United Airlines Reviews

We fly to Kauai several times a year for family reasons, and decided to try a new route this trip: a 6 a.m. flight with connection through L.A. that would get us to Lihue, Kauai just after noon local time. We arose at 3 a.m. in Chicago to get ready, but just prior to leaving checked status on-line only to learn the flight had been cancelled due to "mechanical" problems. A very early morning flight, quite underbooked, and first of several ORD to LAX flights for the day that could accommodate extra passengers, cancelled for mechanical reasons. Really? In the absence of good service, a little honesty sure would be nice.

We were rebooked through San Francisco without difficulty, but with an agonizingly long layover. An extra aggravation was the screw-up on my seat. When we rebooked, the agent confirmed a complimentary upgrade for us for both legs. This is a nice perk for frequent flyers like us, although pretty rare to get these days. Yet in San Fran I checked flight status online, to discover that I had been bumped from business to a MIDDLE seat in coach for the next leg. My husband still had his business seat. The agent was unable to explain why this had happened to me, but hey, it was a freebie to start with so no complaints. But being reassigned a middle seat added salt to the wound.

I asked to be reassigned to an aisle or window seat, but she told me there wasn't any available in economy plus. When I looked online a few minutes later, I saw that there were still one window and two aisle seats open in economy plus so I went back to the agent (a different one) who reassigned me. She explained that when a business class customer is bumped, the computer automatically assigns the most forward seat available. A MIDDLE SEAT for a six hour flight? Really? And it doesn't explain why the first agent was unable to reassign me to the open aisle and window seats. Maybe they were trying to sell them? All this epitomizes United's lackadaisical approach to customer satisfaction.

So now I sit in a hotel (uncompensated), and another passenger can arrive here tomorrow morning, board, fly, and land in Buffalo at 9:00!!!!! and I'll still be here in Newark. A little research finds no other airlines cancelled flights 'due to weather'. ONE WOULD THINK WEATHER WOULD AFFECT ALL AIRLINES SIMILARLY. I was never apologized to, never helped finding a hotel, never offered compensation. I was however, offered to be arrested by customer service for not finding their policy acceptable. I will NEVER fly United again. Now I'm gonna eat my $17.00 cheeseburger... in Newark. United sucks.

I sent a request for a refund and the customer service came back to decline the request stating that the information was available when I book the flight. How do they expect me to be looking for the flight on a different airline when I'm on a United website? What stops them from including these details on the flight confirmation email? The customer service could not even accept this is an improvement opportunity to upgrade their email flight confirmation information. This is ridiculous. I will not recommend United Airlines to anyone and would not use them again...NEVER.

Later I have applied the card and made the transactions, called the customer service... first they directly transferred me to Chase bank service. I had to call the United customer service again back. After that, during second call, the service rep says that I have to pay additional $200 to get my miles back along with the credit card. I told her the story about my previous call and she says she cannot help. I asked her to transfer to the manager.

For the 3rd time I again explained the entire story to the manager who came in line, and right from the starting she, the manager who ever came into the call, started arguing about whether there are any miles credited or not for my current travel. I repeatedly told her that my call is about expired miles not the miles for my current travel or any missing miles. She was arguing and explaining what are miles and how the miles are processed, and shouting as if like I don't know - where as I clearly told her that I'm a premium 1K member and a frequent flyer. Finally I had to cut the call and I'm never going back to United. The customer care has no idea about what they inform and when we question their response sucks.

Customer service was horrible. One attendant would tell us one thing and another would tell us something else. Also turns out that one of my sisters (youngest of all) was moved to a flight by herself and the three of us to another flight all to the same destination, and that too, another attendant had told us that. Not only were all the attendants telling us different things, we encountered horrible attitudes from the attendant. Food vouchers and/or hotel discount were offered to us at one point and then when we asked for it, we were told that they couldn't do that for us. This was told by the United manager here in Miami. I've experience similar situations about 3 times now, today's experience being the 3rd. Never flying United again, and definitely won't be recommending it to my family and close friends. I'll give my business to an airline that cares about their customers.

Terrible shuttle service, arrived there at 11:30 PM and was greeted by the rudest hotel manager ever. Arrived in Gulfport 18 hours late. Almost missed the plane back from Gulfport to Houston due to another delay. My worst flight experience ever, and I have flown all over the year. Horrible, rude customer service. I will never fly United again

My other issue is that the new itinerary they put me on has an hour and 25 minute layover in EWR, which would be impossible to claim baggage, go through customs, re-check baggage, and get to the gate. The man I spoke to would not offer any recourse for this either and said it was my responsibility to make the connection? I feel completely taken advantage of and will not be using United for future traveling if I am not offered any recourse. I should mention that the whole reason for the long trip is because I am getting married down there on 01/23/2016. It would not have made sense for me to book a departure date before the wedding.

So we called Monday to resolve with "customer service" - spoke with a supervisor. ** said that all he could do was rebook it and go through the same procedure, wait 24 hours and hope all is ok. Oh, and that it would cost us three times as much - $1600 vs $566 for the privilege. Nothing else he can do, it's the other airline's fault. Really? We contract and book on United.com and it should be their responsibility to ensure the customer is taken care of. We are not asking for anything we weren't prepared to pay for.

So after 3 hours with ** and his staff on the phone, I direct messaged United on Twitter and Facebook trying to resolve this. Here are some customer service replies from them. "We needed to contact us at that point to see if the partner carrier confirmed the flights." "We are unable to make an international call" when asked to be called on this repeatedly. "Since these flights are not on us. We cannot authorize the fare." Now we have a 700euro hotel room (expensive holiday weekend rates) non-refundable problem. I have asked United to repeatedly do the right thing and they have fallen far short of any reasonable expectation. My wife is a frequent traveler of United - loved the airline, but this whole experience has made us rethink our future travel choices. #ftc #richardquest #cnntravel #united

We won't get into Harlingen until midnight. My daughter has school at 7:30 am tomorrow. Did I mention we left KC at 2:00 pm? Should a 3-4 hour flight really be 10 hours long? I think we should get free flights. Oh, and in KC a whole Denver flight got cancelled at the last minute with hardly any other flights or explanations and you had 8 check-in counters and 3 people working them. So I'm positive you're going to get a flood of complaints. I want my $100 back for checking in bags. And you really need to regroup and restructure the way you run your airline. It's a Tuesday for Pete's sake. Get with program U.A.

I don't recommend your airline to my worst enemy. So sad what people and employees go through from your greed and lack of professionalism. I hope I never have to fly with you again... People please be aware of this.

This is the WORST airlines I have ever flown and I fly every single week. Unfriendly flight attendants most of the time and outrageous fares when you try and use miles. On time has to be the worst of any airlines because it is close to 90% for me. I wish there was a way to get all potential passengers to boycott United for just one week. Maybe they would raise the bar, widen the seating and give the consumer what we pay for. If I ran my business the way United does, I wouldn't have a business. I do not believe they will change because everyone is flying these days and they will always have a butt in the seat. I cannot believe the FAA or CPA allows this carrier to stay in business. Cut down on the number of seats to make flights comfortable, treat your customers like they have value, and fire the employees (a bunch of them) that treat us like crap. That would be a start.

Seriously, I do not know one frequent flyer that enjoys flying United Airlines. I will ALWAYS fly Southwest or Delta, but I am stuck with United on certain routes. What can I do???

We were not finished packing but somehow we made it to the gate in time only to wait and hear that the flight was delayed, then delayed again and finally cancelled. So we went to customer service expecting to be booked on a later flight that night but were informed that that had been the last flight to Denver that day. So she booked us, get this, on the same flight the next morning, the one we were originally booked on. We had to drive back to Santa Fe that night.

So the next morning we were on time at the airport at the gate but were informed that the flight was delayed, therefore we would miss our international connection in Denver. So they booked us on a later flight to Chicago to catch an international flight there. By this time it was noon. It turned out that this flight was delayed also, so we were re-booked on a flight to Houston in the early evening. You guessed it, that flight was delayed also, causing us to miss our connection in Houston. We arrived in Houston too late and there was no late flight anymore to Germany. So we had to overnight in Houston. Ultimately we arrived a full day late in Germany. And it had taken us basically 24 hours just to leave Albuquerque!

On the way back we were appalled to see that we passengers were crammed into a plane usually reserved for domestic flights. I think it was a Boeing 757 with one isle and very uncomfortable seats. Moreover we were told not to stand in the isles or gather around the restrooms. No way to stretch your legs or stand up a little bit on a 9 hour flight. That is very bad for your circulation. Our flight out of Newark (on a very similar plane) was of course delayed, so that we had to overnight in Houston again, causing us to arrive a day late back home. The reason for the delay was a door that would not close properly and even the pilot was not optimistic about leaving on this plane and prepared us for possible deplaning. But they did get it fixed. Plus the hotel in Houston was a dump, it looked like it should be slated for demolition.

The scenes at the customer service desks say it all. This is not an isolated incident and passengers deal with this crap everyday. How can this way of running a business be good for the corporate bottom line? I hope they go out of business soon and relieve travelers from these unnecessary nightmares. Traveling is stressful enough without any input from an inefficient airline.

I have never dealt with people as outrageous, not to mention non customer care oriented as those at United Airlines. We were never given any compassion nor preference for any outgoing flights because they were all overbooked. Apparently this is the United Airlines way of thanking their customers, by treating them rude, inconsiderate and down right inhumane. I will never use this airline again. Stay AWAY! The more we spoke to other customers the clearer it was that none would be return business, with United Airlines, or shall I say lack there of. Weather cannot be controlled, but our treatment of people certainly can. I will be filing a formal complaint with The United States Department of Transportation.

There I was a half hour from the airport with maybe 3 hours of sleep and a full working day ahead of me. I just gave in and paid for the hotel room. Get early back to the airport and get myself added as standby to an earlier flight than United had set up for me when I arrived into Chicago. Finally get assigned to the earlier flight and later found out that it was delayed. I ended leaving to Milwaukee at the same time as the first one assigned. On the trip back to Chicago the plane back to Chicago was over a half hour in getting out of the gate. It arrived late and bad weather was in the area (would have possibly avoided the bad weather if they had gotten here on time. While waiting to board I find out that the flight from Chicago to Tulsa was being delayed to 10pm which means I wont get back to Tulsa until midnight and I have to get up at 5am to get to work. I'm already exhausted.

In effect United received payment for 1st class tickets from both us and the upgraded passengers and we were left without seats on the 2 earlier flights and seated in economy for the 3rd flight. When we complained to the check-in agent he said that because our flight was cancelled the economy customers on the earlier cancelled flights had been given the vacant 1st class seats as UPGRADES, and if we had any complaints they should be made to UNITED's FEEDBACK LINE online.

Going back home Sucked more!!! My whole trip with United was terrible on May 15th 2015. The fight attendants were more focus on none paying customers (captain when they are flying as a customer). They lose my luggage and made me miss a connecting flight and with my handicap, never had my wheelchair. For 3 different connecting flights, never had 1 wheelchair waiting on me! I might not ever fly United again! The seats are all so way toooooo close. Customer service sucks! I will also tell others of the bad service!!!

After I told him that I would not change seats, he got in my face a second time, held out his hand for me to shake, and began one of the most dishonest fake apologies I have ever heard. I told him to stay away from me. During the long flight back to the US, it was obvious that the crew was angry with me. One of them had stowed his personal belongings in the overhead compartment above me, and he opened it repeatedly, about a dozen times to retrieve his belongings. Just before the plane landed, he left the overhead compartment door open. I wondered whether what was inside would come crashing down on me as the plane landed.

The flight crews on United Airlines are astonishingly ignorant, often abusive, arrogant, and behave as if their airplanes are buses in some third world country. The ground crews are not much better, and most of them are pathological liars. Flight delays with United Airlines are the rule, not the exception. They routinely have safety problems, with resulting flight delays that often last hours. They obviously are not capable of maintaining their aircraft. Their flight crews apparently know little to nothing about safety, or simply do not care, they routinely lie to passengers, and they take care of their own needs before those of the passengers. United Airlines is a disgrace. They bought Continental Airlines and turned it into complete garbage. The president of United Airlines evidently only cares about making money, and he has abused thousands and thousands of passengers.

So I asked to the same lady already out of the plane why she lied to me and she told me she would call somebody that can answering to me, and guess what? She called security, a really tall and big guy showed up and told me to get in to the plane be cause they didn't have time to "deal" with me, he said "either you go back to your seat, or you wait for the next flight or we will call the police.." I was really upset... really??

Today, my connecting flight left without waiting for passengers (including myself) on a connecting flight. The flight from Dallas to Denver left late. Not surprisingly we arrived to Denver late. The time the plane landed till the next flight ceased boarding from Denver to SLC was only a 15 minutes. Not only was there a half hour window to catch the flight, but the connecting gate was quite literally over a mile away. Unbelievable. Even if the flight landed on time I don't know how they expected us to make the flight in time. Maybe Usain Bolt without any luggage could have made the connection.

When I made my complaint at the gate and asked why they couldn't hold the plane, knowing that we were going to be late, they said they couldn't hold it. That was the reason. When I went to get rebooked, I asked how they could help me out. They said that weather was the reason for the delay so there was nothing they could do. That is inaccurate. The weather was fine in Dallas when we left and the flight left late. What a poor cover up of an excuse. There is nothing they will do about it. Yet, I have to deal with the consequences of missing my flight and having to rebook and miss some important personal (once in a lifetime) events. I have learned my lesson. DON'T FLY UNITED.

The return flight was perhaps even more indicative of United's lack of concern for customer service. Our flight from NYC to O'Hare was canceled due to weather, which I can understand. United automatically rebooked us on a flight for the next day. We questioned that when we noticed that all of the United flights were not canceled but only delayed. We were told that there were no seats available on those flights. A quick look online showed us there were seats on several of them. So rather than dealing with the ticket counter we called the 800 number to change our flight. We were told the same thing and when I pointed out that the online reservation system reflected available seats on at least two flights I was disconnected. So back at the ticket counter I finally was able to convince the agent to book us on a later flight that was only delayed. No explanation as to why seats were now available but we're not an hour earlier.

Finally arrived at O'Hare to find that our flight to PIA was delayed. We were told it was another mechanical issue although later they told us it was weather. Anyway we entered another series of 45 minute to 1 hour delays the flight was finally canceled at 11:00 at night. However no announcement was made. We only discovered it when we noticed the Gate attendants were no longer at the counter and then a few minutes later the cancelled notice appeared on the board. We had literally talked to the agent less than 5 minutes earlier asking for any updates and was told that we should be able to leave within the hour.

So we ended up having to rent a car at a cost of $240 to make the drive home. Our luggage showed up the next day but we were told we would have to pick it up at the airport if we wanted it that day. The truly frustrating part to all this (and our earlier experience in a trip to Denver) is that over the entire time only two individuals actually apologized for the delays and only one of those seemed to be truly sincere and helpful. I guess United does not need to be concerned about service because their planes seem to be fully loaded most of the time, but my wife and I will never book another United flight.

While in the air we realized that the seat in the economy plus next to the two we had together (row 15) is empty, and no one volunteered to pay for upgrade 160$. So I switched my seat to the one next to my husband and 2 year old son to help them during the flight (our son is autistic and has special needs requiring both parents during the flight).

The minute the flight attender saw me occupying that empty seat that no one wanted to pay for (no wonder why, it doesn't recline and the arm rest doesn't lift due to emergency exit behind and kids can't sleep there) she asked me to move back to my assigned seat in row 29. We asked what seems to be the problem in taking the EMPTY seat next to my family, she offered in a very rude and unprofessional way to pay or to leave. On top of that, after my husband got involved in the conversation, we were HARASSED to get flight marshal involved and forced me to leave the seat which remained EMPTY till we landed!!! Needless to say, the flight at very least was ruined. The worst flying experience ever! Additionally, the flight attendant refused to introduce herself and gave her first name (**) after arguing and asking what we need it for. Since when the company representative name is kept a secret from a customer?

This was a very disturbing situation for us. We were not given any alternative seating option and the whole situation was very badly handled. Additionally, we neither requested nor paid for the seats in economy plus for my husband and my son, (in fact we preferred to have regular seatings with the option to take the arm rest off for my son to be able to rest). The fact that part of my family was seated there and the other part was in a very RUDE way asked to pay extra is nonsense! Let's leave aside the fact that United staff would rather keep the seat empty than seat the family with the small child with special needs together. What the worst is the harassment from the staff.

We reached our terminal and got on our plane, for at least 30 minutes we heard loud noises from within the plane… the captain comes on and says they have a hydraulic leak and trying to repair it, so we wait, and wait. They don't fix the issue and ask everyone to get off the plane and talk with the United employees at the kiosk. So we wait in another line with over 100 passengers. My sister called the airline and sat on the line with them for over another hour to get us a flight to Newark at 11:15 am. So we wait in the airport for 3 hours to fly to New Jersey and connect to W.P.B.

This flight was fully booked so we all sat in middle seats all over the plane. I ask if they could find 2 seats so I could at least sit next to my son (which is 12) and I don't want him sitting next to anyone by himself. This United employee was the first one to help throughout this day. She found us a seats and when we arrived there was non English speaking passengers in our seats, so we wait for a flight attendant to move them since they did not understand me. This flight was very turbulent which I understand is not the captain's fault but was icing on the cake, the flight attendant was about to serve us drinks but decided to spill the ice all over my son.

So this flight was slightly delayed and we know we have to run to the next flight. It is 8 pm at night as we touch down. We have 10 minutes to reach the flight to W.P.B. This day never seems to end. So as we step over the vomit on the walk way to get off the plane we rush to reach the next flight and how lucky for us that this flight has been delayed! Our flight finally leaves sometime after 9. This flight had very few folks on board which was nice and we had no issues except the broken TVs in front of us.

We arrive in W.P.B sometime after 11:30 p.m and receive a text message telling us our baggage is delayed. I just received my luggage 2 days after we flew… Thank you United Airlines for making this the worst flight experience my family has ever had. I will never use this company again and will make sure I spread the word about my experience to friends and family.

After 20 min we were told the plane is going out of service, everyone must take their belongings off the plane. We were told a new plane will be available soon. The plane arrived, then we were told no pilot to operate the plane. Then we were told there were pilots. About 2 hours later 1 pilot arrived. Within 30min another pilot arrived. What made us so very upset was when the staff continued to give us false information time and time again. We were traveling with 7 people who was returning from USBC in El Paso Texas. We arrived in Philadelphia 8 hrs later. United please treat your customers better.

So we decided now would be a good time to use our one-time United Club pass coupons they give us each year for holding the United Chase Credit Card. We proceed up to the club only to be turned away as they stated "Sorry sir, you must be a paid member of the gold club if you want to use this United Club." "So what good are the passes to the club if we can't use them to get into the club," I asked. They stated, "Sorry sir, your passes are not good at this club unless you have a paid gold club membership." I said "Ok, thanks" and I left, like all good United Airlines customers were doing as they were turned away as well.

This is why I am a loyal Southwest Airlines customer and I only fly on United when I am FORCED to fly with this airline, which is often, as Southwest doesn't fly everywhere United does but if they did, I would not sit in another United seat again!

When they hold a piece of paper writing in English "I have reserved wheelchair, please help and handover to a steward," he ignored them. Even when they second time showed the piece of paper to another steward tried to get assistance, the United personnel just motioned for them to keep walking without offering any assistance. In the end, they had to manage themselves to walk to the gate of connecting flight which caused them great difficulty. United flight attendants have no sympathy for disability people. They are mean and rude.

I filed complaint afterwards. They email me a certificate of 100 dollar for next trip with United. What a big deal. I am not going to take United for sure. I would like to have reassurance of having wheelchairs waiting for them at the door of the aircraft upon landing on their return trip which has a layover in Chicago on May 30th. But they don't offer reassurance but lip service.

We had checked in the day before, as we are so familiar with protocol and arrived to the airport well before the predetermined boarding time, only to find that our flight had been cancelled and we were booked on another flight 7 hours later. Really? They had offered $100 vouchers to each of us. $100 does not offset the fact that we had originally had plans for four people to do activities that we had already paid for, a pickup at the airport which we had scheduled, plus a hotel that we were to check in to several hours earlier.

A few years later, we had decided to fly United again and go to Alaska to visit some family. This had just occurred two years ago in 2013. We had arrived to the airport, all ready to go, boarded the plane, then nothing. We sat in our seats waiting for take-off for 3.5 hours- the pilot telling us not to use the lavatories due to being able to take off at anytime, and nothing. We asked for snacks from the crew, they offered us snacks FOR A PRICE. Seriously? You have your customers sit still on a plane for over three hours and not offer those gross pretzels or cookies, at least? Poor customer service, I don't care if it is out of protocol.

For a flight that doesn't already serve an in-flight meal, that's just cheap. The pilot kept telling us we were next in line to use the runway, then several minutes later, we'd be 12th in line to use it. Utter **. When we finally took off and landed in Chicago, of course we missed our connecting flight which took off a few hours before we had even arrived at the airport.

After waiting 2.5 hours to rebook a connecting flight, we were told the next flight would be the following morning. They sure as hell had to put up the money for the crappy hotel they stuck us in for the night, plus transportation to and from the airport. Not to mention we lost a day of our hotel reservation in Alaska, a day of hiking tour activities, and the chance to visit family members that are currently in service and had that single day to meet up with us before departing to be stationed in the Middle East. After that experience, we were "rewarded" with $100 vouchers each for our future travels. Another fickle $100 to use; we had just used our previously rewarded $100 on that exact flight. Seemed like a never ending scam.

And now this one experience just put me over the edge. I am currently sitting in my hotel room, angrily writing this review because I had just received an email from United saying that my flight has been canceled due to air traffic control. When people book flights, they choose flights that not only adhere to their schedules, but work out for those around them as well. My reason for coming to Norfolk, VA is to visit my boyfriend who I am visiting after a couple of months since he is in the service and we rarely get to see each other due to our hectic schedules.

I had chosen an arriving and departing flight that works with his schedule, as he does not get days off until after a certain amount of time and has a strict schedule he must follow every single day. The options United has given were anything short of flexible- only offering flights at 5:45am, 10:33am, and 10:45pm (for direct flights... flights with connections we're not even worth looking at due to the duration of them being over 7 hours long for a direct flight that doesn't even take an hour). I am situated in a hotel located on the naval base and it is difficult to find cabs and even ubers that are able to get onto the base without a military pass. Not to mention the check out time at the hotel is usually 12pm and the United rebooking service scheduled me for a 8pm flight.

I just feel very inconvenienced at the "service" that United has provided not just me, but it's other customers that have been on my respective flights, as well. $100 vouchers that indeed have an expiration date is not a way to say "sorry" for messing up peoples' travel plans, whether it is for business or leisure. How about offering better customer service via flight crew protocol, rebooking protocol, and flight notifications so that customers are not kept in the dark or starving on the runway. I had booked a flight to Vegas a few weeks ago scheduled in June and actually, they changed that itinerary without notifying me as well.

If it hadn't been for my current trip and me booking it through United, I would have never noticed they put me on a different flight, scheduled to leave NYC around 12pm and arrive in Las Vegas around 9:35pm, instead of depart at 10am and arrive to Vegas around 4-5pm. Luckily I caught it and rebooked right away. I really only booked that flight due to my points expiring and needing to use them so they don't get thrown out the window. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the flight goes smoothly and nothing changes again. But then again, United has always been a huge disappointment to me and judging by other reviews and customers, I am not alone.

During this time, we had to call our hotel and inform them that we were going to be late checking in & what they explained to us is that in order for them to keep our room we would have to pay for one night. Thinking we would eventually make it there! We had to pay $180. Also, our aunt was in Chicago calling United Customer Service and they informed us we should go back to customer service and tell them they would be able to find us a way by ground. We head back to customer service for a third time to inform them what our aunt found out and they told us the information she had received was incorrect & they don't accommodate in that way.

We also during this time at customer service asked them to put us on a different flight through a different airline. Their response: "We are the only airline that flies to Corpus." If we had known what we know now we would've made them pay for our flight through a different airline because United is NOT the only airline that flies to Corpus. There were at least 3 other airlines that were traveling to Corpus during this time! We soon find out that the flight was delayed for over 80 minutes. Then the next flight we were confirmed to get on (7:10 flight) got canceled.

We would've made it on the flight that was delayed because last time I checked on the United App and talked to the customer service gentleman, he said "well you will most likely make it because you are number 1 & 2!" Then the plane finally comes and guess what!? We were booted down to numbers 4 & 5! We would've made it on if we were still number one and two but, since we got booted down we weren't able to make it on AGAIN! We completely understand the delaying of the plane because of weather but, if we had gotten on the original flight at 12:57 pm there wouldn't have been a problem. The bad weather wouldn't have been an issue at all because at that time it was just cloudy & there wasn't a thunderstorm warning at ALL!

Then we go back to customer service for the fourth time and the Customer service representative (**) she looked up our flights and saw we got delayed & we missed our connecting flight because of the "cockpit issue"! She said there weren't any flights going to Corpus! Even if there were, they were overbooked. Standby at the point was useless. So we at this point have been in Houston airport for over 9 hours being pushed around and given false hope. We decided we want to go home because we aren't getting to Corpus at all for this weekend! We were put on the 6:35 back to Chicago in first class which at this point we definitely deserved after we have been running around like a chickens with our heads cut off!

We take a look on our boarding passes and lo and behold we aren't sitting together. Not that United cares. But of course the flight was delayed because of the weather and this time we were told to go to terminal B to C then E! Then it was delayed from 8:40 to 9 to 9:25 to 10:15 & then back 9:55. After we arrive at Terminal E, we are waiting in Group 1 (First Class) and then the Gentleman taking our boarding passes announces that 4 people have to downgrade and if they downgrade they would give $200 traveling voucher!! We DEFINITELY were NOT DOWNGRADING after what we have been put through today. So they finally start taking Global and Group 1 boarding passes. We gave the gentleman our boarding pass and guess what? THEY DOWNGRADED US! Reasoning: It was a COURTESY UPGRADE!! I explained to him the hell we have been put through because of this airline and he did not care whatsoever!

At that point, we wanted to go home because Corpus was not in our future! We did not receive our $200 traveling voucher from them downgrading us after the terrible experience we have ever had when we had clearly deserved so much more! We have not only spent $180 on hotel, $20 on our festival tickets, $772 for airfare, & taking off 3 days of work that we are not being compensated for; for a trip that never happened! I think UNITED owes us around $1500 MINIMUM!

So, 1:30 p.m. was the rescheduled time and by the way, the gate changed 4 times over the course of two hours without any notification - we had to check the board constantly. At 1:30, the excuse was that we didn't have a plane, so 2:30 was the magic time. At 2:30, the plane was in Chicago but the crew wasn't. At about 4:00, the crew showed up. In the meantime, we were given a $7 food voucher - all I could afford was a small bag of chips (e.g., a cup of fruit was $11).

We were loaded onto the plane around 5:00 and were told they were beginning to fuel it (but it had been sitting there for an hour & a half - why just now?). After another half hour of this nonsense, they came on and said the crew had been in service too long and was unable to fly, thus the flight was cancelled. We were directed to the "customer service" line where about 100+ people were trying to get rebooked.

Bottom line, we were not given a hotel for the night and not even an apology. We couldn't even retrieve our luggage that night & one young mom was in tears as she needed her checked car seat to take her baby to a hotel for the night! Most agents and employees of United were rude and unhelpful. We finally got rebooked for 8:00 the next day and were ready to take off when they came on and said there was a maintenance issue. Lucky for United, they got it resolved quickly or I think there may have been a riot on board. My sister and I missed out on a day in San Juan ($255/hotel) and had to spend $189 for a hotel in Chicago for the night. This was the most unorganized, inept airline I have ever encountered - I will NEVER fly them again; you truly get what you pay for.

I spend about 3 hours at EWR airport to tried to find my bag and I couldn't because each person that I talk send me to different person. United staff member gave me new ticket to be back to Tampa at 04.16.15. at 03:10 pm. and he told me my bag will be available 2 hours prior the flight. At 12:30 pm I started to asking for my bag and still couldn't find. Finally around 2 pm after all my talking with too many staffs I was able to find my bag. Tired and stressful after spending 19 hours in EWR airport I came to Tampa at 6:30pm on 04.16.15.

I ask for United supervisor at airport and I explained to staffs what happened but they told me that I have to wait for supervisor about 30 min. I wait next hour and a half and finally when supervisor show up I explain her everything what happened. She told me that I am responsible for everything what happened. No excuse that they send me to EWR, no excuse for their mistake. My question is who I have to contact about this situation because this is big mess and very unprofessional and somebody needs to take care about this.

Finally, nearly an hour later and sitting in the hot closed plane, the special passenger arrives...a crew member deadheading to Indy (no planes leave after 10pm at Indy until the next morning which was Saturday)! And sat in First Class! Together this caused us to arrive 3 hours late (2am) in a closed down airport with exhausted travelers and families waiting for us to FINALLY arrive. I sent an email complaint and was replied with a $50 United coupon! Really.. This is what gross mismanagement and total disregard for the paying passengers and their families is worth? A certificate to be used to pay the ransom for checking a bag on United? Never again.

Passengers were extremely hot and irate. We threatened to contact CNN if the pilot did NOT return the plane to the terminal for AC at the gate and let us off. After over 2 hours, the pilot finally said, we calculated the weight, and 2 passengers have to get off. What? So it took 2 hours to compute that basically 300 pounds of passengers needed to get off. Is this a ** joke. We finally took off 2 1/2 hours late. Totally unacceptable.

I finally burned off all of our mileage points and will NEVER EVER fly this dump again. United sucks. This plane had 37 rows of economy class (6 seats in each row) and TWO toilets. There were 15-20 people in line for the toilet the entire flight. After 4 hours of no food because of delay, they didn't even hand out food for free! We were row 27, 10 rows behind us. I got the LAST snack box available for purchase, which I had to give to my kid. I ate cookies I packed. So 10 rows of people behind me, or 60 passengers only had Pringles to purchase for a flight that took 8 hours from LAX to OGG.

They only had 2 people waiting at the gate. Of course those reps didn't have our boarding pass so had to go to customer service (in Chicago) who were extremely rude too. In all it took over 30 HOURS to get from Hawaii to Phila. But the worst part is they LOST OUR LUGGAGE!!! I packed for 2 weeks so everything is in my luggage. I took ALL the names of the extremely rude people (as everyone should do) and will definitely file a claim in court if the luggage is not returned.

When I dropped him off a week later I attempted multiple times over the phone to purchase an unaccompanied minor ticket ($150). I got told that you cannot purchase that service unless it is a direct flight which makes no sense. What are you going to do watch him breathe? Anyway we get to the airport and the United employee says its against her policy for him to fly alone. (Mind you I have talked to and cussed out every tom, dick and harry over the last week). I explain and she looks up the guidelines.

Looks like I got accurate info. She calls a supervisor and flight attendant to make sure my son gets to his connection at O'hare. We explain again at the gate and again they look up the guidelines. We take our seats. We get called to the ticket counter and the flight attendant explains that they did further "research" and I can purchase the unaccompanied minor ticket. If I do not they cannot guarantee he will get to his plane. I'm like fine whatever. They have difficult time taking payment. They jack me for $150.00 and ** boards the plane. Meanwhile I get a call from United saying that they're refunding me the $150.00 they just took because the initial information was correct I cannot purchase the chaperone.

I finally lost my **. Then this supervisor started talking over me and when I asked to speak to her supervisor she told me she was it. Then told me that she was going to remove my son off of the airplane and I would have to turn around back to the airport to get him if I didn't listen because she didn't understand the problem. My son stayed on the airline. These people need training and to get their ** together! You don't speak to people that way first of all and second the supervisor should have known better. She got called to the gate specifically for my son and not only let this happen got nasty because I didn't want to listen to her **!

This demonstrates to me that United Airlines has very little respect and value for their employees. This first agent had great customer service skills, and went above and beyond to help me. Very disappointed with the way United Airlines treats their employees. I do not want to use an airline modeling these ethics. It's a sad day in America when companies consistently put stockholders and executive compensation above doing the right thing for customers. Someone who actually puts the customer first is disciplined for it.

I was sitting in premium economy and needed to use the restroom, I stood up and made my way to the lavatory and was shouted at from the middle of the plane "Ma'am where are you going," to which I explained, and she said "No these toilets are not for you. You use the ones down the back of the plane." It was horrendously embarrassing. To add insult to injury when I did go, she put the bloody trolley in front of the door so I couldn't get out and barked "Just wait a minute." To make matters worse later on when I took my 5 year old daughter to the lavatory she was about to move the trolley out I said "Sorry can I just get through" and she actually said "Oh for god sake." I was furious and asked her whether she had a problem with me going to the toilet as she has been extremely rude to which she replied "You were in the way of the trolley earlier. Did you want me to run you over?" Which was a load of rubbish.

Anyhow I complained to her coworker who said she'd also been extremely rude to her!! When I got off the flight another two couples commented on her behaviour. My final complaint is today's leg. Orlando was a smooth check in but they wouldn't allocate seats for the Newark to Heathrow. We found out at Newark that if my husband and I wanted to sit with our 5 year old daughter we'd have to pay $150 dollars!!! Disgraceful. We managed to get two seats together so I was able to sit with my daughter but she was devastated that her Daddy wasn't with her. All they kept saying is "If you wanted to secure seats with your child you should have paid."

Again I spoke to three other English couples who also weren't seated together, who also said "We will never fly United again." So United that's 6 couples (including my parents who were also separated) that have said we will not fly with you again, how many people will we pass that information onto. You are a very unhelpful, rude and money grabbing company, who clearly needs to seek consultation from some strong customer services training companies. I should have flown a day earlier with Virgin!

So how do you talk to a human when all you can do is talk to customer care through the email and make you even more angry by being ignored. I like the airline but not anymore. Thank god there are other alternatives, for now.

With unbelief of this whole thing I asked if she could mail it to me, and she said yes. As she was getting my address the Pilot came out and was talking to the stewardesses and said just get her off the plane. I actually overheard him say this. Then the pilot walked over to me and I said, "My husband and daughter are on this flight. You can't leave me." He was very rude said, "Hurry up I have to get this plane off." I can not believe how they treated me, they were going to kick me off this plane without me even knowing I had something that was not allowed on the plane. They treated me as though it was a bomb. Couldn't they have at least have been kind to explain to me about the item and why it wasn't ok to use. I had no idea this item was against regulations, it's not in their regulations that I can find, it isn't posted at security, TSA doesn't have it listed, they sell these in their air magazines and I used it on other United flights.

What kind of way to treat a person who had no idea they had something they shouldn't. Or can have depending which plane you fly. They made me feel like a criminal. And not only am I angry but frustrated, and upset to tears. When I arrived in Chicago for my next flight. I saw the 2 pilots for that flight, and I personally asked them, they knew nothing about the regulation and said they have never heard of a purifier. Wow United you're consistent in your rules. And you don't even know what your regulations are. But you sure know how to treat your customers like crap. I will not fly United again. Oh ya and by the way I had to set up a FedEx account in order to even get the item sent back to me. More trouble. Still waiting to get it back.

Once in the back too, other stewardess would not help me readjust my luggage to fit it in with everything else. I was frustrated at this point. Then she looks at me and tells me to to walk my bag out and check it at the gate. At this point not being able to walk she just crossed the line. I am a freaking handicap and need some help but she would not help me or another customer sitting next to me with the same luggage problems. I was appalled that she would not help, and instead ordered us around and made us figure out the luggage situation. I was extremely upset with her lack of training in customer service and ability to treat people in a helpful manner.

Thanks to my wife and other passengers we got it taken care of but this girl needs some serious help and training on how to accommodate and offer customer service. After this experience with United express operated by Mesa Airlines on flight UA5114 I will not be flying on United Airlines ever again. I will pay extra for customer service to help me with my luggage.

Overall, customer service was awful, not helpful and just plain rude! Get an attitude check, if you don't have the patience of customer service, find another job. Don't act like you're doing us a favor, we paid thousands of dollars, sorry we expect something better than a smart ass tone and snippy remarks. NEVER AGAIN!

When she completed service she came back & rudely asked if I was upset. I said "yes," because she did not serve me & my son water, which I needed for meds. She then served the water, but denied that she had declined before. I asked her name and told her I planned to make a complaint. She refused to give her name. I again asked her name and she turned to another passenger ignoring my request. I very gently tapped her on the forearm. She turned to me & in a loud, angry voice told me to not touch her. I apologized & again asked her name. She was belligerent and seemed to want a fight. As she walked away I said "Gee, all I wanted was a cup of water." She stomped back demanding to know what I said. I told her I hadn't said anything (I did not want to antagonize her as she was obviously furious).

She then went to the front of the plane & made a phone call. The flight lasted approximately 1 more hour during which I worked on my computer. As she moved through the aisle it appeared she was deliberately bumping into me to try to elicit an angry response. I chose to ignore her behavior. When we arrived at the Denver airport I was escorted off the plane by an officer, and there were 4-5 other officers in the jetway. I was questioned by the officer & an FBI agent. It was deeply humiliating to be at the gate as other passengers were deplaning, and highly distressing to my son & myself. No passenger should be subject to such humiliation & disrespect for simply asking for a cup of water.

NOTE: UA did send me a letter of apology. They said "...[your case] has been communicated internally to the appropriate senior management for internal review and necessary corrective action." I never heard back regarding any sort of corrective action. This flight attendant was truly a scary and unstable individual.

One would think an international company the size of United Airlines would have a Russian employee that could interpret, translate, review & verify that the documents submitted were proof that her mother was in a Russian hospital receiving chemotherapy. It's obvious that United does not want to refund or reimburse $200. United has zero competition from Newark to many of its destinations. Our politicians seem to do nothing about this. Fly the friendly skies of United is history. Customer service should be named to customer disservice. If the flying public would file a summons in small claims court then United would have to hire an attorney for more than $200. Just maybe luckily you would get a judge that had the same experience, is sympathetic, desires to send a message to the airlines & would award $9900.

In spite of all of these issues being caused by human error and negligence, United refuses to reimburse the extra expenses and refund the difference in fare between business and economy. Their "travel vouchers" are insufficient to pay off the extra expenses that I now have from their incompetent employees. They are finding every excuse in the book to not pay me back. Do not fly with this airline again.

We rented a Prius in Moline (the cheapest car they had available). We sent United our claim, which which was denied. United apologized, but would not reimburse us because "United does not reimburse those fees". This was after one of their representatives clearly indicated to us (at least three or four times) just the opposite. As we began to research this issue further we realized this is not a new problem. United Airlines has repeatedly done this to their customers and then left them high and dry (even though their Contract of Carriage allows them to "arrange" for ground transportation in the event of a cancellation caused by United).

Trying to talk to someone about our claim being denied was exhausting in itself. United has trained their "Customer Care" representatives to isolate themselves from the rest of the airline's leadership. It is impossible to talk to anyone about our situation--that is, anyone who actually had any authority to deal with the problem and give us our refund. We tried to reason with their Customer Care for 3 hours, but were told they could not do anything, citing their policy. Even though we only relied on what one of their employees told us, we are the ones that have to foot the $500 bill for renting a car, covering United for cancelling our flight.

This is an airline that many college students use as they are often the cheapest option. We wanted to make everyone aware that sometimes it is worth paying the little bit extra to avoid major headaches later. In the end we had to cover the entire $529.45 of the bill. We never intend on using United Airlines again. After the dozens of times we have flown with United, it is discouraging to see how they treat their loyal customers. One should be able to rely on the promises made by customer service without having to read their 50-page Contract of Carriage.

I got very upset, so she brought on a manager, who told me that I would have to deal with it myself, on board, "and hope it worked out". At this point I yelled at him, saying that there was no way it was legal for him to force us apart and I needed an "** seat next to my 2 year old". The manager replied, that my passport, ticket and luggage were pulled from the flight, and I would never fly United again, because "he was the manager and he could do whatever he wanted". I then ran after him begging him to help me, to which he replied, "you woman, you insult me, and you will not fly today".

At one point I literally gone on my knees and begged him to let me on the flight with a seat next to my son, saying, "I am not a threat, just a parent who needs to protect her child", he continued to refuse, but once he noticed a crowd had gathered who had begun filming the scene he said to me, "you see what you have done, you see what you have caused, now I will be reported". At this point I offered to ask the bystanders to delete the video if he let me fly home in a seat next to my son, which they did. Lo and behold, he escorted me onto the plane and got me a seat next to my son.

My 2 year old is unfit to fly solo, he will not stay in his seat, keep his seat belt on, stay safe, stay quiet, etc... without me. He has been known to throw up, crap himself, throw food, and hit people nearby, he is essentially an irrational lunatic. How can an airline charge full fare for a toddler, yet separate them from their parent?

When I did, an attendant named ** (he wouldn't give her his last name) simply told me there weren't rooms in hotels available anymore, just that. I couldn't believe and asked what he was saying, very sarcastic he asked if I wanted him to repeat exactly what he had said, I said yes because I couldn't believe in what he was saying. He said just the same thing and that is it. When I told him I'm pregnant, ** tried to call the hotel again, probably fearing a lawsuit against United, but hung up before the call was completed because I said I thought all passengers should have rooms, not only the pregnant ones.

Now, I'm spending the whole day at Terminal C in Newark after spending the night seating at the flight gate (because the receptionist at the United lounge wouldn't let her in because "United doesn't use the lounge to offer compensation to passengers"). Besides, I won't be able to attend the wedding I have today in Sao Paulo, which was the only reason I bought a ticket to Brazil this weekend. I really don't know how United can compensate me for that awful experience, but I hope they try their best. I'm spending 24 hours seating at the floor of an airport terminal, 5 months pregnant, and United couldn't even provide me a place to spend the night.

My wife was scheduled to return to Sacramento Tuesday morning, March 3, 2014. I needed to stay in Denver for business and was scheduled to return to San Francisco, CA on Thursday, March 5, 2014 on flight 1282. My wife booked her flight over a month in advance and I booked and paid for the house approximately a month in advance. We had been planning the trip for several months including taking time off work and arranging a babysitter for the entire long weekend.

On Saturday, February 28, 2014 our flight took off from Sacramento. Approximately 15 minutes into the flight the captain came onto the PA system and said that the plane is experiencing landing gear problems and they have been instructed to turn around and land back in Sacramento. Once we landed the flight, crew kept the passengers on board until they knew whether we were going to take off again using the same plane. It was soon determined we would not and they had us disembark the aircraft. The passengers were then told that United was cancelling the flight. We were instructed to go back down to ticketing to make alternative flight arrangements.

After waiting in line for 2 hours, because there were two agents, we were told that there were no other options to get to Denver that day on United or any other airline. We were told that the soonest United could get us to Denver would be Monday, March 2nd. They looked at all connections and other airlines, I was told. I then proceeded to call United and spoke to an agent who confirmed that the soonest United could get us to Denver from Sacramento was Monday. Again, I asked her to check all connections and any other airlines. I asked to speak to a supervisor at which point the agent asked me to hold then disconnected me. Since our vacation plans, including house rental, lasted until Tuesday morning we obviously were left with the only option of cancelling our vacation/honeymoon.

I have been flying United for business and personal travel for over 30 years and my MileagePlus number is **. My wife has been a loyal customer of United for over 15 years and is also a United credit card holder for many years. Following is what I expect from United: full reimbursement for what we paid for our rental house that we were unable to use or get reimbursed by the rental agency in the amount of $1281.22. Receipt is attached. Full reimbursement for baggage fees that my wife and I paid. I paid $60 and my wife paid $25. My receipt is attached. Full reimbursement for our parking fees of $12 that were incurred while at the Sacramento airport for the flight that was cancelled. Receipt attached.

Full reimbursement for the portion of babysitter expense that we were not returned because of change in plans - amount $800. Travel vouchers for 2 persons for round-trip domestic, first-class tickets. This is for the inconvenience of having to completely change plans, the time we took off work, time spent at the airport and on the phone with United, travel costs to and from the airport.

I tried to phone Mileage helpdesk as well as they told me to do so cause I have to give certain informations to reservations. I understand that agents at the airport are just for check-in, but agents at Vancouver was trying their best and would do anything beyond their job to help their customers. Some agents are just fine, I understand that no one is perfect and we should keep in mind that they don't own the company. They are working for the company and following was they have been instructed to do so (even though its really disappointing to the passengers). Good thing I came in at the right time and right counter that agent helped me out.

After that, I tried to submit my claim to United Airlines. Their fax and phone numbers did not work for the entire month of January and February. When I eventually got through to someone, they said that they were so overwhelmed with lost luggage claims that they turned off the fax and phones. I sent in my paperwork via FEDEX with receipts and documentation on my claim. Another month went by and I received no response. I called up their lost luggage department and insisted on being put through to their claims department when I was told that "it takes 8 to 10 weeks" to look at your claim file. I reminded them that the 8 to 10 weeks had already passed and that they need to recognize that they do not state that as a response time on their website, their claims form or in any public forum.

I asked for a manager to call me back, a woman called ** in their claims department told me that they would call me back and took down my United Mileage Plus number. Did I ever receive a call back? Of course not. Subsequent calls back had me left in call center hell dealing with their reps in India who tried to get through to the claims department and were told that the claim department did not want to speak to me and that I would just have to wait. I have zero confidence that United will ever pay me and they simply create as difficult a process as possible in the hopes that I will give up and relinquish my claim.

As a matter of principle, I am going to sue them in small claims court, file complaints with the DOT and discuss the matter on public chat boards. I may never be able to collect on my expenses but I do hope that I will make potential customers think long and hard about flying United when they have a choice of airlines. The entire experience makes a total mockery of everything that they say in their glossy advertisements.

To our surprise the Buffet cost $35/person and we were charged an extra $15 gratuity charge because we were a group of 8 guys (that is an extra 43% gratuity and tax for a self-service buffet). So that was a total charge was $50.44 for 2 people. The Buffet was very disappointing, i.e. no fresh seafood of any kind, no shrimp, no crabs claws. The only seafood were oriental shrimp balls that were disgusting. In December, 2014, the Cosmopolitan Buffet dinner was $20/person and it included lots of fresh seafood.

Therefore, 8 guys paid $25/person for a substandard buffet (Golden Corrals buffet is better that the Cosmopolitan) or a total of $201.76 for a bait and switch scam buffet promoted by United and provided by the substandard Brunch Buffet at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. There were 8 very dissatisfied customers. We demand a full refund!!!

I went to customer service and explained my frustration and disbelief in their story. The agent stuck to the story and put me on a later flight (which by the way made an hour late for my business meeting). I walked back over (at 10:12 am) to the window to where I could see the gate and the plane was still there loading. The reason was obviously not that the plane was loaded and ready to leave, and they do not even have the courtesy to tell you the truth. The company tries to make you believe that it was all your fault and will stick by their lie until the very bitter end. I fly fairly regularly and have never been treated so poorly by an airline (or an business for that matter). I plan on making a formal complaint with the company, but I do not expect them to do anything about it with the kind of company experience morals that I have witnessed. I would recommend make all your travel plans around United Airlines if at all possible.

The whole experience is documented on ** on twitter. I'm currently in the process of attempting to speak to someone from customer service and will be live tweeting the whole experience. Any help you could provide would be much appreciated as they are the most inconsiderate people who ever worked in the customer service industry. They have hung up on my dad once, and the one rep actually laughed at me and said "I'm hanging up on you now" when he had spent the conversation talking over me.

Two problems with this: 1 - I checked the bag which we showed I was in the airport; and 2 - I bought a nonrefundable ticket, therefore if I don't show up I will lose my seat and my $712.00. So my question to you is -- How the hell do you sell my seat that I purchased and if I don't fly should sit empty...it was nonrefundable? I sat in airport for 13 hours waiting for the next flight back to Cleveland. I am 53 years old. I am a manager/coach and I have flown Continental for many years. Recently switched to United and have never been treated this way life.

My question to you - Do you feel this is the way you want your customers? I was at the gate 13 minutes before departure and my ticket was sold and the door was already closed. If I wanted to fly out on Friday I could have bought a ticket before $439.00 but I needed to get home on Thursday so I paid $712.00. I would like to hear your thoughts. I'm curious if you're going to stand hide behind your policy and tell me 15 minutes is 15 minutes like the Lady standing at the boarding gate that had to act ** to me because there's no way within two minutes somebody should have had my seat and the door was closed. I would like your back.

Called United yesterday to know the status and the attendant was very rude. She was not allowing me to talk. For a moment she left the call to do something and when returning she was mentioning the content of the baggage. I had basically food and cloths but she completely ignored the importance of the items. The food is Brazilian food that I can't find in US, babies dresses used in my Daughter 1st Year party made in Brazil. Also some of the party decoration that are very important to us not by the money value but for the emotional value. Medicines for baby like the natural Camomila (no similar in US) only found in Brazil are missed now. No way to even buy again until I decide to go back there. How much it cost?

I had several items inside that I'm needing now and I already bought again. I like to know what is going to happen if the baggage is find. The rude lady was not able to answer. I don't have plans to give up my extra expense due to incompetence to deliver back to me the baggage that I gave to them when I started the travel. I'm claiming in the local small claim court to make these guys work. If I'm walking in the streets, someone pass by me taking my baggage and get catch few feet later is a crime that can take to jail. Same works for an Air Flight Company that don't return my bag as expected. I'll not give up a cent on my claim file. The importance of my personal belongings is defined by me and not by a rude Flight Company attendant. I'll not even consider the lost value due to use because I'll have to buy again. I'll not buy used. Or easier, just give me my baggage back.

No one helps at the so called "customer service". In fact they made it worse by keep talking on the home with him for 25 minutes until the plane took off! I had to rent a car and drive home to Albany, NY. After 5 hours waiting for the damn flight I got abandoned from boarding it. I made a complain, the company compensate me with $75 gift card. What a humiliation?

WHY DID UA NOT HAVE THE CANCELLATION POSTED ON THEIR WEBSITE? WHY DID THE AIRPORT NOT HAVE THE CANCELLATION POSTED ON THEIR SCREENS? We would have never made the initial trip to the airport had we known. After learning of the cancellation, we then departed from the airport in dismay and headed back home to the drawing board. What do we do now? We immediately contacted out travel agent to try and make accommodations. As foolish as it sounds, our travel agent ended up re-booking us with UA and were set to fly out again two days later. We were determined to get to ARUBA. A fresh start we thought. What more could go wrong? It can only go up from here, right!?!?!? Well, we were let down again -- we arrived at the airport and checked in our bags... we had one overweight bag which cost us $225. Seriously, that's unheard of!!

Anyway, we are waiting for our first flight to D.C. Which was supposed to depart from Buffalo at 5:45 am. We then learn there is a "mechanical error" on the plane and were told by UA our flight would be running 20 minutes late -- we didn't start to worry until we were still waiting for the plane to board at 6:10 am -- our connecting flight was departing from D. C. At 8:30. We were all thinking there was no way we would make our flight!! Now their 20 minute delay grew to about an hour delay and sadly we were let down AGAIN -- we would not make our flight from D.C. To ARUBA and UA was not able to place us on another flight... no accommodations. UA staff were very unhelpful and the lack of compassion was awful -- We found out their "20 minute delay" from Buffalo to D. C. Ended up being a "2 hour delay". WELP we are back home again and back to the drawing board.

Luckily we got our luggage and our money back for their ridiculous luggage fees. I understand these things happen when traveling, but TWICE in a row??? That's absolutely unacceptable. This is 100% UA's fault. This airline clearly needs to be shut down or they need new management and better customer service. Did I mention the shuttle service we paid for to go to and from the airport to accommodate our 8 guests? The only good thing that could come out of this would be that UA recognize this is their fault and they will compensate us for all financial loss. And we do not want a voucher for your chinsy airline -- we want our money back!!

Finally entering the plane for a 4 1/2 hour flight to Newark there is not even one person to welcome you, which is standard at any airline! UA airline does not even offer you a snack, no INTERNET, no news on TV. From Newark I took the flight to Vienna and the staff at Austrian were very friendly and helpful. So blind and bad seeing travelers, stay away from UA as they don't care. Looking at the overall experience and the way they look at you I felt like a criminal.

I called your customer service. Barely speaks English. Called your local #, guy was had such an attitude. I'm trying to buy two int. flights to Berlin and I'm going with AIR BERLIN. It's direct and cheaper. Thanks for nothing. Shove your miles up your :-) - you know where. Danke very little.

He is frequent traveler with Southwest airlines, he was not panic because he understands this kind of problem happens and the flight company will take good care of its customers. Normally, Southwest will find a hotel and book the next available flight for the customer with very good attitude. So he went to the customer desk to ask if he can get a hotel to refresh. The customer service people from United Airlines said, "You can go by yourself and pay by yourself, we will not be responsible for anything! You can stay here in the airport and sleep on the floor!"

My husband was shocked and so were the other 20 people who also missed their flights due to the delay. My husband has not flight with United Airlines for almost a year, and before this flight, he was still debating which airline he should choice to make membership mileage card, United Airlines or Southwest. There is no doubt now about that. How can an Airline company treat your customer like that? Aren't they the real asset of your company? I will not invest on United Airlines with any of my money. It is the worst airline I ever took around the world.

On the first round of getting drinks, I asked for the whole Diet Coke can. The attendant acted angry that I asked her for this question. She handed the Diet Coke with a cup with a single ice cube inside the cup. I asked her if I could please get more ice. She angrily grabbed the cup and filled it so high it looked like a snow cone. I would not have been able to pour the soda in and drink it without spilling. Trying to solve without making her more angry I politely asked for a second cup (so I could put the overflowing ice into the second cup). She angrily handed it over. I solved the problem, but not without feeling attacked by this horrible attendant.

This experience seems small and silly. Yes, it is small and silly, but this behavior from United Airlines employees is common. These employees are unhappy and unprofessional people. I cannot understand why there is nothing that can be done to have recourse from little incidents like this one to big ones like the ones that I have experienced over the past 15-20 years. If you have any suggestions on how to manage when having to fly with United Airlines. The worst airline in America.

I should also mention that I am a United 1K which is why I was only 11 hours late. An occasional United flyer was probably going to be 24 hours late as the next day's stand by list (for which I was number 4) was 85 people. I asked United for more compensation and they said tough luck. So, my complaint is that when I make small changes to my itinerary, United hits me with punishing fees but when they screw up and significantly impact me the compensation is paltry. The irony was that this happened on March 1, the day when United frequent flyer benefits were significantly reduced (for me). Reduced benefits, higher redemption thresholds, crappy service. Good job United!

The sullen and rude agent at the desk, an Asian woman, refused to help get me on the flight, even though this was the last flight of the night to DCA. Even worse, a passenger was allowed to de-board while I was waiting, since the gate agent had checked him in on the wrong flight. I asked again to be allowed to board, since someone had just left the plane. Another agent, a tall, blond woman, not only refused to try to contact someone on the plane, but was rude and offensive, even yelling at me. I was sent to United Customer Service, where hundreds of people were waiting in line.

The only reason I was able to get booked on UA330 for the next morning and to receive hotel and meal vouchers was because of a very kind United attendant, Glenna Marie, who offered to help me at another desk. Please acknowledge her. This was the worst travel experience I've had on any airline, including the many, many United flights I've taken over the last 30 years. From now on, I will only book United flights as a last resort. United has lost me as a loyal customer.

One other fellow traveler with disabilities, visually impaired was told to wait and then forgotten. She missed her flight. Another in a wheel chair, was ignored when the loading call was made, so I told the person at the gate, this women needed help. The list for 5 flight goes on an on. Sadly to say Soviet era Aeroflot did a better job than UA. Again I would like to point out, that they did have some really great employees. Their policy on assign bulk head seating is a JOKE, especially a joke for people with disabilities.

To quote United their system new. I was going to rebook my flight from Denver to Albuquerque so they held the bag and it would be waiting for me to arrive. I waited around DIA for 4 hours for my bag. It was a no show. I was told it would be in Albuquerque in the morning 3/1/2015. Today 3/2/2015 they found my bag and were planning to deliver it to Denver. But I am in Southeastern New Mexico. By the time my bag gets to Albuquerque on 3/4/2015 I will be in San Francisco.

The issue that raises the irritation is the lack of honesty by United Employees. The first question on the employment form must be can you lie? United Management works at speed in answering the phone. The first estimate is 20 minutes, which translates to 26 minutes at which time you are told the next person will answer the phone in 30 minutes. The 3rd person answers the phone 15 minutes later and you now know you paid $25 for your chain to be pulled when you are asked to describe the contents of the bag. The fastest and most secure method of getting from Denver to Albuquerque is to walk.

It is astounding that this seems to be "normal" practice for this company. Like everyone else I have heard the stories of other travelers being treated in a similar manner. But it's not until it is personal that you realize how few rights we seem to have. While I am mad that I am forced to pay twice for the same product it is nothing compared to the feeling of loss of respect and trust. Needless to say unless someone from UA really makes an effort I will do all I can to discourage anyone from travelling with this company. Some of the company personnel I told my story to were embarrassed, I felt more sorry for them than for me. What a pathetic company to have to work for!!!

Not only was this a major upset immediately prior to boarding, I was hassled and treated with COMPLETE disrespect by one of the United gate agents -- he went to shut the door on me and block me from the flight -- all while I'm seated on the floor struggling to comply and just get my passport and laptop with me so that I could re-zip my now 'checked' bag for them. I witnessed him completely berating a male passenger in the same situation -- as well as a female passenger who was carrying on a small dog, to the point where she was left weeping on the floor while he tried to close the door on her too -- saying she'd have to take her connecting flight to Amsterdam another day then.

It was disgusting customer service and treatment for again, an inconvenience that was --- NOT our fault. I sincerely hope some type of compensation will be made for this outrageous behavior and treatment. I still have many hours left en route to Dubai, without critical items I had planned to have. Those considering flying United, especially in economy plus should definitely be warned of this type of service.

A couple of flight attendants and a pilot with his family were passengers, and they were certain the systems and engines were failing and the plane was going down. Eventually, the fuel was dumped and we headed back to Maui to make an emergency landing. I was extremely worried we would not make it back. However, the closer we got to Hawaii, the less turbulence and the more the engines sounded better. With storms in Maui the plane was diverted to Honolulu where we made an uneventful landing 3 hours after departing. All of the passengers were very traumatized.

The plane was parked at a gate and the passengers disembarked to find only a single United rep to meet us, with no information, except we were told to wait in the holding area. A few passengers left to book other flights. After an hour, it was announced that a plane would be flown in from Maui. It was delayed, and when it arrived they was no crew. A crew was found and the plane boarded, but no pilots. Once pilots were found, the crew had timed-out, and once another new crew was found the pilot timed out. During this some passengers disembarked, but we were told repeatedly that if we left there were no hotel rooms in Honolulu (big convention) and that we would not receive our luggage.

After 5 hours on the plane with no food and a little water, we were told the flight was cancelled, and that everyone should go to baggage claim and get their bag, and check-in anew. Passengers were upset but well-behaved; nonetheless, there was only one United rep at the gate who had called in an increasing number of security guards, which was very insulting.

We went and picked up our bag and went to check-in, where there were 2 reps who did not really know what was going on, and who would not allow us to check-in our luggage. They told us we would have to wait until check-in at 4 a.m. and that we would have to wait in the airport. We were given food vouchers, but all of the food vendors were closed for the night. Everyone felt, after being traumatized, that they had been completely abandoned by United who gave the impression that they really did not care. I am sure United staff slept in hotels that night, but the many passengers were left without food or water, pillows or blankets, to wait on benches and the floor in the front end of the closed terminal or out on the street.

It was a horrifying experience to be so completely and unceremoniously abandoned. At 4 a.m. we checked in, but concessions did not open in the airport. Everyone who remained was booked onto a 10 a.m. flight which was delayed and did not leave until 12:30 p.m. At the end of the flight as we were approaching Los Angeles a flight attendant made a prepared announcement apologizing for the fiasco and directing everyone to claim a token of appreciation at a United website (which turned out to be a letter of apology which did not recognize what was going on the plane or the complete lack of compassion on the part of the company, and offered people a $200 credit on their next United flight).

We arrived home after a 50 hour saga. The overall experience was the worst travel experience I have ever had, and the compensation did not reflect the horrendous treatment of passengers by United. The situation could have been handled so much better, but United offered only a unified and unambiguous front of complete indifference.

(Why was communication so poor? Why did they not know when staff were going to time out? Why put everyone on a sham flight that they knew would be cancelled just as the airport was closing? Why were almost no United staff available? Why threaten tired and frustrated passengers with security guards? Why did they force everyone to wait in the front of the terminal in the cold? Why could they not hand out lots of pillows and blankets, food and water? Why did they not open up their lounge and allow passengers to shelter there? Why delay after delay and no explanation? Why the shoddy compensation?)

I don't think that I have ever been a situation where I thought that I was going to die like that, and I don't think that what happened after showed any human compassion whatsoever. United's safety and customer service record speaks for itself, and stories such as this will hopefully circulate and be powerful agents for change (or warning to potential customers).

I recently moved to San Diego CA from Atlanta Ga for a job opportunity. Prior to leaving to get my on in Atlanta, I assured m boss that this would be a turn around trip. Once I reached San Francisco, I noticed that the airline stewardess provided me with only one boarding pass. I immediately went to the ticket agent upon exiting the flight and asked if she could reprint a boarding pass for my son. She complied and advised me of the flight time and status. There was a layover of a hour and a half. I immediately went to change my sons last diaper in the bathroom, and to grab a bite to eat.

When I returned to the gate I noticed that the plane was gone. Not only was I going to miss my deadline at work (the following day I was terminated) but I also did not have any supplies for my infant son who had soiled his pants for a second time! I was then offered a hotel in San Francisco until the next flight, which was the following day. I called into to customer service today to ask how soon can a flight leave the terminal if they have passengers in the airport with tickets and items in baggage claim? The agent could not answer the question, and when I asked for a supervisor I could not get any results. This airline does not care about women and children!!!!

Another bad experience was on a flight from Miami to NY. It was canceled 5 hours before - we had to find an internet connection to rebook another flight with them. We lost our last afternoon because of them. The other flight was a bit later, and we took off with 1h30 late. At arrival, the plane parked at the wrong spot and we had to wait 30 minutes in the plane. 2 hours delay. At Newark, no United representant was there. The airport was empty. We had to take a cab for $100 to go back to Manhattan. No reimbursement by United. (We could have taken the train for $12 if the flight was on time.) I will NEVER fly again with them and ALWAYS advise against them. They are expensive, rude. They pretend to care about their customers. (Enjoy the video played in the plane where they say they care!) Ryanair is far better, and cheaper!

I don't make very much money. I am up to my neck in debt after having made an international move and have maxed out my credit cards. I was counting on the over-60,000 miles I have accrued in recent years to cover some/most of the cost to obtain a round trip flight back to the US. After writing the carrier and physically mailing them my concerns, I received, via email, an auto-reply blow-off stating in the sparsest, most generic terms possible that UA would not be honoring my mileage. Had I known this was going to be the outcome I would have spent that same money on a superior carrier. Maybe I can take solace in the fact that after she passes I can get a discounted bereavement fare? Awful company, awful people, I can remember a time when the carrier was one of the best out there. I will never fly United ever again even if that means my only options do not offer a direct flight. I am heartbroken.

All I wanted was for her to re-book the flight without the extra 200.00 and place a additional flight for myself and she wouldn't waive the 200.00 dollars. Even though I was gonna book another flight also that was 590.00. I will never fly United again and will tell my family friends and any website I can find what awful customer service they you give.

When I called this morning to reschedule the flight, I was told I could use the original $249.00 toward my new flight, but it would cost me a $200.00 change fee as well as the difference in the new ticket price. I was told that when I cancelled the first flight for this emergency with my mother, I would not have to pay the $200.00 change fee. This morning was not the case. As this is the beginning of several flights for me with this employer, I have chosen not to use United Airlines going forward. Your customer service or lack thereof, is unacceptable. I cannot imagine this not continuing on future experiences.

I have a flight. It was scheduled to leave today at 7:00 pm from Newark airport. My friend and I came to airport 3 hours in prior to our flight, and printed out the boarding pass. Later on, when we tried to enter the gate, UA attendant told us that this flight was overbooked (this was even happened before the severe weather. So I want you guys to know that our seat was not disappear due to weather).

First of all, I do not understand how UA can accept people when flight is overbooked. We paid exact same amount for this ticket as other customers and don't understand how this was happened. On top of that, supervisor name, Adiran, tried to explain this happened all the time and it is "US government policy to have overbooked seat just in case". Later on, she was raising up her voice and picked up her hand and pointed at us & yelled us to get out of that gate. When we went through this argument, she ended up disappear and went somewhere else.

We understood this happened on a daily basis due to severe weather or any other circumstances. However, there are ton of alternative solutions that UA could provide us. We received $1,300 dollar on a check along with hotel accommodation. However, our hotel at Cancun was not able to take cancellation, so we ended up paying all that penalties. Further, we missed our friend's wedding. Please be aware that my colleague came all the way from Seoul, Korea last night to attend this anniversary. It gets even worse when we tried to go back to hotel. Customer service dept made a reservation at Edison Crowne Plaza, which is so far away from this airport and they were saying this was the only option available. So we waited front of the shuttle bus section for 2 hours. Within that 2 hours, the shuttle was never shown up and made numerous phone call to that hotel but all they were saying we had to wait.

I strongly believe that people should be aware of this type of incidents and UA management needs to learn how to handle this situation properly with certain manner. We are extremely disappointed and mad at UA's supervisor's attitude, flight operation, compensation, customer service etc.

They organized for me to fly United Airline from San Francisco instead, as they informed me it was not Air New Zealand's responsibility to give me alternative flights but United Airline's responsibility. I accepted this at face value as I did not know if this was the case. They booked me on a flight to Sydney then a Qantas flight from Sydney to Brisbane. I indicated to them that the time between my proposed arrival in Sydney and the flight I was to take from Sydney did not give me time to clear customs and get to the domestic airport. I was told in no uncertain terms to take the tickets or stay! They were very rude. So as an Australian stuck overseas I thought I would take the ticket so I could at least get back to my own country.

I thought my problems would end there... When I tried to get on the delayed flight with my boarding pass at Calgary, the staff said it was invalid and took it off me. This was an Economy Plus seat I paid for in advance (months in advance) and selected the seat online in advance. I showed them I had an eTicket from my travel agent that clearly indicated I had premium economy seat, but they were really rude and waved it away indicating that if I did not have the original receipt of purchase then I had no legal right to the premium economy seat! So they thrust a regular coach seat in my hand and said basically to take it or stay!

I paid for this seat and had the boarding pass! (Later on I discovered that United Airline refunded the extra cost of the Premium Economy seat to my travel agent... with no explanation... I only got this money back from my travel agent after I told them what had happened and they worked out the refund must have been for me! There were no apologies...even after the horrid scene that was made at the airport).

I asked United Airline via email for a written statement that weather delayed my UA6348 flight so I missed my Air New Zealand flight, in order to reclaim lost money between the cost of Premium Economy on the two airlines when flying internationally, they responded to my email with an apology but obviously did not read it as they did not send me the written outline regarding the weather delay so I could claim money back on travel insurance! A month later and I am still waiting for written confirmation that their delayed flight caused these issues! I would like to make my travel insurance claims but cannot until United Airlines sends this written confirmation regarding the delays.

I also missed my Sydney to Brisbane flight as I indicated I would to the United Airline staff on the day. I found that the United Airlines staff at Calgary and enroute to San Francisco were incredibly rude and almost nasty. The customer service people I have been trying to contact to resolve my travel insurance claim do not seem to be reading the requests I am making... they offered me a $100 travel voucher with an extensive list of conditions attached that was useless to me as I reside in Australia and do not take their International flights (Which are the only flights they offer here). I just want to resolve my travel insurance issues! I have never experienced such bad service at all levels from an airline company.

To name a few: in need of help from airline personal with carrying carseats, strollers, diaper bags, and children themselves. Cannot leave one child alone in the airplane to help the other child go to the bathroom. Yet the airplane bathrooms are too small to fit a parent with 2 children inside, and even if they were, how can a parent wipe one child while holding the other? Comforting more than one child at a time proves to be difficult, for ex. if I would be walking around with my baby trying to calm him, then my toddler would become fearful that I am not near her.

I know that breastfeeding women are considered a protected class and I would like to extend that protection to all parents traveling alone with babies and children. No single parent or young child should have to experience the fear from threats and discrimination that the following incident caused my children and me:

My son was crying during take off when the man sitting in front of me got out of his seat, hovered over me and yelled at me to "do something because [he] didn't pay to listen to a baby crying." Then the United flight attendant named Bill came over, not to diffuse the situation, as I would expect is the job of the flight attendant or any United employee. Rather, Bill, a United flight attendant, threatened me that if I didn't do something, he would de-board me.

It is shocking, unacceptable, inexcusable, and downright disgusting that a United flight attendant would use his authority to gang up with another passenger to threaten and bully a mother travelling alone with two young children, rather than ask if there's anything I need, to offer to help me in any way he could. He continued to behave aggressively toward me, poking me in my side when passing me in the aisle, instead of using his words as is common practice among flight attendants, to remind me to put my seat belt on. He spoke insults about me to the complaining passenger and sneered at me continuously throughout the flight.

When I asked a passing United flight attendant for his name, she refused to give me any information, saying my flight number was enough and that it's United's policy not to give flight attendants names. Later she passed me again and I asked for her name. She simply ignored me and walked away, covering her name tag with her hand.

When Bill, the United flight attendant, next passed me by, I asked for his name and he gave it to me and then threatened me and behaved aggressively again by asking me for my name and assigned seat number. He yelled that he was reporting me to the pilot because I did nothing to comfort my baby and that the angry male passenger will back Bill's story up. Thankfully, there were some fellow mothers sitting behind me who not only understood the difficult situation I was in but supported me and enabled me to endure such verbal and emotional abuse of United employee, Bill, and his female coworker. These women have shared their names and emails (I am happy to provide this info should Consumers Union request it) and they are willing to vouch for my description of the events and behavior of United employee, Bill, which occurred on the United flight UA1632.

It would be valuable to publicize my experience (and when spread my story online, there were many people sharing similar experiences!) because parents travelling with children make up a large portion of air travelers and not every parent has a spouse or relative or friend to help them with the burdens of traveling with small children. These individuals should therefore be considered a protected class and airline personnel should be trained properly in how to best assist this protected class with sensitivity and professionalism.

On so many levels your company has screwed up BIG time again, and once again NO ONE associated with United Airlines seems to give a **. Congrats! Your airline has succeeded at compounding my wife's grief over the loss of a dear friend. Shame on you! I didn't think I'd be writing to you again this soon after my disgust with United Airline in 2014. Please refresh your memory with Case #** and #**. If you need help, contact Sheila **, your corporate customer care manager. She'll fill you in!

Today, Friday, 1/30/15, my wife arrived at the Tocumen Airport in Panama City, Panama with an e-ticket receipt and confirmation # in hand for a flight from Panama City, Panama to Seattle WA. When she went to check in at United the counter employee for United stated "your ticket has been refunded" (canceled) and he gave her a local number to call in Panama. He didn't help her further. Imagine that! Right off the bat, United dropped the ball. Another airline would have recommended a manager at the airport to troubleshoot the problem. This guy scribbled a number on a blank piece of paper and told her to call customer service on her own dime and see what they could do. He didn't offer to find a manager, who could possibly re-book her on the same flight. He passed off the problem to someone he didn't even know. What's terribly wrong with this picture? Do you see the customer dis-service that went on here?!

Calling the local number given to her proved fruitless. She spoke to two women. The first "customer care" person was Gabriela, and when she couldn't help us she asked for her supervisor, Mariana **. I spoke to Mariana **. Problem was both ladies told us what we already knew and that was that the ticket I had bought for my wife the day before had been "refunded." They couldn't offer a legitimate reason why. Furthermore, they weren't eager to help make things right and get my wife on the afternoon flight to Houston with a connection to Seattle for the funeral. They acted like they could care less.

Hello! Is anyone listening at United? I'm seeing a pattern of non-caring, non-problem solving employees working for you, Mr. Smisek while you sit in your high-rise corporate headquarters in Chicago. Where is your quality control? Why don't you empower your employees at the lowest levels to genuinely care for customers? When I asked to speak to someone higher up, Mariana **. said she was it. There was no one higher than her to help us. How is this possible? Was Mariana **. United's new CEO? Do you know that Jeff (Smisek)? You need to know that no one at United contacted my wife to let her know that the ticket had been "refunded" (canceled). We arrived at the airport to be told that! No one from United made a courtesy call to our home phone or email to our email address. How can you cancel an e-ticket and not let the customer know and give good reason for doing so?

We believe that the problem occurred because we tried to use a travel voucher that United had given to us in good faith back in 2014. This was when your corporate customer care manager, Sheila **, wrote (in part) in an email to me: “Because we value your business, Ms. ** authorized your family a $250 electronic travel certificate each and it is my sincere hope that you will accept them in the spirit in which the offer was made.” So much for valuing our business. Your ongoing actions speak to the contrary.

So, by the time you read this, if you read this, my wife's friend's funeral will be over and she won't have been there because of egregiously poor customer service at United Airlines. Does this bother you at all? It should. Instead of the current Bachman Turner Overdrive song, "Taking Care of Business" as United's theme song, you should at least give your unhappy customers a laugh by using the Rolling Stone's classic, I Can't Get No (Satisfaction)! It's a more accurate appraisal of the dismal job you do in the customer care area of your company.

The flight itself was a horrible experience: None of very old blue leather seats in First Class reclined. There were no foot-rest (which is standard even in many Economy Classes around the world - for example on Turkish Airlines). The United First Class Seat was at least 30 years old, with a sealed armrest ashtray which prompted me to take a picture.

The food was horrible and cold and a tipsy stewardess did not know the difference between white wine and champagne. The Video system on my seat had no audio. And the much touted "Wi-Fi" did not work - I could not connect. I conveyed to UAL that they should not use such equipment on long-haul flights.

The best piece of entertainment was an unattractive prostitute (travelling with her "buyer") who, after boarding the plane, insisted on sitting on my lap. She claimed that was her seat she also claimed that she could not read the number 2. After a while she found some other people who she pushed out of their seats in order to descend on some prey - an older gentlemen. The stewardesses did nothing and not even hang up my jacket which I stuffed myself in the overhead department. The whole cabinet was overheated and the toilet ceased to work in mid-flight.

The flight in First (which really was not a First Class experience at all) cost me 50.000 Miles. United was unmoved by my experience and decided to add "insult to injury" by "rewarding" me 10,000 Miles to make up for my suffering. I told the customer service department caller that I will frequent other airlines from now on, upon which she hang up on me.

Despite my telling her we just got off another United flight with no issue she literally freaked on me. We ended up checking one bag to shut her up as other passengers were starting to try to help us. I turned to my son, back to her and commented in a quiet voice she was a **. She then started yelling at me as I went down the ramp. Last time I checked private conversations were allowed in the US. She didn't realize there were more than my one son and I to our party.

She started commenting that no one calls her a ** to the passengers behind including my son's 17 yr old girlfriend who by the way had two bags BOTH larger than mine. She later came on the plane trying to get me thrown off. I was sitting quietly with my younger son, with my bags stowed EXACTLY as they are supposed to be. And yes she checked. One of the flight attendants eventually told her to get off.

I have PTSD and ended up in tears and ill. Two days later I still hadn't slept. I ended up getting quite ill. My friend had terminal cancer and I couldn't go see her before she passed away. United has apologized to us repeatedly.

Honestly it's just safer to fly with someone else. I fly several times a year and NEVER have these kinds of problems with anyone other than United and Delta. Spend your money with companies that truly value your business. And you have to be concerned if the people hired to deal with the public aren't screened appropriately, what screening process do they use for the other positions in their company.

When we actually got on the place, we were told all the bassinet requests and any related seat arrangement should have been done in advance! When we told we already done that, we're told by extremely rude attendant to seat down in middle row and they will see what they can do when in air. Only thing they ultimately did was give a bassinet to keep between already squeezed seats, at our feet. Luckily there was very helpful passenger in front row and he switched seats with us so we can have room to keep bassinet. We have traveled on so may airlines who handle such requests elegantly and have bassinets that can be hitched to wall, however United seem to not care or have no systematic way to handle it.

For a trip back, we called United customer service to make sure our request for bassinet is in the system and handled, which was when we actually got on the plane. However, this time it was another rude attendant who kept asking my wife to keep diaper bag in overhead bin when she was handling two kids. The bins were all full and attendant did not even offer to assist to find a location while kept asking repeatedly to put bag in overhead bin. When asked for seat belt extender for infant, attendant told to hold baby in hand. We understand that attendant may not be very helpful, but they can at least treat their customers with respect.

The flight home UA flight 218 was cancelled due to maintenance issues. We had changed our flight to this flight at a cost of $200.00 times 3 and then it was cancelled. They did refund this cost to me after I asked about it, but would not give us any vouchers for food or hotel. For our trouble they would give us a $125.00 voucher to fly with them again, ugg. One of our passengers did not change the flight and they charged us for this and cannot figure out how to reverse that charge and it was their MISTAKE.

We have flown United twice in the last year and we have had a rotten experience both times. If you try and talk to someone in the complaint department or refund department you CANNOT. I am so frustrated with them. As a family we fly several times a year and never have an issue within other airline. I believe they have so many complaints they do not have the manpower to handle them so they blow off the client.

"Friendly Skies?" They are ridiculous with their policies and when you try to challenge it they do everything they can to dump the blame on you. Completely irresponsible, I'm sick of the fees at every turn, the tiny, tiny seats made specifically for people 5'6" and under (and God forbid if the person in front of you leans back), and just the overall lack of consideration towards the customer's comfort and convenience, and I've heard this all before, and I'm hearing it now while listening to people at the gate. So many of my friends are moving away from them, and after this experience I'm happy to join. This airline is only creating their own downfall.

The first problem started when United sent our luggage to Dublin instead of Paris! I did not have any clothes to wear for New Year's Eve. Tenzin, an employee promised us $300 to compensate for us not having any clothes or personal effects while on vacation over the holiday. But to date we have received nothing. It's a shame not all of United airlines employees are this efficient as Irwin.

If you are disabled traveling out of Munich Germany BEWARE of the staff! When I first approached customer service in Munich they told me I would be assigned seats 28 A/B for my husband and myself. I need a companion while flying to assist me in getting my luggage overhead and to help me get up from my seat. I presented all appropriate paperwork proving my disability. After I was already checked in, the first lady at the gate did not want to let me pre-board. She actually asked me what my problem was! This is a clear violation of my privacy.

After I was on the plane I noticed we were seated one row behind 28A and B. It must have been an accident. I notified the flight attendant Marc that we were in the wrong seats. I was stuck in the middle row between 2 other seats. I knew this would not be acceptable with my disability. I have had open heart surgery and I have a vascular issue and spine problems as well as a torn rotator cuff. I immediately pointed to the seats one row in front of me that the customer service agent had promised us. Marc was in no way understanding or willing to help. Instead he ridiculed me and told me that the other seats may have been given to two men who were willing to "pay for the upgrade" because they were "tall"!! Can you believe that? They were giving my seats up to two non disabled people because they were willing to "pay"! I was fully prepared to pay for any additional fees for our seats but they did not give us that option.

What made it worse was when Marc yelled at me in front of all the passengers and pointed to another seat smashed between two strange men. I told him I needed to sit next to my husband as he is also my assistant. I cannot reach for things above my head or below me. In addition I am a nervous flyer and my husband has always seated next to me. Instead of helping me get this situation resolved, Marc called in Jeff **. Jeff proceeded to grab my shoulder (the one with the torn rotator cuff) causing me extreme pain and discomfort and he talked to me in the most condescending tone I've ever experienced! I got tears in my eyes from the humiliation of Marc yelling at me and the pain from Jeff grabbing my shoulder.

I was sitting quietly not bothering anyone. Instead of offering me a solution Jeff asked me if I wanted to get off the plane and wait for another plane!!? Really after a 13 hour layover he wanted us to wait for another plane and risk missing our connecting flight in Houston?! I am disgusted by the sheer lack of empathy. I am disgusted by the sheer disregard for my rights as a disabled person. These are violations under the Air Carrier Access Act! I don't believe United Airlines condones this behavior by these two awful employees. I believe United will rectify this situation. I suffered emotional distress, anxiety, stress and severe edema and high blood pressure as a result of Marc and Jeff ** conduct. Beware to all travelers. My flight was Jan 6 2015 U105 Munich to Houston.

I finally made it to the counter and the Customs agent tells the United agent I am the last one to come through because they were closing. There was at least 30 people still in line. I don't know what happened to them because they weren’t allowed through and all flights the following day were already booked. So I get to DC at midnight (received a text that my flight I had missed had just landed in FL) and had to go through Customs AGAIN!!! Then United gave me two $7 dollar meal vouchers and a voucher for a hotel. I had two checked suitcases and a carry on suitcase. Now I had to lug these way out to the shuttle, into the hotel in the cold weather. My flight to go home was scheduled for around noon the next day and when I wake up, it’s snowing hard. So I get all my luggage on the shuttle and took a 30 minute/3 mile ride in the unsalted, unplowed roads to the airport.

I get an email notification en route to the airport that my new flight has been cancelled. Surely due to weather and the fact that it is a smaller plane. So I get to the airport and find a skycap to help carry all of my bags and he takes me to the United Counter for re-booking located on the backside of the regular counters. Not bad, I was first in line while 3 other people were being helped.

I stood in that line for 30 minutes. After one of the agents was done, he left and never came back. One of the other agents left her customer at the counter for 10 minutes for whatever reason and he left to go find her. So finally I get to the only agent left after she is done helping a party of 3. She says I can be standby on 4:50 pm flight or on the 10:20 pm flight. STANDBY!! I have already missed two days of work at this point and asked if she could at least get me to Orlando (2 hour drive from my house) so she had to call customer service to make sure Orlando and Jacksonville were "sister cities" so she could send me there. Lucky for me they are! So I am now booked on a 737 for Orlando at 12:45 but she informs me they won't pay for ground transportation. So I call my elderly parents and ask if they could please get my son out of school early and drive to the Orlando airport to pick me up.

I finally made it home around 7 pm. When I called "customer service" I was told I had to submit my complaint online that there was no one I could speak to about all of this. I submit my complaint online, get a confirmation email stating I will hear back from them in 7 to 10 business days. I called today to follow up not realizing it had only be 7 business days since I filed my complaint. I was told I need to wait to get an email response from customer service. In my complaint I asked for some compensation due to missing a full day of work and having to arrange to have my elderly parents drive a 4 hour round trip to pick me up. If it had been mechanical or weather issues, I would not be asking for compensation but this was due to their crew being late to the airport. Not acceptable. By the other comments on here, I am not too hopeful but I will put a follow up comment to let you know how it turns out. Wish me luck!

On January 9th, flying from Minneapolis to Chicago O-Hare, I had the misfortune of being in the final boarding group (just after the chickens and goats). It was clear when the frazzled boarding crew started asking people to check bags before even half the passengers had boarded that my bag would not make it into the cabin. OPPORTUNITY 1: I think that when I pay $32 dollars extra to upgrade to an Economy Plus seat (more than 35% premium about the standard economy fare), I’d get bumped up ahead of the livestock boarding group. If so, my bag makes it on the plane, and I am still a happy United customer. I voluntarily checked my bag, dropping it at the end of the jet bridge, just before boarding.

After a fine flight to Chicago, I waited on the jet bridge for my bag. When the pilot finally departed the plane, I asked him “don’t I pick up my bag here?” “Oh no”, said the pilot. “United Express does that, but we don’t. You will need to go to baggage claim to get it.” OPPORTUNITY 2: It seems a lot more reliable to return the bag at the jet bridge. I have never had any problem with that protocol. And if this works for your affiliate, why don’t you use this method?

So, I find my way to the baggage area, and wait. At least 20 minutes for any bags to appear on the conveyor. But they are not the bags from Minneapolis (mine, nor any of the other passengers). I wait 10 more minutes, and approach the very nice United employee in the baggage area. He cited the cold weather as the cause of the problem. I reminded him that Chicago does have a reputation for cold winters, so I was a bit surprised that this caught people off guard. I asked if he had an estimate of when the bags might arrive. He replied "I should think not more than 30 minutes." I decided not to wait, and asked to have it delivered to my destination. I asked what time might I expect it, and was told probably by 8pm. So I provided the address where I was staying for the evening in Chicago.

8pm came and went, and at 9pm, I called the 800 number on the delayed baggage report. The messages said something to the effect that we are overwhelmed with calls, and to try later. So I called the other number on the form - a local Houston number. I got through to a rep fairly quickly (as I later found, this was an unusual event - a bright spot in my little tale of woe).

The rep told me the bag was provided to the delivery company at 3pm. So in six hours, the bag couldn’t make it 15 miles to my destination. OPPORTUNITY 3: There has got to be more money applied to these situations, to get the bags returned to your customers more promptly. Based on normal walking speed of 3mph for older individuals such as myself, someone carrying the bag from O'Hare could have had it to me by 8pm. A younger athletic person, who enjoys running marathons, might have been able to break 2 hours. But seriously, you need to ensure that your vendors have the capacity to get lost baggage more quickly to your customers. The rep also said he would call the baggage company for a status. After a moment, he came back on and apologized that the delivery company (Dunn-Rite Luggage Delivery) did not answer (more on this below, it is apparently the norm, rather than just my bad luck).

I explained that I would not be in position to take delivery of the bag after 10pm, and that if this could not be done, I’d request it for early the next morning. The rep said he could not accommodate this request. I clarified my expectation by saying “can’t you type something into the computer system, that would go to the computer system of Dunn-Rite that would tell them my requirements?” “No”, said the rep, “we can only call them.” I was pretty stunned by this, based on my career in IT, I would have thought this type of integration of corporate systems to be late 90s, early 2000s vintage. I reiterated, for the record, that if it didn’t come by 10pm, I would not be able to claim the bag, and other arrangements would need to be made.

At about 11:45pm, my cell phone alarm went off. Or at least I thought it was the alarm. When it rang again, I realized it was a phone call. It was the delivery company. He was parked outside. I said “Dude, you ** woke me up. I told United that I would not be receiving the bag after 10pm. Could you please bring it back at 8am tomorrow morning?” He said no, and something about it going to the end of the line (which I took to mean I would probably never see it again). I thought about going to the door, in my undies, to get the bag, but there were extenuating circumstances. You see, I was staying with friends who have a dog who I found a bit intimidating, in that he (Grover, a cute Doberman/ Rottweiler mix) didn’t seem to appreciate my moving about the apartment. I thought I might be able to tiptoe past the bedroom door behind which he was sleeping with his masters, but then I recalled that he chewed his way out of two different dog crates. Would a simple wooden bedroom door really contain him? I thought no, probably not. So I thanked the nice delivery man, hung up, and tossed restlessly for a half hour or so, itemizing the possessions I might never see again before finally falling back asleep.

OPPORTUNITY 4: When the rep arranges to have the bag delivered to a destination, they should ask if there are limitations in when I am willing to receive it, rather than assume I will go on a coke binge, staying up all night waiting for it. Such a discussion might have ensued whereby we could have decided to have United hold it for the night, with me picking it up the next morning.

At 7:30am on Saturday, Jan. 10, I called again. This time, I was told there would be a 17 minute wait before I would get a live persons (to be fair and balanced in my feedback to United, you are Six Sigma in predicting how long these wait times will be, practically to the minute each time. On the other hand, your hold music sucks and repeats far too frequently given typical wait times how about some nice calming classical music always a tasteful choice).

At 17 minutes on the nose, yet another polite United rep greeted me. I explained the situation, updating them on the refused delivery of the prior evening. I explained that I was returning to the airport this morning, and maybe they could get the bag back there, where I and my pack could be reunited (hey, reunited kind of like a pun, no?). The rep said let me put you on hold for a minute or two while I call the delivery company. Sure, says I. 16 minutes later, the rep returns to the phone. I said I just want to state for the record and for those who listen to these calls for quality assurance purposes - that the wait time was 16 minutes, not the 2-3 minutes promised.

(What they could have talked about for that long I have no idea, but here is another bright spot, this was the only one of four calls that your customer service rep could even contact someone at your baggage delivery vendor so I guess that counts for something.) The rep said they would return the bag back to the airport, and they were very helpful in directing me to where I could claim it. I thanked them, and wished them a good day. The word miracle came to mind when I assessed the chances of my bag actually being there when I arrived later in the morning.

So later in the morning, I arrived at baggage claim at O'Hare. A very nice man named Jerry greeted me. He again cited weather and a flu epidemic for the baggage snafu, which of course I found insulting, because I am smart enough to know that price completion has turned air travel into the equivalent of the Greyhound bus trips I took to summer camp as a kid. When it costs less to fly one hour from Minneapolis to Chicago than the one hour car service to the airport, then it is clear that razor thin profit margins mean no margin for error. A cold spell and a few sick baggage handlers and the system collapses. I am sure I am in the minority, but I would be glad to pay 10-20% more for my airfare in exchange for better customer service when things don’t go perfectly (throw in a couple more inches of legroom and I’d be overjoyed).

So I explained to Jerry what transpired in the past 12 hours or so (by now I was wise enough to know that the computer systems of United and Dunn-Rite Luggage Delivery have yet to become acquainted, and that Jerry would rely on me to update him). Hearing the details, Jerry said something in professional language that translated in my brain to there is not a snow-balls chance in hell that bag is here at the airport. Jerry was right--no bag. Jerry attempted to call Dunn-Rite, but as you may well anticipate, they did not answer. So we agreed to have the bag shipped to my home in New Jersey. I asked when I might expect it, and Jerry said possibly as soon as tonight, but then I am an optimist. You really have to respect Jerry, remaining optimistic in the face of a reality that would damper the perspective of most people.

OPPORTUNITY 5: You need to do a better job of integrating your computer systems with those of your vendors. And I know you must have detailed contracts, and in one of the appendices of the contract with your baggage delivery vendor(s) is a chart of SLAs and financial penalties if they fail to meet them. You might want to double check what you have in there about answering the phone when you call them. I flew home on another beautiful United flight, alas, my last.

The bag did not arrive Saturday night, as the utopian Jerry had hoped. Nor on Sunday. Nor on Monday morning. So I called again today, Monday, at 12:37pm, Eastern time. This time a 30-minute wait was forecast perfectly. Again I brought the rep up to speed on what has transpired, and asked her to call the delivery company (silly me!!!). Of course there was no answer. I explained that I did not want my doorbell ringing in the middle of the night, and that I would like the delivery between 8am and 10pm. She said she could leave a voicemail with the baggage company, but when she returned, she reported with sorrow that their voice mailbox was full. She did tell me about www.wheresmysuitcase.com, which would allow me to track the delivery online. That site says that it is waiting assignment to driver. OPPORTUNITY 6: You may wish to partner with or steal best practices of any number of companies in terms of keeping me informed of the status of my delivery.

Just a couple of suggestions: When I first checked in at MSP, and was printing my boarding pass at a kiosk, I was asked how I would like to be contacted. I gave my cell phone. How about text messages each time my bag gets handled/ passed along on its journey? (Man has hand-held scanner, scans bag, text goes out to tell me that it is moving along. Pretty basic stuff and probably not too high a cost to implement and then reduces the number of calls to customer service- sorry India). While using FedEx or UPS to do these deliveries probably solves a myriad of problems, this would likely be too costly. How about instead an affiliation with one of them. You offer them some kind of back-up emergency capacity for freight, or discounted commercial travel for their employees, and they in-turn provide you with logistics expertise on how to manage this mess better.

For example, if UPS or FedEx was shipping this bag, I’d follow it on the web and know every stop it made on the journey, and have a forecast of when I might expect it. So I wait. I still think I will see my bag again, and even believe that all of its contents will be there, undisturbed, when we are reunited (Jerry’s optimism must have worn off on me).

I have tried to make this light-hearted (as you get enough complaints that must be more unpleasant to read). And I did my best to be respectful to the personnel of United and your vendors. But I want to make one thing very clear - this is NOT funny. And I won’t fly United again until other existing carriers lose my luggage. (When TWA lost my luggage circa 1981, I never flew with them again - and they had the bag returned to me in less than 24-hours.) I wish that through the combination of a couple of percentage increase in air fares, and a couple of percentage decrease in management/corporate employee bonuses and stock options, that United will make a few simple improvements that can keep it a great airline. But I know that won’t happen. Best of luck to you.

UPDATE: About 9pm, on Monday 1/12, the bag was delivered to my home. Dirty and stained, but everything accounted for. I have learned a lot about airline reimbursement policies (I would have been totally screwed if the bag never turned up. You would have ruled that my old things are highly depreciated, when in fact the opposite is true. They have appreciated by virtue of hanging around with me for so long). And I have done some reading about airline ratings in general that re-enforce my decision to part ways with United. I am an old dog, but I am still learning so that’s a good thing.

The next person I spoke with yelled at me, called me a liar. I asked to speak with a supervisor. He continued to yell at me that this whole thing was a waste of time and that United would not do anything for me. He then put me on hold. He came back and said his supervisor was speaking with another client and would have to call me back. I said I would rather wait on hold. He hung up on me, and nobody called back. I was up until 4 AM calling every possible number I could. It was the same thing over and over.

I woke up at 8 and started calling again. I was helped by a woman from a third party company. She was going to do what she could to at least get my luggage transferred to a closer airport for me. She put me on hold. 3.5 hours later I hung up and drove back to Chicago. It took me 3 hours to drive each way just to get my luggage that I was told would be delivered to me. So I spent 6 hours driving plus half hour in the airport. Plus I had to pay for gas. And because of this I didn't get to see my dying uncle on my trip. Everyone I spoke to was rude. This is the worst airline.

When he arrived in Houston, we went directly to the ticket counter and told them what we were told. They insisted they would have to cancel his return flight home because he was breaking his flight agreement and I would have to buy a new ticket for him to return home. I asked to speak to the supervisor. She accused me (in front of a large crowd of holiday travelers) of scamming United. I was mortified and in tears. She said that she wouldn't cancel the flight home but insisted that I pay $200 to avoid the flight being cancelled. I had no choice.

I called customer service again when I left. This time they said they don't take complaints on the phone. Convenient. I had to go through the process online. I waited 2 weeks for a response to be told I wouldn't receive a refund of my $200. This is still ongoing. Now I turn to social media. I might even have some shirts printed for my next trip to the airport.

The floor was a zoo of people tripping over each other not knowing where to go. We were no different and had to ask where to check in since all we saw was First Class counters. We were told to go to the other end of the terminal to check which we did without much fanfare although the check-in kiosk was dreadfully slow and kept asking who we were three separate times as we took the electronic journey of getting our boarding passes printed. We were told to go back to the other end of the terminal to go through security where we saw a very long line (150 feet) just to go down the short escalator to the TSA area and that area was mobbed and in total chaos. We asked someone from United if there was a better place to go through security and she directed us back from which we had just come to a short escalator down to the TSA area. As we were going down the escalator, we suddenly realize there was no room to exit as the floor was completed mobbed with people trying to figure how to get in line to clear security. To get off the moving stairs we had to push people at the bottom or get serious injured and the people behind us did the same thing.

Approaching the TSA security area, we were now in the outer edge of a huge crush like they experience at soccer games in Europe. People who had been there awhile showed us that there were two lines going two different directions without any of the usual aisle stands/straps. So everyone was on the honor system to not cut in line. That only worked long enough for us to be caught in no-mans land halfway between to the two ends of the line. Now is when the big crush began with people coming up one escalator dumping them onto the floor and one coming down dumping them onto the floor with no room for them. Now total chaos broke out with people cutting in line from those immediately coming off the escalators leaving those of us playing the honor system stuck moving no where for at least 20 minutes during which my wife was injured on both legs by someone pushing a big piece of rolling luggage. We could not move, could not call for help as one TSA employee stood idly by watching the entire chaos episode doing nothing but smile. After what seemed to be a very long time, some United Red Coats came to the rescue stopping the escalators allowing time to let crush subside and normalcy return.

By that time, we were really scared we would miss our flight. Eventually, we got through TSA without any more incidents and started walking quickly back to the other end of the terminal to find our gate. We have arrived at the airport early enough to get breakfast, but not with this United madness. (They just love all the money they make seeing these huge out of control crowds). United and the Port Authority are both irresponsible in created an extremely unsafe condition for its passengers. Given our past history and experience today with United Airlines, we are convinced that employees, managers and top executives of this company don’t care about passenger satisfaction or safety on land.

We get to the gate and one of the last to board (so much for our priority boarding). I wanted to file an injury complaint for my wife and the agent said TSA would have to do that. Once I told her that the issue was caused by United Airlines and not TSA, she had a Red Coat come on board to our seats. He informed us that they would have to take my wife away in an ambulance in order to file an injury report. I mean REALLY? I simply looked directly at him to tell him to take the report without her getting off the flight to get in an ambulance for what turned out to be a major bruise. After boarding, the captain indicates we should be making an on-time departure. However, when the departure time came and went the captain came on the intercom to announce that we were now waiting on luggage from TSA. My text notification from UA read delay due to plane preparation. 25 minutes later the captain indicates we will leave as soon as maintenance releases the plane. So much for telling the truth. We finally departed the gate 45 minutes late and 25 minutes later in the air.

It is now after 4 hours since my wife and I had anything to drink and become extremely thirsty and hungry. After what seemed like the longest time, we got served drinks and offered breakfast. When asked what options we had for breakfast, we were curtly told to look at the menu in the magazine. I quickly looked and liked the Bistro scramble and asked for one of those. Now the attendant got even a bigger attitude telling me that was not offered on this flight and would have to fly to Hawaii suggested that I did not know how to read and walked off. Not offering a second choice. I took another peak at the menu and it certainly was clear that the Bistro scramble was offered on all flights over 3.5 hours leaving after 7:00 not just Hawaii bound flights. Why would they put a full page picture of the item opposite the menu page if only to offered on less than 5% of their over 3.5 hour flights. Really?

(Postscript: Sean, the male flight steward who was very good during the flight listening to my complaints indicating he would write up this breakfast episode. He came back to me 15 minutes before landing indicating that the Bistro scrambles were on-board the entire time and that the other steward (the rude one) had failed to open all the cabinets in the galley.) Guess I could read after all. About to land and still starved. It is so easy to understand why this airline remains the worst domestic airline in America as it relates to customer satisfaction as so many things routinely go wrong with United even before getting on board their planes.

These flight attendants have the worst customer service skills I have ever witnessed in my life. I was prepared to let the rudeness go until the man sitting next to me asked if he could have more food. I then heard the flight attendants talking about how stupid this man's request was because she asked him if he wanted a drink, not more food. (Keep in mind this was an 11 hour flight). I understand that working with the public can be very frustrating as I am a waitress but if you're going to talk badly about customers at least have the courtesy to do it behind closed doors and not where other customers can hear. I will try my hardest to avoid EVER flying United again and will be sure to spread the word about their terrible customer service in hopes that they will try to make a change. Definitely didn't "Fly the Friendly Skies". What a joke...

The hotel was around $100 for lodging. Of course I couldn’t sleep as I was so upset. The next morning I only had the night before boarding pass. Tsa said that was okay, and that I would be able to get off the flight and walk right over to US Air. But united would not let me fly. So I flew standby and rescheduled the US Air flight. Each time it was over $200. Then united refused to let me have my luggage at the gate in denver, which meant I had to go to the ground floor, pick up my bag, get a boarding pass, and go through tsa again in one hour!!!

I knew I couldn’t make it, so I called to reschedule US Air for a third time.. The lady on the phone told me to just wait until I got to denver and then see if I could make it. When I got to denver US Air had a delay. So I had time to get all the extra done. I am a senior citizen, and never fly united except in an emergency. It was a flight from hell, and will be my second story for the untied.com site!

When I finally arrived in Ottawa after one of the most horrible experiences of my life, I was greeted with my baggage being lost. Of course afterwards, I went to the lost baggage counter and filed a report or whatever it's called and they told me my baggage is in Newark since they forgot to send it to Chicago because the tags weren't changed or something. They told me the baggage will reach that same night and will be delivered the next morning. It's currently 4PM, no news about my baggage, checked their online tracker and of course called them. The phone call was automated therefore I can't find out ** about my baggage. I tried to reach a real person several times however United are cowards, they hide from their customers this way. Still waiting for my baggage and still extremely angry and dissatisfied with this experience with United. I do not recommend this airline, it is one of the worst airlines I have ever taken. Never in my life will I fly with them ever again.

Did I mention this is at the Newark airport? So I ask them if they at least have WiFi and they tell me, "Yes, you have to pay for it." Later flight is canceled so I go to customer service further away because of 2 bad experiences with 1st customer service center. Later, I get joined by people who went to 1st customer service because the reps decided to just leave.

Finally after about a 3-hour wait, I get three $7 food vouchers and a room at Wyndham, get there around 2:40 am, and got to sleep in a very comfortable bed until 6 am, take a lukewarm shower that eventually got warm in a bathroom with a lot of hair on the wall. Anyway, I recently was able to speak with a courteous and attentive rep, Mai, where at 8:55 pm, I now have been informed that my baggage is in flight to Rochester and they will deliver it tonight or tomorrow. So here I sit longing to get out of these clothes, but I have nothing to change into and am fit for not much more than sleep, and waiting.

I finally made it to Tokyo and my brand new suitcase was broken. United would not file a claim because they "don't cover wheel damage." I drag my 50 lb suitcase through 5 different airports by the time I returned home. The return flight from SFO was delayed for 2 hours, then cancelled due to "weather." They flew us to Portland and told us to ask for hotel accommodations there because we were an international connection. Got to Portland and the supervisor at baggage claims told us it was their "policy" to not provide hotels due to weather cancellations, and told us she didn't know why SFO had promised us a hotel. We paid for a hotel, because they couldn't get us to Boise until the next day, but somehow our luggage had made it onto a plane to Boise that we could have went out on. NEVER FLY WITH UNITED, even though it may be cheaper. I hesitate to say this because my grandpa was a captain with them for 20 years, but they have gone downhill.

I called UA Customer Service from SFO hotel, for 40 minutes I was put on hold. I called back my wife in Vancouver to buy separate tickets to fly back to YYC regardless of price as she has a medical appointment on Monday Jan. 5th. My wife and son bought 2 of last 5 Air Canada tickets for the Jan. 4th flight back to YYC, and they paid their own hotel to stay overnight - total cost of $700.

On Jan. 4th at SFO I showed up for my 8:30 AM UA flight to YYC. I first approached the UA Customer Service desk asking about the tickets for my wife and son who were stranded at Vancouver. I was told that they made a mistake rebooking my wife and son on that over-booked AC flight with FIRST class status. I was advised to complain to UA Customer Service by phoning or e-mailing.

How could UA still sustain their business?

So on Monday night, I got there at 6 pm knowing what I did from the previous night. Well, the plane was delayed over 5 and a half hours. I didn't get home till 3:00 am and had to be to work by 7:09 am. And the kicker is that this happens ALL THE TIME according to the staff at Syracuse Hancock Airport and United Airlines employees! Seems the crew from the day shift wants to end their workday earlier and waits for the next crew to come on, as well as a new plane. This process takes 4-5 hours. No regards whatsoever for the passengers' time or money. Where are the watchdogs on this one?!?! Shame on you United. Once you merged with Continental you became a disaster of an airline. I will never again fly with United.

When I wrote to United's Refund Services (kudos here to Brigitte at United's Customer Service who was sympathetic, intelligent, and helped me fill out the online form when I had stated my preference to speak to a person but was told that wasn't an option!) the email response stated that appeals were only allowed at flight time, not after. Perhaps my college age daughter should have been more assertive at the time, but I believe they took advantage of her youth, and we were away from home enjoying Christmas with far flung family which I didn't wish to ruin by taking time away to fight United! I contacted them when we returned home. I don't know how they can possibly maintain that their charges are fair when they are so exorbitant, and when we were able to personally compare them with Southwest Airlines NO CHARGE less than a week later.

Other airlines would upgrade you to business straight away and put you on the next available flight. But United do not apologize, do not care and you are left alone. There were other people who decided to stay a night and take the next flight, however since my husband had business he had to return without further delay, along with two more people in the same situation. There was a young boy in the same situation, first time he flew alone ever; they did not help him at all. My husband looked after him, and United Airlines just simply did not care, did not explain anything. The fact they want to give you credit with their company is a joke. We would never in a million years fly them ever again. They treat you really bad.

My mom was terrified and called me crying and extremely stressed at the prospect of having to secure a room for herself in that huge overwhelming city and trying to find a shuttle etc. She is almost seventy and had a broken toe as well as a bad back. This mishap would have been understandable had it been due to weather, but it was not. The flight was delayed because United could not "pull together" a flight crew due to another delayed flight. This too might be understandable if this flight were not KNOWN FOR BEING DELAYED! United apparently has no interest in retaining a flight crew for such contingencies!

Contingency plan? No. Just inconvenience, and stress out your customers! We pay extremely high prices to be treated like cattle! We need a new customer's bill of rights! If an airline flight is delayed and customers are unable to get to their connections, people should receive a refund. Now my mother was able, by running across the airport on her broken toe, to barely make her connection. But United lost her luggage. The true disservice was the stress and wasted hours spent worrying and trying to make her own contingency plans, not to mention the cold-hearted treatment that she received.

I then cancelled the third person traveling with us as he was going to be in surgery so he clearly could not go. I then asked her what could be done about his ticket (I had already talked to someone about it, just wanted to know what she had to say) and she told me he could rebook something within a year for a $200 fee. I laughed and told her that was different information than the previous day and she told me that was policy. I told her that I was told he wouldn't have to pay that $200 as he was going to be in surgery at the exact time of our flight. She again told me that she could not change policy. I told her to put someone on the phone that could change policy then as I talked to someone yesterday who volunteered to change it. She then said she could change it and that she could waive that $200 fee as well. I just needed to send in a letter for the doctor. All that for only $200.

Then my problems start. I arrived at the airport on the 19th to fly out and I was offered $300 per ticket to change to a later fight! I begged them to change me the day before and they declined yet now United was offering $300 per ticket to postpone a day. That was just on our first flight, the second flight we had to jump on was offering another $150 per ticket to postpone. So $450 per ticket to delay a day. Yet they refused to work with me just one day earlier. We flew with no problems for the rest of the day however I did find it funny that United doesn't even offer you a snack! The second part our flight we were in the air for almost 7 hours and they don't even offer pretzels. What a joke.

For my flight back it got even better. I got to the airport to check in and they were having computer issues which again happens, no big deal. Then I go to check in and they are offering $150 per ticket to change to a later flight. I decline as I was ready to get home. Then I find my flight was delayed, then delayed again, then delayed again. Then the flight gets paged letting us know to come to the ticket counter so that we can reschedule. I get to the ticket counter to reschedule and was told I could fly into Denver instead of Chicago and that flight would be leaving at midnight. I agreed as I just wanted to get home. Now however I had to go back through security so the drinks I had just bought after the first time though security I had to throw away. The ticket lady laughed and said "Yes you will have to throw them away" when I asked her. I didn't think it was funny at all.

We get back through security and have LOTS of hours to wait for our flight. We walk around a little and watch a movie. No big deal we were making the best out of it. Then I hear over the intercom that our flight to Chicago was going to be boarding and because it was running late they were wanted to board quickly. I was very confused with this as I had to reschedule to Denver because I was told this flight was no longer available. I went and asked someone at the terminal just to make sure. She told me that my original flight was not cancelled only delayed. I asked her why I was forced to take another flight and she said she didn't know. She asked me if I had a connecting flight I was going to miss and told her my connecting flight was much later and that I would not have missed it. She then said the huge delay caused issues. I laughed at her this time and told her that flight was leaving earlier than the one they rebooked me for. She shrugged her shoulders, smiled and said she didn't know. Yet there was no one else I could ask.

When boarding my new plane everything went well. However not one of the sturdiest I had on any of my flights were very friendly. We got situated for the flight and noticed the TVs were different on this flight. They were not on the back of the seats they were on top and every three rows. Awesome however we couldn't see them from our seats. We then decided to just listen and see if we could sleep as the flight was 5.5 hours. But wait. We could listen because where you plug in headphones didn't seem to be working. No worries though because when you ask no one knows why, only that they are broken. Awesome!

So we get to Denver and catch our next plane. This plan was a prop plane. WOW I didn't know they were still being used. I don't really like flying in the first place and I think United made me feel even worse about every part of it. There are two more things I would like to complain about. One is that I paid United $120 for luggage the first time and then about $80 for the returning flight home. I learned though that even that is a joke. On every flight people left luggage at the door to be picked up for free. I wanted several people walk up to the counter and ask for a sticker for their bag. They stated they didn't wish to pay the $25 per bag. They were handed a sticker with no questions asked. Yet I had to pay $200. I know the overheads were not full I looked. In fact they were almost empty on my last flight yet still taking free bags to store under the plane.

Finally when I called to speak with someone about this experience there was no one to talk to. I was told to go online and write about my complaint. I had already done this and they only allow up to 2000 characters. This was an issue and my problems were more than 2000 characters. The person I was talking to from United to me that they didn't have a phone number for a complain department or for reimbursement of tickets. I told her I was not looking for a reimbursement just someone to make this right. I was kicked off a flight that was never cancelled. She told me again she could not help me and there was no where she could transfer me. I asked her if she thought that United cared about their customers and she had no response.

What a joke. A company this big and no one to talk to about a problem. This was a theme the entire trip. She told me to leave a phone number on their website and if I don't get a response from them leave another one. Now if someone is angry about service to begin with how does that statement make it any better. I book all the flights for the company I work for and I will never again use United to book any of them. I have worked in the travel industry for the last 15 years and will never refer anyone to United. Additionally I will repeat my story to the other companies I work with regarding travel. I will tell them of my experience and the lack for customer service to fix problems.

They had us sitting in row 37 and also knew of the wheelchair request according to my itinerary printout from CTCA. I have a bone tumor in my knee on top of spinal and hips issues plus fibromyalgia. My sons are autistic and my youngest is especially sensitive. My husband serves as my assistant, bless his heart. I first called the main number. I was told separate seats on row 23 available (still too far for me to fight narrow aisles with a bad knee). I told them I really needed something right behind first class. I was told I'd have to wait until we got to the gate and if able bodied people were WILLING, we might be able to get closer seats. Otherwise, it was too bad so sad.

I then found the number to the Disabled hotline. I was met with a cantankerous woman who blatantly told me it was my fault for not accommodating THEIR NEEDS. She then started condescending to me as if I was of low intellect (I'm actually an 160 IQ). I ended up hanging up on her. After doing some research of the ACAA and the DOT Section 382, I called back. The agent who answered sent me back to the disabled hotline - guess who answered. I then asked for a supervisor and was sent to an India Call Center. Do I even need to mention how many times I asked them to repeat? She referred me to a website. I still demanded a supervisor who eventually got on with a chip on her shoulder and the same attitude of I had to concede to able bodied people being willing to trade seats. Given the fact we were row 37 - fat chance.

I don't know why - maybe I was in hopes of getting an American supervisor, but I called one last time. Charlotte answered the phone. She's the only one who showed any compassion and/or empathy especially after seeing the CTCA paid for the tickets. I asked for a supervisor and she responded with "what's been going on" in a sincere voice. I explained and she bent over backwards. We are still split up but I now have one bulkhead aisle seat (7D), 22D, 23D, and 23E. With these seats, I knew trading would be at least more likely as those with long legs prefer aisles and bulkheads. However, Charlotte told me that able bodied passengers MUST relinquish their seats to disabled people. The ACAA and the DOT state if an airline has "blocked" seats, it's not treated on a priority basis vs. an airline who opts for the latter.

Charlotte assured me that the gate will accommodate us and that other passengers are informed when they reserve their seats that they may have to be reassigned. I HOPE WHAT SHE SAYS IS TRUE and this upcoming Sunday will be a lot easier than my experience years ago where the gate agents couldn't care less. Another disturbing thing is Charlotte stated the wheelchair request wasn't made until today. My printout says otherwise so it makes me think someone today decided to cancel the request out of spite for not "accommodating" them.

I may have cancer metastasizing through my body. I have two autistic children including a 10 year old who tried to self harm himself a couple weeks ago. I need us together - my hubby assisting me and our kids. I would hope others if they were in a similar situation would understand there are people in this world that are walking balls of excruciating pain and flights are nightmares from the severe pain that is inflected with tight seats, no leg room, etc., let alone anything else. I shouldn't have to wait and worry until my departure time to get the seats I need if I can even get them at all.

I asked the San Francisco airport about this announcement they made, and they said they have no idea what I was talking about and had to contact the United Airlines. I was on the phone for a total of 3 hours before finally finding out where my friend was and why she was on the bus here. Also, my friend had to pay for the bus ticket here -- shouldn't that be covered since she already paid for her ticket? I will most definitely be requesting a refund on behalf of my friend since she speaks minimal English. Not to mention, the United Airlines agents I spoke to had terrible customer service. I strongly recommend others to book a flight with a different airline, and to steer clear from this one.

This is when I was informed to keep my return flight it would be an additional $250.00 for a flight I had already paid for. So, they are keeping the money for the departure flight, and most likely will resell my seat and charging me $250.00 to keep my return flight that I had paid for. Needless to say I will NEVER fly UNITED again. I told the agent I did not think this was fair and the agent could have cared less.

If I have not already paid for the tickets for sure I would look for another airline to travel. Interesting is that when you look inside the site of United (it is almost standard, is very similar in KLM), they ask for some information about the pet, location, etc, after three days they tell you that you have to hire a company to transport your dog inside the same plane you are but paying a much higher price than you would have to pay if they just do as other companies do. It seems to me that is a way to charge more bucks for the same service.

Over the course of the next month, we probably called United over 100 times. Each time we were sent to a call center in India. The reps there were useless, since their only contribution was to input a search request in the computer that then went to Seattle. You would think that if the same search request came 100 times to the airport, someone there would think to place a call or have the decency to contact the complainant. No one called us. After about 50 calls, we started to figure out the call center business and finally get through to someone in the US. Every five calls or so we even had the privilege of convincing the person to get someone from the airport on the line - we couldn't talk to the airport directly, we had to pass messages through the person who took our call who would then put us on hold, speak to the Seattle rep, then relay that rep's message back to us. If it wasn't for the sentimental and valuable stuff we had in our luggage, the whole farce would have been somewhat funny.

Again, no progress. We went back to Seattle one weekend to check. We went to our airport. We wrote letters. United started an investigation but no one called us for 3 months. Eventually, talking to one very helpful and smart person back at Seattle airport (we had to go back to the actual airport to find this person), it became clear what happened. Since there is no policing the baggage area, the bags came out once the plane landed. Because we were re-rerouted, however, we had to sit in the plane for some time while United made arrangements for the passengers. During this time, the luggage was sent to the carousel. It hit the carousel a good 10 minutes before we disembarked. It was therefore clearly stolen. A number of workers at the airport confirmed that theft was rampant there. Basically anyone can walk off the street and take a bag away. We talked to the police and they investigated, but given that more than 2 weeks had gone by, all the surveillance footage had been erased. They said there are multiple thefts there everyday. No luck.

About 10 years ago, apparently, United had a security system in place where a rep checked your bags before you left the claim area. After talking to more United reps, we were told that they made a decision to abandon this security to reduce costs. They basically decided that paying out claims for lost luggage was less costly than maintaining security in the baggage area. After accusing United of negligence and complaining over and over, we eventually got a measly cheque that covered basically our expenses in doing our own investigating - phone bills, costs of driving to Seattle, etc. The bag was never found. It contained all our wedding things - dress, suit, gifts, other clothing we brought for the occasion, some mementos, probably about $30k worth of stuff. The piece of slime that stole it must have thanked God for his luck.

United is completely negligent and uncaring towards its passengers. It makes no effort to secure the baggage that comes off their planes in known theft zones. It makes no effort to give complaining passengers all the details they need to find their bags, like informing them that they ought to also notify the police. They have established an elaborate Kafkaesque system to make it extremely difficult to speak to customer service reps in the US, at the airports, or who would actually be able to help or give you information. The almighty claims reps, high on themselves, are rude and obnoxious, an aromatic stew of arrogance and stupidity. Their compensation for losing your property due to their own negligence is paltry and a complete insult. They actually, in our case, were obligated under law to pay us more but ignored those laws assuming that we won't start a claim. Even the worst airlines don't treat customers this badly. If anyone is up for a massive media campaign to expose this company for their dismal practices and strong-arming of customers I'm in!

At that time, the old man wasn't going to pass the counter or anything. I didn't know why he shout at him. The old was trying to say a word but that ground staff kept saying with a high pitch voice to him "I said step back...". He didn't even listen or answer the old man's question. I hate to think about that if it's because the old man was an African American?! However, when another two Americans went to the counter and asked a question, the ground staff politely served them without saying "step back". WHY? So, the old man could be frustrated at that time and tried to go talk to the ground staff again but the ground staff acted so rude and he said "step back and I can make you not getting on this plane if you don't listen what I said." The old man was pissed off (Who wouldn't??!!!) and said a one bad language. The ground staff started to shout at him even louder and said "I can do whatever you did to me right now. I can yell at you, you can complaint and call my supervisor but now you need to calm down or I'll not let you go on the plane."

There was another security guard standing up right next to him but he didn't do a thing to try to stop the fight. At the end, the old man stood back and the ground staff really didn't let him get on the plane. I hate to think about that's about discrimination of race but it seemed to be.. and I felt so sorry for that old man. I know it won't help even I made a complaint to United Airlines because nobody cares.

Today on 25/11/2014, I spoke to Andrea **, who tells me that I have to book flights for the full amount or more than that. I have to make travel plans in a week??? I spent a lot of time to make my travel time and they change policy in a day and I have to make changes to my plan. If what Andrea said is correct did United airlines not train the other service representative (at least 8 of them)? What is going on? I need an answer soon. I have to book tickets before the end of Nov.