I have my Premier Exec with United and prefer to fly with them. Name an airline that hasn't had problems. TJ, you get three bags to 70 pounds with your PE privileges, get to go through the first class/premier lines and have the extra leg room in the choice seating. Occasionally the ticket agents need to be educated as to the PE benefits, but it's as good as any other airline I've flown. I fly on average of twice a month and have had better service out of them and more comfortable flights than with any of the other airlines, except maybe JetBlue, but they don't service nearly the regions that I have to visit.
The rules use to be $80 (if I remember right) for a bag over 70 lbs and changed to $25 for 50 to 100 lbs, except for the PE/first class passengers, which are rewarded for loyalty with the higher limits. I travel often with over 200 pounds of equipment including dive gear and have little to no problems with it. I'd much rather pay the $25.
What bugs me the most are the inconsiderate passengers that think they can carry all their stuff on board and pack the overheads when the flight is full. And before you get on the plane you have to sit and listen to them b**ch at the ticket agents about all the rules that we all have to live by in today's day and age of air transportation. If I were an airline employee, I'd have one bad attitude, but for the most part, I'm greeted with a smile and a thank you. I find that the way you are treated is a reflection of the way you treat others.
Think about it, you get taken to somewhere you want to go, sitting in a piece of high tech, very expensive equipment that travels just short of the speed of sound, that's burning over $1000 in fuel a minute (just a guess), and you're complaining about what?
Pack right, prepare to pay for the extras, know the rules, be polite and stop b**ch'n about it, because I might be the one that has to sit next to you. I had to go through the same thing and I don't want to hear about it...
That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it...
