United. Positives and Negatives

[fastpitchdad]

We don't think that United is anything special. Either in economy or business.

 

Let's face it, flying economy on any airline is no different than going Greyhound. United is certainly no better or worse than the other mainline domestic airlines in North America. If we are travelling overseas-Atlantic or Pacific, we try to avoid the domestic lines in favor of the international carriers. We do find them better across economy and business classes.

I agree that United is no different than Delta or American in quality and service. When I was flying star alliance I flew a lot of Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS, Asiana, and ANA...none of those were any better than United or Delta in regular economy either. I actually preferred UA over ANA SEA-NRT in business class.

 

Sent from my SM-G965U using Forums mobile app

[1982CruzStart]

The last time we flew United i swore it would be the last time. There were 4 of us travelling together and luckily i did all the flight arrangements for all 4 of us so was able to deal with the nightmare of United scheduling. At one point United had us scheduled to fly out of Chicago before we landed in Chicago. Difficult to do. We paid for seats and trying to get them refunded and new ones purchased on the never ending schedule changes was difficult.

 

Unlike another poster I had good experiences with all the customer service people i dealt with. They were polite and tried hard to be helpful as much as they could.

 

The best part was United didn't notify us of the changes and it was just my habit of checking flights that saved us from a worse disaster. I was able to get us re-booked on reasonable flights because i was able to spend hours dealing with the airlines.

[love to cruz]

Our United flight from Berlin to Tampa was cancelled due to "mechanical issues in the states." Even though United had our phone #'s and email address, we were not notified.

Had to stand at the check in counter for over an hour to get a decent flight home. This was done after demanding they look at partner airlines. We are in our 70's and did not want to take 23 hours to get home, which is what the agent was trying to talk us into. Never again for United.

[fastpitchdad]

Our United flight from Berlin to Tampa was cancelled due to "mechanical issues in the states." Even though United had our phone #'s and email address, we were not notified.

Had to stand at the check in counter for over an hour to get a decent flight home. This was done after demanding they look at partner airlines. We are in our 70's and did not want to take 23 hours to get home, which is what the agent was trying to talk us into. Never again for United.

 

Always call...or at least call while waiting in line. I once had Swiss incorrectly cancel me on a Swiss/United ticket as a no-show on my outbound to BCN during Mobile World Congress and when I showed up to fly home they told me sorry...the next available flight was 4 days later. Long story short, I called United and they managed to get me to FRA and by the time I landed I had a flight home.

[Cancun01]

Do you know why your four flights were delayed to begin with? It's entirely possible that they were late because either the crew or the aircraft was delayed due to weather somewhere else in the country.

 

I am an experienced flyer and pretty reasonable. I would not cite an issue with lateness if it was weather elsewhere but thanks for pointing this out anyway.

[Cancun01]

We try to avoid United like the plague...even though we fly Business Class on most long haul flights. Why? How can I count the reasons :(. Their customer service is simply awful from their near useless software to the folks that answer their phones. United views their longer term flight schedules as advisory and the final schedules often have little in common with the original flights booked. And if United does have a schedule change or some kind of other related delay, do not expect their customer service folks to be helpful. In our experience their folks treat customers more like sheep (being led to the slaughter) then valuable customers. Hmmm. Would you like to know what I really think ? :)

 

We recently booked Business Class flights from the east coast to Copenhagen. United actually had the best schedule and prices....but we ignored United and quickly booked with Air Canada. And I am not even Canadian :).

 

Hank

 

Haha....After my experience with United this week I told a friend that United made Air Canada look good....and I am Canadian! Quite honestly the United customer service was fine. I just find it annoying to hang around an airport for several hours every time I fly them. Things happen but every flight?

Edited July 8, 2018 by Cancun01

[FlyerTalker]

Our United flight from Berlin to Tampa was cancelled due to "mechanical issues in the states." Even though United had our phone #'s and email address, we were not notified.

Had to stand at the check in counter for over an hour to get a decent flight home. This was done after demanding they look at partner airlines. We are in our 70's and did not want to take 23 hours to get home, which is what the agent was trying to talk us into. Never again for United.

 

Flights are averaging load factors of over 80%. So when a flight goes MX (Mechanical), is there supposed to be room for EVERYBODY to get a seat on the next flight out of Dodge? Assuming the same size aircraft (and that's a big stretch), if there's an 80% load factor, there's only 20% open seats for reroutes. Gonna take several flights to go through the original bunch. Now let's say that the original flight had 250 passengers, but the only things now leaving are some 737s. Even if there were NO other people booked, it would take several 737s to accomodate those 250.

 

Who gets reaccommodated first? Airline status and ticket class/basis. Somebody has to wait until tomorrow, and an agent would naturally try to get you on tomorrow's flight if you will take it. The fact that you are in your 70s means.....you've lived over 70 years. Does that grant you special status?

 

Don't blame UA. Just about any other airline would similarly be scrambling to find seats - not just out of Berlin, but for all of the onward connections necessary to get them to their destinations.

 

But if you want to put UA on the "never again" list....go right ahead, no matter how you rationalize that decision to yourself.

[waterbug123]

I am an experienced flyer and pretty reasonable. I would not cite an issue with lateness if it was weather elsewhere but thanks for pointing this out anyway.

 

I don't know you and have no idea what your knowledge of airline operations is. I do know a lot of people think that if the weather is sunny and beautiful where they are at the moment, they can't fathom that a delay/cancellation could be due to weather (elsewhere). I also know a lot of people read posts here without commenting and might be making assumptions about your flights that are not accurate, and thus make inaccurate notes to themselves for their future flying plans. You didn't specify, so I simply asked for purposes of clarification to possibly help you and/or any others who might be reading.

 

By the way, as you write off United, good luck finding a different airline that never has mechanical or crew issues.

[Globaliser]

I also question their maintenance. There was a United Express that filled with smoke before take off at Reagan this week. The flight I was on a day later from MCO-Dulles - a short 2 hour flight - landed with first responders racing towards the plane. Apparently both auto-pilots failed. I understand that the pilot just has to fly the plane manually but it was unnerving regardless. ...

I realize that the OP is asking about long-haul but I won't be flying on United over any large bodies of water in the near future!!!!

I recommend reading this website on a regular basis: If you think those two incidents might put you off one particular airline, reading the list of things that occur day-in day-out to all airlines will pretty much guarantee that you will choose never ever to fly again.

 

I'm surprised that an experienced flyer would get this so out of perspective, or use that sort of emotive language ("racing towards the plane") to describe them. It's more the sort of attitude one would get from the tabloid press.

Edited July 9, 2018 by Globaliser

[CruiserBruce]

I recommend reading this website on a regular basis: If you think those two incidents might put you off one particular airline, reading the list of things that occur day-in day-out to all airlines will pretty much guarantee that you will choose never ever to fly again.

 

I'm surprised that an experienced flyer would get this so out of perspective, or use that sort of emotive language ("racing towards the plane") to describe them. It's more the sort of attitude one would get from the tabloid press.

 

Many people swear off an airline due to one thing or another, believing that no other airline would ever do something similar. Then, they probably learn they were wrong.

[rkacruiser]

And it's not just airlines that have problems and run late. Check out Amtrak's performance. Even Canada's VIA Rail's The Canadian recently has been running very late--as much as 24 hours or more.

 

When one travels, one has "to go with the flow" expecting the best, but being prepared to make lemonade out of a lemon of a situation.

[iancal]

Bottom line for us...United is a very average airline. Mediocre at best. They have the same challenges as the other airlines. Everyone wants the flight for nothing along with a lots of room, a gourmet meal, open bar, access to the lounge, and free checked bags.

 

Heck, they even expect the airline to be on time. That is really pushing the expectations.

[FlyerTalker]

Everyone wants the flight for nothing along with a lots of room, a gourmet meal, open bar, access to the lounge, and free checked bags.

 

Heck, they even expect the airline to be on time. That is really pushing the expectations.

 

And the capper is that they can't see the inherent inconsistency between paying dirt-cheap prices and also wanting all those other factors.

[Texas Tillie]

And the capper is that they can't see the inherent inconsistency between paying dirt-cheap prices and also wanting all those other factors.

 

These are the same people booking the $499/week cruise and then complaining about the quality of the food! :cool:

[casofilia]

Just a little more leg-room would suffice for me!!!

[Hlitner]

And the capper is that they can't see the inherent inconsistency between payingwe dirt-cheap prices and also wanting all those other factors.

 

 

Not sure we totally agree. We recently were on Delta's new A350 Service from Narita to Detroit...and had paid a lot of money for last minute Business Class. The Flight Attendants were wonderful, friendly and good company. The new Business Class seats were excellent by any standard. But when one or our flight attendants stopped by to deliver our menu and talk about dinner choices, the comment was "its just typical airline food." And the truth was that the food was mediocre and not even close to what we have experienced on several other Asian and European airlines. Most of the airlines buy their food from the same catering companies and the difference is simply how much the airline is willing to spend for good food. Unfortunately it does seem like the major US Airlines just keep cutting costs on things like food, while the fares keep increasing.

 

And what has happened with Economy seating is just awful...especially on long flights. The airline's answer to complaints about pitch is to make their seats thinner (with much less padding). Even bathrooms keep shrinking in size so they can cram another few seats into the aircraft! When we used to fly the cheapest economy fares we did not complain about things like food. But when the pitch became so bad that one had to really be concerned about DVT we finally threw in the towel and moved ourselves up to Premium Economy or Business. For what Business costs on long International flights you have a right to better food. And Johnnie Walker Red or even Black does not impress at those prices....even China Air has Johnnie Walker Blue.

 

Hank

[rkacruiser]

NBC Nightly News this evening had a short piece about the declining size of the restrooms on the new planes that airlines are placing into service.

 

I will admit that my first trip on a 777, I was surprised that the bathroom on a larger plane was no larger than on my previous flights on other aircraft. (However, flying on Air New Zealand, once having closed the door and viewing the "entertaining" view on the back of the door, I didn't mind.)

[Texas Tillie]

NBC Nightly News this evening had a short piece about the declining size of the restrooms on the new planes that airlines are placing into service.

 

I will admit that my first trip on a 777, I was surprised that the bathroom on a larger plane was no larger than on my previous flights on other aircraft. (However, flying on Air New Zealand, once having closed the door and viewing the "entertaining" view on the back of the door, I didn't mind.)

 

Were you in the one that had the library shelves or the one with the crystal chandelier?

[waterbug123]

Just a little more leg-room would suffice for me!!!

 

Look or exit row seats, bulkhead seats, or economy comfort/comfort+ seats. These will likely cost a little more to book/select if you don't have status with the airline but can be well worth it.

 

 

And as a side note regarding paying for better seats vs. getting them free.... depending on how much one travels, an argument can be made for primarily sticking with one airline as opposed to always opting for whomever has the very lowest price....if you fly enough to build up status with an airline, especially a higher level status, what you've paid in slightly higher fares over the year can often be recouped by the the cost-cutting and time-saving privileges your status gets the following year. For us and our preferred airline, these include multiple free checked bags, higher baggage weight limits (rarely an issue but still), priority check-in, priority boarding (never left to board last and have to gate check bags), free drinks, ability to select window/aisle/exit/bulkhead at time of purchase at no charge, free upgrades to C+, upgrade eligibility for domestic F, free lounge access on international itineraries (even when traveling in coach), shorter hold time on the phone when calling airline, and greater flexibility for changing tickets. At the highest levels, we also get to choose things like free lounge access domestically, domestic or international upgrade certificates, airline vouchers, etc. There are times it truly doesn't make sense to book our preferred airline and we don't, but if our preferred airline wants $379 for a trip that someone else is selling for $339, we'll usually pay that extra $40 without blinking an eye because we know that trip will get us that much closer to recouping the extra cost and then some. Again, depends on each person's level of travel, but something to consider!

[fastpitchdad]

NBC Nightly News this evening had a short piece about the declining size of the restrooms on the new planes that airlines are placing into service.

 

I will admit that my first trip on a 777, I was surprised that the bathroom on a larger plane was no larger than on my previous flights on other aircraft. (However, flying on Air New Zealand, once having closed the door and viewing the "entertaining" view on the back of the door, I didn't mind.)

 

SAS has (at least as of a few years ago) a window in the business class bathrooms on their A330/340s.

[pinotlover]

I fly both AA or UA predominantly, while I do have an Austrian Airlines flight coming up soon. On long hauls, we book BC. A noticeable difference between those two airlines is on the 789 Dreamliner. US uses a 2-2-2 configuration in BC , while AA does 1-2-1. UA is just a lit more cramped and not as pleasant a trip, IMO. AA likewise flies more 77W going to Asia with the 1-2-1 configuration, while UA flies the 777 with 2-2-2!

[rkacruiser]

Were you in the one that had the library shelves or the one with the crystal chandelier?

 

Re your post: ??

 

I was in the one that had a caricature of an old-fashioned, leather helmeted pilot, wearing goggles and with a neck scarf blowing in the wind in the direction the plane was flying painted on the closed restroom door.

[fbgd]

Not sure we totally agree. We recently were on Delta's new A350 Service from Narita to Detroit...and had paid a lot of money for last minute Business Class.

 

I think if you're referring to business class, or any premium cabin product for that matter, you don't fall into the category of flyer that Flyertalker is referring to...

 

Regardless I don't think economy class flyers can whinge too much about legroom. Relative to inflation the cost of flying has been cheaper than ever, and if you're happy to pay what you used to then you can get more for your money than what you paid 20 or 30yrs ago...True premium economy is better than economy ever was.

 

even China Air has Johnnie Walker Blue.

 

Who?

[em-sk]

SAS has (at least as of a few years ago) a window in the business class bathrooms on their A330/340s.

 

Air Canada also has them on on their 777.

[Globaliser]

even China Air has Johnnie Walker Blue.

Who?

I think it's a game played on CC called Fantasy Airlines.