u/Tetraplasandra

I have not seen such a ‘lively’ group of social media complainers in all my cruises with Princess. From diarrhea dog to kids doing kid things, Jesus Shells, wet floors, and ‘terrible’ food…the list goes on. So many folks seem to be in such a tizzy over various aspects of the cruise that it’s feeling less like the ‘Love Boat’ and more like the ‘Karen Boat.’

Worse, the overreaction is straining the poor crew who have been absolutely wonderful in the face of challenges from the subset of unhappy customers.

Can we please just enjoy our last day without another perceived or manufactured crisis?

Saw this article yesterday about the 'new' T1 Trump Mobile phone and it made me think how this phone is non-compliant with Section 889 right out the gate. Moreover, the company's distributor, Smart Gadgets Global, is not registered with SAM.gov. I think we can all breathe a sigh of relief in that we will not be seeing these being issued as government cell phones (not saying "never" cause who knows theses days...)

Aloha, HNL-based flyer here, wanted to discuss my thoughts on UAʻs Hawaiʻi service from a local perspective and my experiences with the airline over the last decade or so, on and off as a Premiere. While itʻs tough to beat Hawaiian Airlines' monopoly on selling the Spirit of Aloha, Iʻve been impressed with how United has stepped up their game over the last few years.

Hereʻs some of the biggest changes Iʻve noticed:

1. More HI-based crew members - I used to joke that the UA Hawaiʻi routes were the FA nursing home of the skies since it would be always staffed with senior crew. However over the last few years, thereʻs been a lot more HNL-based staff on-flight. I love this from both a local and touristʻs perspective. For me Iʻm able to communicate easier - I donʻt have to put on the facade of continental English to engage, I feel more comfortable when I can speak directly in pidgin. For tourists, I see value in that theyʻre getting authentic engagement, with people who actually live in Hawaiʻi rather than just go there for leisure.
2. Local products on-board - the small touches here really count, such as partnering with Reyn Spponer to create aloha print amenity kits or the addition of dried tropical fruit to the nuts. Love that the airline partnered with Honua, which started as a small local business in Pālolo Valley, where I live.
3. Catering for a Hawaiʻi palate - while I will say united has generally improved catering overall, there seems to be a renewed focus on serving more island-focused dishes on HI routes, to the point where I think UAs HI catering might give Hawaiian Airlines a run for itʻs money. And this extends now to AND from CONUS. A few years ago, I felt like you would always get a ʻhaoleʻ meal flying in from the continent, something like lasagna or beef tenderloin. Now you can order things like Portuguese sausage and Spam Musubi straight out of SFO. Hawaiian canʻt even do this. Mind blown!
4. Being more culturally sensitive - IDK how to explain this quantitatively, but from a purely observational-perspective I feel like UA has a lot more reverence towards Hawaiian culture in general. In the past there was almost this cringy Brady Bunch-tiki bar vibe that would be perpetuated in the cabin, from the tacky over-garnished pineapple mai tais to fake kukui nut leis and the ʻgamesʻ the FAs would play on the PA with passengers. It was kind of off-putting as a native Hawaiian. Today the product is more professional and subtle, mindful of the place itʻs flying to and market it serves. I confidently recommend United to family and friends without worrying itʻs going to offend them.
5. Easy Polaris upgrade- While the vast majority of HI flights are on MAX-9s or worse, the dreaded 777-200 HI config, United has maintained at least one flight per day between HNL and SFO and seasonally to LAX using their -300ERs since COVID. This seems insignificant, but most folks don't fly back to CONUS in first and half of the plane is non-rev (with Hawaiʻi being a HUGE redemption market for MileagePlus tickets) or basic economy, so your chances of being upgraded, even as a Silver, are very high on these flights. Iʻve been upgraded on this flight to both Polaris and the premium economy seats at least half of my flights. Compare this to Hawaiian, where someone with silver-tier status will almost never see the front of the plane. Of course coming back to HNL, itʻs virtually impossible to be upgraded past Econ Plus unless youʻre a 1K. CORRECTION: I guess this is not a thing anymore :(

UA is never going to be HAL - lets be clear on that, but the inroads itʻs making to improve itʻs product and in some cases exceed Hawaiʻi's flagship carrier is pretty impressive.

We have a 20 something in our office who was trying to put together a spreadsheet and I see them struggling to add numbers up on their phone.

I inquire“Why don’t you just use a SUM function for that?” - full dear in headlights moment. I show her “SUM equals *click*click* there…”

Mind blown, never heard of formulas, did not know such functionality existed. I’m apparently office hero now.

Growing up, I was always used to helping the older folks with spreadsheets, that was a given, but someone younger than me?! Like I was self-learning pivot tables and Visual Basic in my 20s, not flailing through with a phone.

Is creating a spreadsheet becoming a lost art and it’s up to us to carry on the number crunching legacy?

Anyway, just interesting observation. Can anyone relate?