United Airlines Loves Me and Wants Me to Be Happy

Yeah, yeah.

It has become obvious that the way to get the best deals and the best service from the airlines is to pick one and use it exclusively.  So a colleague asked me why I fly United.  "Hometown airline" is the easy answer.  It started when I was in college, because United had hourly flights between O'Hare and National Airport.  It still does - almost.  One complaint that I regularly hear about United is the lost luggage phenomenon.  I can't remember the last time United mishandled my luggage and I theorize that because the vast majority of my travel involves direct flights, there is a significantly reduced risk of my bag going to the wrong place.  So unless there is a really good reason, I fly United.

This week, I stayed in DC for three nights, so I checked a bag.  I hadn't done that in awhile, and when I reached baggage claim at Reagan, I was all eye-rolling about how long it would take for the bags to come out.  Then I saw it:

My bag.  In a little row with some other bags.  It was already there.  My bag had gotten on an earlier flight and was waiting for me.  Score.

By this afternoon, when I flew home, I was cranky again because checking a bag meant that I wouldn't be able to fly standby (if I was willing to shell out that $50, I mean).  I was early to the airport because I had shared a cab with a colleague who flys American. 

Would you believe my bag was waiting for me when I arrived back at O'Hare?  Double score.

So thank you, UAL, for making my travel days a bit less sucky.