I have a few friends that work for United and they're non-rev pass is horrible, plus they have to PAY to non-rev...Trust me. UAL flight benefits SUCKS big time !!!!! I hope we don't merge with them.
Your comments are not quite accurate. United recently changed the employee pass policy. For what it's worth, we don't call it "non-rev." We refer to it as "SA" or space available. (Much like our aircraft jargon...we say, "the 47, 57, 67, etc" where as you all say, "the 75, the 76"...but I digress).
The new pass policy at UA is as follows:
UE (United Economy) is free.
There are service charges for UB and UF (United Business, United First).
Same rules apply on UA Express carriers with dual-class configurations.
The buddy passes leave a lot to be desired and I rarely recommend them to friends and family, however I have some friends who love them because they are upgradable at no additional charge. To give you an example, my brother had to fly at the last minute last summer from LHR to BTV. He used my buddy passes. It cost him about $500 R/T. It seems pricey, but he was able to sit in UB both ways across the pond. Plus, the LHR departure taxes are prohibitively expensive, which added more than a third of the cost of the $500 he paid. For him, to travel in Business at the last minute for $500, it was a steal.
Also, same-sex couples who are registered as domestic partners with the company, their domestic partner boards at the employee's seniority.
Finally, we are also awarded service charge-waived passes almost quarterly based upon meeting certain company performance objectives such as operational goals or market track survey goals. Hence, I cannot remember when I last had to pay a service charge to travel Space A. I flew to Greece for my 40th and it cost me about $40 in taxes. United First both ways across the pond.
Admittedly, our company has been slow to respond to AFA's proposals for reciprocal cabin jumpseat authority. UA carries a significant number of high yield business travelers and Senior Management was concerned about how it would be perceived by that target market if there were numerous OA employees traveling in uniform, particularly in our premium cabins. To date, we do have an agreement with Jet Blue for reciprocal cabin J/S privileges.
Having said all that, I think the chances of a UA-US merger coming to pass are very slim and should such a deal be announced, there will be numerous factions (politicians and labor unions) doing everything in their power to scuttle it. But at least now you have the most up-to-date info regarding UA's pass policy...DOH baby. D-O-H!