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Today, I received my air ticket for Seattle.
I love the ticket
Yes. I love the ticket issued by United Airlines. It is a decent paper ticket with a nice cover. It is also informative. I can easily find the starting point and the destination, with local times. It is bad to see some air tickets in China only give the departure time without arrival time.
For the departure airport, the United is thoughtful enough to add /PUDO to Shanghai, while most tickets only print Shanghai as the departure airport. There is airport code PVG somewhere in the ticket, but it is not easy for common travellers to recongize whether it is Pudong airport or Hongqiao airport. This has caused lots of confusion.
Here is the information printed on my ticket.
10NOV UNITED FLIGHT: 858 CLASS: M
SU SHANGHAI/PUDO DEPART: 1300
SAN FRANCISCO ARRIVE: 0725 TERMINAL I [Meal] [Meal] [Film]
10NOV UNITED FLIGHT: 366 CLASS: M
SU SAN FRANCISCO DEPART: 0857
SEATTLE ARRIVE: 1101 TERMINAL I [Music]
ETKT: 016 2188233825 Return ticket:
16NOV UNITED FLIGHT: 1547 CLASS: M
SU SHANGHAI/PUDO DEPART: 0935
SAN FRANCISCO ARRIVE: 1140 TERMINAL 3 [Music]
16OV UNITED FLIGHT: 857 CLASS: M
SA SAN FRANCISCO DEPART: 1335
SHANGHAI/PUDO ARRIVE: 1910 TERMINAL I [Meal] [Meal] [Film]It is very good.I believe every business should provide enough information to their client on tickets, invitation letter, or web site like this.
It is a ETKT (e-ticket)
According to United Airline website,
Electronic tickets are stored in United's computer rather than printed on paper. United's E-Ticket service is similar to the traditional paper ticket process, but eliminates the time and hassle associated with purchasing or exchanging a paper ticket. Electronic ticketing is the primary ticketing method used by our customers.
I apprieciate this kind of effort to utilize computer and network and reduce the cost of paper ticket. I have the experience of E-Ticket before. When I was flying to Seattle in the year of 2001, the only evidence I need to fly is the passport. I shown the passport to the lady at the gate of the plane and I got my boarding pass immediately. No questions were asked. It is fantasitic - I thought.
A Bug in Mileage Plus
Not all my experience about United is perfect. My mileage Plus is an example.
After travel via United for some time, I finally decided to apply for a United Mileage Plus Membership. It is good that I easy found the entrance to Mileage Plus at the homepage, but when I fill in the application form, I didn't realize they need at least 3 questions for the "Secure access questions" section. It is buried in the long paragraph. So I entered into only one field and clicked Join.
An error message prompted to enter three. OK. I entered three question accordingly. But after that, whenever I press the Join button, it always tells me "You have submitted". It is obvious that the programmer associted this message when the "Join" button is clicked but he didn't realize the submitting process may be stopped by the validation routines.
-- Pardon me if I am too picky. I was a test lead for one software project.
I cannot complete the transaction
After I reload the form and re-enter all the required field, I am told I cannot apply a mileage plus. I don't know why and the web site didn't tell me about it. I tried to call their Shanghai representivieat +86-21-62798009 only to find their business hour is 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
Anyway, United is a good company
...and I am looking forward to travel with United next week.
Update July 17, 2003
More information about United Airilines:
Beijing
Telephone: (010) 6463 1111
Address: Scite Tower
Suite 204, 22 Jianguomenwai Ave No.2
Beijing, 100016
or
Beijing Lufthansa Center
No. 50 Liang ma qiao Road
Beijing 100016
Shanghai
Telephone: (021) 6279 8009
Address: Shanghai Center, Portman Ritz Carlton Hotel
1376 Nanjing Road West
Level 2 South Podium Suite 204
Shanghai 200040
Posted by Jian Shuo Wang at November 4, 2002 10:40 PM
Copyright: You are free to redistribute this work, as long as you keep this disclaimer
and this link: http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20021104_united_airlines_is_good.htm
This is the message they sent to me when I was trying to get an Mileage Plus Membership
===========================================
We were unable to create a new Mileage Plus account for the information you entered. You may already be a member of Mileage Plus. If you have not registered with united.com, please press the back button to return to the Login page and click register now.
You may contact the Mileage Plus Service Center within the US/Canada at 1 800 421-4655 between the hours of 7AM-12AM CT. Outside of the US/Canada, please call 1 605 348-0011, or refer to the Mileage Plus Service Center number shown on the Contact United area of the website.
===========================================
I finally received my Mileage Plug Membership Confirmation email like below:
===========================================
Thank you for registering with united.com.
The following information is included in your united.com profile. If this
information is not accurate, or if you would like to make changes, please access
the Update profile link at united.com to update your information. You may also
update other united.com account information, such as your billing address,
travel preferences and email options.
At united.com you may view your Mileage Plus account summary, book award travel
and request upgrades as well as learn about the latest Mileage Plus offerings
and promotions. united.com lets you search flight schedules, availability and
purchase United tickets. A full-service travel site, united.com also lets you
purchase travel on over 500 airlines as well as book rental cars and hotels for
your travel needs.
Account Holder Name: Jianshuo Wang
Account Holder Email: jianshuo@hotmail.com
Thank you for using united.com.
Please do not reply to this email. If you have any questions, contact the
Mileage Plus Service Center within US/Canada at 1 800 421-4655 between the hours
of 7AM-12AM CT. Outside of the US/Canada, please call 1 605 348-0011, or refer
to the Mileage Plus Service Center number shown on the Contact United area of
the website.
==================================================
The membership ID is 01531062422 - I don't care too much about privacy now, since I believe the benifit to access this number anywhere around the world is more important than preventing others to see my ID.
Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang (external link) on November 5, 2002 10:33 AMThis is the reply from United about the technical issue:
===================================================
Hello Mr. Wang,
Thank you for contacting us.
I am sorry that you first experience online with Mileage Plus has been
unsatisfactory. Our website technical support team is aware of the
problem you described and are working to correct it.
Thank you for choosing United Airlines and Mileage Plus.
Best Regards,
Jim
Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang (external link) on November 6, 2002 9:19 AMToday, I also applied the Frequent Flyer Program at Northwest Airlines. It seems NW and UA are competing with each other very hard, since the application form for NW has a field for UA Mileage Plus Program ID.
This is my NW WorldPeak program ID 530503411. Just in case I forget the number.
Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang (external link) on November 7, 2002 11:06 AMAs the central place to keep a record, here is the Air China Club Membership No: FQTV CA 180022183.
Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang (external link) on December 2, 2002 6:57 PMThe Air China Club hotline is (8610)86421919 or mailto:ffp@mail.airchina.com.cn
Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang (external link) on December 2, 2002 10:21 PM500 912 874 is the Golden Swallow Club Member ID (China Eastern Airlines) for me. Their hotline is 021-62494904 or 8008203883.
Sky Pearl Club member ID is 2800 0643 2374. The telephone number is 86020-86678815.
Just in case I lose any of the number. :-)
Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang (external link) on December 2, 2002 11:36 PM===================================
o AIR CHINA CLUB 180 022 183
o SKY PEARL CLUB 2800 0643 2374
o GOLDEN SWALLOW CLUB 500 912 874
===================================
thanks for the information...i am flying to shanghai on thursday aug. 28th on united and your information has helped me....i am getting married in Yichang after a week in shanghai.....i am trying to find the best place at the airport to meet my wife as she is flying in at Hongchao airport and will taxi or bus to Pudong to meet me....thank you for the information...your friend in charlotte, N.C.....Kurt.
Posted by: kurt harris on August 23, 2003 9:16 PMCongratulations Kurt for your recent marriage. It is nice to share the happiness with others. This is the sweetest time for you, I bet.
Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang (external link) on August 23, 2003 9:20 PM hello
i am amadu atisco from ghana and i am a agent and i will like to order airline ticket from your company and i will like to pay u with my credit card information so i will like u to reply me so that i can give you the name of the porson who are going to fly and the credit card and i will like to hear from you soon.
regards
amadu atisco .
The Best plane I would Recomend Is My Travel in premier Gold you get your own telly and you can watch films ,watch the pilots and watch your self landin also leather seats included
Posted by: Jake Hallows on February 19, 2005 5:54 PMThis is one of the most difficult sites I have ever since, all I asked for is a your number so I could find out when a fight was coming in. Is that so hard?
Posted by: CArl Ball on April 29, 2007 3:48 AMIt sucks. Crammed seats + HOT even with the fan blowing, dizzy experience. They treat you like crap if you choose economy and eat your money.
Compare the same type of airplane with Japan Airlines. Huge difference.
Posted by: Customer on June 19, 2008 9:43 PM