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266 Comments
- asskicker32, on 12/27/2008, -5/+114As a frequent united flyer (I got trapped into their frequent flier program years ago), I leanred to expect the worst with United and since then, we get along GREAT. How I accomplish this:
1. Buy the cheapest ticket I can find going where I want to go (Star Alliance partners included, especially *shudder* US Air)
2. Call the customer service agent and complain (any topic will do, you just want them looking at your itinerary)
3. Check the flight status at least one day prior
4. Get to the airport at least 1hour ahead of time
5. Check in
6. Complain to manager that your seat assignment is incorrect and the person helping you was rude (Its pretty much a given that a person in a United uniform will be rude so this is widely accepted).
7. Accept $50 travel voucher
8. Complain that this is the third time you have had to change this and $50 aint gonna do it.
9. Accept second $50 travel voucher.
10. Go through Security
11. Go to the nearest airport bar and get drunk
12. Pass out on the plane so the air stewardesses have to take care of you
13. Wake up in your destination city
14. Call United customer service and complain
15. Accept 10,000 bonus miles
16. Become a premier or premier executive member
17. qualify for frree upgrades and free perks
This is the only way I can travel with these idiots and not shoot them. Trust me on the passing out. You wan tto get so drunk that their obnoxiousness doesnt affect you. - JasonDelta, on 12/27/2008, -2/+107Can someone explain to me how a plane can leave 4 hours early? I've heard of planes leaving 10 minutes early because everyone gets seated quickly, and of course flights get delayed, but how does the ETD get moved to 4 hours earlier?
- Vicarious17, on 12/27/2008, -8/+83Don't fly United.
- nonymous666, on 12/27/2008, -18/+88Bad handling by United, but regardless if they consider it the customer's 'responsibility' to check the flight or not, I consider it common sense to do so.
- nogami, on 12/27/2008, -3/+65It may have been rescheduled days or weeks in advance. Sounds like the guy booked it 3 months ahead of time and didn't check after that point.
- wilhoitm, on 12/27/2008, -8/+65Fly Southwest! What are you doing flying United anyway?
- onClipEvent, on 12/27/2008, -0/+42my god, that's a lot of work....
- Zarokima, on 12/27/2008, -3/+40Because planes are magically drawn to large bodies of water, right?
- inactive, on 12/27/2008, -7/+41United blows. 12 dollars each way to check a bag, horrible leg room and crappy planes. They can go bankrupt for all I care.
- inactive, on 12/27/2008, -16/+49Pro tip: A new thing called the "Internet" lets you check your flight status BEFORE you go to the airport. No Internet at your grandma's house or wherever godforsaken place you are? There's another technology called the "telephone" that accomplishes essentially the same task.
People see these stories of travelers stranded and sleeping in the airport on the news EVERY SINGLE WINTER and yet they still do stupid things like this and blame the airlines. This would seem to be common sense if you're traveling to a place where it snows a lot like Denver, for chrissakes, but this guy loves playing the victim. The flight likely left early to get into Denver before the snowstorm they were expecting. If UA had waited until the scheduled time, this guy would be bitching about the flight being canceled because of the snowstorm.
Sometimes the airlines do bad things, but this is simply a case of bad weather and an irresponsible traveler. It's not always easy, but if you're picky about getting stranded and sleeping in the airport, budget an extra day into your travel plans, especially if you're going anywhere that experiences snow. - ZombieSociety, on 12/27/2008, -3/+35You can't argue "he should have rechecked the schedule" when the tickets plainly state "no reconfirmation necessary,"
- NicoNicoNico, on 12/27/2008, -8/+36This sounds like something Greyhound did to me once. It's sad when an airline reaches Grehound badness levels. Then again, Greyhound didn't give me a free lunch. Instead, they told me I shouldn't be traveling alone at 15.
- farfromsubtl, on 12/27/2008, -2/+30How often should one check? Every hour leading up to the flight?
- jiqiren, on 12/27/2008, -1/+27Because United (or any airline) anticipated having many flights on that route 3 months prior when he bought the tickets. In the meantime the demand wasn't as high as they thought it would be so they canceled some of the flights on that route and merged everyone into other flights on the same route.
This happens all the time. Check at least 24-48 hours before leaving, always. - pwr4, on 12/27/2008, -1/+24I used to work in Revenue Management at a major airline (review my past airline comments if you like).
I response to some of the above comments.
1. He flies United since they have a hub in Denver. Their only options for flying a direct flight are probably United, Southwest, and Frontier. Granted, Southwest is definitely a better airline, but if he had no problems in the past on United, why change if they're price competitive. And no, Southwest does not always have the lowest fare.
2. Airlines have schedule changes on a semi-regular basis all the time. It would be a good idea for airlines to always inform people of schedule changes, but you should definitely check before you leave. The change in departure time could have changed months ago or the day of departure, depending on United's operational policies.
3. There is definitely a difference in treatment of premium passengers vs. your average Joe. Until enough people stop treating purchasing a airline tickets as a commodity and going with the cheapest price 90% of the time, this will not improve. - inactive, on 12/27/2008, -3/+26GOD WHY IS MY XMAS EVE FLIGHT SCHEDULE ***** UP, IT'S NOT LIKE THE WEATHER IS BAD OR TONS OF PEOPLE FLY THIS TIME OF YEAR. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS HAPPENS TO ME AND ME ONLY.
- ZombieSociety, on 12/27/2008, -0/+23Frankly, I'd be more impressed if they flew from Louisiana to Colorado and DID land in the ocean.
- inactive, on 12/27/2008, -0/+22Your flight left early is "airline" for "we canceled your flight"
- feliks2, on 12/27/2008, -3/+25Fly divided?
- ironhide, on 12/27/2008, -1/+21Yeah, damn, he only paid good money and booked the flight way in advance and he had the nerve to expect good service? (or even adequate service) The nerve!
- Nothlit, on 12/27/2008, -0/+20Sometimes an airline you would like to fly doesn't actually go to the city you need...
- meed, on 12/27/2008, -8/+28There is no excuse. United simply took a customers money and then didn't provide the service. Yet the airlines constantly get bailed out even in good economic times.
Anyone know what the United CEO's bonus was this year? - starf, on 12/27/2008, -0/+19Still, I consider checking early in case it gets delayed, not leaves 4 hours early. If I buy at a ticket at a specified time, it's quite likely that that's the earliest convenient time for me. Later's not the end of the world. Earlier may not be possible, in which case, I'd still be shafted to the next flight.
- wilhoitm, on 12/27/2008, -1/+20I think they already went Bankrupt years ago but the Gov't bailed them out.
- nogami, on 12/27/2008, -1/+19Agreed... Although I have sympathy for any traveller who's cursed with trying to use airlines to get somewhere over a holiday, it really is up to the traveller to check on their flight ahead of time to ensure nothing has changed.
It would be considerate if airlines actually contacted their customers to inform them of changes (not too much to ask, given how much information they want upon checkin), but given the airline attitudes of "customers are cattle", it's not surprising they treat people this way.
I can only imagine that if you were business class or first class they'd probably have the decency to notify you of these changes... - inactive, on 12/27/2008, -1/+18man... that's like 13 too may steps - here's how I do it.
1. Call airline
2. yell constantly
3. ???
4. profit - dav314, on 12/27/2008, -3/+20I tried to fly from Boston to Detroit on the morning of Dec. 19th on United Airlines. My flight was canceled and I was rescheduled to fly on Dec 21st. I showed up to the airport on Dec 21st, and this flight was canceled. I couldn't get another flight until late Dec 22nd. 3+ day delay... bravo United, bravo.
I am most amazed by the sheer absurdity of this company (and most airlines in general). They don't post the phone number for customer service in the airport so you can't re-book if your flight is canceled. Instead, they make you wait in another long, "additional services" line to re-book. Tales like this make me want to start my own airline company to crush blindly stupid companies like United Airlines. - joshblufs, on 12/27/2008, -1/+17Mom. is that u?
- DirtyBinLV, on 12/27/2008, -3/+19This breaking news just in: Airlines suck. United sucks particularly bad. We will have more updates as they become available.
- mjklaser, on 12/27/2008, -2/+17Oh, please... Attention all whiners and crybabies: If you make your reservations 3 months in advance, then check your flight times the day before you are scheduled to leave. Yes, airlines do change flight times. Have you never flown before? As for the guy in the Consumerist story: Douchebag with a capital D.
- KingGorilla, on 12/27/2008, -2/+16"no reconfirmation necessary,"
- gambyt13, on 12/27/2008, -8/+21No sympathy, sorry. I HATE United but this pathetic guy's story is his own tragedy, not a statement on UA.
Fact: Booked THREE MONTHS in advance.
Fact: Waits till just a few hours prior to check flight status, AT THE AIRPORT.
Then he blames UA for not dropping to their knees?
Policy stated on the ticket when you buy: the airline reserves the right to change flight times.
At any time.
Does this guy never fly anywhere? If I tried to use that as an excuse more than once, I would be out of a job. - TotalHalibut, on 12/27/2008, -1/+14How dare he want to get on the flight he paid for, he's such a whiny *****! Actually no, ***** off.
- sterni, on 12/27/2008, -1/+14are you serious? Is this normal business practice for them? At least landing in the ocean is a half-decent reason for bing delayed and not the BS annswer i am sure he got on the phone ....
At least on my delayed United flight to Acapulco (2 hours "waiting for the pilot") that they compensated us by sitting us in 1st class since we missed our connecting flight.... - HappyScrappy, on 12/27/2008, -2/+14Protip:
Always confirm your flights 24 hours in advance. Schedules change, especially over 3 months.
You have to be some kind of major jackass to not confirm your flight and thus show up late and then say it's the airline's fault. - Jeebugorn, on 12/27/2008, -2/+14i hate myself for this...but.....
18. ???
19. Profit
/kills self - digghasnoethics, on 12/27/2008, -4/+15Just thought I'd mention, there is some information on the EU passenger rights rules at:
http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/AirfareWatchBlog/ta ...
Specifically:
"In the event of flight cancellation or denied boarding, the passengers concerned have the right to:
* reimbursement of the cost of the ticket within seven days or a return flight to the first point of departure or re-routing to their final destination;
* care (refreshments, meals, hotel accommodation, transport between the airport and place of accommodation, two free telephone calls, telex or fax messages, or e-mails);
* compensation totalling:
- EUR 250 for all flights of 1500 kilometres or less;
- EUR 400 for all intra-Community flights of more than 1500 kilometres, and for all other flights between 1500 and 3500 kilometres;
- EUR 600 for all other flights."
Plus they can still sue - brown2hm, on 12/27/2008, -1/+11Alwilson is getting dugg down because he's wrong. Planes don't get moved up 4 hours because of weather, it usually happens a week ahead of time or more.
- umdigger, on 12/27/2008, -1/+11I have to 2nd this one. He definitely acts like he has never flown before in his rant.
First off, why the hell are you flying on xmas eve anyway. 2nd, it doesn't take 3 hours to fly from NO to Denver. 3rd, why the hell are you having your parents in Wyoming drive down to pick you up? Rent a car, what are you, 12. 4th, they have online check-in for a reason, use it. 5th, the consumerist is becoming as bad as fox news.
Bummer you had such a rough time, but it really could have probably been avoided if you had just not been an idiot. - egoideal, on 12/27/2008, -1/+10You're right, there is this new thing called the internet. And over it the airlines can send emails to their travelers to tell them if a flight is say...4 hours early.
- inactive, on 12/27/2008, -0/+9Yeah, I took a year off and drove to Japan, it was fun for the first 3k miles, but all that water was a pain in the ass. Plus, they only had a Howard Johnson's.
- inactive, on 12/27/2008, -2/+11You flew on Xmas Eve? Dumb ass....
- iDiggIt42, on 12/27/2008, -0/+9Evidentially not every person was seated. Besides, what are the odds of everyone on the entire flight showing up four hours early? I'd be willing to bet most travelers don't confirm their times, and nobody I know of is at the airport that early.
- ChayD, on 12/27/2008, -1/+10Breaking: Man gets delayed by airline
So ***** What? - MrChunks, on 12/27/2008, -4/+13I've flown many, many times around the world. I've never once "confirmed" my flight 12-24 hours before I flew, because as far as I'm concerned, the flight time on my ticket confirms what time my flight is supposed to leave. Now, if it leaves late, I will probably be pissed off but I can deal with that. If it leaves EARLY, however? There is absolutely NO excuse whatsoever for it leaving early.
- stevenb337, on 12/27/2008, -2/+10Actually, 90 minutes in advance, not a few hours. And as most flights board 45-30 minutes before the flight, and he had just arrived at the kiosk, it looks as if he had expected:
-no check-in lines (if he had used online check-in, it would have provided the updated flight time)
-no security checkpoint lines
-no problems whatsoever
Passenger Fail - FeargusMcDuff, on 12/27/2008, -3/+11Gravity?
- JasonDelta, on 12/27/2008, -1/+9I heartily concur. United sucks big time.
- elfprince13, on 12/27/2008, -1/+9dude, greyhound has rocked every time i've ridden (granted, its only been like 4 times, but still).......the only airline I've had good experiences with though has been Southwest.
- mehan, on 12/27/2008, -1/+8seek help.
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