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United Airlines Reviews

United Crew are Racists!!
Sep 25, 2013 12:53 AM 14917 Views

I was traveling by United Airlines from New Orleans to Houston on the 22nd sept'13 with an aunt of mine. Firstly when I went to inquire about my flight at the boarding gate I was shunned from there by a lady who just said don't you read whats written? So I quietly got back and found that the flight was delayed. And I kept looking at her difference in attitude with the whites who were going to her.


When after an hour of delay they started with the boarding I stood in the que and I was given group 5 for boarding. When my turn came the lady said we cannot take our carry on bags and we have to get them checked in. Since we had a long journey with 3 more connections ahead we expected them to check our bags only till Houston. But when she tagged our bags India we asked her so that we could collect it from Houston and we will be needing the things in the bags. She did not listen a word and said we either leave our bags or not get on the flight. I tried to tell her that I have my documents that I would need for immigration and my aunt has her medications as she's a cancer and heart patient but she hardly paid attention and in no time our bags were sent down for check in. I tried to explain this again and she just asked me if I want to board the flight or not? Leaving me with no option I boarded the flight thinking ill get some help from the crew inside. But the crew would just say they can do nothing about it. We requested them to take our baggage tags and at landing to talk to the gate agents to not check in our bags in the next flight. But that wasn't working either. Hence we requested an American sitting next to us to help us out and put some sense in their brains.


Finally this worked and I'm not surprised because a "White American" was now talking to them. But when we got out we see nothing happening again. Me and my aunt had broken down by then. and after we pleaded to the gate agent she finally ran down and helped us and got our bags out. We lost over an hour running around till we finally got our carry on bags.


And my aunt had started getting sick running around so much. But we finally let it go and went to board our next flight by Qatar Airlines where we found out that our bags were checked in to the wrong destination. This has just been the most painful and worst travel experiences I've had. I just have to say that this airlines is full of arrogant people who are racists and have absolute no sense to talk to their customers.


I also flew by United from HongKong to Chicago and Chicago - New Orleans and have to say they had terrible service. But I just don't want to get there now. I am thoroughly disappointed and furious with the crew to have behaved in such manner. I don't expect a compensation but I regret not being able to get the names of the crew who did this to us.


SF United States of America
United Worst Ever AIrline!
Jul 02, 2013 12:46 PM 14356 Views

I fly over 30, 000 miles a year and have been forced into this merger with UA and CO.  As a frequent flyer I have never been so disgusted and through with this airline.  If you are not a 1K, Plat or Gold they are not loyal to you no matter how long or often you fly with them.  They are only interested high paying customers.  In the last 2 years 98% of my flights ! have experienced mod to serious problems.  Dirty, old planes, broken seats, lamps and entertainment equipment, delayed, overbooked, cancelled flights, and mechanical problems.  My last flight from PHX to SFO was to be a 1.75 hour flight and last well over 11 hours.


Bad airline and I'm looking for another to give my business too.


London United Kingdom
DONT FLY UNITED!
Mar 29, 2013 01:50 PM 10840 Views

To Hawaii and back from London with United.  I'd read the reviews about United before flying, old planes, surly staff well past the the remaining flashes of youth, cramped, poor service etc and found all of these things, unfortunately, to be TRUE. This airline is the worst - outgoing LHR to LAX was ok, service not great, couple of the stewards be best to retire if they find their job so evidently tiresome but the food was actually very good on the flight.Then the flight from hell, LAX to Maui.


Firstly, they stick us on a tiny 737 then an hour into the flight we get a single message from the Captain to belt up as things will be ' a bit bumpy!" Well, 2 hours of terrible turbulence with even the stewards strapped in and (as I subsequently discovered - concerned as it was some of the worst they'd known) people exasperating out loud as we were tossed around like kippers over the Pacific in pitch darkness. Captain Silent said nothing to us, not a single word of reassurance. By last hour of flight things had calmed. Plane was old and for a flight longer than London to NYC far too small.


Way back Honolulu to San Francisco was the best - 767 with reasonable room (I'd paid for Premium Economy on all the flights cos they're configurations are just so cramped) and both Captain and service actually bordering on good. Then San Fran back to Heathrow - a really old crate of a 747 with just the big cinema screen up, so we all got treated to to Hitchcock for the umpteenth time wether we wanted it or not. Premium Economy had suddenly shrunk from my outbound trip and the service was lamentable - English stewardess (Lisa I think) addressing us as if we were errant teenagers, her seeming contempt for having to deal with us lowlifes in economy clearly an irritation to her. Still, got there and got back to London - to find that our cases had been broken into somewhere from leaving Honolulu to LHeathrow via San Francisco, certainly no 'official search' sticker.


Given a choice, I will never fly United Airlines again.


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Boston United States of America
I will never fly with United again.
Jan 14, 2013 11:51 PM 12208 Views

My suitcase was CRUSHED, but could only send an email about it to United because of there was no agent at the receiving end. I received no reply to the email. I tried to follow up by phone and kept getting India. Barely could understand them, but essentially said they would do nothing because I did not report it within 4 hours of the plane landing.


I could never get an American United agent on the phone. I believe United is being run by India. On the plane, the stewardesses were GROUCHY. They seemed to hate passengers. I noticed one yelling at passengers sitting next to an exit because they had a bandage on their hand and because one was Asian, they assumed she couldn't speak English. They kept yelling; “Can you speak English?” The Asian could speak better English then the stewardess. They wanted to move everyone away from the exit seats.


If they don’t like their job, let someone else have it. There are many that need a job.


Londonderry United Kingdom
Enhance economy - Well worth the money
Oct 29, 2012 10:38 PM 12820 Views

Return flights Dublin – Washington DC – Washington on Boeing 757-200, October 2012.Check-in, boarding, in-flight care and catering all satisfactory – nothing outstanding but no problems or unpleasantness either.


Enhanced economy buys you extra legroom nothing more, everything else is as economy, but the added cost is very reasonable compared to other carriers’ charges for premium economy or business. The extra legroom makes all the difference, it’s roomy even if the passenger in front tilts his seat back, and if and when I fly the Atlantic again and United serve the destination then this is probably the way I’ll go.


bangalore india
Not a people friendly airline
Oct 12, 2011 11:35 PM 13142 Views

I booked2 return tickets from Bangalore to Washington by Lufthansa. The Ffrankfurt to Washington and Wahington to Frankfurt on the return journeys were in United. Inspite of booking 3 months in advance my wife and myself did not get even the 2 seats together, let alone getting any aisle seats. In lufthansa we had the option to pick our seats at the time of booking itself on the net. But United did not have any such facility and we landed up with seats in the middle of 5 seats row and on the return journey we did not even get the seats together. This after booking more than 3 months in advance is really unforgivable. The person at the boarding point gave seperate seats to us and had the gall to say that the seats are near though not together. If you can help it do not fly this airline, because they have very funny policies and do not care for their paying passengers.


BUMPING OF OBESSE PASSENGERS
Apr 21, 2009 03:50 AM 11515 Views

CNN USA-NEWS. UNITED AIRLINES BUMPING BIGGER PASSENGERS-Staff Report


April 16, 2009


May bump severely overweight passengers from sol out flights..Passengers who are too large to fit comfortably in a coach seat will be required to buy a second ticket or upgrade to business class, where seats are larger, if ........'s flight attendant can't find two open seats for them.


The Chicago-based carrier said it decided to adopt the tougher policy after receiving many complaints from passengers "who did not have a comfortable flight because the person next to them infringed o their seat", spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said.


Most airlines I the U.S. spell out similar rules in a legal document called the "contract of carriage" that establishes services and charges for flights, airlie analusts said. Southwest requires passengers who can't comfortably lower their armrests to purchase tickets for two adjacent seats.Southwest will refund the cost of the second seat if a flight isn't sold- out. .


Although the policy has bee o Southwest's books for a quarter-century, the low-cost carrier faced widespread backlash when it reminded consumers of its standards for larger passengers in 2002, as SOUTHWEST SWITCHED from plastic boarding cards to electronic tickets.


Passengers issues of weight and proximity have become more sensitive I recent years as flights have become fuller. But as adopt or toughen policies for obese passengers, some question how they ca enforce such measures fairly."How do you eyeball someone and decide they're not going to ft?" said aviatio consultant Robert Mann, presidet of R.W.Man &Co. "From a knees -t0-seatback perspective, I don't fit . I'm 6 feet 4 inches.


"We will first try to re-accommodate you on another seat o the flight, " Urbanski said, 'If the flight is full , and that;s not often the case these days, you'll be bumped from the flight, "


If this occurs, passengers will be forced to either find a flight with open seating or be required to buy two seats or an upgrade to a class of service with wide seats.IF seating is not available and a passenger decides not to travel , the ticket will be refunded without any penalty, even if it is a non-refundable ticket. Above is the breaking news.As per news on April 20, 2009 overweight/bigger passengers have bee charged for two tickets. As such it is high time for the over-weights/obese/fat persons to start dieting not oly to save themselves from the risks of heart diseases but also to save the costs of AIR TRAVELS specially in US Airlines.


Those who are too big or fat or obese and plan to travel by AIR the they have to remember:




  1. They may be charged for two tickets if wider seats are not available.




  2. They have the option to cancel their travel and claim full refund.




  3. If they have single tickets and do not fit in their booked seats and do not want to pay double or cancel their tickets then they may be BUMPED BY THE AIRLINES.






SO EVERYBODY , WHO DREAMS OF AIR TRAVEL BE ON HIS GUARD ;


Tight seating space in Economy
Feb 16, 2009 10:02 AM 10737 Views

UPDATE:


I flew yet another flight from United from somewhere in the US(I think DC again) to Dubai. And the planes had the most enormous bathrooms I have ever seen! The seating was better than my last flight too.


And the landing was phenomenal. Believe me when I tell you this - we all thought we were still in air when the plane had actually made a perfect landing: no turbulence whatsoever!


The end message was: "Ladies and gentleman, some of you might find it hard to believe, but we have actually landed in Dubai."


ORIGINAL:


I flew from Zurich to DC via United. I think it was a Boeing 737 with extremely tight leg space. It wasn't such a comfortable experience due to this. I didn't eat anything.


The diet meal I had ordered contained a burger with lettuce and stuff, which I don't eat. So I ended up eating just fruit or jellos I guess and a glass of juice on an eight hour long flight. I didn't enjoy watching TV much, mostly because I was so stuffed in between the seats that my legs could no longer bear it.


Other than that, it was an ok experience. I would think again before flying economy on their Boeing 737. It's ok to use small planes like these for national flights, but definitely not ok on intercontinental flights, especially when you're flying from Europe to the US! I hope they shift to bigger planes or somehow create more leg space in their economy class, or at least add some good meal options for economy class.


Milwaukee USA
They are not coming back
Jun 20, 2006 08:07 AM 11362 Views

I have flown on to many airlines in the last eleven years that I can not remember all of them. United is in a class all it's own. The worst. On a short flight from Chicago to Detroit in June of 2006 the pilot decided to board the plane knowing that we had to sit on the runway for 45 min past the designated departure time. After 35 minutes past, he came on the intercom to tell us that it would be an additional 20 minutes. For a total of 55 minutes of just sitting in the 100% full plane in jammed seats. He then attempted to start the engines only to find an error light. After an additional half an hour of trouble shooting the flight was cancelled. That is when the problems started. After telling the passengers with gate checked carry ones to wait on the left side of the jet walk he and the other United employees just left. The people waiting on the jet walk could see all of their carry ones but could not see any one retrieving them for another 35 minutes. United’s idea of getting us to Detroit left much to be desired. All of the direct flights where full that day and the next. So they had suggested that the next day take a flight to Denver and the Denver to Detroit. Or Take a direct flight in two days. The first choice would have taken a hole day to complete. The second was, well stupid. I elected to rent a car and drive to Detroit and get a refund. United would not refund my change fee of $100.00 even though they cancelled the flight!!!! Now I am out the cost of renting a car and driving plus $100.00. They are not cheap to fly. They will get you.


Chandler, Westport, New York USA
UAL soon to be DOA
Mar 31, 2004 04:38 AM 10275 Views

I traveled 90% of the time for business for eight years and I preferred using United Airlines for comfort and free first-class upgrades. This was one of the benefits for being a UAL Premier member (fly more than 25 flights a year). I will definitely say that UAL was one of the best airlines regarding comfort and care. Unfortunately, UAL is no longer the pride of the skies due to many reasons -- the most obvious is the industry-wide impact of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. But prior to 9-11, many airlines including UAL were struggling against diminishing market share due to the entry of smaller regional carriers such as Southwest, ATA and Alaskan Airlines.


The last time I flew UAL was in 2000 when a disgruntled gate agent accosted me at Los Angeles International Airport. Suffice to say that the fellow did not offer his name, hid his UAL employee badge, and refused to apologize after realizing his mistake -- he didn't read the red ink on my boarding pass indicating Premier status.


There were many factors that could have contributed to the UAL agent's rude behavior, such as salary freezes, UAL bankruptcy, etc... However, they are no excuse for treating customers poorly.


I wrote a formal letter of complaint to UAL. The response was a generic indifferent response of ''thank you for your feedback...''


I will never fly UAL again.


Ritzville USA
Boise to NYC
Mar 30, 2004 10:55 AM 8882 Views

What can I say? Boise was Station number one for UAL back in 1926 (check out the plaques on the wall comm 25th 50th and 75th year of being there). United is king in Boise, as it was the only way in and out of town, and the town hasnt forgotten it in almost 80 years.


The staff at the counter were wonderful, and the flight was very very good. I took my parents with me who hadnt flown since 1980 (Braniff Int), so I wanted smooth and peace. My dad now wants to fly more often due to the positive experience with United (hes 57). He wanted to go to Ketchikan, AK and was upset that United didnt go there.


We went BOI to San Fransisco on United Express (skywest). It was full, as are most flight out of Boise on United (50 seat Canadair RJ). Then we had a 45 min layover in San Fransisco, the gate was just around the corner for connecting. We then went transcontenental from San Fran to Kennedy. Smooth sailing the whole way, we had a terrific tail wind (Boeing 767) and was an hour early, and had to fly over the Atlantic and loop around till the gate was cleared for us. My dad watched where we were over the US throughout the whole flight. How is that for being beyond expectations! Baggage was just coming down for us as we went to claim. Dinner on the flight was excellent, and an excellent boxed snack as well. My sister is vegitarian, her meal came to her that way, she really enjoyed it.


Check in for return at LaGuardia (yes they let you leave another airport for no extra charge), we did the Self check in, which was easy and friendly to use. LaG to Denver (Boeing 757) was nice with inflight movie and great snack. From Denver to BOI, the layover was again 45 min (nice to have so many flights with small wait times). I knew this one would be crowded as I said at the begining, United is King in Boise. The 737 was very full, just a few empty seats to be had, but most then were filled with standbys from employees of other airlines. The Boise flight came in 10 min early, and baggage was just starting to fall on the claim. No lost baggage, and we checked 6 total.


If you havent experienced United yet, you should really try them. Sure they have had there ups and downs, and perhaps you think that since they are in Chapter 11 you will somehow miss your flight or lose your ticket. They are reorganizing. Usually when a restaurant was closed for being dirty, when they are opened again, they are probably the safest in town as they are being watched closely. Same with United. Every dollar is being counted and perhaps are in better shape than when they lost 2 planes on Sept 11.


United Airlines Packaged Trips
Mar 08, 2004 12:45 AM 8592 Views

''Fly The Friendly Skies Of United Airlines, is the motto this airline uses.


I have been to San Francisco quite a few times, but when they offered a 3day/4night package from Victoria to San Francisco, we decide to go.


The package included the flights, bus transfers, (to and from the airport to the hotel), 3 buffet breakfasts, all taxes and tips, for $350.00 CAD, each we decided to go.


.:The Flights:.


We had to be at the Vancouver Airport, 3 hours before the flight, (it us to be 2 hours, but since Sept. 11th, it takes a long time to go through a security check.


There were a lot of check in places, and one was for group travel, so we were checked-in within 5 minutes.


We had pre-booked our seats. The plane had 3 seats on each side of the aisle, so we sat across from each other. That way we could talk to each other.


Breakfast was a surprised because we could have the omelet, or cold cereal. We both had cold cereal with strawberries on it, and a toasted bagel.


The flight takes a little over an hour and it seemed like we had just finished eating when the pilot told us we were arriving.


On the way back we had a choice of steak or soup with a Chinese chicken salad. We both choice the latter.


The Staff and Crew


We found the staff at the check-in counter and the crew on board the plane to be as friendly as their motto promised.


.:The Hotel:.


We stayed at the Holiday Inn on Fisherman's Wharf. It is near Pier 39. This is a small hotel, with about 180 rooms.


When we drove up to the hotel, we could see a two story building, with a taller one attached.


Our Tour Guide brought our keys to us, while we sat in the lobby. When we arrived at our rooms, our suitcases were already there.


Our room was airconditioned, had a queen sized bed, with night tables on either side. There was an alarm clock/radio on one of them, and a telephone on the other.


We had a 3 seat sofa with a coffee table in front of it. There was a TV, a coffee/tea maker, a large closet, (with a safe in it) and big dresser.


In the bathroom there was a toilet, a tub/shower, a sink, a make up mirror and a hair drier.


In the morning be had breakfast in the Coffee Shop. We didn't go to their Bristol Bar and Grill, because there are too many other excellent places to eat in San Francisco.


.:The Things To See:.


San Francisco isn't a large city, the population is almost 800,000 people. It is on a tip of a peninsula, in northern California. The Pacific Ocean on its western side, the mountains are a backdrop, and the San Francisco Bay is the north and east.


The tourist are looks like a triangle. Embarcadero Street is the tip of the pie, and Market Street and Van Ness Avenue, are the two slides.


The Golden Gate Bridge, was built in 1937, and to cross it you have to pay $5.00 per car. You can walk or ride a bike across it for free. On the other side of the bridge is the city of Oakland.


The Asian Art Museum in the Golden Gate Park. It is the largest Museum in North America, that only shows Asian art. The displays show you the 6,000 years of art from all of the countries in Asia. While we were hear we bought a lithograph, at the Gift Shop, drawn by Li Huayi, (from Shanghai, China). The first floor of the Museum only displays his wonderful paintings of China.


China Town has a walking tour. This is the place to buy tourist items, have a delicious chinese meal, and walk through the open market.


On Nob Hill, walk into the Mark Hopkins Hotel, take an elevator to the top floor, and have a drink at the bar. From here you get a panoramic view of the city.


Take a cable car to Fisherman's Wharf. On the Wharf there are a lot of small cafes and fine dinning rooms. Across the street from the wharf are some wonderful one of a kind shops.


Take ferry to Alcatraz Island. We took a tour of the prison, that the United States Government built, because they thought no one could escape from it. We saw the cells of the Bird Man of Alcatraz and Al Capone were kept in.


Where to shop:


The classy shops are surrounding Union Square. They are very expensive. I like to browse there, because it doesn't cost a thing to browse.


Chestnut Street has a lot of trendy cloths. A lot of them are loose fitting and that's super for a woman built like me.


.:Where to eat:.


On Chestnut Street we went to the Cozmo's Café. Everything is cooked on a rotisserie. I had never tasted seafood cooked this way before.


Ton Kiang, on Geary Blvd, makes great Cantonese food. I love the shrimp toast and the salt & pepper dry short ribs.


Splendido, on Embarcadero, makes excellent home made pastas, and pizza.


The Waterfront Restaurant is at Fishermans Wharf. It's the best place to eat seafood in San Francisco.


For wonderful Mexican food you can't beat the food at La Taqueria. You'll find it on Mission Street.


.:My Final Thoughts:.


I love San Francisco and I hope you can visit it one day.


The link to their Tourist Board page is:


https://sfvisitor.org


We enjoyed this flight, and have since flown United a few times since then.


Thank you for reading my review.


©LL2004


The Friendly Skies
May 27, 2003 04:47 PM 7626 Views

I have flown United for hundreds of thousands of miles in my life and I am glad to have this wonderful company around.


Based in the US, I fly to all corners of the world and every time I'm returning home, its great to see the United agent at the check-in counter. If I'm in Delhi, Bangkok, Seoul...they are always ready to assist and act as though I was the reason they came to work that day.


Usually I fly in economy class but at times have flown in the business or first class cabins.


Economy plus seating is the first few rows of the economy class that offers additional legroom and is available for the frequent-flyers or those on full-fare tickets.


Some flight attendants are getting a little seasoned, but all smile and are very helpful and able to assist.


United does offer an affordable and comfortable product for international travel.


The frequent flyer program is excellent with global partners through the Star Alliance that allows you to earn and redeem miles for almost any destination in the world. For those with frequent-flyer status, the status is recognized with all the members of the Star Alliance.


Domestically United does have its challenges, but the company does have a competitive product that is similar to all the other US airlines.


A metropolitan city India (NRI)
Fly UNITED. Fasten Your seat belts. Relax and Enjo
May 21, 2003 10:11 PM 9216 Views

UA - One of the Best


INTRODUCTION


United Airlines is one of the biggest airlines in the world. I had the privilege of flying united many times, being in US. All my experiences were excellent. Not once I felt uneasy, given that chances of getting frustrated due to air-travel is awfully large. What makes United so special?


HISTORY



Did you know that the first experimental air service was between Washington D.C & Philadelphia, run by the US Army?


The Kelly Act of 1925 authorized private operators to bid for mail contracts.


United Airlines history dates back to the early 20th century. United started its flying its own planes under the auspices of ''UAL'' tag in 1931.


Walter T.Varney started the first service in 1926 between Pasco, WA & Elko, NV marking the true birth of UAL.


NAT, PAT & BAT(Boeing Air Transport) started their sevices in 1926 & 1927. BATC acquired BAT & PAT finally changing the name to UATC. UATC then acquired NAT and Varney Airlines makin it the monopoly for its time. In 1931, UATC changed its name to UAL which is what we know as still. On the April Fool's day of 1931 the pilots started the ALPA(Air Line Pilots Association) which is one of the biggest unions still, given its stature and the number of white-collared professionals working. After this the famous airmail scandal of US happened and things took a turn.



OK, let me not delve into US commercial aviation history.


From its humble beginnings, UAL has grown leaps and bounds for now. Although it is going through a big patch and troubled times, it had its moments. Some of them are very big. United has a major fleet under its wings. It flies the latest and greatest planes (Boeing 777s & A-320s) for its premium destinations. I had a privilege of flying in a 777 when I traveled to San Francisco once, let me tell you it is so vast, as big as a shopping place!.


That’s enough for history, let us delve into what are the characteristics we look for in a major airliner. In my opinion, the following are the features I look for.




  1. Ticketing, Pricing and Connectivity




  2. Boarding




  3. Inflight services




  4. Flight experience




  5. Post Travel services






TICKETING, PRICING & CONNECTIVITY


I have done this in two ways, for my own trips (travel and all), I have utilized United E-fare (Thrice), Priceline, Expedia &Orbitz (all once). I got exceptional deals except for one trip to Memphis which is a Northwest hub where the pricing was a highway robbery and It was the only option I had. All in all, you have many options and they match the best price for you.


The other one is for official trips which AMEX did it for me. No sweats. Wait for an email. Print the PDF. Go to the airport. Bingo!


It offers e-fares which is an excellent feature. I am subscribed to it and you get deadly deals via this. Only catch here is that you’ll have to travel during early Saturday morning, hence you lose almost 12-18 hours worth of early meeting your friends or go to your destination. (Friday evening& Sunday Evening are the most demanded timings). I once had a chance of buying tickets to Amsterdam and all for $199 (two-way fare). Can you believe it. The domestic e-fares are excellent.


Connectivity wise, I would say UNITED is the best due to its STAR alliance. They have a major code sharing system with Air Canada, Thai, ANA, Austrian, BMI, Auda, Lufthansa, Mexicana, SAS, Varig, Singapore Airlines, Span Air etc.


They also have a code share with US Airways for domestic airlines. For non-reachable places in US (Due to restrictions on United), they fly by the partner airways. (The pricing for my Memphis trip was due to the same as United was the only outgoing option for me at that point of time)


BOARDING


All the time I have flown United, I had an outstanding experience. As I am a mileage plus member too, I get somewhat of a preferential treatment too. Boarding is very smooth and easy except for the crowded holiday season, which is quite acceptable. After the wake of incidents and increased security measures, it has become a bit tougher for me but not frustrating and all. It is still a good experience for me.


After the latest security measure, every bag is being searched and scanned by the latest and greatest scanner machines. It may take 20-30 minutes extra. It is out of United’s hands right?


INFLIGHT


Due to the economics and other measures, I would say this has suffered quite a bit, at least in the food sense. We used to get free dinner/lunch and all, depending on the travel time, prior to 2001. As there is a drastic measure to cut cost due to its chapter-11 filing, we get a salted peanut packet(18 peanuts, I counted!) these days, apart from the courtesy soft drinks and all.


The stewards/stewardesses are well groomed and trained too. They are always courteous. Like always, you see some odd people behaving in a bit odd manner. Hey, they may be having a bad day, right?


The services and the movies are good (At least when they used to show it free). Now they charge 5 bucks per movie and headset. United always has an exceptional audio collection and all.


They show some great movies and have different sets of flavors for various regions that they travel to. They also have an air phone, if you dare to spend $15 a minute on phone calls. 


FLIGHT EXPERIENCE


My life has been easy all the time as I have always flown in some advanced fleets except for once when they took us in a jet. The pilots are extremely skilled and there were no scary incidents so far except for the occasional bumps due to turbulence. The timing and the major maneuvers are always a pleasure to look forward to in United. I was never put on a wait-list or not given an earlier flight or not treated well, not even once. The timing for take off and landing is almost punctual except for couple of connecting flight delays. I would say they always make it on time.


POST TRAVEL SERVICES


This is very important, if you miss your baggage or something. I never had that luck (What??), even once. My friend had his rudimentary clothes in a bag and he was too lazy to carry it. He checked in and know what, he didn’t get it at his destination (Actually, he was returning home anyways, where he had tons of clothes). Anyways, he got a lot of apologies, a $500 coupon and the bag very next days. May be this was in the golden days (1998 it was). I don’t know if they have the same offer nowadays, given the economic scenarios.


Their Mileage Plus membership plan is also excellent. United follows up with some excellent deals, if you opt for the same. I got some excellent deals and my miles are growing. I am just waiting for my free trip to India. 


PERSONAL MUSINGS


You may be wondering how come a bankrupt company provide excellent service given the fact that there is a drastic measure to cut costs. Well, friends the people who are retained are the best of the best and they understand both the customers and the company. They strive harder to make things better. The earlier, the better for them, company and the customers. Right? That’s what United Employees are striving to do for now. If you have any hesitation about the same, you can all shelve it. I have flown in NWA, Delta, ATA, American Airlines, Southwest, America West, US Airways and Reno Air. United just takes the cream of all these good airlines in US. I have flown few other airlines too. United is my all-time favorite for now. It will be unless something happens.


Your comments are most welcome


Kalil


Title : LAS VEGAS (LAS) TO NYC (JFK) TRIP
Apr 22, 2003 10:58 PM 6968 Views

LAS VEGAS TO SAN FRANCISCO- I havent flown with United ever until this trip. I was flying with my mother and sister and a few relatives back home to JFK from Las Vegas. So our first flight was from LAS (Las Vegas) to SFO (San Francisco) because United DOES NOT offer NON-STOPS from LAS TO JFK. So we had to connect in SFO. We left the hotel at 4 A.M. because we had a 6:30 A.M. flight. We arrived at the airport and they only had curbside check-in for this flight. The line was not too bad but it was a good 20 minute wait to actually check our bags. We had E-TICKETS, so they printed our boarding cards for us at the check-in. We were then off to the gate/security. We went to the security first because LAS has this train that takes from from the main terminal to the individual gates. Security was pretty good considering it was after all post sept. 11. Anyway we went on the 3 minute train ride to the gates. Now our flight was delayed because the flight crew for this flight got in late the night before from Denver and ALL crew MUST HAVE A MINIMUM RESTING PERIOD. So we sat at the gate and watched pilots and passengers pass by as we sat waiting. Finally the crew arrived. In total, our flight was delayed about 90 minutes. We boarded and that went smoothly considering the long wait. We sat in our seats and the plane pushed back for taxiing. Now, one thing I love about United is that on EVERY flight, they have a person that kind of informs the passengers about the flight itself and they always happen to add a little bit of humor in it. It's quite nice... We took off and since this flight to SFO was only about 2 hours 10 minutes, they did NOT serve any food. Although they did serve water. The flight itself was fabulous turbulence wise. There was clouds and not such a nice day and the flight was fantastic, considering the weather and that the plane was an old, old B737-300. We landed and we had to connect to our JFK flight and eventhough we were delayed we made the JFK fight by about 20 minutes.


SFO AIRPORT We exited the plane and immediately looked for our gate to the New York flight. Surprisingly, our gate was right around the corner and time wise we were fine. My mother and sister went to the bathroom and I stayed with my cousins and uncle at the gate. I looked around the airport and I must say SFO is a very pretty airport. Clean, new-looking and not too crowded, but still busy. United has monitors above the entrance to the planes at the gates at airports worldwide. (and SFO is one of the airports that has them) These monitors tell you ALL the info on your flight, like flight time, aircraft type, meals being served, weather in your destination (in our case, NY) and count down until boarding.


Flight from SFO TO JFK- So we boarded and sat in out seats all together. Our flight time today was 6 hours and 3 minutes (estimated) The weather at SFO wasn't so nice, a little rain, but it didn't affect our departure or flight. We sat in our seats for about 15 minutes and then our captain told us info on our flight and so forth, and we pushed back for our taxiing/departure. Then as we were taxiing, the person I told you about before came on the speaker and told us all of the fight info and entertainment info. We were on schedule for departure and were airborne on time. Take off went very well and we were on our way. Our flight took off at about 11:00 A.M. from SFO. Since it was a morning flight, they served us a total of 2 meals. A snackish type sandwich and a meal which was lunch. Lunch came first at about an hour into the flight. And by the way the stewardess was very nice (and good looking, ALL of them were) and she gave me a drink right before takeoff. My mother and uncle ordered a special meal in advance, a Kosher meal, but I didn't want that. I just had the regular meal and it was really good, it was a choice of chicken or steak with all these hot vegetables and potatoes. Very nice and a fresh fruit salad and of course free drinks throughout the flight. My mothers and uncles meal for lunch was a Kosher version pretty much of what I had. Since I was sitting next to my mother, I tasted her food and it was good as well. She also got a slice of cake and a fruit salad. My cousins and sister had the regular meal and they said they enjoyed it. Now since our flight was aboard a B767-300ER, (ER stands for ''EXTENDED RANGE'') there was Personal TV'S at every seat in economy, (which we were in) business and first class. There were no games but 6 movies to choose from and like 20 audio channels. There was although NEWS and shows that you could watch at your disposal. Very nice entertainment. We had our I guess you could call our prelanding snakish sandwich. I got a sandwich with pastrami and vegetables inside, a slice of cake and trail mix. My mothers Kosher meal consisted of crackers with different things to put on them, such as cream cheese and jellies. She also got trail mix which was really good. And of course any drinks we wanted. We were ready to begin our descent and I should mention that early in the flight we encountered slight turbulence while flying over the mountains in Colorado, but whenever you fly over mountains, there will ALWAYS be turbulence. We descended and landed. Landing was a breeze and smooth. I must say United Airlines pilots are quite good. And I should also mention that on both flights, I got to see both of the pilots. (2 on each) We taxid (not sure how to spell taxid) to the gate and we got our baggage. Exiting a plane isn't always that fast and it was the same case here. But it wasn't too bad. The line to exit was about 15 mins from when we got out of our seats. We went down to baggage and our baggage came like within 10 minutes. I mean ALL OF OUR BAGS, including my mothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, and cousins and obviously mine. We then moved on to the the door and went home. I almost forgot to say about how the seats were. They were actually pretty comfortable. Nothing special, but descent seat space.


All in all, I must say that United is a huge corporation, they are not doing so great financially, but which airlines are? Not too many are doing well right now. Anyway from the food to the PTV'S to how the flights themselves were to check-in, I must say they were all absolutely fantastic. I rate United for a first time flyer with them a 9.5 out of 10


Flying for the first time
Jan 10, 2002 09:27 PM 7479 Views

Flying is a close to heaven as people get well I believe them I have never been on a airplane before so I was a little nervous but it was something I wanted to do me and my dad was flying from Houston to Colorado spring to visit my brother and the kids they live in canon city co which is another story to tell you the bad checking and the security was fine when we got on the plane to take off I wasnt expecting it to take off that fast it is like being on a roller coaster ride and the higher we went up the more I was smilling man just to look out of your window and see nothing but clouds and it looks like snow it is the most wonder feeling in the world and to see the clouds rool by you is something else The service on the plane was excellent I didnt want to come down from flying it was so beautiful and peaceful that I cant wait to go up again anywhere just to fly again it is a wonderful feeling


Smooth hassle-less flight.
Jan 10, 2002 08:18 PM 7784 Views

United Airlines! I would definately say Great! Not Bad! Pretty Good!


No hassles on the way. You get a smooth ride without any bumps or any problems. They take care of you pretty well even in the economic class. I say this only by my experience with them. I have gone with them 3 times from Mumbai to Los Angeles and back, and beleive me my experiences have been pretty good with them.


The food they served was pretty good (I am vegetarian so don't know about non-veg) and filling. But I lived mostly on milk and cold drinks on the flights. I would have had almost 10 glasses of milk and cold drinks together while going and atleast another 10 while coming back. The good part is they don't mind.


The hosts on the aircrafts were extremely friendly and made my flight incredibily as pleasant as possible. One of them even got some free time to play a game of cards with me. They pampered me with all the sweets I could have and also the cold drinks. Plus I could take how many ever card decks I wanted.


The movie they put on the plane was Karate kid so it was pretty good time pass for a journey of aprox. 20 hours (including halts)


The seats were ok in the economic class. Nothing special! The hosts allowed me to sit in the business class during the last 1 hour of the trip so it was pretty cool (They probably did that because I was a minor)


The only problem I had during the flight was my back was feeling pretty bad after it. Probably I was tired or what I don't know. But it was barable.


Overall a great experience of luxory.


north island New Zealand
Long haul with UNITED
Jan 10, 2002 07:49 AM 7997 Views

I'm no expert when it comes to the different airlines as I have only flown one long haul flight.


There was no choice to make when booking the New Zealand- Los Angeles flight as there was only one airline offering the special fare of $1450 (NZ) return.


We departed Auckland on time at 1:30pm. As we had arrived via a connecting flight at 11am the check in was very quick and efficient.


The plane was full on the flight over so for 13 hours we were confined to our seats at the very rear of the plane. We had two seats by the window so I was able to stretch my legs over my husband and lean them on the window every so often.


On the return flight we scored a middle row all to ourselves so while one sat up the other could lay comfortably across the remaining seats. We took turns trying to sleep on the way home.


The cabin crew were efficient. They weren't overly forthcoming but would be friendly and polite when dealing with you.We were offered a small pillow and blanket and a pair of socks for the journey.


The meals were good quality and very tasty. Hot and cold drinks were on offer and when I asked for a lemonade due to a dry throat, it was delivered with a few snack packs of peanuts & trail mix.


I found the movie screen quite difficult to watch. If you wanted to watch the movies it was a matter of sitting up very straight and cocking your head slightly to one side to get a good view.


All in all I found the airline to be efficient, my basic comforts were looked after and we got there without incident.


Too many delays!
Dec 10, 2000 07:50 AM 6578 Views

United used to be one of the best airlines in the world, but lately it has been slipping. It has had way too many employee strikes and conflicts with the unions in the past year. There are too many delays resulting from these conflicts. United personnel are not polite in the least about these delay; they are actually quite rude and disrespectful. While I understand that its not the customer rep's fault, they should at least be considerate. So I think United is no good and one should travel with say Delta or Continental.


I would not recommend this airline to any body in the near future.


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