United Airlines is the worst airline ever May 5, 2006
Posted by Me in airline, rant, travel, united airlines.trackback
For those who know about the trials I went through with United back in February, you will know why I hate United so much. For those that don't, let me put it this way: after 2 days of waiting on cancelled misdirected flights, United sent me from LAX to SFO to – get this – find my own bags, as they felt their baggage crew was too incompetent to find my bags on their own. Wow. So after doing that, and missing my flight to Sydney, what happens? No bag in SFO. Bag is in Kona. How nice for my bag. What do I do? Go to the nearest mall and spend over $1000 buying a new suitcase, suits, clothing, shoes, socks, a coat, sleepwear, and toiletries – for 3 weeks worth of travel. GRR.
Today, I get a letter from United telling my that they are sorry for my loss, but they can only compensate 25% of my loss. This is coming from the airline who caused me to lose 3 days of business meetings in Australia because they couldn't get my bags in time or get me on another of their daily flights to Sydney before the meetings were over. I can't get over how incapable United Airlines is of executing their services.
Tell me! Over Christmas, we were supposed to fly from Boston to Dallas, with a stop over in DC. United had four 6:00 am flights that morning leaving from Boston, and they opened their check-in at 4:50 am…during Christmas travel. So, we were there early enough…we got on our plane in plenty of time, but a lot of people got bogged down in check-in…the pilot decides that he’s in the Christmas spirit, so he’s going to delay taking off for 20 minutes to allow all the people stuck in security to make it onto the plane. Sounds like a nice thing to do… When they closed the doors, and were ready for take-off, they had gotten themself out of line for airspace, and had to stand by for an extra half hour. So, we ended up taking off almost an hour late. We had a very small window to make our connection in DC. All during the flight, the pilot was assuring us that they were in touch with their people in DC…there would be people on the ground to assist us making connections… yada yada yada…. So we land, and our plane has JUST started boarding for Dallas…these supposed people on the ground to assist us…not so much…we took off running through the airport, and we got there, 10 minutes before our flight was scheduled to leave. The gate is still open, so we race to the gate, and begin to breathe a sigh of relief. BUT– just before we reached the gate, the ticket guys sees us coming and runs to the gate and closes the door. He tells us the flight is closed. We sit there arguing with him for a good 20 minutes, until it is clear they are not going to let us on the plane. FInally we go to customer service, angry. They had one other flight to Dallas out of DC that day, leaving at 5:pm (remember our flight was scheduled at 6 AM), and that flight was full. They checked, all flights from DC to Dallas–full. So, they put us on a 3:30 flight to Orlando, where we are supposed to connect with an 8:00 flight to Dallas. Angry, but resigned, we sit around in DC all day long and finally get to board the plane. The pilot tells us they have “unexpected” technical maintenance that has to be done, and we will be delayed about 20 minutes. 2 hours later, after ever possible connecting flight to Dallas was going to be an impossibility…we took off. There was an ex-pilot on the plane with us, and we heard him complaining to the crew when we finally landed…he said he was a pilot, and he knew the type of maintence they were doing is never unexpected, it is always scheduled, and the crew member agreed…he admitted it was scheduled. They KNEW they were going to be holding up that plane, and they put us on it to make our connecting flight, not to mention they left everyone sitting on the plane for 2 hours, on a flight that had no meal services and that didn’t land until close to 9:00 that night.
When we first called to complain, guess what they told us? It was not their fault, because it was an air control issue that caused us to miss the flight. That is NOT what caused us to miss the flight. It was the PILOT, who decided to be “nice” and wait, that caused us to miss our flight. The one good thing they did for us on that trip was to book us on an American flight out of Orlando the next morning. That went off without a hitch. United? NEVER again!
Sorry to bog down your comment space…as you can tell, I’m still quite pissed…
OMG what a tale!! You know, I met someone on the DC – LAX flight who told me his horrible experience with United too. The most ironic part of this experience – they sent me a gift certificate for $300 toward my next United flight!!
Yeah, they have just really gone downhill since all of their financial troubles. I kind of lost it on the customer service guy and told him next time the company found themselves having to testify in Congress about why they are bankrupt, to make sure to tell them it’s because their customer service SUCKS!
ANd now you are pretty much forced to fly them at least one more time, right? BEcause how do you turn down $300 off a flight? Make sure your ticket is $300 and not one penny more!
I think I might sell it! It’s transferable, but has to be used within a year.
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/seatcomplaint.html
I will have to agree with you. These are all the customer facing delivery part of the business in which they are awful of managing. I am a frequent flyer (I travel every week) and I would honestly say that 35% of my travel is on United. I would say that over 50% of the time I fly United, I have a problem. There delayed, flight is canceled, and so forth. The biggest issue I have with this airline is with the upper management team. After they emurged out of bankruptcy, all the C-Level exec’s aproved +$1M bonuses for each other, while the pilots, flight attendants, gate agents took pay & pension cuts, etc. management mentality like this effects the overal moral of the general workforce and eccencialy the customer, us.
WOW! And I thought they just treated you like shit if you didn’t have status on their airline. My brother who is top-tier elite told me that they treat you like shit no matter what. INCREDIBLE since when you get to Platinum status (not even top-tier) on American Airlines, they practically carry you around on a rickshaw fanning you and feeding you grapes!
They dicked me around and caused me to miss my connecting flight in Denver to South Dakota. They lied, brushed me off and infuriated me. My brother got matching elite status on Continental and only flies United to use up his remaining 200K frequent flyer miles. Every time he flies them, he gets off the plane purple with rage.
F>>>>>>>>>> this airline. ATA treats you better.
…and another thing…. when I was checking in they asked if I wanted to “upgrade” for $36 to economy plus which had more legroom. NEVER DO THIS people! It’s not a separate cabin, which I thought it might be like on Virgin Air or the small economy deluxe cabin on American…you’re just in the front of economy and I SWEAR that their Economy plus has less leg room than American regular economy. AND you’re in a 1980 plane. Oh god this airline sucks.
I hate United Airlines.
I just had a bad experience flying United Airlines to Sao Paulo, Brazil in which I was scheduled to fly on May 25th/2006 but I ended-up flying only on May 27th/2006. That is a shame, because it took me three (days) to actually fly and I was in a hurry because my father was in a hospital in a critical condition in Alfenas, state of Minas Gerais (MG), Brazil. Below is a description of the facts that occurred day by day.
Thursday, May 25/2006: At 2:00 pm I boarded the flight No. UA 0870 in SFO going to Chicago OHARE, IL (ORD):
As soon as the plane was near one of the run-ways the captain said that due to weather conditions the plane was going to have to wait there until he gets clearance from the Chicago tower. That lasted for almost 4 hrs. Then the plane took off and after 4 hrs we landed in Chicago O’Hare at 10:10 pm reaching the gate about 10:20 pm.
But unfortunately the UA 843 had taken off to Sao Paulo (GRU) on time. The flight could have been delayed but United chose not to do it. So I lost the plane. At that time a line from people who lost the plane was formed in gate C20. There was three agents there I asked about all the alternatives and the agent said that the only thing he could do was to put me on the next flight (on Friday, May 26/2006). He gave me a boarding pass without any seat assigned to it and said to arrive early at the airport so I could pick-up a seat.. Then I asked about hotel/meals and he said that United would not pay anything because it was a weather related situation. I want also to make a complaint against your agent by name Helio who has a very bad temper and should not be dealing with people there. He is very rude.
So I came out of the airport looking for hotels and that was something else because a lot of people had lost their flights so the majority of the hotels were booked. I finally found a motel to stay (it was about 2 am when I arrived at the motel).
May 26/2006: O’Hare Airport, gate C15 (I guess)
At 3:00 pm I arrived there because I still had no seat on the flight. Only about 8:15 pm the agents (Edson and Helio) came out for the flight on gate C15. When my turn came, I showed the agent (agent Edson) the boarding pass and he said that I had to wait. The preference was to the May/ 26 passengers. It was a big mess because he said that United had overbooked the flight and some people plus all the previous day passengers would not be able to fly. I saw he giving people who turned away their seat $600 in cash plus next day guaranteed 1st class seat plus hotel/meal expenses. To other people who came in late the agent also gave them $400 plus guaranteed seat next day plus hotel/meals.
So myself and the other 20 people who had lost the flight on May 25 could not get a seat on that flight. The agents said that they would try to route us somewhere for next day. They also said that the flight next day (Saturday, May 27th) was going to be full also. I then got desperate and talked to another agent (Monica) who was helping out there. She then got sympathetic to my case and got me a seat on the Saturday May 27th flight, she also gave a hotel (Hyatt in the airport) but she would not give any money to me for the expenses on May 25/26. I also saw some preferential treatment to Americans as opposed to Brazilians by your own United Airlines Brazilians agents Edson and Helio (The bad guy).
May 27/2006: O’Hare Airport.
I arrived there about 1:30 pm for the UA 0843 at 9:30 pm.
Finally I was on the flight and arrived in Sao Paulo at 10:10 am.
I then had to go to Alfenas, MG (61/2 hrs later) to see my father in the hospital.
I’ve actually had good luck with United going from Boston to Hawaii. I’ve made the trip about 15 times, almost once a year since ‘91. The crews have always been nice, and I really haven’t had any problems. My only suggestion is to avoid LAX and to use SFO as your stop.
I think once you run into baggage (or other) trouble with any airline you discover how bad they can be.
I know what u mean…
I was stranded in Washington bc their first flight was late which caused me to miss all of my other flights…They did not want to give me new tickets..I lost it at the customer service desk bc I waited in like for 3 hrs only to find out that they didnt even put me in the system the next day…Finally they had me fly over Germany , Austria, Slovenia, and then my final destination..Wherever I tried to board they would tell me ‘ this is not enough, united did not reserve you’
The german police came in and took us because they thought we were up to something…God I finally arrived 3 days later it was horrible…My suitcases were missing for days…
I WISH THEM THE WORST!! THEY SUCK!!
This summer I was going to Washington state (SeaTac) with united for vacation
ok so they call us at 3 in the morning saying its canceled ( we would have had to get to the airport at 5:30 so I’m appreciating the warning!)
that was my only problem with that trip and i can kind of understand that
Than a week later I flew up to Manchester NH from Dulles to visit one of my good friends the flight up was no problem only a 10 minute delay
The flight back southwards was supposed to leave this past sunday
So i get through security and on the plane ok, we taxi up to the runway than began to take off, about halfway up the runway theres a loud banging sound so they pull the plane back to the terminal, at first saying the plane will only be delayed
After about 20 minutes they cancel it and send us back to the ticket counter
Somewhere in this cancellation process they forget to tell the people to change the flight status to “canceled” instead of the delayed 6 hours it currently reads
I had a ride waiting in Dulles from which i live 2 hours away in charlottesville VA
so my ride has to drive back and we all go down to the ticket counter
I wait in line for 2 hours until i finally get to change my flight….the only flight they have available is a 5:45 Am flight the next day (my friend live 90 minutes away so The hour i would have had to wake up would have been horrible)
I finally decide on rescheduling for 2:30 2 days from sunday
I get at the airport on tuesday with 40 minutes b4 departure leaving plenty of time to check in inside the 30 minute requirement
The lady at the desk stalls for 10 minutes after i ask her to check my in than informs me that I arrived to late to board and that the flight is completely full
without telling me she puts me on stand-by, so i just start leaving planning on getting a flight out of hanover/lebanon airport using US airways (thank god) the next day
just as im walking out the door i hear my name called for the stand-by list, i sprint to the security line (which is incredibly long) than figure that there isn’t enough time left to get on the flight
So i go back to the counter to complain to the lady who “helped” me, but she ignores me and takes another customer
Finally i get home on wednesday 75 hours after i was supposed to get home
United has the most uncomfortable seats (I swear, they feel like cloth-coated metal), the most shriveled-up food and every single time I’ve flown on them, there’s a new dent or scuff-mark on my suitcase.
As a frequent flyer on United and other airlines, I can testify United is the worse airline to use. From flight delays, to flight cancellations all the above without any kind of compensation. Their customer service whether on the phone or at counters is horrible. Their refund policy (need to check credit card statement to make sure money is refunded or $100.00 flight change fee) is also horrible, not to mention my Lufthansa Miles & More partner reward booking process which for a ORD to France flight would take me to Canada, then Germany, making sure it takes up to 24 hours for a usual 8 hours flight.
No problems here. They had to detour because of bad weather at the airport in Sydney. Landed in Brisbane..appologized but I was glad they didnt try in that storm. Got us there..connected us in 10 minutes and we were on our way. Asked them if they had a compensation policy (even though it wasnt their fault) gave me 5,000 points!!!
I have now had three very bad experiences with United. I won’t go into them now, as variations are well covered in this blog. But, I will say I tried to work it out with their “customer service” (a misnomer if ever there was one). I gave the fellow in India one last chance to make some sort of amends for their dreadful policies of lie, cheat and steal (must be run by Republican’s come to think of it)… in fact, I offered all sorts of ways to try to work out my situation….to no avail. So… goodbye United forever. May the backdoor of bankruptcy not hit you in the ass. I’m done. I will now be a vocal advocate for any other airline then yours. Congrats.
I used a frequent flier ticket to come to Los Angeles. While here, I needed oral surgery to remove a tumor.
As a result, I was not able to fly on my scheduled departure date.
I looked up seat availabilty online, and flights that would get me back to the Newark, NJ airport prior to Christmas Eve were showing available seats. When I attmpted to switch my flight, I was told by agents, supervisors and Customer Relations that those seats were ONLY available for purchase.
Since I have been stupid enough to be loyal to United, I had an additional 50,000 miles available and offered these miles in exchange for a seat on one of these flights. I was told by a United airlines Manager at LAX that this was not feasible, as the way the airline makes money is by selling seats, and the only seats they had available were for purchase at a fee of $1,000 or more. The soonest they could let me use the remaining portion of my frequent flyer ticket was on the red-eye Christmas Eve into Christmas day.
They could clearly see at the ticketing counter that I had just had surgery, as I still have a black eye, stitches and a plate in my mouth. What they offered was a “special fare medical emergency ticket.”
What’s even more insulting… they said that I could fly Orange County to Laguardia, if I paid a $100 change fee. ARE THEY SERIOUS??????
Did I mention that I spent a total of 10 hours yesterday and today trying to resolve this issue in person and on the phone?
Finally, I figured I would get the last laugh… I will fly stand-by. They have many seats available, and I will undoubtedly get one just by showing up. I won’t have to pay more and I won’t have to give them any more miles. Screw United.
I will be canceling my United credit card and telling my company travel agentcy that we will no longer be using United.
Oh… every United employee I spoke with thanked me for being a Premier customer, having flown nearly 200,000 miles with this airline alone.
What do I want as compensation? There is no compensation for the grief and suffering caused by their unfriendly policies.
Happy Holidays.
I am an AA maniac! Never fly anything but American Airlines, their service is just fine.
I had a problem with United leaving Sao Paulo airport for Washington, D.C. A cancelled flight, no check-in line control, a complex compensation trip that was unconfirmed, and the possibility of being stuck in Brasil for a week to get a direct flight. By chance, I managed to get from there to Chicago (three days later) then get a flight to D.C. Cheaper airlined have better service, and even I don’t know why I still fly United.
This is a letter I just sent to United, wish me luck. I’ve heard they never get back to you.
My name is Adam Herstig. I have been a United Star Alliance Member since I was a child. Traveling internationally twice a year over the past 22 years I have experienced some poor customer service and discomfort, but my recent experience with United is unmatched.
On Aug, 6, 2008 I was flying with a friend on United, from Albany, New York to Chicago, Illinois. I was expecting a 2 hour layover in Chicago at which time I was due to fly to Thailand, Bangkok via Tokyo Japan on ANA Nippon Airlines.
This was a trip I booked months in advance using a student travel agency. I was flying to see my family (residing in Thailand) for the first time in over a year for a special event on August, 7.
My initial flight from Albany was cancelled due to a mechanical problem at which point we were directed back into the United ticketing line. The flight was at approximately 6:00AM so this must have been around 7:00AM.
By 1:00 PM I made the front of the line after repeated efforts to call the recommended United customer service hotline to reroute my flight. I noticed an older woman next to me in line pulled aside a manager and explained to her that she urgently needed to fly to Beijing for the Olympics; she was pulled to the front of the line, and was on her way within minutes. Attempting to do the same I was rejected and advised to call the customer service number, the manager retreated to an office behind the ticketing desk and did not show herself for the remainder of my time in line. There was only one desk attendant and over 100 of us.
After approximately 5 hours I reached the front of the line. I explained that I was in line for 5 hours. Her reply was “I have been here for 10 hours so I do not care”. The agent told me my only option is to board the same flight and check out my options in Chicago. After demanding that my new itinerary be handled and verifying that I could fly with any airline due to the situation, I was given a solution without compensation, bottle of water, nothing.
My solution was to board the same initial plane that was getting “mechanically fixed”, this was a 2:00 PM flight, and connect on a flight through England that night that they assured would get me to Thailand the following morning, Aug, 7.
Rushed to board the flight and given absolutely no assistance to get through the long Security line by any United representatives I only managed to make the flight since it was further delayed.
At this point I read my new itinerary and realized that because there was a layover in England I would in fact be arriving in Thailand on August 8, a day after I was supposed to arrive, resulting in missing a family event and entirely not seeing my family.
At the Gate, the United attendant was unable to help me and simply recommended boarding the flight and solving my issue at Chicago Airport with customer service there. A familiar proposal made to me many times by United to redirect blame.
In Chicago I was on the phone for 1-2 hours asking for ways to solve this problem and my result after speaking to a manager was to go to a different Terminal and speak to a Customer Service Representative since authorizations are “easier made in person” and I may “have better luck”. I requested that all my conflicts be recorded in my file for the second time thus far; I was told it was all documented again; it never was.
The customer service line took approximately 2 hours. In attempts to make a potential flight or arrange a new connecting flight, I approached an agent in the United first class lounge (I was flying economy) since no line representatives or managers were in sight. She informed me that the flight I was booked on to Thailand via London, Heathrow “was in any case illegal because it was a transatlantic flight and this flight needs authorization that is not permitted since it is very costly”. I was then recommended to return to the customer service line.
An hour later I made the front of the line. Here I was denied all possible connections, via Hong Kong, Tokyo, L.A, Germany, and so forth to reach my destination for many different reasons. My solution was to return tomorrow August, 7, to fly United through Tokyo, as initially scheduled. It was now 8:00 PM and has been over 12 hours of in-line waiting. I demanded compensation and was initially denied. Refusing to leave without compensation I was given a 10 dollar dinner voucher, I was told this was the maximum amount awarded, I was also given a night at a hotel. What I was asking for was some form of compensation for the flight since my reason for traveling was now practically unnecessary. I was awarded a $100 travel certificate for me and my traveling partner.
I ended up flying a United plane for my 19 hour flight to Thailand via Tokyo the following day, it was not an ANA, Nippon flight as was initially designed. Although there were more issues involving the flight, they are minor in comparison, which brings me to the purpose of this letter, a situation I was in earlier today.
Yesterday was September 29, 2008. I am booking a flight to visit my brother in Pittsburgh from Boston. I would leave Boston on October 9, 2008 and return on the 14th , 2008. I discovered that to redeem my travel certificates on a United flight it has to be purchased through the airline itself. I called reservations and was told that the flight costs $310.
I noticed and verbally told the agent that even with a certificate it was more expensive than other flights I could purchase online for less than $210. I asked “any chance I can use two travel certificates at once”? The agent asked me to hold while he checks if he can authorize this. He took down my UAL code as well as profile name and certificate numbers from both the certificates. He said this was FINE. I double-checked and it was confirmed.
He said I either have to mail in the certificates or go to Logan airport to pay the difference and turn them in. He advised that going to Logan may be better because I was close to my intended day of travel and may not have it received by mail in time. The reservation could only be held for 24 hours and so I had to go to Logan Airport the following day.
Earlier today, October 1, 2008 I arrived at Logan Airport and had a feeling I was going to have trouble. I took a half day at work to take a train to Logan Airport for my ticket. Sure enough I was told by the ticketing agent that the tickets are not combinable. I gave them my confirmation code and the reservation said I was in fact delivering 2 travel certificates, I was denied using both. A similar trend began, I was told to call the reservations hotline and speak to someone there because they may resolve the issue. I called, explained my situation and was told that only the ticketing agent can authorize the use of both certificates. I told the agent on the phone that I was asked to call her; she told me there was nothing that could be done. I told her I needed a solution and was hung up on.
I called back; again a different agent told me nothing could be done. This time I was connected to a manager. The manager told me that they will follow up my complaint with the agent that initially authorized my reservation. I understood the problem and simply asked that they propose a solution but they did not have one. I asked if the manager on the phone could speak to the manager in the airport and the woman in the airport refused to take my phone and speak to a representative from her own company. I was told to simply cancel my flight. So I did and left immediately to write this letter because I cannot seem to reach an Employee with any authority or sense of responsibility. Another 4 hours wasted.
I have my itinerary, boarding pass, baggage barcodes, names of employees, and I hope my phone calls have all been recorded. My business has already been lost, but this letter is for compensation.
I am asking to return/shred/ and simply cancel my certificates (Service checks) for a direct check from United so that I may use that money towards another airline ($200). I also would love to know what United would deem a reasonable compensation for the day I lost traveling from New York to Thailand and the day of work I lost arguing the use of my travel certificates. I am willing to take legal action if I am not responded to in respectable time.
Sincerely
Adam Herstig
Well let me start by saying I’m not so good at writing long detailed messages but the reason I came to this sight in the first place is because I was wondering, ‘is it just me or my imagination that United Airlines seems to be consistantly such a hopelessly incompetent organization to put it mildly. I was thinking certainly if everyone has had as many problems as I have flying with this supposed airline service then how can they – United – possibly stay in business? Let me explain; I fly around the world about once a year and I’ve been doing this now since I moved to Australia in 1982. Because I have to use Air Aliance – to make necessary stop-overs in Germany and Thailand – which United is a member of, I unfortunately have to use them for the US part of my around the world journeys. Without fail it’s the same story every year; minimal if no problems at all on all the other Airlines – Singapore, Lufthansa, Air New Zeland – but the minute I fly United the problems begin and do not end until I finally change over to on of the others. I’ve had to fly United now well over 20 to 30 times and not once has there ever been a single problem free journey. There’s ALWAYS something that goes wrong! Among the nightmares are; delayed flights, cancelled flights, lost luggage, late luggage, damaged lugage with no compensation, being charged for excess weight when all the other airlined did not, misinformation casing me and others to miss our flights, etc etc. These difficulties are due to United Alrlines not as a result of wearher and other outside influnces I may add. It would seem at some point they would catch on and make changes but it doesn’t . It continues year after year. All I can say to those who can avoid United is DO IT if it’s at all possible! Anything you choose is certainly most likely to be a huge improvement.
You think that United Airlines is a bad Airline as a Customer, you should try working for them!! I have never seen a worse company to work for than United Airlines! I worked for them for 23 years. They used 9/11 as an excuse to break Union Contracts, relinquish pensions, and wages regressed about 15 years. The final straw for me (I had an impeccable record for 23 years) was the day I got a call that my dad had suffered a heart attack and was in bad shape. I was to fly that day, so I called my Supervisor (who was a very miserable person) and told her that I needed to fly home to my family and explained the circumstances. I was told I had to work my trip to Europe. My Supervisor had no empathy whatsoever, and that very same day, I faxed in my resignation and told them where to fly their 747! I can give you countless examples of their mistreatment of employess and passengers and of each other! How they have stayed in business this long is beyond my comprehesion! It seems elementary that the better you treat your employees, the better atmosphere that creates for the workplace! I urge everyone to fly on airline that treats their employees and customers well and that would definately not be United Airlines!!!!!!!!!!