With the debacle of the CEO of United Airlines getting fired and enjoying his 4.9 million dollar parachute on the way down, United appointed Munoz to run what used to be my favorite domestic airline (in terms of points).
Here’s his personal letter addressed to me:
Dear Mr. Munoz,
Congrats on the new job! I trust you will settle in nicely and not provide transport to any of your friends to isolated cities in exchange for political favors. Having said that let me address a few of my gripes with United and what you can easily do to fix them.
To begin, I understand United’s commitment to safety. It should be first and foremost. At this point, it is given that we want a safe flight. But, let’s stop using safety as a convenient excuse for why things are the way they are. Hardly anyone in the United States chooses a major carrier because of its safety record. I think it’s fair to say that they are all equally safe.
We choose airlines based on on-time arrivals, customer service, and most importantly, the points program. I’m sure you know what has to be done to fix the first two but let me tell you how to fix the last one. It’s quite simple: return it back to the way it was. United is a global airline but it is damn impossible to fly anywhere in the world without being taxed hard for points. Flying United metal is a decent deal but United First doesn’t fly everywhere I go nor do I think it is even in the top ten of first class products out there. Why should first class on Lufthansa be unattainable? How do you expect me to fly to SE Asia and not use a partner?
I could go on with other improvements but I’m sure my fellow bloggers will take over from where I have left off.
Let’s make the skies friendly again.
All the best,
TPOL, 1k Standard MileagePlus member
The answer to an airline with poor labor relations, terrible on-time performance, and a dated in-flight product is to make their miles program more generous? I can’t tell if this post is meant to be facetious?
Yes. You just gave good reasons as to why it should be more generous, i.e., so I can fly their partner airlines as I did so frequently in the past for cheap.