My first United flight

Well I'm about to embark on my first ever United Airlines flight. I'm always up for something new and the fact that I have recently been demoted to serf status with Qantas means I don't really have anything to lose. Qantas don't have the worlds most amazing reputation so I could be in for a pleasant surprise.

My first surprise (of the unpleasant variety) is that the United online system really sucks. It's called Ted (part of United) which is cool, but that's about where the coolness ends.

Searching for flights was confusing in a number of ways: does "2nd day" mean it lands the day after departing or 2 days after?; why can my travel agent book flights that don't even appear in a web search.

I have obviously signed up for the United Miles Plus program which was painless and free, but the Miles Plus website really makes me feel like a consumer not a member. I have been spoilt by the Qantas frequent flyer online system which lets you see your forward bookings (literally before you hang up your phone with the Qantas rep) and other fun stuff. Not only does the United Mileage Plus site not do much, you have to keep going backwards and forwards between "My Mileage Plus" and "Mileage summary" which involves a change from https to http (and a browser confirmation dialog) and a login check redirection page (with related delay).

Let's hope their service and lounges is better than their technology!