*** PLEASE READ AND SHARE WITH OTHERS ***

[webbew]

*** PLEASE READ AND SHARE WITH OTHRS ***

I recently had an airline experience on a round trip from Denver, CO to Bangkok, TH with United Airlines which I feel obligated to share with as many people as possible. In doing so, I hope to provide information which will aid travelers as they search for the airline which they believe will provide them with the most pleasant and worthwhile travel experience for their money.

The following is a list of situations which developed during my flying experience with United:

-&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Two flights cancelled due to mechanical failure. One outbound flight from Denver and one inbound flight from Bangkok. One of these flights cancelled due to an airplane with a cracked windshield being taxied up to the gate.
-&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp A missed connection in San Francisco, causing a one day delay in my trip.
-&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp An over night layover in a poor quality hotel with a dirty floor and bathroom, located a long distance from any retail stores, causing me to pay expensive cab fares simply to acquire personal items for the evening.
-&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp All personal meal requests dropped from the system on outbound flights between San Francisco and Bangkok.
-&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp One piece of luggage lost between LAX and Denver containing over $800.00 in items, including movies rented from InMotion which may report to a credit bureau because their movies will not be returned.
-&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Over $200.00 in personal financial expenditures relating to difficulties, rescheduling, and inconvenience caused by delays and unavailability of personal items.
-&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Three months of dealing with the United Airlines Baggage Claims department which is now refusing to take accountability for lost baggage. Over $800.00 in personal items are now gone.
-&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Three months of dealing with the United Airlines Customer Relations Department which “lost” my initial e-mail concerning this matter and whose subsequent largest offer of compensation, relating to difficulty and loss of personal items amounting to well over $1,000 in damages, is two $100.00 travel discount coupons.

Perhaps you are like me. You are not wealthy and must work very hard so that two or three weeks out of the year you are able to get away on a nice vacation. Or, perhaps you fly frequently on business. Either way, I’m sure you seek the most enjoyable flying experience with the fewest possible glitches. When things do go wrong, you also likely expect your carrier to take full accountability.

Please utilize the information provided here as you see fit during your travel planning. I also encourage you to share this document with as many people as you like. If you have any questions or comments in regards to this matter, please feel free to contact me at webbew1@yahoo.com. Kind regards, and may you always seek traveling experiences which provide you with wonderful memories.

[mivona]

After my experience with United Airlines on our trip from Hawaii to Denver, losing our bags so we were left without any change of clothing for a few days, and one bag not returning to us until we returned to London, I swore I would NEVER use United Airlines again.

They cancelled our flight out of Maui, then figured out they could put us on a flight to Honolulu, with connections to San Francisco (including a taxi ride), but when we arrived in Maui we discovered that they hadn't bothered to book us onto the following legs of travel. ARRRGH! So our luggage went on to San Francisco, and presumably on to Denver, but they never could manage to reconnect us with it ourselves.

They pissed us about the entire time... saying they would upgrade us one our return leg to London, and on check-in then saying our experience wasn't bad enough to warrant an upgrade. We still didn't have one of our bags (which had our laptop in it), that it took US driving 40 miles out to the airport and insisting that they showed us the uncollected luggage where AMAZINGLY there were two of our bags... This was after countless hours of listening to Blue Rhapsody while awaiting the dipshits to figure out what the **** they had done with our bags.

It was only when we arrived in London that we wearily asked one more time if by any chance our bag had turned up, and amazingly, the guy behind the desk remembered a fax that had come through that morning (unusual name stuck in his head, thank goodness). So finally, after being separated from our belongings for a couple of weeks, we finally got them back.

No fucking travel voucher would ever bring me to fly on United again.

[ramonaleona]

it's all part and parcel of the wonderful new world order...

[Jay98]

Those two stories are dreadful, and i feel for both of you.

Thanks for the headups, both of you. United is in partnership with Air Canada (one i don't like), and this is good to know if i do fly to visit a friend in Missouri in October.

Perhaps you both could recommend an airline from Toronto to Missouri that you have been happy with. I very much want to stay away from Air Canada, along with United.

Just a thought, webbew, but you should see if one of your newspapers would be interested in your story.

[Trouble1957]

I don't go anywhere Southwest Airlines won't go. If they don't fly there, I don't need to go there.

[mewsicmama]

I really like Alaska Airlines and Jet Blue. I realize they have somewhat limited routes, but have had no problems with either carrier.

[giiglehoot]

I've had horrible problems with United and their puddle jumpers. in Denver they walked us out to our luggage piled up on the tarmac and told us we could each select ONE piece of luggage to put on the plane. (the plane was over the weight limit). the rest would catch up with us "eventually".

Yes, us Texans do have an advantage with Southwest. I love that airline and they luv me.

[webbew]

Please don't assume that all of United's partners are equally as bad, Jay. I have flown Thai Airways twice and the service has been wonderful beyond imagination. Frankly, if I was a member of the Thai Airways staff, I would be ashamed to be affiliated with United.

[webbew]

www.big-boards.com/kw/travel/ (http://www.big-boards.com/kw/travel/)

I encourage you to take a moment to post what you wrote on as many airline travel boards as you are able, mivona. Above, you will find a link with a number of them. You may also run a google search and find a few.

The only way to fight back against these faceless corporations is to get the word out about your opinion of their service. The more people who hear stories like ours, the better. Don't take it lying down.

[mivona]

My experience with United was from a few years ago, but definitely enough for a lifetime. I cheered when it was going into receivership, and will be glad when that dinosaur of customer abuse dies.

We tell anyone and everyone who is planning to fly to or within the US and am sure we have steered far more business away from them than it would have cost them to keep us happy. Their "customer service" people seem to take quite a lot of delight in denying you any appropriate compensation for the grief their company has given you.

Fucking flight vouchers, indeed...

[mrpotatoheadd]

My letter to United last year:
Five hours prior to my scheduled flight (about 7:00PM, Boise to Ontario, through San Francisco) on Thursday, Oct. 4, I called your automated flight status phone number (about 2:00PM) and was informed that the flight number I had was not valid. After waiting on hold for a live person, I was told that the flight I was scheduled on had been cancelled, and I was moved to a flight leaving at 4:00PM. When I asked about a later flight, I was told there were none- that the 4:00 flight was the last one I could take. I was also told that my return flight was changed, and that instead of the original 1 hour between connecting flights, there would now be a 3 hour layover.

At this time, I was currently at work, and had to leave early to go home, pick up my bags, drive to the airport, find a place to park, catch the shuttle bus to the terminal, check in at the counter, wait in line to get through the security check, and get to the gate before the plane left. By the time I got off the phone, I had about an hour and a half to do all this. I made it, but not by much. Once in San Francisco, I no longer had a 45 minute wait for my connecting flight. Now, it was 3+ hours, and I wouldn't be at my destination until after 9:00PM. Instead of having dinner with my family in Riverside, I had the pleasure of spending $12.50 (tax and tip extra) for a ham and cheese sandwich, french fries and a coke. I finally reached my destination- much later than I had originally planned.

Question #1: Why was I not notified of the cancellation of my flight? Had I called half an hour later, I would have missed the flight I was reassigned to.

Question #2: When purchasing tickets online, why did you go to the trouble of having me provide my phone number and email address, when you didn't bother to use them to inform me of the schedule change?

Now, for the return flight on Sunday, Oct. 7 (rescheduled from 5:00PM to 3:00PM, Ontario to Boise, through San Francisco). An hour and a half prior to my (re)scheduled flight, I called your automated flight status phone number (about 1:30PM) and was informed that the flight was on time. After a half hour drive, I arrived at the airport in Ontario. When I checked in, I was told that the flight was 2 hours late.

Question #3: How can a flight go from being on time to 2 hours late, in one half hour?

If your automated flight status information was kept current, I could have spent the additional 2 hours with my family, rather than sitting in an airport terminal. I had figured on having another expensive sandwich and drink in San Francisco during my 3 hour wait there, but now, the wait was in Ontario, and there wouldn't be time to eat in San Francisco. Waiting is waiting regardless of where you do it, except that I ate lunch prior to leaving for the airport, and since I was going to barely have time to make my connecting flight, I wasn't going to have a chance to get dinner until I got back to Boise after 9:00PM. It didn't exactly happen that way, though- the connecting flight in San Francisco was delayed, which allowed me enough time to get a bag of M&M's and a coke at a newsstand for $3.25 (tax extra, no tip this time).

I finally made it back to Boise- about 4 hours later than I had originally planned on, but that wasn't the end of it. Between having my departure time on Thursday moved up and arrival time on Sunday delayed, I ended up having to pay an extra day's fee ($8.50) to park my truck. It was inconvenient enough to have my flight times shuffled around along with the lack of communication and accurate information provided by United regarding the changes, but I had to spend an extra $25, along with a loss of 3 hours' pay for leaving early on Thursday (the total comes to about $70), for the privilege. I bought my ticket based on the price offered, but it turns out it would have probably been less expensive to fly with another airline, after all.

With all the news lately concerning how fewer people are flying, one might think that airlines would be trying to make flying more pleasant and convenient, not more exasperating. After an experience like this, I can't imagine anybody who would be looking forward to another trip by air. At the end of each flight, your attendants thank everybody, and ask that when our future travel plans include air travel, we consider United. I don't think I will.
I never received a reply.

[mivona]

I never received a reply.

Well, of course you didn't. The UA-droid who received it probably just dropped it in the bin, snickering that you even took the time to write it. They don't care that the people they piss off today are less likely to ever fly with them again. They don't care that there is a ripple effect from disgruntled customers steering other potential travellers from them. All they care about is the bottom line NOW, not what the future holds for them.

They are fuckwits, and I dearly hope to see United Airlines die in my lifetime.