the best flights have been because a steward person presented a creative presentation — one that had the whole plane in laughter.

Overall my experience on United Airlines was a positive one. They have a 50 pound weight limit on luggage, both going to and coming from Alaska I was over the limit, albeit it was a few pounds, they could have charged me 75 bucks. They didn’t.