My final United Airlines flight of the year and one of my last flights as a Premier 1K was an ironic one, marked by rolling delays, poor service onboard, and several open seats in first class after a year of elusive upgrades.
Last United Airlines Flight Of 2024 As A 1K: Delays, Poor Service, Upgrades For Everyone
I shared earlier that I am taking a free-agent approach to travel in 2025 after years of being on the United Airlines Premier 1K hamster wheel. The lack of domestic upgrades means that if I want to fly in the forward cabin, I generally have to buy the seat…that’s the nature of domestic travel as we reach the end of 2024. Yes, I can occasionally clear into first class using PlusPoints, but forget about so-called “unlimited complimentary domestic upgrades” which are purely theoretical at this point on most trips…
After arriving in the USA from Tijuana Airport via the CBX, I traveled to San Diego Airport to check out the new Chase Sapphire Lounge and fly up to LAX, where my car was parked. The 109-mile flight was 349 USD, more than 3 USD per mile, so I used Air Canada Aeroplan points (6K) for the one-way redemption.
United now upgrades award tickets, even when not issued by United, as long as you have your MileagePlus Premier number on the reservation, and upgrades for me and my son Augustine cleared at 36 hours prior to departure. This was my first complimentary upgrade in many, many months.
As we drove to San Diego Airport from the US-Meixco border, I received an alert that our flight, operated by a SkyWest E-175, was delayed. Upon checking, I found our aircraft was still in Reno, Nevada (RNO) with a mechanical issue and had to travel to Los Angeles (LAX) and then down to San Diego (SAN).
The delay kept getting worse, but ultimately we boarded about 80 minutes behind schedule and took off about 90 minutes late.
The flight was never crowded in the first place, but the delay further emptied it out and I found it ironic that after a year of no upgrades, this cabin on my final flight of the year on United went out less than half full even after all upgrades and standbys were cleared into United First.
Meanwhile, the flight attendant onboard was not very service-oriented. She did not offer pre-departure beverages and remained seated, fixated on her phone, during the flight. No greeting. No “thanks for being a 1K.” The flight was only 25 minutes in the air, but that was certainly enough time to at least offer the five passengers seated in first class a drink and snack…I think most would have even turned it down (Augustine was asleep)…it was more the principle of the matter. I’ve been on this flight several times and drinks are offered by flight attendants that care…
I do love this short flight, which only climbs to 10,000 feet. I fondly remember the days this flight operated from the old SAN commuter terminal on an EMB-120 turboprop.
We finally arrived at LAX 90 minutes late and pulled up to gate 80.
CONCLUSION
Overall, it was a good year on United…operationally, I encountered very few delays and, with one glaring exception, enjoyed excellent service during the year. Things are looking up on United. But this particular flight was not United’s (SkyWest’s) best moment.
