United Airlines Reviews

It was a nightmare. We could not get out at all to use the bathroom or stretch and my partner did not have the use of about 30% of her seat. I lost the use of about 20% of my seat as my partner leaned over to join me on mine, rather than share with the very, very large smelly stranger. Well about half way into the flight the woman was able to get herself up to go to the toilet, so we seized the opportunity and also both went at that time. Afterwards we were both very cramped and uncomfortable. During the course of the flight my partner started to feel nauseous. There were no "barf" bags. So we pressed the service button and the steward who could easily see the discomfort - though we said nothing - gave my partner the barf bag.

Eventually we landed. As the plane landed my partner started to heave and vomit and she vomited nonstop for about five minutes to the point where it overflowed the bag and hit me. I was covered in barf. I honestly wish she would have barfed over the obese woman. So I wrote to United and complained that not only was our comfort disturbed, but our safety was severely compromised. What if we would have had to make an emergency escape? What about the armrest being up? What about the fact that my partner, who was perfectly healthy before the flight, was so cramped she got physically ill?

United apologized and sent us a $50 travel voucher. I told them to stick it where the sun no longer shines. I told them that I plan to never use United again as that should not have been allowed in the first place. Surely passengers should not have to police issues of safety and basic comfort? I was so angry that we suffered for 6 hours and were trapped. There was nothing we could do and then at the end of the ordeal we were not compensated. United should have given us a refund or 2 free tickets. But they offered a token and sent me packing looking to be a loyal rewards customer of Virgin... They also had the audacity to ask us to sign a waiver of our rights. No way United....

So here is the solution. The Passenger Bill of Rights should say that if someone has a situation like this, the airline owes them full refund. Trust me they would then do something about it. Very large people should not have to buy 2 tickets - that is too much. But there should be at least 4 special seats on any aircraft that travels long distance and it should cost at least 20% more and if those seats are full per flight, then obese people should have to book a different flight. People should have to declare their dimensions the way they do baggage weight. Why should a stranger passenger have to put up with discomfort? It is the responsibility of the airline to accommodate us all and appropriately.

The temperature on my phone was 91 degrees in Houston. It had to be at least 100 degrees on that tarmac. My pets were finally put in the cargo where they sat for more than one hour as work crews tried to fix a seat belt problem and then an air-conditioning problem. The cargo door was open allowing the brutal heat to cook my animals. We had to change planes because of the faulty air-conditioning and I never saw the PetSafe van take my animals out of the cargo. I was informed that I had to get off the plane immediately. My animals were still in cargo.

Upon arrival in Boston the cargo employee stated, "This is animal cruelty" while looking at my Greyhound and her crate. Her crate was covered in blood, feces and urine. My cat's crate was covered in feces and vomit. My Greyhound suffered severe dehydration and heat stroke. She needed to be hospitalized in intensive care for 3 days; her kidneys were failing due to heatstroke, and her liver was struggling. She was urinating and defecating blood. My vet bill was more than $2700. I detailed everything to United Airlines and asked to be reimbursed for the vet bills. Their offer to me was $1000, and that was to be given to me only if I signed a 4 page non-disclosure agreement.

United claims she had a pre-existing condition and they refuse to tell me what this "pre-existing condition" is. I have a letter from our vet in California indicating she was in perfect health and had NO pre-existing condition. The vet who treated her in Massachusetts has written a letter indicating that her medical problems were brought upon by her mistreatment by United, resulting in heat stroke.

DO NOT FLY YOUR PETS IN CARGO WITH UNITED. They have taken absolutely no responsibility for the brutal and neglectful manner in which my animals were treated. They killed Maggie Rizer's dog and Michael Jarboe's dog last year. Google their stories. In all of our cases they refuse to take responsibility and blame it on a "pre-existing condition." I only wish I had read about what they did to Maggie and Michael's dogs before I ever entrusted my animals to them. Please share this with your associates, friends and family. DO NOT TRUST PETSAFE. Your animals are NOT SAFE and United will take NO responsibility, whether they injure them or kill them!

The ticket agent was on the phone dealing with a man and his flight. Apparently, there was something wrong with it. She never even looked up to see if anyone else was waiting in line NOR did she attempt to get anyone else to help wait on the people in line behind this man. After 20 minutes of being on the phone, she finally waits on people ahead of us, and then the couple directly in front of us. We hear her tell them, "You have 10 minutes to get to the gate to get on board," and they take off running. We get to the ticket counter, she looks at her watch, and says, "The cut off is 30 minutes and that's now." We told her we had been there for 20 minutes already waiting on her to get off the phone and to help the others in front of us. She flat out refused to check our luggage for the flight to Chicago and on to Rapid City.

We begged, we pleaded, as we had to be on that flight and into Rapid City by that evening.She refused to help us & in fact walked away from the ticket counter & said someone from United would come talk to us about getting us on another flight that day. After nearly an hour, someone did come but by then it was too late. We couldn't get on a flight to Rapid City that day and were re-routed to arrive a day late. We had to be there that day or miss out on a very important part of the reason our trip was scheduled to start with (which we did miss).

The ticket agent at Delta, next to the United, said that they should or could get us on another airline to get out that day and on into another airport that could get us in to Rapid City if someone from United would return to the desk to do so. We asked her to call for someone from United to come to the desk but it was still an hour. And they would NOT even talk to us about getting us on another airline. They just kept saying that they would fly us to Dulles (DC), then switch to go to Denver for nearly a 10-hr. layover in Denver, to not get to Rapid City until Thursday morning instead of Wednesday evening.

When I told her I thought that was preposterous, she said United could offer me a REFUND of $1,265.00. I would still need to pay the $1,415.74 because (as Paulena stated) I had paid for a Premium Upgrade for my first class ticket on United and the upgrade didn't transfer. Even though I would be out of pocket around $300.00, I could live with that and agreed only after continued assurance from Paulena that I would in fact receive the refund. I asked Paulena from United if I would be notified of the change and subsequent refund and she said no, but it would all be in my record locator. She said it might take two credit card cycles for the refund to post. I was billed the $1,415.74 and the $150.00 and took the trip. THE REFUND FROM UNITED NEVER SHOWED UP!

Two months went by and no refund. I called United and spoke with five different agents, two of them supervisors. They informed me the ONLY recourse I had was to fill in the customer comment box on the United website. One of them went as far as to mention to me that "anybody could call up and say they were owed a refund from United". I was incensed. I'm not sure about "anyone" else but I know what I was promised and assured. Nevertheless, I filled out the box. I was contacted shortly thereafter by Mireya ** from Customer Care who informed me that I was charged the $1,415.74 because of the aforementioned Paid Premium first class upgrade, which did not transfer. She made NO mention of the promised and assured refund! Clearly, this was something she refused to acknowledge (I'm guessing for legal purposes).

I responded to her E-mail by pointing out that Paulena had ASSURED me I would receive the refund, and that no sane person would pay for a first class ticket, only to pay an ADDITIONAL $1,415.74 to remain in first class. And oh by the way, the phone call to United agent Paulena in June had been documented by United themselves, and was available to confirm, if they chose to do so. In her final response, Ms. ** said United was sticking with their decision not to offer the refund and that she was, "Sorry to learn you were advised you would get a refund as they are only handled by our Customer Refunds Center".

REALLY? Then WHY did United agent Paulena assure me I would get a $1,265.00 refund? Does she not work for United Airlines? If this is the case, clearly there is a tremendous lack of procedural understanding at United, not to mention communications. It's hard to imagine a major, well known conglomerate like United Airlines perpetrating a crime such as this, but they have lied, scammed and cheated me out of a large sum of money. United's actions are unscrupulous, a blatant falsification and totally unethical (and quite possibly illegal! ).

Fortunately, the pilot was able to land the plane safely. However, we were made to stay on the tarmac for almost an hour waiting for someone to come and tug us in to the terminal. The attendants finally came through offering us water. No time during this period did they come through the plane checking to see if everyone was ok. Also, no bus was brought to us so we could go to the terminal and try to make connections with our next flight. By the time we arrived at the terminal, several of the passengers had missed their flights. As for my connection for flight 4912 to KC at 3:45, we were told that they were bringing a plane out of the hangar and we're bringing in another flight crew.

Now in the beginning I was told that flight 3871 would take on the number 4912 and the attendants would be flying with us to KC. We kept being told that they were waiting for the plane and a new crew to come. They also kept changing the departure time. They also told us we were on standby for another plane which was leaving about a half hour earlier. However that plane was waiting for another plane to come in. We were finally told that the plane carrying the new crew had finally arrived and someone was running down to tell them to come over to our plane and that we would be boarding in the next ten minutes. This turned out to be almost 25 minutes later. We finally left Denver at 8:45 KC time and finally arrived at 10:15 KC time.

My concern is why didn't United Airlines do more to accommodate those of us who had experienced the fright and nerve wrecking of an emergency landing. No one in the airport seemed to care and when they were told what happened acted like so what. I also had a bad experience last year in Oct when I was suppose to make a 3:45 connection to KC. When I arrived and asked where the gate was, I was told they didn't know where the plane was. According to the person at the gate, it was in a hangar, but he didn't know where it was. Every time we asked, we were told it was on the way. They kept changing the time it was to arrive. We were finally told that the plane was flying to Wichita, KS and as soon as they landed they would be back to pick us up. This was now about 7:00 p.m.

We were told there was bad weather which was understandable. We were then told that the flight was cancelled. When asked why, we were told the crew had reached their flight limit. We were then put in hotels and given vouchers for food. However, when we wanted to get on another airline, we were told none were available and that the airport was closed. I have never seen such poor customer service in all my life. Your people are like robots trained to say certain things and not able to give an intelligent answer. After reading all of the negative complaints against United, I am terrified to fly your airlines. When are you going to wake up and improve your service and do your best to help the customer instead of acting like we’re nothing?

First of all, a week before we left on our trip we received an email letting us know that we had an extra flight added to our return trip which added over 4 hours to our already 13 hour trip. I called to discuss this addition and the potential for a possible partial refund to repay the three of us for this inconvenience. The attendant and I discussed the possibility of shortening the 12-hour layover during our departing trip on Aug. 15th. In return she agreed and mistakenly booked all three of us on a flight on Aug. 14th (these phone calls took me over 1.5 hours). When I called to check-in to our flight, no one had record of us in the Copa system or the United system. After another 1.25 hours on the phone we weren't on any flights, because we had "missed" our first flight. Another hour on the phone allowed us only the possibility to fly out on our original flight or lose an entire day of our trip. This led to yet another hour on the phone will the manager who put me on hold for over 30 min which got us on a 5 am flight on Friday the 16th that was previously non-existent.

Upon arrival to Lima, I discovered my backpack had been badly damaged to the point where the internal frame was bent so badly that it could not be bent back without snapping (I have enclosed pictures of my pack). There were many rips/tears/burns on the bag, went through bag and clothing/other items. I could no longer use the backpack to carry 45-55 lbs during trip as well as on Inca Trail. Needed to purchase a new backpack. Jambox speaker system was smashed and no longer operable. Cell phone charger/aux cable/speaker charger all severed in half. Several objects of clothing that were close to the surface were badly damaged.

At the airport on the 28th, I again did not have a full itinerary. I had a flight from Lima to Panama, but nothing else was in my name for the other two flights. This led to yet more time at the desk figuring out tickets. Once we were able to get me on the planes, we discover we had only 45 min in Houston to make our next flight including immigration/baggage claim/customs/rechecking of bag/travel to alternate terminal. We tried to adjust this schedule so that we wouldn't miss our plane in Houston. We also asked if they could get us a cart/escort or anything and nothing was possible. Our only chance was to cut in line at immigration/customs and baggage. We just barely made our flight after sprinting from one terminal to the other, but sadly we did not get our bags in SF. This was a huge inconvenience to our friend, Heather **, who needed to fly out the very next morning for another trip.

After this trip, I was very upset that your airline could be so careless of the customers that you claim to serve. I then went to the customer care section of your website and entered all my info and this story. After 45 min. of typing, I hit Submit and there was an error message. This error message let me know that I could try again or call a 1800 number. This effectively erased everything I had written. Wasting more of my time. I called the number and they let me know that the only way to send in a complaint was to mail it. So here I am mailing you my complaint. I find it very archaic that you don't have a single email address to send concerns. I tried again a few days later to submit my concerns and received an error message again. I respect your time, please respect mine.

I have never seen an airport more unorganized or an airline more unconcerned about the plight of displaced travelers. This was to be a wonderful weekend in a part of this land that I had never seen. Now I have wasted my sister, brother-in-law, my husband and my vacation time for this fiasco and will more than likely never see the Florida Keys. If there is a class action lawsuit against United, please someone let me know how to join it.

My question is why would it cost more to change my old tickets (combined cost of $1200) than to buy new ones (combined cost of $800). To add, we were charged a bag fee of $100 for two checked bags although we showed the agent our United credit card. We did not pay for bags going to Santa Fe and feel we were charged this incorrectly. We have both flown Continental-United for many years. This has always been our go to airline. It is most disturbing that we were not given any consideration during a family emergency.

I suffer with arthritis and by the time we arrived in London, I was very stiff and in pain. Why do airlines not make large people pay for two seats instead of inflicting misery on other people?

Why does United accept responsibility for "lost" items, but not for completely broken items? Either way whether an item is lost or damaged, it is due to an employees carelessness, and United needs to be held liable for their employees' actions. Unfortunately every time I speak to a United rep over the phone they are unhelpful and continue to tell me there is nothing that can be done. Well I know that is untrue because the woman in the Baggage Office told me they might be able to help stroller situations depending on the circumstances, and corporate would have the ability to approve or deny a replacement stroller after a claim is filed. So far, no United employee has been willing to open a claim for this situation - the only thing that has been done is the initial inspection of damage at the airport, and the brief notes re: damage the woman typed into the system under my reservation. I don't know what else to do at this point to try and gain back all or part of my loss - any help would be appreciated.

Ok, so I arrived to Sydney International Airport and went to check in at LAN and they did not recognize my ticket to start and they told me to go to the United Airlines office upstairs at Sydney Airport to check the voucher that was issued to me. A man in the office that morning said that the voucher was valid and told me to let the staff at LAN check in to contact him on the number he provided. Anyway the voucher ended up working and I was able to depart Sydney. I then land in Auckland and we had to all get off the plane - in transit. When we were due to board the plane, I again encountered the same issue with my voucher or ticket issued by United Airlines. It was checked with the staff members at LAN Chile Auckland and they said that it was all ok after nervously waiting. I then asked them if it will it be all ok all the way to Bogota because I was tired and frustrated with all the headaches I was receiving whenever I had to board the plane. The attendant assured me that my flight ALL THE WAY to Bogota was going to be all ok. I questioned him about 4 times to be sure and he said “yes, everything will be alright”. I can’t remember the full details but I had the vouchers and whatever documents that was issued to me by United Airlines to reach my final destination.

I arrive in Santiago, Chile. Now this is where I encountered the most unnecessary and worst experience of my travels. I had to wait 12 hours before my departure to Bogota which was at 23:50, so by now I was tired and frustrated with the whole traumatic experience. When the gate opened for flights to Bogota, I immediately went to the gate to check my boarding pass that was issued to me in Auckland to ensure that I will be ok and certain to board the flight to Bogota. The man at the gate checked my boarding pass and said “yes, it looks ok and you will not have a problem”. So then I waited for boarding time in Santiago.

When they started to board, I proceeded to the gate and the lady at the gate said something to me in Spanish, but I was unsure because I didn’t understand the language so I proceeded to the plane and to my seat. I sat in my seat and once everyone had boarded the plane, the flight attendant told me that I had to get off the plane because my ticket issued by United Airlines was invalid. By this time I was tired and frustrated and told her nicely that I am meant to be on this plane and that I have my sister’s wedding to attend and that I even checked with the man at the gate before boarding the plane and he said everything was alright. Then a group of LAN Chile Staff members came to my seat and pretty much ‘ganged up on me’ and then I was a little upset and with the language barrier it was difficult for me to explain what was happening. I then told them that I was NOT getting off the plane and that I had to be on this flight and remained in my seat.

After a few minutes, the LAN supervisor came to my seat and rudely advised me to get off the plane. I still refused and they then called security staff and they escorted me off the plane. They were rude and obnoxious towards me. The supervisor of the airline especially was horrible. There was no need for that kind of mistreatment. I was humiliated in front of everyone on the plane. Now I was really upset by this time that this was happening. She took me to the office and said that she was going to check the ticket. She left me in a place with security guards (I don’t know why, I wasn’t causing any trouble) and no one spoke English and nor did they offer an English Interpreter to help, so it was difficult for me to explain or understand what was going on. I told them that I had to be on that plane because I had my sister’s wedding. They did not care or investigate the ticket; they just threw me off the plane like I was some criminal.

I waited about 2 or 3 hours before anyone told me what was happening. I ended up in tears after being mistreated and not having slept for 2 days, almost. I told them that I had not had any sleep and that it was unfair the way they were treating me but they did not care. As I waited anxiously for someone to let me know what was happening, I broke down in tears and called my insurance company to advise them of what was happening and I even called to Australia Embassy to seek some sort of help, but was advised that this was an airline issue. Mind you I was stuck inside the airport for a while as I was unable to get out for some fresh air as I did not obtain a visa to enter Chile. Not that I wanted to be in Chile. I wanted to be in Colombia. Chile was not a destination I wanted to go to and never will especially after the experience I went through with them. The people are nasty and don’t know how to be nice to overseas guests.

I was then finally advised by other staff (the supervisor never returned back to me) that the investigation was done and that I was able to board on the next flight to Bogota, via Lima, Peru on Flight LA636. So they issued me with boarding pass to Lima which was at approximately at 5am. I arrive to Lima where I then had to wait another 3 or 4 hours. During my wait, I was worried the whole time thinking that I would still have issues with the boarding passes issued to me in Santiago. Finally my boarding for Bogota had come and again I made sure with the lady at the gate in Lima that my ticket / boarding pass was valid and that I was ok to arrive to my destination - Bogota. I also questioned the where about of my luggage and the lady at the Lima gate advised to me that my bag was checked in on the flight from Lima to Bogota which turned out to be false information.

I finally arrive to my destination after almost 3 days (felt like 5 days or more - I was lost with the time difference from leaving Sydney). Mind you, I had had no sleep or shower and had not eaten well. I was in the same clothes the whole time and felt disgusting. I was grumpy, tired, angry, annoyed and depressed the whole time all due to the coupon that was issued to me by United Airlines.

Upon my arrival to Bogota, I was a little relieved that I made it to my final destination, however sad that I missed on my sister’s wedding. I waited to collect my luggage and it was not on the carousel. I asked the lovely staff at El Dorado Airport in Bogota the whereabouts of my luggage and finally I was being treated with respect and assistance. They had located my bag which arrived on flight LA572 from Santiago to Bogota, which was the flight I was escorted off. The people at Bogota International Airport were very nice and could see the pain and trauma that I had been through and they helped me the whole way. Unlike in Santiago, where they mistreated me. I spent the rest of the day resting and catching up on sleep, which was about 2 days.

Now, I am due to depart from Bogota to Sydney via Houston and Los Angeles on the 2nd of August; however I am really worried and scared of traveling with United after the trauma United Airlines had put me through from the beginning.

It all started off from the cancellation of the flight from Sydney UA840 and as United Airlines did not meet up to their customer commitment expectation - Notify customers of known delays, cancellations and diversions. Also, although I was mistreated by LAN Chile Airlines, my purchase was through United Airlines therefore my thought is that because of this problem I was not treated fairly by United Airlines. Your commitment is - Treat passengers fairly and consistently. This clearly was not met.

Ok, the staff at United Airlines in Sydney did what they could to get me on a plane, and yes, I was mistreated by LAN Chile Airlines and not United Airlines; however, if it wasn’t for the problems to start off with that was created by United Airlines, none of this would have happened. I am hoping you could give me assurance; perhaps a comfortable, safe and a better journey back to my homeland Sydney. I feel I should be compensated for the trauma and dilemma United Airlines had initially put me through. Therefore I am requesting an upgrade or a form of compensation for all that I had been through and more importantly because I had missed out on my sister’s wedding.

As we are approaching the 2nd of August (next Friday), I wanted to let United Airlines know now as I didn’t want to ruin my holiday by worrying about this the whole time of my trip. Hence why now, as we are close to the departure date, I wanted to let you know. Even now that I am writing this to you I feel that I am re-living this trauma once again.

Please let me know what you can do to make me feel better about ever travelling with United Airlines again. As you can appreciate, it is a long trip back to Sydney and I just want to end this with a trustworthy, good and thankful feeling rather than a negative and non-recommendable flight with United Airlines. Especially when I am reconsidering travelling back to the United States and Colombia again in the near future. You can contact me on email ** or on phone ** whist I am still in Colombia. I look forward to your prompt and positive response.

12th August 2013 - I would like to now add to this letter as I have still not yet received any response from United Airlines. A few days after sending the above complaint letter online I called the 01-800-944-0219 (Toll free) in Bogota to talk to someone. As I had received email confirmation from United Airlines that my complaint was sent, the email tells me to "Please use this Case ID number if you need to contact us regarding this inquiry: **". So I did; however that did not help as I was unable to reach to someone who was able to deal with customer complaints.

I spoke to reception or the person who answered the phone and they basically said to me that there was no way they can deal with my complaint as it had to be done online. I told them that I had sent my complaint online and that I wanted to speak to someone about it. I demanded to speak to someone in managerial position and they didn't have anyone for me to speak with and then finally after about 45 minutes, I was transferred to someone by the name of Israel. I had to repeat myself again and then Israel said that I had to be transferred to the office in Houston. So I was placed on hold again. I was on hold for over an hour and a half in total.

I finally get through to a lady who answered the phone in Houston and again, I had to briefly repeat myself again. I told her that I did not want to be placed on hold anymore as I had been on hold for over an hour and a half and that I wanted to speak to someone in management. She told me that there was no one to speak to in regards to my complaints and that they only dealt with refunds and they do not have a customer service center. I said to her that there has to be someone who could help me or that is in a higher position to speak to. She then said that she will have to put me on hold again. I told her to please understand that I had been on hold for over an hour already and I don't want to be placed on hold anymore and that I wanted to speak to someone now. She then said, Okay. AND THEN HUNG UP THE PHONE!!!!! And I know it was not by accident. She did it deliberately. As you can understand, I became extremely furious!

On the same day, I decided to go to the Bogota Office and complain face to face. Basically, to keep the long story short (of the incident in the office), there was nothing that they could do. I told the lady at the front desk of my experience traveling to Bogota and also the poor service I was dealing with from United Airlines and what the lady in Houston did on the phone to me HANGING UP. She acknowledged that it was unprofessional for her to do that and that I should not have been treated that way. I showed an image of the voucher/coupon ticket that was issued to me and she also said that the ticket issued is wrong and can understand why I had dealt with such dilemmas. She said that there was no way to speak to anyone in regards to complaints and that I have to wait to get a response from United Airlines and it can take from 7 to 14 business days. I told her that I will wait until Monday and if I have no response I will be contacting United Airlines again. She said yes, please do.

Anyway so I decided to wait until the day before my departure (as you can appreciate, I was on holidays and didn't want this issue to disrupt it) in case I had received a reply; however, I still have not received anything from United Airlines. So I called the 1800 number again. This time I advised whoever picked up the phone that I did not want to be put on hold that I wanted to speak to someone urgently. So they transferred me to some a person named Israel again and he was based in Mexico or New Mexico and he or she this time, did what they can. Israel placed me on hold but kept coming back to me advising that he is still trying to get someone to assist me.

After waiting about half an hour this time, I told him that if he could kindly call me back once you get through to someone as I was on hold for too long already. He said, "Sure. No problem." Anyway. I did not receive a phone call back. I then called back at around 4.30 pm and again I was put through to someone in reservations and again I had to re-tell my experience. The lady tried to be comforting and understanding and the only thing she could do was to put me on premium economy for my trip back home, which I do not believe was not good enough. By this time I was tired of reliving this and was not getting anywhere with United Airlines so I decided to deal with it all when I get back to Sydney.

The day I was due to depart Bogota, the check in line was long and it took a long time to get to the desk. I eventually got to the check in desk and told the man that I had really bad experience with United and if he could upgrade me or check in my extra bag in for free as United have not been good to me. I just felt that I was being treated really badly. And it's not fair for me to pay $2,500 and more to United Airlines after all this has happened. So I received no upgrade and I had to pay an extra US$116 for the extra bag. And it cost me extra apparently because I was going to Sydney?? I had no time to complain further as due to the delay at check in and I was in a hurry to clear customs and board the plane. I didn't even have time to spend quality time with my loved ones to say good bye. I was at the airport well in advance to check in.

When I arrived in Los Angeles (via Houston), I saw the Customer Service department at the airport so I took advantage of that moment and approached the lady at the front desk. I told her briefly what had happened to me and she too said the same thing that all complaints are dealt with online. Which makes me question, why do you have Customer Service at the airport????? I told her that I had already done that and she said that I had to wait. By then, I was extremely tired and told her that I was going to deal with all this once I return to Sydney.

When you fly with United Airlines, before departure, you provide a little information on the video in flight screen about United Airlines, and how you strive to meet customer expectations. I was so annoyed watching this video for the 3 times I had to get on the plane. It was not true. United Customer Care does not exist. I have traveled many times and have never had issues with airlines and if so, I know of other airlines that will personally deal with a customer in regards to any inconvenience or issues caused by the airline. I don't believe United Airlines can live up to what is promised to the customer.

Just a little feedback: You say, "Our goal is to make every flight a positive experience for our customers" and "Our United Customer Commitment explains our specific service commitments so that we can continue a high level of performance and improve wherever possible". I'm sorry to say this, however you have failed miserably. Also, another thing... You say that you, "Notify customers of known delays, cancellations and diversions". Clearly this did not happen, especially knowing that the United Airline plane did not even dispatch the USA due to mechanical problems. Therefore United Airlines had ample time to notify customers whether on email, text message or phone of the cancellation. Overall, you did NOT work hard to get me to my destination on or as scheduled and nor did I have a positive experience.

Customer Service is about servicing the customer. Like other airlines, we have the opportunity to speak to someone, and without hesitation when asked to speak to someone in management; it is handled professionally and with care. Perhaps I would't be so upset with United Airlines, if I was only given the chance to be heard; however it was way too difficult to reach out to someone. As this had occurred, it of course, made me furious especially knowing that with other airlines, I get treated with care. I thought all airlines were the same. I have traveled plenty of times with many airlines and I have never had a problem. And when I had encountered any issues, it was very easy to speak to someone when I asked and it was dealt with. And more importantly, I did not get upset as I felt that the airline was doing what they can to accommodate me. What is so different with United Airlines? If you say you have commitment to customers and customer care, then why wasn't I given this? Perhaps if I was heard from the start, instead of me having to chase someone to talk to (in my own holiday time), wouldn't you think that more than likely I won't be upset.

Also, just another piece of feedback; when I tell everyone about my experience, the first response is "UNITED? They are the worst airline! I could have told you not to travel with them." Well I did hear this before I chose to travel with United; however I thought I'd give them a go. So... Well everyone was right. I have to say with all the travels I have done. United Airlines has really let me down the most. And people have asked me about my holidays and I let them in on my experience with United Airlines. People are disgusted about United Airlines when I tell them about my horrible experience.

And just to let you know how word of mouth works. Okay. My mother was travelling to Colombia as well at the same time and her flight was due to depart 2 days before mine. She discovers that her flight is cancelled. Anyway, when I found this out, I laughed at her and told her it was because she chose a crap airline (Aerolineanas Argentina). I told her that I am going with a better airline, United (I had confidence at the time). Anyway KARMA. It happened to me. My flight was cancelled. So I was the one they laughed at and till the end. As she and my 2 other family members travelling together were inconvenienced from the cancellation, my mother was lucky enough to have things handled by Aerolineas Argentina immediately and the 3 of them were even upgraded to FIRST CLASS! Now the fact that my mother was able to liaise with someone about the issue they encountered, tells me a lot about that airline. They actually hear you out and aim to extend the courtesy where possible.

So to me, I was silly to make fun of my mother about which airline she chose. She picked a great airline!! Little did I know. Anyway, it just goes to show how far word of mouth can go. Although her flight was cancelled, she was still cared for and she has great respect and positive feedback about Aerolineas Argentina and highly recommends it. I on the other hand, NOTHING! I suffered and was humiliated and more! And unfortunately for you, this is what I have spreading around the people that I know. I cannot promote United Airlines. I will not recommend this airline to anyone and let me assure you people are very aware and usually like to understand people's reviews/experience on a flight before they chose an airline. And like I said, United Airlines has a bad reputation, but I thought I would give it chance.

I would also complain to LAN Chile Airlines as they mistreated me; however I paid United Airlines therefore I should deal this with you and besides it was all due to the incorrect or invalid voucher/coupon ticket issued by United Airlines. I'm sorry this letter is very long and it may be taking up your time; however like I said, this could have all been avoided if I was simply heard and spoken too. Sometimes negative feedback is good as this will give you an opportunity to grow in areas that need attention, I.E., CUSTOMER SERVICE. I know this has been a long letter, but I'm sorry. It would have been quicker if I was just able to talk to someone; however customer service does not exist. I am hoping to get a prompt response from United Airlines. Something needs to be done!

The last person I talked with last Wed or Thursday said "okay now your document has been received okay" (he meant the copy of decline letter from US Consulate). Funny again today 8/11/2013 I got another email from United.com asking me again to provide government issued document. They already received a copy of the government issued letter (US Consulate in Shanghai), what do they want from me or the traveler again? It's so frustrating to do business with United in this small matter even if you present a copy of the government letter to them several times already. It's been three weeks after I sent a valid refund request and they still cannot issue me a refund for a trip canceled due to traveler unable to get Visa.

Then, he held my hand, not in aggressive way but it's not the good moment, so I raised my voice and said, "DON'T TOUCH ME, SIR!!" and I told him, "You need to talk in a better way to me (in higher tone)." He called the security to me and they asked me to leave the plane so I said, "I'm not leaving until you give me a logical reason." Then, they just called the police for me. Six police officers came to me and I had to leave the plane.

TEXT OF MY LETTER: I am writing this letter to you to voice my very serious concerns about the very negligent and uncaring conduct of your employees on the above referenced flight. I also believe that I was the victim of discrimination by your Airline in the way that I, as a disabled passenger, was treated by the ground staff and flight crew of your airlines upon departing the Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC. I am a disabled individual with paralysis to my left leg and foot and I am confined to a motorized wheelchair. Upon trying to depart Dulles, my full time caregiver told the clerk at the gate counter that I would need to be pre-boarded due to my disability. The clerk at that time asked him if I could take a few steps (not stairs).

At that time, I was told to follow a female United Airlines representative who proceeded to take me down on an elevator and out onto the tarmac, where I was faced with a steep set of steps that were part of the door on the regional jetliner. Both my caregiver and I knew, at that point, that there was no way I could climb that staircase. I was then told to wait there and they would get a ramp for me to be wheeled up. I was expecting some type of a boarding ramp, like the one other passengers were using to get down from the second level to the ground level tarmac. This, however, was not what was brought out. What was furnished for me to use was a very steep, very narrow ramp, which they expected me to walk up. I told them clearly and in no uncertain terms that I could not walk up that ramp. It was at this point that the co-pilot came down to see what the holdup was, to inform the ground crew that the plane had to leave, and to basically insist that they find a solution to my problem.

All in all, he was very rude, not only in the way he treated me, but in the way he treated the ground staff as well. They then proceeded to get a conveyance that is called an aisle chair to use to pull me up the ramp. I am a large man and that day, I was traveling wearing shorts. I was strapped into this aisle chair with seat belts which proceeded to cut and abrade my ankles and inner thighs, and as I was dragged up the ramp (due to the very narrow spacing of the guard rails), it left bruises all over my sides and on the left side of my lower abdomen. The action of dragging me up this ramp strapped into the aisle chair caused me great physical pain. Once in the plane, I was then expected to walk to my seat located only one row up from the last seat in the plane.

There was no way I was going to be able to do that, so they did accommodate me with a first class seat for this leg of my flight, but my caregiver still had to ride in the original assigned seat at the rear of the plane, thus denying me of his assistance. I do not believe that in this day and age with the existence and acceptance of handicapped rights, that I should have ever been subjected to such treatment by any employee(s) of United Airlines. I felt humiliated, belittled, and basically like a large piece of garbage being hauled up that ramp. My caregiver was absolutely horrified at the treatment we received from United Airlines.

As if the treatment I received on the flight from Washington, DC to Charlotte, North Carolina, was not bad enough, there is one other item I would like to discuss. When checking in at the ticket counter at the San Francisco, California Airport, my caregiver and I checked one suitcase each for which we were each billed $25 in baggage fees, for a total of $50. When reaching the departure gate, however, it seemed that many of the other passengers had larger carry-on’s than the two bags we had checked. The ticket agent said that the flight was full, that there was no room for the many large bags, and asked the passengers who were carrying these large bags to step forward so that they could be checked for FREE! It seems to me that this is yet another example of the unfair treatment afforded to some passengers by United employees. Why should we have had to pay $25 each when other passengers (whom I must assume know the rules about the size and quantity of allowable carry-on luggage) get their bags checked for free?

So concerned am I about the way I was treated as a disabled person, that depending upon your answer and the attention my letter receives, I may be compelled to file a Title II complaint with the United States Justice Department citing violations under the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act for discrimination in public accommodations. I may also seek out media attention to let the public know firsthand just how callously United Airlines treats disabled passengers. I sincerely doubt that either myself or my caregiver would avail ourselves of the services of your airline at any time in the future, unless you can convince us that disabled passengers, myself included, will never be receive treatment like this from any if your employees ever again. I shall expect to rear back from you within three weeks from the date of my letter, or shall have no other alternative than to carry through with the filing of my ADA complaint as well as contacting the news media. Thank you for your prompt attention to, and anticipated cooperation in reaching a resolution to this matter.

Well, three weeks have now gone by. I received the Return Receipt from the Post Office and it is rubber stamped "United Airlines," so I am sure they received my letter. I would love to tell this story to any group representing handicapped individuals out there. I truly think United Airlines needs and deserves the negative publicity they would most likely get if my story ever came out. TO ALL DISABLED PEOPLE OUT THERE - WATCH OUT FOR UNITED AIRLINES. They treat disabled people with no respect or caring,

My father has encountered numerous situations on multiple international airlines where he has been sent back from the ticket counter but this was the first ever instance of him being booted off a plane. I'd like to mention specifically here that the ground staff for that flight was very cooperative and helpful and also put in a word for him, however, the captain did not budge. I have been a loyal Continental Airlines customer for the last couple of years and had recommended United to my dad since I have flown the same flight a couple of times myself and have been very pleased and satisfied with their service. I fly United domestic all the time and was also thinking about getting their MileagePlus Explorer card. However, instances like these will make me take a step back and not recommend United to anybody in the future.

While I was on board the plane, they said that the flight was over-sold. They then proceeded to pull me off the plane. They told me that since I was the last to get a seat assignment, I had to come off the plane. I tried to explain that it was United's fault that I had been unbooked, but that I had confirmed reservations that I had made over a month ago. No one listened to me. I was pulled from the plane and had to hang around the airport for 8 hours until they got me on another flight. I have never heard of an airline pulling a passenger who has a confirmed reservation off a plane. I will NEVER fly United again!

All in all, this was the worst flying experience we have had. We need to know that when we book a flight that we have a good chance of arriving at our destination on time. It is very difficult to plan when you don't know if you are going to arrive on time. Needless to say, we will be very reluctant to book any flights with United in the future. We are senior citizens and don't like having a 20-hour day of flying.

There was about four of us customers who missed our connectors, and she offered the driving to San Antonio option to another customer as well. He was really angry, but I and my husband did not get angry with anyone. We agreed the drive to San Antonio was the only option we had that would get us to San Antonio by 8am to a very important Air Force Graduation for our son. The UA agent gave us further instructions for reimbursement giving us a specific website to use and that we’re to include in our email the words, "Due to cargo loading" within our email. We didn't really know what that meant, but we wrote down her instructions and continued to the Dollar Rental Car Counter.

There we were hit with a charge of $698.00, which totally shocked us, since our original rental car agreement that we had made in advance through Travelocity for the San Antonio Airport was only $159.00. But we really had no other choice and were assured by the UA agent that we would be reimbursed for our rental car and gas expenses to San Antonio. We started our drive to San Antonio approx. midnight arriving in San Antonio about 3:30am. After checking into a hotel, we were able to get to sleep by 4:00am and then awakened by 7:00am to get to the Air Force Base by 8am. The decision to drive to San Antonio was not an easy one. It was not by any means an easy drive or comfortable for us to get only 3 hours’ sleep. Although we were miserable the next day, we never got angry or tried to blame anyone for what had happened. We know things can go wrong so we just tried to make the best of the situation and tried not to blame anyone. It wasn't the UA Houston Airport agent’s fault and it wasn't our fault either. It just happened.

When we returned the rental car, they added additional fees and the total charge to us was $770.46. We kept all of our receipts. It wasn't until we submitted our information to the United Customer Care Department that the issue started. We followed the instructions that were given to us by the UA agent, including all the necessary information that she had instructed us and even deducted our original rental car expense of $159.00 that we already expected to pay, ending with the net amount due to us of $704.00. Unfortunately, the process is not going as smooth as the UA agent had made it sound at the Houston Airport.

One month later, I am presently still trying to get our reimbursement of $704.00. So far the United Customer Care Agent has accused us of misinterpreting the information that was given to us by the UA agent in Houston Airport and has offered us a refund of $110.00 for the partial air flight that we did not use to San Antonio and two travel vouchers for United to be used in the future for $200.00 each. So now I am expected to absorb the expense of $600.00. I am frustrated that United is not taking responsibility for all the errors that occurred by their United representatives. First of all, $200 travel voucher does not get you hardly anywhere so I think it is reasonable to think that I would have to incur additional expenses in order to even redeem those vouchers, and I am presently already at a loss of $600.00!!!

We managed to get through customs and security and make it to the gate at 1902, eight minutes BEFORE departure. Of note, a couple from our London flight made it to the gate 1 minute ahead of us, or 9 minutes before the scheduled departure. Despite this, we were denied boarding as the flight had been closed. The United attendant became so rude that, not one, but two bystanders complained to the service desk about her comments and behavior. She informed us that the gate was closed and she was not reopening it for us. She informed us that, yes, she was aware that we had arrived, but that a decision had been made to close the gate early. As we argued, we were joined by the rest of the passengers denied boarding the plane and they sat at the gate.

Eventually, we were referred to the United counter. Here again, we encountered what I would refer to as institutional rudeness. Essentially, we were told in ten words or less that the last that the last flight was in 2 hours and 40 minutes, and if we wanted the tickets, we needed to take what she was giving us. We asked for a supervisor; at this point, we were a group of 7. We waited another 10 minutes, discussed the situation again, and once again, we were told that a decision had been made to close the flight. It was United's policy to close the flight 5 minutes before departure, regardless if we were late due to United's mistake (London flight left late due to late arrival of the flight crew).

When we informed her of the fact that 4 of us were in fact at the gate before the 5 minute mark, she informed us that nothing could be done. It was not her responsibility to get us on that flight. We informed her that, despite the fact that we had been arguing for more than 30 minutes, our flight was still at the gate, 20 minutes after the scheduled departure. She told us that she would not reopen the gate for the 7 of us, and that our only option was to wait more than two and a half hours for the next flight. When asked where our luggage was and she told us that that had made the flight that she would not reopen. In essence, our luggage could fly, but we could not. Ultimately, all of us waited for the latter flight. To add salt to the wound, it was delayed 25 minutes as a decision had been made to delay this flight to accommodate passengers that were arriving late from another United flight.

We were delayed in London due to United. We were never assisted at the arrival gate as promised by United. We were denied boarding at the gate after running through customs, security, and IAH and making it to the gate before United's cutoff. We encountered unprofessional and rude behavior so significant that 2 bystanders independently complained to the United counter while we waited for the supervisor. The supervisor refused to reopen the gate despite the fact that the plane was still at the gate 30 minutes later and that 7 people, all of whom were delayed by United, were standing there. Our luggage could be accommodated, but we could not. Finally, the delayed flight was delayed further to accommodate passengers that were delayed, a courtesy not extended to us. I will go out of my way to avoid United Airlines. It is a shame that an American legacy carrier is so terribly bad - number one in complaints, and so outclassed by foreign carriers. It’s no wonder they went bankrupt.

On our return home with United, it was from Rome. It was a nightmare. The plane was freezing. We had economy plus seats and I had a blast of cold air in my face for 9 hours. We told the steward who told the pilot but it stayed like a meat locker. I had two blankets on but my throat got more and more irritated. There was no vent control to shut off the cold air in my face. It felt like there was some kind of drying agent in the air. The connecting flight from Newark to SF was on a B737. We paid for economy plus seats but the seating was tiny with no leg or arm room. We were told because of turbulence, they couldn't serve water but first class was served hand and foot the whole time.

The flight was 6 hours of torture. If you wanted even a stupid little pretzel snack, you had to pay for it. The next 3 days, I had severe laryngitis which turned into a sinus infection and bronchitis. We have both been very sick for 8 days. We were completely healthy when we departed from Rome. I wrote Untied but never received a response. No surprise there. Last year, we flew home from Amsterdam on KLM. It was a wonderful flight. Comfortable with great gracious cabin help. I will never fly United again.

From Portland Maine to Trenton, New Jersey, my flight was delayed for two hours in Portland. When it finally landed in New Jersey, I nearly missed my connector to LAX. My return trip was an example of what not to do in customer service. The flight took off one hour and 45 minutes late. We arrived in Trenton New Jersey, in time for our connection to Portland, Maine with less than 15 min. to spare - not to worry. The flight to Maine was delayed, at first 30 minutes, then 90 minutes, and we actually sat there and watched the clock run-up the expected delay. The flight that was to take off at 7:34, was now listing a departure time of 9:30, even though it was now 10:45.

The departure time then changed to 12:14. We had been vocal about asking the CSA at the podium if the flight was actually going to occur. He assured us, several times throughout the evening that the flight was going to happen. First, around 10:00 pm, we were told the flight was leaving Washington, DC and had to be cleaned after arrival. Then, about 11:00, we were told the plane had to return to DC for issues but to have no fear, it would be here soon. Next, we were told at approximately 11:30 pm that the plane was outbound, and would be landing in Trenton in approximately 35 minutes. 90 minutes later, we asked the CSA, "Is this flight going to happen?" We were assured it was and that the plane was now 10 min. out.

Eight minutes later, at approximately 12:15 am, the board read CANCELED. Even though Trenton is a major hub, and the planes were at the terminal, we were told our flight would not occur. By the time we left customer service, with our vouchers for a new flight, it was 2:30 am. At first I was told that there would be no flights available until 4:15 the following afternoon. After demanding something better be done, I was placed on a flight that would board at 8:02 am. After collecting my bags, and getting less than 3 hours sleep, I returned to the terminal. At 7:10, the departure time was changed from 8:02 to 8:34.

The CSA at the podium was frantically phone calling someone, and we overheard her say that the pilot was not responding to his page. Eventually, at about 10:15, the pilot showed up and was arguing quite emotionally with someone in an official-looking jacket and badge. We could overhear most of the conversation, and it seems the pilot had been scheduled to fly to Atlanta, but had now been told at the last moment he had to fly to Maine. From here, it just got better. When the plane was finally ready to board, at 11:40 am, I found that I held a ticket for seat 3C, as did another person. They had placed us both in the same seat on the same flight. I had to deboard, and was told that a flight would be found for me, but it may not be today.

At this point, I was quite confrontational and told the officials that this was unacceptable. Things had damned better start getting fixed or there would be an issue that would be settled by my attorney.10 minutes later, with the plane still sitting on the tarmac, I was approached by a CSA who told me that a seat had been found. They had offered a young man a $300 voucher to give up his seat.

I had now been in Trenton for 19 hours LONGER than scheduled. I had been lied to, rudely spoken to, and my needs ignored. United blamed everything from the weather to crew issues to the color of the drapes. Never once did they apologize. Suffice it to say that I will never travel United Airlines again. I have been flying Delta for several years, after several terrible experiences with United, but I was speaking for a non-profit organization, and they were paying for the flight. When I asked if I had a specified airline, I remarked, "No, whatever is cheaper." You get what you pay for. That will not happen again. After this, it is Delta all the way.

All the boards said our flight was on time but when we arrived at the gate, the flight was delayed. The only reason I know this was that I overheard people asking if there was a delay. They never came over the loud-speaker and announced a delay. When our flight was finally ready, we had to change gates. Again, it was never announced there was a gate change although it was directly next to the initial gate. Part of the reason here for no announcement was that the gentleman who was working at our gate check-in had to run over to another flight to help pull the walkway down to another plane for them to unload and was gone for 30 minutes or more. What?

Never in my life have I seen this much disorganization when flying. As we were about to load our flight that was delayed about an hour and a half, there was a girl who came running from a flight abroad, barely catching the flight. I guess she had to go through check-in again since it was an international flight and said that there was still only one person at baggage check-in, the line was crazy, and that THE DOG WAS STILL THERE! Fortunately, we caught our connecting flight in Chicago. The flights weren't bad, a lot of turbulence from Chicago to Denver, but not horrible and we had no problems in Chicago except a slight delay.

But honestly, I will probably never fly United again. I feel that they are significantly under-staffed and it gives me doubts about the professionalism of the entire company. Most flights are usually lower-priced than other airlines but I guess if you have one person doing the job of three, you can afford to cut costs. I just hope there was a pilot AND co-pilot flying my plane.

After arriving at O'Hare Airport, the United Airlines Supervisor (Sarah) was very rude and unaccommodating. All she did was to rebook me a different flight for tomorrow departing from O'Hare to Houston and then from Houston to San Jose. When asked about whether I could get a Hotel stay or Food for accommodation for the United Airlines crew's fault of the delay Flight #4766 causing me to miss my connecting flight, she simply dismissed the issue and that she couldn't do anything. I was left strained wandering around in O'Hare Airport waiting for the next flight tomorrow at 6 am. I have to wait for nearly 10 to 11 hours.

Unbelievable! I found this experience very unpleasant and disturbing. I can't believe this is a publicly traded company. These staffs have no value for their customer at all. I didn't try to throw the white towel as yet. I've made several attempts to call corporate headquarters at 1-800-864-8331 to escalate the complaints. The calls redirect me to Philippines, India, and finally to Detroit. OMG! This is American Company with call centers in other countries. No wonder we don't have jobs. Worst of all, this is just a call center for reservation. All they can do is rebook your flight. Horrible! This is a nightmare. I would never in my life book a flight with United Airlines or even dare to recommend anyone (friends or family members) to fly with this company ever again, period!!!

That evening, I contacted my credit card company to tell them to dispute the $25,600 charge. I waited ten days (May 16) and after checking my credit card statement, I saw that United charged me an additional $800 on May 6th without my consent and without refunding the original $25,600! When I went online to see if my request had been dealt with, I was given an error message and told to call. Yet again, I was in their telephone automated nightmare maze trying to get a hold of an actual human being. Finally when I did, I was told I was too late to talk to refunds (2pm Pacific time), and needed to call at 6am my time to get them first thing in the morning. I told United to call me and gave all my contact information (email, telephone, address, and name). I heard nothing.

Finally, I called Friday, May 17 at 10am, and after an hour was told by LaBreal in refunds that I should know if my request was granted in 72 hours (but, "oh, it's a Friday so wait until Monday, not this coming Monday but the following Monday" which I then told LaBreal that that is a holiday, and I guess I would have to wait until May 28th? When did 72 hours turn into 10 days?). I then asked for compensation for this headache and mess. After another 15 minutes on hold, LaBreal came back from customer service and said there is no compensation unless it is a delayed or cancelled flight.

I am now waiting to still hear from United. Not once have they contacted me. Still, I am left waiting and more and more of my friends, acquaintances, etc. on social media are dropping their United Credit Cards and flights. I feel completely ignored and used by this company and will not stop my campaign for some acknowledgment by United Airlines of their wrong and willingness to compensate me. I am also disputing the $800 charged on the 6th of May and contacting the California State's Attorney General's site to file a complaint. I wonder if this email will jar United to take some action on my behalf?

It was 4am in the morning. The local embassy was not open. I waited until 9. (I already missed my flight by that time.) The embassy told me that they are not able to provide any proof since it's a fact. Guess what, the ground staff still didn't let me fly back to Canada and told me, "The only option you have is to fly to Mexico City and get a proof from the Canadian embassy or fly to Seattle and drive back to Canada." So I ended up not having any choice, but was forced to fly to Seattle, spend $300 and drive back to Canada.

My orthopedic surgeon wrote a letter and needless to say, my refund request was rejected totally. I tried reaching an agent with the International Refund desk, after giving my ticket numbers only to be put into voice-mail 4 times today. Enough is enough! I am calling again but this time, I am going to call FTC and United's corporate office.

I am tired of the consumers suffering from airlines like United's ineptness in hearing the full problem before making a determination, and what happens if there is more to the story that the physician didn't have in his letter submitted? Try getting back with an agent at United - it won't happen! I have even thought of a group of consumers that will collectively contact Dateline or the Today Show with our horrific treatment from United; that would raise awareness.

Help me and other consumers who've been treated badly - what is your story and how can we help one another? Has anyone appealed to the Refund Desk after receiving a letter and been able to receive a medical refund from tickets purchased? I've $2,800 on the line here. It's not cheap and I will not be able to travel in one year as United stated in its letter - in other words, you're disabled by a surgery at the moment, but you could travel later in the year - No, I can't as discovered in my recent surgery; a total knee replacement is not a walk in the park and surgery #5 for me in 18 months from an accident - I know the recovery process and it'll take every bit of a year, if not 15 months for this one.

I want to hear from other passengers that have had somewhat of the same problems with United Airlines! I will never fly United ever again, ever!

This was quite different from the Delta flight we arrived late in Miami on where the flight attendants went above and beyond to let passengers know about their connecting flights and help them get there on time. Needless to say, we missed our connector flight along with many of the flight's passengers. Although we were first told we'd make the connector and then told by the attendant they knew nothing about our connections, there were already new tickets printed for us when we got off the plane but no one could honestly tell us what was going on. This was great that we had a flight but we had nowhere to stay and being that I am pregnant and miserable, I was not going to sleep in the airport.

The United agent gave us an Interrupted Trip Information form which says "live operators" in bold would help us find a room at a discounted rate. We called the number. There was no live operator, just an automated message saying no rooms were available. Next we went to get my bag because it has my medication which I must have in the evening and morning and we were told it could take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours. So there my husband and I, pregnant, sat without my medication and nowhere to sleep and treated with absolutely no empathy.

Finally we got our bag and had to spend money on a taxi to locate a hotel at 11 pm. We finally found one for $300. So not only did we receive no service but we had to spend our money to get a hotel plus miss part of work the next day and lose more money and we have a baby on the way and cannot afford these costs. I am so upset with the service and treatment I received and nothing was done to provide any passengers a place to sleep and no empathy for our situations was given. It is by far the worst customer experience and I believe action should be taken!

Original Review: May 7, 2013

I am writing as a consumer who was severely frustrated and disgusted by United Airlines and its employees regarding procedures and its customer service. I am writing in hopes that something can and will be done and not discarded or disregarded as a disgruntled consumer. Every interaction and feedback is necessary in order for improvement to deliverable and execution - as outlined in the ITIL process. I purchased a flight on March 18th from DFW to MRY on 4/25 and return on 4/29 from MRY to DFW. This was a business trip that included precise timing as it involved an installation of PBX at a customer's site.

Thursday, 4/25, I landed in SFO for the connecting flight (United 5609), but was notified at 5:55PM that the 7:55PM flight to MRY was cancelled (reason: air traffic control). I was told there were no other flights to MRY that night, as all flights were cancelled to MRY. Customer service then placed me on a flight the following morning. I tried to explain I had to be in MRY that night for the implementation of an install. I did not wait until the next morning to catch the connecting flight to MRY.

Sunday, 4/28, the evening of Sunday, I checked the flight schedules using an app, FlightAware, to verify if the return flight (United 5316) from MRY to DFW had been cancelled too. To my surprise, yes, it was cancelled as well. This time, I had no way to get to LAX (as it is more than 4+ hours away). I immediately called United customer service and was informed that the flight had been cancelled for the next morning due to weather. That would have been fine if it were true, but I was in Monterey and it was mid-50's, sunny and no clouds. I was appalled and surprised. I was treated by customer service reps with a "take it or leave it" attitude. I was placed on a return flight in SFO at 10:30AM.

The problem? How to get to SFO and I was supposed to return to work by 2PM that afternoon. The alternative flight arrived at 4:04PM! Again, I tried to explain my scenario, but the agents (even supervisors) did not make any effort to accommodate me. I asked, repeatedly, to at least accommodate me with an upgraded seat or first class or something as both flights to and from MRY were cancelled. I was denied. I was told, "You're just economy." I was disgusted.

What infuriated me the most was when I arrived at SFO (paid a friend to drive me). I was asked by the counter agent, "Why didn't you just catch the other flight that left out of MRY this morning at 6:11AM?" What? I was told the only flight I could catch early was if I left from SFO at 10:30AM! I immediately checked the app, FlightAware, and yes there were 2 other flights that left that morning from MRY to DFW! See attached pics of screenshots. Why didnt any customer service rep call me to make me aware? I paid to be driven to SFO and could have caught a return flight early? I was disgusted. There was no apology from United. The only resemblance of an apology was, "I'm sorry you feel that way." Again, I was disgusted.

I am writing to request a refund (if not whole, then partial) for the unused portion of my flight. I have updated my company, NEC, of the horrible experience that I have had with United Airlines.

What's disappointing? After all this, only a $50 certificate? 2 flights were cancelled, I had to pay for transportation to/from SFO, poor updates, but more importantly, no member of Brass ever responded.

Very frustrating since United vary rarely operates on time. So for the first time, United decides to leave before the stated time of 12:59. A miracle that they could operate quickly this time. So now I'm frustrated. United people seem to not care a bit, which is very common, and booked me on the next flight at 2:28PM on regular seating. I had to mention to them that I already paid for an upgraded seat so then at that time they gave me my upgraded seat. I will no longer fly United for domestic flights. I will go back to Southwest!

United, in error, earmarked our deposit for return, instead of applying it to the cost of our tickets. This would have emptied our bank account if we wanted to pay for the tickets while we waited 30 days for you to return our check. It took three phone calls and two supervisors over two days to fix this issue.

Due to a knee injury/surgery, I requested a bulkhead seat for a passenger. Your airline told me knee injuries aren't "real problems" and therefore unworthy of getting a bulkhead seat without paying for it. The same issue had been resolved on a flight on JetBlue in approximately 3 minutes. United took 3 days, 3 supervisors, and the head of the department before the issue was fixed. Over 12 hours were spent on the phone fixing this issue.

United divided and scattered my students throughout the flight so I had multiple children sitting alone, or seated with passengers between them. I was told nothing could be done because "flights were full." Over 16 hours were spent on the phone with various supervisors. My students were finally seated together on 3 of 4 flights.

We arrived at Logan on April 14 to fly out and discovered that because United decided to split our reservation, 3 passengers could not be found on the flight. It took us close to an hour to check in. Multiple people had to be called over before they could find the three passengers (two of whom are the only chaperones for these children). This same thing happened again on our return flight.

In flight we were yelled at by a flight attendant to stop talking (quietly) to each other because the safety video was showing. In all my years of flying, I have never been told to stop talking because of a safety video. Our flight from Chicago to Huntsville was delayed over 30 minutes on the Tarmac. We were not given any information about this delay. When we asked the flight attendant, she said, "I'm not sure. We just have to wait."

In Birmingham, our return flight was delayed. United did not post any information at the gate, nor did they update our departure time or make an announcement. When we approached the gate agent, she was rude, stating, "Flight hasn't left Chicago," and gave us no other updates until the flight actually had landed after the posted time we were to take off (which had only been posted about 10 minutes earlier). The plane on the flight from Birmingham to Chicago was run down, filthy, and falling apart. The space above the seat where the lights and fans are was falling down. Trash was found shoved between the seats and the window, and dirt could visibly be seen everywhere.

Because of the flight delay, we asked our flight attendant (on flight 5910 from BHM to ORD on April 21st) what time we would be landing. Her response was, "I have absolutely no idea. You'll have to wait for the pilot to make an announcement when we are ready to land." This announcement never came except for when the pilot asked her to prepare for landing.

On our flight from Chicago, my seat and the seat of one of my students were broken. The seat cushion did not attach to the seat itself. I informed the purser on this flight of this. She said, "Sorry to hear that," and disappeared to serve water to the first class passengers. When I called her back 5 minutes later to ask her what I was supposed to do, she said she had been busy with other passengers but had called a mechanic. The mechanic replaced the seat cushion, but this did not fix the problem. When we landed, had my seat belt not been so tight, I would have slid to the floor because the seat cushion was not attached to the seat. My student reported actually slipping off her seat throughout the flight. This is a gross safety violation that I will also be reporting to the FAA.

I am not happy with the customer service I received at Dulles from the ticket counter to customer service itself, nothing but runarounds from both departments. To add insult to injury, the plane I was supposed to fly on to Syracuse was having mechanical problems and nobody would tell us if we were going to fly that night. They kept pushing the fly time back by half hour increments. We did not leave Dulles until 12:30am for a flight that was originally scheduled for 11:00pm. I am not happy with United on the way it handled customer’s concerns. No employee did anything to go the extra distance to help me with my problem.

Anything that was done, I had to ask many times to get it done. Your employees had me running back and forth from the ticket counter to customer service, before I finally demanded that someone help me. This was a very stressful situation that your company put me in. The only reason I made it home was because of the way I demanded positive action from your employees. Nobody went the extra mile on this problem that was caused not by me but from you and your company. I hope somebody calls me to discuss this, and we can come to a fair resolution on the additional cost I had to endure on this trip. Flight Number: 740, Flight Date: 4/5/2013, Approximate Departure Time: 5:00pm.

They seemed oblivious to the fact that they were inconveniencing people. One large black man spent 45 minutes with one couple chatting. The line was 50 people long, chatting was not needed. Because the flight was further delayed due to your inept CAE staff, we missed our connecting flight from Chicago to Denver; which we would have made if the flight would have left on time even with the original delays. For the first time in Chicago, someone did offer my husband a wheelchair. He took it, but had to laugh being that no accommodations had been offered in Columbia during the two+ hours on line. Starr and her group at Chicago (O’Hare) were the only group to ever provide accommodations to my husband. She rescheduled our flights and got us to the next flight on time. Our last flight of the day was Flight 3867 from Denver to Jackson, WY.

The stewardess on this flight was nasty. She seemed to take pleasure in jumping on people in an embarrassing/loud manner. She announced that no beverages would be served due to turbulence. When things quieted down, I asked to use to bathroom. She loudly said she would not allow me to. I was in physical pain (I am missing organs). She then began to serve water to people. I got up to use the bathroom, and she loudly yelled at me to get back in my seat. I fired back, noting that I thought that if she could be up and about I could go. She yelled at me again, saying it would be on me if I got hurt. I said okay; it was that or I crap my pants. This is crazy. She was not subtle, so I was not subtle. I thought this would be the end of bad customer service from your airline, but I was wrong.

Then came the return flight - Flight 4895 from JAC to DEN was delayed over two hours due to mechanical issues. The mechanical issues were discovered by the pilot with us in the plane ready to go. The flight crew were very surly, to say the least. ** from United said all of us would be rescheduled by the time we reached Denver. He lied. We checked for our new schedules as soon as we got off the flight. No changes had been made. We stood in line for two hours there at customer service. No wheelchairs were offered to my husband. And, a woman from United would come from another office to the customer service line and randomly take people to reschedule their flights. I noticed that she never chose people from the front of the line. She would pick people in front of us, and in back of us, and completely ignored the man on crutches standing for two hours. Once again, no accommodations were made for disabilities.

When I finally received our new schedule, I noticed the flight from CAE from Dulles did not have a gate number. Being that we only had an hour to get out of the back of a huge plane and get across a large airport with a man on crutches, I wanted the gate number/letter. The man at the Denver gate for the Washington flight refused to look this up for me. He said it was impossible to look up. The stewardess on the plane looked it up (A2F) and even gave us the schematics of the airport. It’s funny how some people are helpful and others go the opposite extreme. The man in Denver knew why I needed the information, he just did not care. In the end, our luggage got to Columbia a few hours earlier because it was automatically rescheduled, but we were not. Funny what your priorities are! We are going to Seattle this summer. I have already scheduled the whole trip with another airline.

The US Airways Representative said that the ticket had been cancelled in Colorado Springs. However, when I went to the United Customer Service Center, I was told it was US Airways’ fault and I could not receive any compensation. Meanwhile, the flight cost me to miss my business meeting and have a 1200 am arrival. I was fortunate to make it there before the next work day, but the appalling customer service was infuriating and completely worthless. No one accepted responsibility and barely acknowledged there was an issue. Needless to say, I will never be flying United or US Airways ever again, and I travel regularly for work each month. Both companies lost a previously loyal customer today.

We proceeded to the hotel and alerted staff to watch for the bag. By midnight, the bag had not arrived. My hotel called United in my presence between midnight and 1 am. We were able to learn only that the bag did arrive in Kona on the 8 pm arrival but United could tell us no more. No one could answer why the bag was not delivered as promised. I gave up at 1 am and began trying to call again early the next day. Now no one at United was answering any phones. Automated services gave messages that were of no use. Hotel management felt badly and called endlessly all day to the United Baggage Claim service nationally and at Kona airport in order to confirm whether the bag was actually there and if there would be a delivery.

We had been told by multiple people that their experience was that United agents were known to give bad information to get you off the phone. No one at United, Kona airport would answer. Finally, hotel management got through around noon. They were left on hold for 70 minutes after which United disconnected the call. We were all angry and exasperated. We spent all this time just trying to get definitive information about where the bag was and the delivery time, if any. Finally, by late afternoon, I decided that I must hire a cab, a $180 round trip, to return to the airport, and retrieve the bag personally, hoping that it actually was there. Had I not personally taken assertive action, the bag would have been returned to the Houston Lost Bags department. That happens in 48 hours if not claimed.

I have no explanation from anyone why the bag was left in storage rather than delivered on one of the regularly scheduled delivery runs because United will not talk to you. In the end, we got the bag, but no credit goes to United. It ruined our vacation day 1 and day 2 and very nearly the entire week. I'll be making a claim for the cab fare and clothes we needed to purchase but if United is this inaccessible, I'm looking at an exhaustive effort with no confidence at all in a fair result. It's really too bad that I did not check this website before booking. I never would have flown United. They will probably be my carrier of last resort from now on. All you need to do, folks, is answer the phone and be honest! One United employee stands out. Gary at the Kona airport was immediately helpful when we arrived appealing for help. He quickly delivered our bag from storage even though this was not his normal role. Thank you, Gary.

Over the last ten years or more, we have flown on many airlines, including both US National as well as international carriers such as Air France and British Airways. Our experience is that United Airlines has become one of the least hospitable, least service oriented, and least accommodating airlines flying today. United seems to increasingly dehumanize passengers in the name of security and to treat people as though they were herds of cattle rather than human beings. Given a choice in the future, we'll choose most other airlines over United.

After phoning that number, United told me to send them an email. No response received and at this point, I'm not expecting one from them. In the future, I will do everything possible to avoid using United.

United asked me to FedEx my bag to a repair shop to have them repaired. Upon waiting several weeks, I was told they could provide a replacement for the non-designer suitcase, but not for the one that they forced me to check with the on-board flight attendant. After contacting the repair shop, they told me that they could not repair my luggage and only would be able to put a patch on my designer bag. I told them I didn't want my bag altered and they said they would return it back to United. I have been contacting United for approximately two and a half months. I only have received one email response telling me my bag was sent to yet another repair shop to be repaired and was not the shop that I was told it would be.

I have sent them numerous emails, placed several calls, and I have yet to receive any response from United. I have sent emails to Anne **, Scott ** and D.C. ** over at United, and nobody bothers to provide a response to my emails. I would like my property back and have requested such in writing on multiple occasions. My property has been in United's possession since January, and I would like it back as soon as possible. United has been absolutely irresponsible, and in my opinion a bully to myself and other friends and family that have traveled with them and now refuse to do so. I find it unfair that United has refused to give me back my designer luggage and lied about sending it back to Coach for repair; and instead they sent it to some repair shop in Torrance, which I didn't authorize. I would appreciate help getting my property back from United as soon as possible. Thank you.

Finally I had it. I told her “I just want to get the hell out of here, would you please just check my tickets.” She then attempted to have the security come and remove me. She told the security that I was cursing at her. She throws my passports and tickets at me, cursing at me. Behind me there were American people coughing without covering up their mouth and Lora ** did not say anything to them. I have no idea what I did to deserve this kind of insult from Lora **.

The most insulting part of this experience was the treatment from United’s staff. They ranged from indifferent to rude. During the announcement after the hour of circling, the flight attendant abruptly announced that we would be met by United’s Customer Service, but they "were making no promises”. Once we landed in LA, we were rudely directed to stand against a wall in single file in the walkway. I was waiting to be told to "turn and spread them" - it was that bad. We were yelled at to not touch our luggage until all pieces were appropriately lined up. Then we had to wait for ground transportation. This took forever, standing out in the cold weather while waiting for a bus.

A staff member mentioned that the bus was delayed in the "check point" entering the airport. When I asked, “Why is there a checkpoint?” I was rudely told, "Because it's an airport." We were finally bused to San Diego at 1:00 am, approximately 8 hours after our scheduled arrival time. I fully understand that unexpected things happen. But typically airlines do their best to ease the pain. Unfortunately, this was not the case with United. Not only were we not offered any sort of vouchers or compensation, they acted like we were lucky to get the beat-up, run-down bus to our destination. Awful customer service.

About 5:30 am the next morning, there was a huge bang on my door. As I opened the door, I noticed my bag thrown onto my steps and the driver speeding off into the sunrise. I opened my bag to get my Rx, needed from my surgery and noticed that my bag had been rummaged through. I had my laptop computer, pain medications and my wedding rings in a black case, and none of that were in my bag. My clothing was tossed about and a few items of clothing were missing also. I immediately called the number on my ticket they gave me at the airport (which directs you to India) and was told to go online and file a pilferage report and fax it in.

I went into my office and did such. I waited till the following day to call and confirm they received my information. I was told they did not, and to give it 24 hours to "get in the system" and someone would be assigned and call me back. Four days later not hearing a word, I decided to call them. To my utter disgust, they said they did not receive my information and gave me another number to call and to fax in - I faxed in 2 more times and filed police reports with SLC Utah - Denver CO, and Newark NJ police, and called back the claims dept. to give them case #s.

As I was talking to someone, they told me once again to wait till that new information gets in the system in 24 hours. Well, 2 days later, I received a generic letter with no return contact information stating that after reviewing my report, they were unable to help me or reimburse me and, "Sorry about your unpleasant experience, here is a $200 voucher good towards another flight." I was so upset, so disgusted and very confused! I called back into the claims center and once again, it was to India which transferred me to someone in USA, and he took 5 min. to pull up info.

I explained that I wanted to speak with someone regarding this letter and he told me sorry, they will not change their minds and mentioned (in a rude tone) that they gave me a voucher. I told him that I didn't want a voucher. I wanted to speak with someone as to an investigation as to find my belongings, find the persons (United employees) who took it upon themselves to indulge into others' personal belongings and take items for themselves! They told me they "did an investigation" and there is nothing they can do to locate, help me or reimburse me for my loss and that a $200 voucher towards a future flight was sufficient enough.

So to sum it all up, they told me to go screw myself and be happy that they gave me voucher to spend more money with them and basically I am just out of luck regarding a laptop computer and my wedding ring. So, they allow United employees to keep working and stealing your personal belongings. So if they are protecting their employees who steal from customers who keep them in business, what rights do we have? None, and therefore I will not be flying United ever again, and I will loudly voice my story to everyone I know, even through media also. So if you ever fly with United, don't let them talk you into checking your carry-on in, because the employees are having a free for all with your stuff, and we are just sol.

I am with a two year old son coming here for the death of my father. This is the second issue we had with United within a couple months (see below). I cannot understand that there are no flights tomorrow to get us to Houston? No other airlines have been investigated to get us home. I do not want another voucher. I want my expenses covered of a hotel because I have to stay two nights in Buffalo due to the incompetence of United. Like I said, my other family members flew home today. What’s the deal United? I threw out all my cosmetics, soap, shampoo, deodorant, baby wash, etc. and baby food because I was flying. Now I’m stuck in a hotel. I paid a $300.00 change fee because my father passed and have to be hassled to provide a death certificate to prove his death for a $200.00 refund.

Honestly, who in their right mind would want to stay in Buffalo, New York longer than they have to? A change fee for what? To have no flight? I was notified of the change while standing at the ticket counter, and the reason was “air traffic”, no mention of weather. I have the emails if you want to see them. Other airlines were flying high; I have proof of this as well (sibling tickets). Update: now the flight out of Chicago is delayed or possibly cancelled due to mechanical problems. Why is this airline so unpredictable? This is absolutely unacceptable. The flight was cancelled on Friday, couldn't fly out to Sunday and get to Chicago and mechanical problems?

The incompetency of your airline has cost us too much money! There was the $300.00 change fee for my father’s death, $240.00 cost of hotel because my Friday flight could not fly until Sunday, and the cost of meals and repurchasing cosmetics that were thrown out. I was notified of the issue on Friday while standing at the ticket counter. Traveling with a 2 year old is not easy when there are so many issues with the service. There were flights going out on Saturday. I called and pretended I was a different customer and they were taking the booking! My family was able to fly out with other airlines.

We just had issues in January! The conf. numbers ** and **. This is the prior issue in January: Norfolk, VA location. We were supposed to fly out at 5:40 am on January 13th. I woke my infant son up at 3:30 am only to arrive at the airport to learn that our flight was canceled. We received no phone call; however, the agent argued that we did and she even verified the correct phone number. If we would have received a call, I most certainly would not have disturbed my son.

The ticket agent was rude and told us that the flight was cancelled because of fog and that the planes have no fog lights. I told her we need to get back to Houston as soon as possible. She stated that we will have to wait until the next day. I asked her if she could set us up on another airline? She said, “No, I am not calling another airline.” They told us not to call them. I then asked to speak to a customer service manager. She walked away (I was thinking that she was getting a manager, no she went to another computer, took another customer and ignored us!). Finally she came back and told us she has a flight around 5 pm, we can take it or wait until the morning. Of course, she gave us no option but to take the flight, so we did. I asked for her name as she did not have a name tag on, and she ignored us again and would not give us her name. She told us she is not feeling well and doesn't want to "deal with this today." She also stated that she works for Continental?

We were stranded at the airport with an infant and no transportation (we turned in our rental car using an after-hours key drop). I called Holiday Inn Express to come pick us up, and checked in at a cost of $99.00 plus tax. Once in the room, I called United and got in touch with a helpful United rep. She was able to get us a flight with US Air, so we checked out of our hotel an hour later and went back to the airport. This cost us a room fee, time and aggravation especially when traveling with an infant. The lady at the ticket counter could have made arrangements for us like the United rep that I called did. United lost our luggage in Buffalo and in Houston. I cannot understand how US Air was able to fly in the fog (same plane) yet United could not.

I work for an international company in the corporate office. I can say that this experience has caused me to question if I will continue to authorize employee travel using United Airlines. Mind you, I do understand that even the best companies have employees with issues; however, what we went through is absolutely unacceptable. I should not have had to pay for a hotel room for an hour. Was I supposed to stay at the airport for 12 hours with an infant? We were supposed to arrive in Houston at 8:30 am; we arrived 12 hours later. I would like a refund and some type of response - confirmation number: **, January 2nd - Houston to Buffalo; January 9th - Buffalo to Norfolk; January 13th - Norfolk to Houston.

It didn't stop there. We were delayed leaving Jackson Hole on 2/23 and were also going to miss our connecting flight with American Airlines to Boston from Chicago (7:10 pm). They told us in Jackson Hole that we were switched to the 10:00 pm flight and that we had reserved seating. We got to Chicago and went to the American Airlines service desk to check in. They had no record of us on the 10 pm flight, or any flight for the next morning and told us to go back to the United Airlines service desk since they couldn't do anything because the flights were booked through United. These service desks are about a 15-minute walk apart since the airport is so large. United tried to get us on a 10:10 am Sunday flight but could only confirm my wife's ticket and told us to go back to the American Airline service desk to confirm the tickets and get a seat since they cannot print boarding passes for AA.

The level of incompetence and lying is absurd. I can understand if we miss a flight due to the weather and we are told that we will have to wait for a later flight, but to be blatantly lied to and say we have seats on a later flight twice in one week only to find out that it is absolutely not true is completely unacceptable. I know that people have a choice in airlines, and I intend to spread the message that United Airlines should not be their choice. It's totally demoralizing and demeaning to lie to a customer about their flight status and that my wife and I were basically left wondering which chair we were going to sleep on in the airport terminal.

P.S. I kept this note as professional as possible so it would not be taken down from the website. To express my true anger, this would have been a profanity-laced tirade about your company. I will advocate until the day I die that no one in their right mind should use your airline. If anything goes wrong, it seems that your customer service representatives do nothing but exacerbate the situation and leave the customers on their own to figure out a way to get home.

Upon learning that we no longer had seats, despite booking months in advance (while some who kept their seats had only just booked), we were told by surly United gate agents to go to the adjacent customer service counter for reassignment to the next flight which was supposedly in one hour. We were the third family in the line for regular customers (which translates to peons in United's eyes) where there was only one agent assisting customers. The agent took over one hour to process just the first family. In all, it took nearly three hours of standing in line. And again, we were third in line. Inconceivably unprofessional service, frankly. Any other business would be scrambling to immediately make more agents available to process half-a-plane's worth of extremely frustrated paying customers.

After three grueling hours standing in line, the earliest flight United could get us was late the next morning. As result, after flight, shuttles and check-in, we didn't arrive at our destination until late, late afternoon the next day, knocking off one of our two-day vacation and one day of priceless time with our friends who traveled from Australia to meet us. Financially, we lost one night's prepaid at the Disney resort we booked and one day of prepaid park tickets adding up to over $1,000. I'd like to report that United's blunders ended there, but they continued to mess up our seat assignments and the honoring of prepaid premium seats for the next day's flight. And what did United feel was adequate compensation? A $60 hotel for the night until our next day's flight and a $150 voucher for our inconvenience. Oh, and a "We appreciate your business and look forward to welcoming you and your family aboard again soon." Somehow, I find that truly difficult to believe.

The gate workers would not respond or acknowledge my husband when he went to ask why we were passed for standby. By not making this flight, we missed the event in which we're traveling for since we have to wait another 3 hours for the next flight. After all this, the only thing United offered was a $10 meal voucher, which did not even cover a meal in the airport! This is by far the worst flight experience I have ever had and will never fly United again (even if I have to pay more). I emailed a complaint a week ago and have yet to hear back. Avoid this airline at all costs!

My son was worried the whole way about the condition and care of his instrument, as he is a senior at the Interlochen Academy of the Arts, and music is the most important thing in his life. He studies and practices his instrument many hours daily. After arriving to Traverse City, the crew dropped his guitar, scratched his case and broke the handle. He was told by the people unloading the luggage that the guitar had been dropped three times. He called me very upset and I instructed him to go to the luggage complaint department at United Airlines.

When he went to complain about the matter, he was told that the case was not scratched or broken and they denied him his request to lodge a complaint. They also spoke sarcastically and remarked, "I hope it's not a Martin guitar." He definitely got the impression that they were making fun of him.

Our family is very upset about this matter. It is unfortunate and insensitive that your luggage crew felt that their poor treatment of his instrument was a laughing matter and that they did this in the first place. Traverse City airport is used by many students from around the world in the music and arts field. They are hardworking, sensitive children and they certainly do not deserve to receive this sort of treatment from your employees. I think that this matter and behavior needs to be evaluated seriously by your company, and I would like to speak to the person who is doing the investigation. In addition, United Airlines is responsible for repairing the scratches and handle of my son's guitar case that was broken by your crew.

My son's name is Joseph ** and he is a serious classical guitar student at Interlochen Arts Academy. His flight number from Chicago to Traverse City was 6110. It departed Chicago O'Hare at 1:43 pm. His flight was rerouted to Greenbay, Wisconsin due to fog and arrived at Traverse City at about 5:45 pm. I would like to speak with someone personally about this incident. I also feel that the United Airlines luggage department at Traverse City needs to develop respect for their customers, even if they are only high school students.

We called United and reserved Economy Plus for the first flight, but we were told to call back in another two hours since the second flight of the trip was still 26 hours ahead. We tried again online to reserve the seats for the second flight and failed again and called again. The seats for the third flight could not be reserved in advance at all since this was a Lufthansa code share flight. The Star Alliance was founded in 1997, during all these years the partner United Airlines and Lufthansa have not been able to align their systems and operations. The new seat reservations could not be found online after changing the seat by phone. We went to the airport and checked in, received information that at least one of the flights was overbooked and got offered $300 for missing Christmas with our family while taking a later flight. We elected not to do that, received the boarding passes for all three flights, including the Lufthansa code share flight.

We got on the first flight, which was on time and went well. Sitting on an exit row seat and finding the window frame stuck with silicon to the door was not very impressing, but at least sealed, I guess. After arrival in Washington, the display was showing that the second flight was scheduled to leave one minute late at 09:51 pm. At 09:55 pm, the crew went on board which made a co-passenger very happy thinking that we might be ready to go soon. I cautioned this person since I've been flying United for 20 years. There was an announcement at 10:01 pm that the flight was delayed since the mechanics were trying to change a pipe. Flight departure was now delayed to 10:40 pm. Arrival was delayed to 12:19 pm the next day. There was an announcement at 10:07 pm that the flight was delayed since the mechanics were still trying to change a pipe. Flight departure was now delayed to 11:00 pm and arrival was delayed to 12:39 pm next day.

There was an announcement at 11:14 pm that the flight was delayed due to the aircraft change. The gate changed too, obviously the mechanic gave up on trying to change the pipe. Flight departure was now delayed to 12:05 am, and arrival was delayed to 01:44pm the next day. I rebooked my overseas connection since it was clear that I would miss the connection. I rebooked via phone since the gate agent was overwhelmed and incapable. The gate agent was kidding people that the aircraft might be able to make up for the delay while in the air. It was ridiculous. There was an announcement at 12:07 am that the flight was still delayed due to aircraft change. Flight departure was now delayed to 12:30 am, arrival delayed to 02:09 pm next day. Then, there was an announcement at 12:30 am that the flight was still delayed due to aircraft change. Flight departure was now delayed to 01:00 am, arrival delayed to 02:39 pm next day.

There was an announcement at 01:12 am that flight was still delayed due to aircraft change. Flight departure was now delayed to 01:30 am, arrival was delayed to 03:09 pm the next day. The gate agent was saying something about fuel not available yet for the aircraft, I hope they have paid their bills. All the different announcements and the different excuses from the gate agent caused quite some laughter, at least United was taking good care for the entertainment of the waiting passengers. I had asked the gate agent for a business upgrade and he answered very arrogantly that our tickets did not qualify for that without answering my question for the cost. Upon my question of a courtesy update due to all the troubles, I was told that United was not doing that. The flight took off at 02:45 am; obviously no one with United in Washington had any ideas how long it would take to replace a failed aircraft. I guess this must have happened the first time, live is a learning curve.

The food served was unbelievably bad and we are not picky, but this was the worst airline food ever received. I did not touch the food, but my wife did and she was spending quite some time in the bathroom afterwards. Also the breakfast yoghurt disappeared and was not available any longer. While on the plane, the video system was frozen, I was asking the flight attendant for a reboot and he was very funny like doing it whenever he will get to it. I requested him to reboot before we got into Frankfurt and his answer was that we might not make it very funny, especially while keeping in mind that the first airplane failed and all cabin lights on this plane had a mind of their own and went on and off. This flight attendant really helped the passenger to feel safe after the experience with the failed airplane, the video problem and the cabin light issues. The system was finally rebooted after asking two more flight attendants. And, yeah, we made it into Frankfurt.

After arrival in Frankfurt, we went to the United counter to complain about this flight delay and were told to do that online. Upon asking for new boarding passes, since our connection flight was gone, we were told to go to Lufthansa since they are the carrier. The Lufthansa flight was on time and trouble-free. After receiving the baggage, we found that the hard-side case was sliced open in two spots. The Lufthansa airport baggage claim center saved the day by providing a new replacement case right away. We arrived after the Christmas Eve celebration at our destination nearly 4 hours late. Thank you, United and Merry Christmas to you and your families.

Flying United Airlines, A Travel Nightmare Satire - Part 2: We reserved the seats again via phone since the online system did not work again, I should have known that, but you never want to lose hope. The Lufthansa check-in was able to provide all boarding passes, also for the United flights. Were things getting better? The flight back to Frankfurt was eventless. The United check-in in Frankfurt was throwing the Lufthansa boarding passes away and was issuing new United boarding passes. Obviously, things were not getting better. The video system on the flight back to Washington was frozen again. Pushing the light for the flight attendant was not working for 30 minutes - nobody cared. After waking up my neighbor, getting up and finding a flight attendant, the system got rebooted.

The food was significantly better compared to the first overseas flight. I still would not pay for something like that in a restaurant. After arrival in Washington, the display was showing that the second flight was delayed by one hour leaving 10:54 pm. We looked up our flight as well as related previous flights online and found out already that there was no way that it would be only one hour delay. I guess that United did not have these capabilities; otherwise they would have provided better information. There was an announcement at 10:30 pm that the flight was rescheduled - no reason. Flight departure was now delayed to 11:09 pm, but still scheduled to arrive in Nashville on time at 10:54 pm. That meant that the flight time was -5 minutes keeping the 1-hour time difference in mind; I was wondering how this works.

There was an announcement at 11:00 pm that the flight was rescheduled - no reason. Flight departure was now delayed to 11:25 pm, but still scheduled to arrive in Nashville on time at 10:54 pm; this meant that the flight time was -31 minutes keeping the 1-hour time difference in mind, I was even more wondering how this works. The flight to Nashville was eventless with the exception that the reading light did not work and the flight arrived at the gate at 12:30 am, 1.5 hours late. We also received our baggage without damage. Yeah, we made it, too bad that there was no more hotel shuttle available and we had to pay for a taxi.

Summary: We've been flying United since a long time and this was the worst experience we ever had, although coming to the conclusion that this is daily business for United passengers. It is amazing that ticket pricing nearly quadrupled in the last 10 years, but any type of service was cut back significantly. All types of administrative task have been dumped onto the passenger to be performed online, which saves the airline money and could be also beneficial and time consuming for the customer if it would work. Airport check-in counters became self check-in and this was sold to the customer as an advantage. I am not so sure; this is definitely no advantage for the United employees who worked these jobs. Baggage was included in the airfare, now passengers have to pay in addition.

The amount and the quality of food went below any standard. Beverage supply got cut back significantly which is not really healthy especially on long flights. Any type of new fees have been introduced on top of the airfare. Seating space got significantly less over the years and now you have to pay in addition for what is called Economy Plus seating and it's providing at least some space. Sitting in standard Economy, especially for taller people on long flights, is not human. Customer service does basically not exist but do not blame United employees. A management that is cutting employee wages and benefits drastically and only cares for its own salaries and shareholder value cannot be expected to do any better.

Customers do not matter anymore. United has the worst delay rate with any airline in the US, internal communication within United does not seem to exist. United has the highest complaint rate in the USA. Doing the math means, cutting costs = higher airfare, nice recipe for profit or with other words; paying more for airfare is providing you with lesser to no service. Long story short, we will find ourselves another airline.

When finally speaking with a representative, I was told that it was canceled due to Hurricane Sandy, which was more than a month ago. Then the representative told me there were no flights tomorrow. I found out that he meant there were no available flights tomorrow, as they were all full. He then told me that he couldn't help me with this and I could go to the airport to handle this. I informed him that it is an hour away and asked if he could put me on any waiting or stand-by list. He then booked me on a flight to La Guardia via Cleveland with a five-hour layover, an hour after my originally scheduled departure time that had supposedly been canceled due to weather. United has ruined Continental.

When I approached other boarding agents about my situation, they were instructed by the same woman that they were not to help me in anyway. I have no idea what I had done to deserve that attitude. Unbelievable was the level of contempt this woman had for me. I then proceeded to the ticket counter across the room and asked another person with an accent (sounded Polish), if they would help me to get a ticket. He agreed and printed up a ticket. Then I had to again go to that same counter with the arrogant condescending woman was at, and once more I was told that the name on the ticket was not spelled correctly and to take the matter up with Egypt Airlines. So once again I was given deliberate misinformation in order to further anger me and cause further stress, in an already stressful situation. Lastly, on the third try, I was able to procure a boarding pass from the gentleman that had tried to help me the first time at the ticket counter. Unfortunately, he and I were made to look like complete fools in public because of this woman that calls herself the supervisor at the boarding counter.

At last the real person in charge came to the counter and tried to expedite the process, so I could board. I thought finally someone that would be able to help me. The only saving grace was from the professional attitude of the guy at the ticket counter and the woman that came along to clarify and speed along the process. Seriously, is she a supervisor? Is it deliberate that she is placed in that position from United, or is it a fluke? What does this say about United UK that a woman with such low moral integrity has towards the plight of others has for which she is supposed to serve? Would she be better suited to working at McDonald’s and learning rudimentary customer service skills, and humility? Maybe she could work at a zoo. This should be a good way to learn compassion. I see no redeeming public relations skills for a woman in her position. These are skills which she needs to master before anyone works at any airline, at, the very least!

If this happened in the United States, I have to believe that she would be told to go in the back room, finish her day, and never return to work. Is she really a supervisor? She should be fired immediately! Since there had to be a rebooking of the flight, I was singled out for special security screening. Thank you very much for that added attention. I am on the FBI’s most wanted list and should have been thrown in jail, or so someone would have thought. I was not only searched once but twice. Not only did it happen in the UK, but once at my original destination, and twice in the United States. It was so wonderful of United to single me out for that extra special treatment. If I had been on the original flight to begin with, I believe I would not have received all that extra unwanted attention. Referring to the flight in which I was so conveniently bumped from by the woman supervisor (I still can’t believe this woman is a supervisor).

Then your company lost my luggage? Flight 832Y did not have my luggage on board. How inept is United? All that is required is to put a piece of luggage on the plane. Anybody could do this. It’s not rocket science. What kind of people do you have working over there? I seriously wonder if incompetence is part of the business model. Pay your workers the cheapest wage or salary possible, give them a basic, rudimentary training course and send them on their way. If someone makes a mistake, it’s no problem. Just send off a few “I’m sorries” and hope everything will be okay. After all, customer satisfaction does not play a part in the United business model. By writing this complaint, I am not expecting anything. There is no amount of money or apologies that could ever make amends. So in the future, I will never fly the unfriendly skies of United ever again. In addition, I will never use Heathrow as a layover at any time. There are many other more pleasant options out there for any traveler to choose from.

Sincerely, United at Heathrow totally sucks. United sucks, Heathrow sucks, but the two together totally suck big time. To use the British expression “Bugger off”, and “kiss my **”, I am done with the both of them. I give them only one star, only because I have to. No one should have to pay for the aggravation, humiliation and the disgrace I went through. They should have to pay me for this inconvenience and give me a star or two!

Since then, I had a funny feeling that things were gonna go wrong. When we got to the airport, the check-in counters were all automated, no agent at the counter. When we checked in for our flight, we received our boarding passes for the flights from our origin (LAX) to SF, and then from SF to Hawaii. Seat assignments were changed on both flights. My husband was separated from my daughter and I on the first flight, and then we were all separated on the 2nd flight, meaning that my 4-year old daughter would be sitting alone! Who does that? They knew we were traveling with a small child. The computer asked us when we checked in. We talked to an agent at the gate and they were able to seat us together on the first flight. For the 2nd flight, however, we were told that we were pretty much on our own to find someone to switch seats with on the 2nd flight. So, we flew out of LAX in the hopes that we can switch with someone when we got to SF.

Well, when we got to SF we were on the runway for 30 minutes. Mind you, our layover until the next flight was 45 minutes. So when we finally got out of the plane, it was 15 minutes left before final boarding to Hawaii. The worst part, our gate was all the way on the other side of the terminal. So here we are running to our gate with only 15 minutes to spare, and no time to try to switch with someone. Luckily, my brother and sister were with us on the flight and were seated next to each other, so my daughter and I were able to switch seats with them. My husband was able to switch with the gentleman sitting next to us. So after playing musical chairs, we finally got to sit next to each other.

I have never experienced anything like this. Traveling has usually been pretty easy for me. But this was a nightmare. I will never, ever fly United again. I'll pay the extra money to fly with a better airline.

This was not the only reason which made the flight miserable. We found out the plane was smaller than the one we took when we flew in. Our seats were separated. UA did not inform us about the change - not through the email, not by the front desk when we checked in our baggage. Sarcastically, the broadcasting system on the airplane bragged about the new customer communication system. What a joke! The captain informed us the plane was being repaired and there was a 50%-80% chance that we had to get on another plane which was being arranged. Again, no apology was offered. The captain himself and flight attendants also suffered the delay. It was customers' fault to fly with UA! We ended up with another plane. The total delay was 3 hours. I saw another plane to London was delayed for 4 hours probably for the same reason.

We were at the airport 2.5 hours before the scheduled time, early enough to take an earlier flight. However, UA would charge us $75 each. We did not take it. Shouldn't UA compensate us $75 each for a 3-hour delay, just to be fair? I'm thinking of writing a song "UA made me stand up for two and half hour" and put it on YouTube. Remember the song "UA broke my guitar?" If you are interested in writing the song for me, I would be very appreciative.

However, the plane used on this flight was a relatively small plane with small overhead lockers where my helmet did not fit in. As it also did not fit underneath the chair in front of me, I decided to keep it in my lap. At the last minute, one of the stewardesses decided this was not allowed and she insisted the helmet be put in the luggage hold. I told her I’d rather wear it during the flight than just put it unguarded in the hold, but that was no option to her and she insisted I handed over the helmet, which unfortunately was the only option open to me.

Upon arrival in Atlanta, the helmet seemed to have disappeared and it took intervention of the pilot to finally retrieve it from the hold where it was found after most of the luggage was unloaded. Worse, it seemed to have been pretty mistreated - it was missing several parts and having many scratches, some of which seem quite serious. There are also remainders of some sort of glue on the outer, which makes me worried about the chemical impact that has on the helmet. Because of that, it is questionable what the usability of the helmet in the current state is since the sun visor is beyond usage and it seems highly probably that the inner shell got damaged because of the maltreatment in the hold.

I went to the United Airlines office to file a damage claim, but they denied any responsibility stating that damage to a helmet that goes into the hold unprotected is not their problem. The fact that it was placed there on demand of their own staff did not seem to matter to them. Since then I have been trying to get compensation from UA, but to no avail. I have heard nothing but bad excuses and responsibility-avoiding behavior. It seems very much that UA will do everything to not have to treat their customers well, even though they created the problems for those customers.

I cannot say the flight was bad, but I will say that United Airlines is an airline you should avoid! They insist on damaging your luggage and when that is done, they refuse to help in any way. Be careful with United Airlines! If for whatever reason you want more information about this case, please do let me know via **. The whole story, including pictures, is available for everybody who wants to see how bad United Airlines treats their customers!

We decided to take the latter option, and I wish that we had not. The flight leaving IL to LAX was supposed to leave at 7.24 PM, but did not leave until 8.00 PM (the connecting flight was supposed to leave at 10.30 PM West Coast Time). We got to LAX at 9.50 PM. We were on the ground but we were stuck there for 45 minutes because United could not find a gate for that flight. As soon as we left the flight, a United agent told us to follow him to Qantas because they were able to make a reservation for us there. We followed the agent (my wife, my 3 year old and myself plus 11 other people), and took a shuttle to the QANTAS terminal, only to be told that QANTAS has refused to accept us and we needed to go back to United. United couldn't do anything and put us up for the night.

The next day, they gave us a partial compensation for our troubles and then promised all day and night, even at our terminal, that our bags would be with us on that flight. As we were boarding the flight, I asked the United agent about our bags. He assured me that the bags were going to be on the same plane that we were on, which was the first lie.

We arrived at Sydney airport on Monday 9/10/2012, one day later than when we were supposed to, but it was no big deal. We went to collect our bags and guess what? They were not there. We went to the counter to report that our bags were missing. I was very angry and tired. I spoke with a Menzies Aviation rep, who told me that United already new ahead of time that those bags were not going to be on the plane with us, and that they just wanted us to leave the US happy because ultimately, United would not have to deal with us, but he would!

We took out last flight to Adelaide with no bags. We tried contacting United in Australia to follow up on the bags, but we could never get a hold of anyone. All we got was a recorded message to leave contact details and somebody will contact us, but we never got a phone call from anyone. We started calling United Baggage Claims in the US but all we got are more lies. On Monday, we were told that they found one of our 3 bags and we should get it by Tuesday, which was another lie. On Tuesday, we were told that they found all 3 bags and we should be getting them by Wednesday, another lie. That was Thursday morning and we were told that we should get all three bags that day, but I cannot trust United especially when they told me that it was Qantas' responsibility to compensate us for any items we bought while we were waiting for our bags. This was another lie because we had nothing to do with Qantas (report number **). Also, there we many other lies dealing with this case where I was told that a supervisor from baggage claims would contact us but that never happened. I am so disappointed with United and I will never, ever fly United again, inside or outside the USA.

Finally, we ended up getting all 3 bags in full by Saturday, 9/15/2012. Our entire trip to Australia was 2 and half weeks. We wasted the entire first week either buying stuff or waiting for our bags. We were planning to travel back to Sydney to see relatives but we were not able to do so because we were waiting for our bags.

16/09/2012 Washington (IAD) s 22:09 So Paulo (GRU) s 8:35 UA861

It all started on Sept. 10th, 2012 when my wife and I were informed at Guarulhos check in counter that our Sao Paulo-Washington (UA 860) Flight had two hours delay and we would lose our connection to La Guardia NYC. Therefore, they've booked in a different connection using Delta Airlines. Surprisingly, already having a 2 hours delay, the plane took off with an extra one hour delay, totaling three hours waiting at the airport. Obviously, when we arrived in Washington, we've lost the newly booked connection. When trying to rebook the connection with your customer service, an unskilled and non-educated lady booked us in another Delta flight, four hours from our arrival and now bonded to JFK.

None of my requests or demand for different options were attended. "There is nothing I can do, sir" was always the answer. It was clear that she was having problems operating the United/Continental reservation system and she was constantly on the phone calling for help doing the screen commands. We moved on and four hours late, at the Delta gate we came to find out that your customer service had not booked us on that flight! Obviously, she made a mistake and forgot to run something on the system! There were no ** Ricardo and Karla on any reservation. With only 10 minutes left for departure, we literally run to Dulles terminal A, from gate A74 to gate 3 to find a United customer representative, to fix the ticket, which she did in terrible mood.

After running back to Delta, I've found out that only one ticket was fixed. My wife was not in the plane. After begging to get in and thanks to the courtesy of Delta, they've let us in and we've arrived at JFK airport. This story was already a reason to regret flying United but the return to Brazil after a week in New York was even worse. On Sept. 16th, we had a La Guardia-Washington connection at 17:00 and then a 21:00 Washington-Sao Paulo flight:

16/09/2012 Washington (IAD) s 22:09 So Paulo (GRU) s 8:35 UA861

Based on our previous experience, we've tried to get an early flight by getting to the Airport early. There were two available sets and we will happily pay the $75 extra per seat, but the men took too long to do it on the system, and the ticket was gone. Again, a clear display of how your staff is poorly trained on United/Continental reservation system. Therefore, we were board to the original UA flight. Guess what happened? Due to a leakage problem, we were asked to off board prior to take off. No information whatsoever. There were 14 of us. How will we board to the Washington-Sao Paulo flight and after many requests, people at the gate started to be rebooked to other flight. For us, they've found a next day early flight, going from to JFK to So Paulo (TAM flight), which suited us. But after two hours, all of sudden they've informed us that the problem was fixed and we all must go to Washington.

Indeed, concerned about losing the connection, myself, my wife and the other 14 people on the same situation asked the customer service at the gate that, guaranteed that they've talked to their colleagues at Washington Dulles and they will hold the plane until 14 of us get there, which calmed us down. But it was a lie! When getting to Washington and rushing to the gate, we found out that it was closed and the plane had taken off! United lied to us! At 11:30 pm, there were 14 people locked in Washington. Of course, all of us were angry and astonished at how you could lie to us. If we knew, would it be much better to stay in NYC and get the other day flight?

I've asked to talk to the service director, Mrs. Lourdes **, who (besides being arrogant, cold, rude and non-sympathetic again) also didn't know how to operate the system and give us flight options, to none of the 14! Even a crazy, flight Denver-Houston-Panama Sao Paulo option was given. After one hour, we were rebooked (now in two separate reservations for the next day, Washington Houston-Sao Paulo). I had to retrieve the bags, that took another 1.5 hours, received hotel and $30 voucher for each and arrived at the hotel at 2 am.

On the next day, we got to the airport early, and surprisingly we've lost our economy plus seats and worse than that, I had a seat on the flight Washington-Houston, but my wife didn't. Because your service director did it wrong in the system again! Of course, they couldn't fix it at premier check in. "Sorry sir, nothing I can do," again and told us they will fix at the gate. Obviously, when getting at the gate, we found out that United oversold the tickets and there were 8 people on waiting list and one of them was my wife.

While my wife was crying, I was holding myself and trying to get the last drop of patience. I've literally begged to have my wife on the flight once we couldn't lose the Houston-Sao Paulo connection at all! I need to be at work! The lady again having issues with the system, offered for volunteers and she got some, but she couldn't put that into the system. Luckily, at the last minute someone fixed the system and we board to Houston, after someone gave up her seat, thank God.

Finally in Houston, we were very well treated by Mr. Rafael, your service director at Houston. He is the only well trained professional that I've met since we've boarded. A week later, I've boarded to Germany in a Lufthansa flight and everything was perfect. Maybe this letter won't change anything, but you should check your system, your training and mostly your people if you want to walk the talk as you do in your advertising.

Please! Give me a break! Also, the people at gate 32 were the rudest individuals I have ever met. When I told them no one was informed of the change, I was informed, "Not my job.” Then when I went to your information staff about the problem, I was told, "Go to gate 32-b and talk to them - not our problem.” Guess what?! I am not going to take this airline again - ever!

My passenger right to move about the cabin and safely get in and out of my seat was violated. I could not use rest room facilities. I have specific medical needs that were not addressed. According to my needs, United should have had me in an aisle seat or bulk row, without charge. Instead, I paid for such a seat and this airline failed to deliver - on several of my flights. Jeff Smisek's corporate staff does not comprehend the problem. Their complaint system is inadequate. Their seat reservation system is inadequate. On my second flight, United failed to have a seat for me at all. They changed planes, and therefore there was no row with seat seven A. The United employee, as I attempted to get my seat, told me my seat was replaced by the toilet. I find being told my seat is the toilet, as a Premium upgrade seat, is unacceptable. After a long international flight, I expect the airline to have a seat on a connecting flight.

The airline is complacent, at best, definitely incompetent. And it has zero systems in place to address known issues. The airline had the same seat failure in July 2012. Paid for Upgraded seats were not honored as the airline changed planes. The airline does not notify clients, either. They say stuff happens, and have zero systems to address or fix. Surprise! On an international flight, you don't have a seat or do not have the seat you booked, and they do not care and fail to see this as a failure or service issue. The CEO just complains the frequent flier clients expect too much. No, you intelligent creature, I paid for a seat upgrade. You did not give me an upgrade. I paid for a seat and you simply canceled my seat, changed planes and sold my seat again.

You did this repeatedly and this is fraud. You sold seat upgrades you never intended to honor. You then made passengers re-buy seats they already paid for and lied and said you were issuing a credit. Inept, incompetent, uncaring, untrained, clueless, complacent are words to describe you and the corporate staff. It is the safety issue and fraud that most concern me.

As I was proceeding to security, I was told at that time it was not a flight but a bus. I normally leave from Houston to FLL (I live in FLA) due to back issues. I could not sit for the 2.5 hours to the airport so I opted to pay the extra $150 to fly to Houston. Since I had a connecting flight from Houston to FLL, I did not have a choice but to board the bus. As we were boarding, the customer coming off indicated that the air was broken. This information never came from the bus driver. During the 2-hour drive to Houston, we were never apologized to for no air. We were not offered water nor were we asked if we needed to stop to get water since it was 98 degrees outside.

When I arrived to Houston and spoke with the manager at Intercontinental for United, he told me he could only give me a $10 voucher for water and he could not do anything else. I would need to send Customer Care an email. I did send one before my flight, I received a number. I called one week later to follow up as I still had not received any indication from anyone. I got a CSR supervisor, after arguing with the rep to give me a supervisor, to be told it would take him all day to reach Customer Care and he promised I would hear from him that day. That didn't happen.

One week after that follow up phone call, on 9/16, I called United again to receive someone who does not understand English and transferred me to a CSR in India. That CSR called Customer Care and they told him they were still working on August complaints and do not have time to speak to me. I was on hold at this point 40 min. He then transferred me to a supervisor again in India who told me the 800 number for Customer Care, that she cannot do anything. I am currently on hold with Customer Care. I was told that my hold time would be approx. 15 to 20 min. It has been 30.

How is any of this acceptable? Is business so good they feel they do not need to answer customer complaints? Bad, bad United.

Edmonton San Francisco - I arrived at Edmonton Airport and checked in 3 hours prior to my flight to San Francisco. One hour before my fight departed, a delay was announced so I then proceeded to the Service Desk as I was concerned about my connecting flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles as there was only 40 minutes to board this flight on arrival in San Francisco. I was advised not to panic as there were three other flights with availability from San Francisco that would allow me to board my Los Angeles-Melbourne flight on time. There was then an additional announcement that UA6265 was further delayed. At this stage, I was called to the service desk and advised I had been booked on the 20:15 flight UA1267 from San Francisco-Los Angeles as I would no longer make my original flight. I expressed concern that this new flight would not allow me to reach my LA-Melbourne flight on time. I also questioned why I could not be booked on an earlier flight than 20:15. I was abruptly told that there was nothing to be concerned about and to pick up my boarding pass in San Francisco.

San Francisco-Los Angeles - On arrival to San Francisco, I proceeded to the check-in desk to pick up my new boarding pass. I was informed here that I was in fact not booked on the 20:15 UA1267 flight and it was fully booked. The lady at the desk then told me that she could get me on the 19:15 flight but it was leaving in 15 minutes and to hurry to Gate 88. I then speedily proceeded to customs and presented my boarding pass that was given to me in San Francisco. The customs officer informed me the pass was for a flight that had departed two hours previous and I could not be allowed through for security reasons. I then rushed back to a desk to explain my situation and was advised here that I actually was booked on the 20:15 UA1267 flight. I questioned why I was given incorrect information and forced to run around the airport for no apparent reason. I was given no explanation. I then received a new boarding pass and proceeded to the gate.

Five minutes before boarding the 20:15 flight, a delay was announced. At this stage, I panicked as I was unsure if I would make my 22:17 flight from Los Angeles-Melbourne. I went to the service desk and was reassured that the flight would still make it on time and my seat was changed to the front of the plane so I could exit as fast as possible on arrival to Los Angeles. There was a further delay announced. I knew at this point in time I would no longer make my flight home to Melbourne. I was extremely emotional and upset, not only on hearing this, but from the events I was avoidably put through by United Airlines throughout the day. A baggage handler recognized how upset I was and sympathized with me. He approached me and explained that a passenger must travel with their luggage at all times so if my bag could be located and removed from the plane, I could possibly be re-routed from San Francisco-Melbourne that night. He very kindly tried to locate my bag on the plane but to no avail. His generosity was the only positive part of an otherwise disastrous day. With one minute remaining, I boarded flight UA1267.

Los Angeles-Melbourne - Once I reached Los Angeles, my flight to Melbourne had already departed. I proceeded to the Service Desk amongst many other stranded, unsatisfied United Airlines customers. On queuing for one hour, I was informed the next available flight to Melbourne was not until 22:17 the next day. The time was now 12am. The lady at the desk told me I was strangely booked on a flight back to San Francisco the next day but this would not allow me to reach Melbourne any sooner. This additional United Airlines mishap was cancelled. To my utter dismay, I was then told that there were no hotels available due to a large conference in LA but we would be given food and blankets. This was undoubtedly an unsatisfactory alternative to a hotel but there was no other option. I asked the same lady if it was okay to go outside, downstairs, for some fresh air. She advised I would not be able to come back up through customs, but I would still be able to retain food and blankets downstairs from their other Service Desk as there were many other stranded passengers downstairs.

Thirty minutes later, I attempted to get food and blankets but was told they were not available downstairs. Customer service then told me to go to the first floor and wait at the desk. One hour passed and no one came to the customer service desk and no staff approached me. I eventually returned downstairs to be told everyone had gone home for the night but a supervisor would be there at 4am if I wanted to complain. At this stage, I would like to raise the fact that I had not eaten the entire day due to all the events and had no American dollars as I expected to be en route to Melbourne at this time. None of the vending machines accepted credit cards. At 2am, I attempted to get some rest on the floor underneath a payphone as there were no seats available. I was awakened at 4am by airport staff informing me they were opening for business and it looked bad if I was asleep on the floor.

I decided to look for the supervisor. I queued at a desk and was told there was no supervisor on duty at the moment. As you can imagine, I was utterly exhausted at this stage, not to mention starving, freezing and in excruciating pain with my already existing back problems. Leaving the desk, I was suddenly approached by a lady who identified herself as a supervisor for United Airlines. (Another display of the complete lack of communication between your airline staff.) This lady sympathized with me and apologized on behalf of United Airlines for what I was put through. She then gave me two $10 vouchers so I could finally get something to eat. The supervisor also strongly recommended that I write a complaint about the treatment I had received throughout the two days.

I eventually boarded my 22:17 flight to Melbourne, which was of course delayed by 40 minutes. It was only then I discovered that the flight was actually flying to Sydney and then departing from Sydney to Melbourne. I was too traumatized to question this new issue. At least, I would be in Australia. I would like to compliment the flight attendants on this flight as they had heard about the lady traveling from Canada and approached me with sympathetic words which provided some comfort. I was again strongly advised to complain once I arrived home. Eventually, I reached Melbourne after 60 hours of traveling, 5 hours sleep, 2 meals and one day of work missed. I have contacted United Airlines and received information that they are not responsible for delays and accept no responsibility. However, if they actually read the complaint correctly, I was complaining about the horrendous customer service, not the flight delay!

I emailed United right away when I got home everyday for like six days. Finally, I called another number and reached someone and the customer relations department. She apologized for their actions but also told me that she has no control over the steward's actions or behavior. I was offered a United care package! I wasn't able to talk to anyone else. She said this was it.

I am so embarrassed. I never want to fly United again, and I'm going to call an attorney and maybe even the media. And let's see what they think about the whole situation. I wasn't offered a refund for even half of the cost, a discount, the name of the steward, or anyone else I can talk to regarding this horrible issue. I feel that is discrimination. I am not only Hispanic; I'm mixed. And they embarrassed me to the fullest!

As you can imagine that a foreigner who took his first trip to America with her family at around 5:30 in the morning would be very frustrated and upset when they get this news. At this moment, the first lady left the desk and the second assistant came, who is a black lady. She pushed us to leave the desk as soon as possible and said her colleague, the first assistant, told her that everything was done for us and refused to print out an updated itinerary for me. My friend, who was helping me for communication, and I insisted that I should have a printed itinerary, but apparently she was very uncommunicative and tried to move my friend from the desk by asking help from the police when my friend was trying to get her information. My friend left the desk and I was quite angry about what she has done. Under my strong request, she finally printed out the update itinerary from me. For sure I was not happy about their unprofessional job and she told me that I could complain to the police officer who was already started talking with my friend. Later, I found out that she lied on me. A police will never take care of my complaints as a passenger.

I explained about the situation to the police officer and asked them to file a report of why they have been called, but they refused and told me the only way is to file complaint in the UA website and take calls. I am not happy with the two assistants. First, the two assistants did not do a professional job who informed me the new itinerary. They are unskilled and untrained. Second, without any apologies for the troubles they brought to me and any reimbursement of my extra expenses for one day more in US, they used police to move us from the desk before finishing their job. The duty of the police is to protect the safety of passengers, but not to protect them from their mistakes. Thirdly, the second black lady lied on me, a foreigner, to complain to the police officer. She did not even inform me the right way for taking my complaint. I really hope that United Airlines could give me a fair answer for the unfair treatment I received.

Simultaneously, Karen appears in the aisle across and loudly took off in an incessant embarrassing argument stating repeatedly that it was only sugar, that I was being unreasonable, that everything is annoying me, that her disabled son would accept everything with a smile even if she dropped sugar in his cup. She went on to repeating this to several fellow passengers, and then again to my husband across the aisle who returned to his seat from the restroom later. This was the most unexpected, rude, and uncalled for behavior. I am truly appalled that this is the level of service in their so-called business first class! To top it all, this was a long 14-hour flight where we had been told 30 minutes before departure that the audio in one of the four seats was working. We reported this incident in a post-flight survey sent by United and it has been several weeks without even an acknowledgement, leave alone apology.

All I wanted to know was what flight left San Antonio to Chicago. I was just trying to piece together what happened. The “so called” supervisor was raising her voice, threatening that she would disconnect the call and making assumptions instead of trying to help me. My son was stuck at an airport and would have to wait 24 hours to get out of there. In addition, there are two other flights that were available but they gave him the latest flight out of there.

I later called to make sure he was on the flight from Chicago and the young man was very nice and assured me that my son was on the plane to Seattle. He also read that there were notes from that supervisor saying that I was calling and was trying to get information on a passenger not to release any information to me. I found that very rude and disheartening. My son ended up in Chicago! And all I was doing was trying to figure out how this all happened and I needed to know that he was safe. This was very time consuming and emotional for my son and myself. I will not do business with United ever again. I was no different than any parent would be and United’s Customer Service made the stress level higher with the rudeness and incompetency.

The 6 o'clock flight was already oversold and we could not get on, but there were 2 seats left on the 9:05 flight to Appleton, WI, another 60 miles away. The employee did make a special call to the baggage department to make sure the bags would change flights with us and we were assured that with 5 hours, that change would be made. There was no offer of even a cup of coffee for our troubles and United employees were not the least bit apologetic for their mess. I certainly don't want to fly with mechanical problems. However, it certainly could have been handled a little more efficiently and with some compassion. The gentlemen at the gate became angry at a frustrated mother with 2 small children when she asked where she should go for help. At this time, I called to change my rental car reservations as I could no longer fly into CWA and that incurred a $100 additional cost to me.

We arrived in Appleton at 10:00PM exhausted and with now a 90-mile drive ahead of us instead of 30. We went to get our luggage and it was nowhere to be found. Finally, it was found in CWA. Funny how the luggage always gets to the destination even when you can't. We were getting very frustrated and had a funeral in the morning, all of our clothes were in the suitcase. We were promised we would have it by 9AM the next morning. A call was made and we were reassured it would be there. We arrived in Wisconsin Rapids at our motel and informed them that baggage would be coming.

The next morning, we waited until after 9 and no bag. We called United and were told it was on its way and they had 8 hours to deliver it from the time it arrived. I reminded him that it arrived at 6PM the night before and this was 9AM in the morning? 10:30 and still no bag. I called again and was told it would be here shortly. 11 and nothing. I called and was told that it was with the driver and he would deliver it ASAP. Needless to say, we went (very embarrassed) to a funeral in our flight clothes. The suitcase was delivered about 1:30PM. Thank you United!

Now for our return trip. I do have access to a computer when I am traveling, but you do have my phone number. We arrived at CWA for our return trip to find that because of a glitch in your (United) system as your employees call it, our reservations, confirmed reservation, had been inadvertently knocked out of your system and we no longer had seats. What! Confirmed means confirmed! There were no seats as the plane had again been way oversold. We explained our horrible experience with United and after about 35 minutes, he did get us on to Chicago, but then booked us on American to Dallas and said that United couldn't help us anymore as they were booked full. Yes and I had confirmed seats that I could not use because of a glitch!

We arrived in Chicago at 9:00 and should have turned right around and been in Omaha by 11:21. But instead and because of your glitch, we were stranded (again) until 2:30, then had go farther away to Dallas and wait there until 6:15, putting us home at around 9 and not 11AM as promised by my confirmed reservations. We still have a 3-hour drive from Omaha to home and that put us home at about 12:20AM. Another 3-hour flight took United (8AM to 9) 11 hours. I don't know, but I paid $1,500 for confirmed reservations and tickets and I did not receive what I paid for.

Not that anyone cares but we both lost our parents this year with cancer and we needed to be home Friday night for our cancer walk. I know that is not a big thing for you, but for us, it was very important and between that and having to go to a funeral in dirty clothes, wasting 1 whole day at airports and rerouting and just the general disorganization for the whole trip, we feel United owes us a refund of some kind. We contracted for a service that was not received and a day that we cannot get back. I have your customer commitment in front of me and you broke at least 2, 3, 8, 10, 11, if not more. I will give ample time for response, but this is not going away.

I took another 57-minute wait in line, during which time I finally found out from a fellow passenger that a number of flights were cancelled going to Chicago. Another passenger told me this. While I was all the time waiting in line trying to get checked in and getting through security, never did any of the United employees ever offer any information or advice or even attempt to communicate to me or any of the other passengers that our flights had been cancelled and that we would need to reschedule. When I finally got up to the counter, I inquired why my ticket was for the 12th and not today. They had apparently automatically re-booked me for two days later and never said a word to me. They never offered a refund, never offered a discount, and never even asked me if the rescheduled flight was acceptable to me. They just did it.

When I finally got up to the ticket agent the second time and attempted to get a different flight yet that night, he was nothing short of rude and unhelpful. He was very uncommunicative and did not offer any help whatsoever. He simply stated take it or leave it. When I asked if they could arrange with another airline to assist with my travel arrangements, he simply said that if it were mechanical problems, they possibly could but that because it's of weather conditions, they don't do that - "Tough luck." Because I had a connecting flight in Chicago with American Airlines, I asked if he could check with them and see if they had anything that could get me out faster. He said that I should contact them but that he would not be able to help me with that. When I asked about a refund, he said that I would have to file online for that but that I would have to let him know immediately if I wanted the flight on the 12th or not.

My real frustration in this whole mess is that the customer assistance was by no means customer assistance. There was at least a dozen counters that could have been opened up to assist customers, and yet, there were only two agents behind the whole counter with at least 300 people and more lining up to get flight assistance. United is a joke. Their employees are unskilled and untrained, and the message that United sent to me and all those other passengers is that they clearly do not care about service or their customers. It is all about money. If I were to change my reservation for any reason, I would suffer a minimum $100.00 penalty. At no time did I or do I hear an offer to give me a rebate on their schedule change nor was I ever asked if perhaps I would like to get a hotel room to accommodate at least one night.

I failed to mention that their newly rescheduled flight for me is supposed to leave at 6:50 AM, which means I need to leave home by at least 3:00 AM in order to get to the airport as they request an hour before the flight. If this flight is delayed or cancelled for any reason, I will never fly United again. If I experience any rude, inconsiderate, unfriendly, unhelpful, airline employee on this trip, I will be filing another complaint and will demand a full reimbursement for my trip. I will never fly United or American ever again. I also have a number of family and friends who fly quite extensively, and I have recommended that they never use United or American.

Our return flight from Turkey was supposed to depart on Tuesday, August 7, 2012 at 1:55PM on flight UA905. This flight was cancelled and they re-booked a flight for us on Wednesday, August 8, 2012 to be departing at 6:00AM on flight UA1762. I am a CPA and my husband, my sister and brother-in-law are all physicians. Each one of our busy work schedules had to be rearranged, not to mention all the patient appointments that had to be cancelled. When our original flight was booked, we had requested vegetarian meals for all twelve of us as we do not eat any type of meat or fish per our religion. On our flight to Turkey, we were given the meals. However, on our trip back from Turkey to Newark, the head steward mentioned on the overhead speaker the meal choices and at that time, mentioned that there were a very limited number of vegetarian meals available, only 12 were available on that flight.

At the time, I spoke to one of the stewardesses to make sure that there were meals available for us and she, at that time, told us that we never made the meal preference so they could not save those meals for us. I proceeded to explain to her that there was some mistake, the flight to Turkey gave us the meals and probably when they re-booked us, they forgot to make the meal preference to us. At that time, she began to speak very rudely to me and said that we cannot be accommodated and they would not save the meals for us. As the meals were being handed out, since we were near the front, we could see what was given thus far. The four elderly parents in our group were seated ahead of us so they requested the veggie meals and they were accommodated. But when she reached my family and my sister's family, she said that they did not have any more veggie meals.

My sister then asked her if all twelve were handed out and the stewardess just said that there were no more meals for us in a very rude manner. I had four young children with me who were very hungry and she would not serve us a veggie meal when we knew that all the meals were not handed out. Knowing that this was a ten and a half hour flight, I was very concerned for my children. I told the stewardess that she was being very rude and my family and I did not deserve to be treated that way. When I asked her name, another stewardess came from behind and said that we could not know their names and that I was behaving in a threatening manner, that she would have me arrested once the plane landed.

The stewardess who threatened to have me arrested also turned to the rest of the staff, started to laugh, pointed at me and said "I think someone may have forgotten to take her medicine today." I do not take nor have I ever taken any type of medication for mental health and I am deeply offended by the joke they were making of me. This made me very upset and as I began to argue with her, the head steward appeared and began to talk to my husband. My husband explained the situation and the steward said that he would see what he could do for us. Shortly after, he was able to arrange the vegetarian meals for us even though the other stewardess said that there were none available.

After this incident, later on board the flight, all passengers were given ice cream but the stewardess just bypassed us and we had to go towards the back of the plane and request some ice cream. She also refused to take my children's trash as they came by. I went towards the back of the plane to give them our trays and trash. It seems to me that as a passenger, we have no rights and are at the mercy of the on-board staff. We have flown with so many airlines and have never been treated in this manner. My family and I are all professionals. We always act with professionalism and only ask that we are respected as customers should be.

The agent at Gate 16 ignored the line and refused to speak to customers who did not have a connection in Houston, until she rebooked everybody with connecting flights. I tried to argue the unfairness of her action but she did not listen to me. There I was, the second person in the line, suddenly, pushed all the way to the back of the line. I also tried to change my flight through United mobile app, but the system did not allow me to do so. So, I sat and waited in the lounge 45 minutes. It was 2:45 but technicians were still working on the plane, so there was another 2 hours and 30 minutes delay.

So, I knew that flight was not going to make it to Houston. There were only 2 more flights to Houston, and I knew the seats were limited. Because the gate agents refused to assist me regarding my flight until all the passengers with connecting flights were rebooked - which I find extreme nonsense and discriminating - I walked back to the ticketing counter to get help from another United personnel. By the time I made it to ticketing counter, the flight 1728 was full. I asked to speak to a supervisor to express my frustration and the discrimination I faced at the gate 16.

That's when Vincent ** came with a repulsive attitude and said - not even making eye contact with me - said, "May help you?" I explained what happened thus far to him in a very respectful and professional manner, and he replied with a berating tone of voice, "What do you want me to do? There are 150 other people going through what you are going through!" I was not quite sure what he was attempting to do? Perhaps he thought, knowing the fact that 150 other paying passengers were suffering from extremely unorganized, unprofessional and unfair treatment of a bunch of United staff would make me feel better? Well, it did not!

I again expressed that I needed a confirmed seat to Houston as soon as possible because I had a business dinner meeting with clients, and he replied, rolling his eyes, "Call them and reschedule your meetings!" Wow! What a brilliant piece of mind being wasted behind the airport check-in counters! And as if his mind-blowing suggestion was not enough, when I asked him, maybe he could give me a day pass to the United Club, so I would not have to sit on the airport floor as Gate 16 and its vicinity had limited seats and too many passengers waiting so there was not any seat available to sit on, he replied, "I sure can certainly sell you one!"

Wow! How can one feel valued as a customer who is suffering from the company's giant failure, yet still trying to make a profit out of?! What happened to the statements that the CEO of the company, Jeff Smisek, screams on the video monitors each time prior to watching the safety video recognizing the mistakes and allegedly 6,000 times a day? It is very believable that United makes 6,000 mistakes a day, but it is implausible that any of those mistakes are being recognized and addressed appropriately. When I pointed out his nonsense sales attempt to him, he replied, "Here is a 1-800 number, call them and complain."

It is staggering that a supervisor that is assigned to represent United could lack empathy in this vast amount, and still try to treat well-paying, loyal customers as a target of sale. Before seeking to make a profit out of somebody, one should satisfy the customer with the prior arrangement and agreement. In this case, he should have done anything to make the customer happy because the company he represents failed to accommodate the prior agreement, instead of attempting to sell a day pass to an upset customer! How absurd! It is also beyond the point but there is not even a real value offered in United Club, other than tacky ranch sauce and baby carrots! I would suggest to who is in the charge of the United Club operation strategies that they should take a look at the services that other frequent flier clubs offer, hot meals, quality alcohol, gourmet desserts and such before trying to rip off customers by selling service that merely offers bargain brand ranch and a baby carrot for $475 a year!

If the points that I addressed above do not sufficiently depict how frustrating and upset I am with the experience I had yesterday, and beyond disappointed and felt ripped off by the service I received for the amount of money I paid to the United, the following should wrap up how much further a company could frustrate the paying customer. After several attempts to talk to the gate agent to get a confirmed seat to Houston, and a disappointing encounter with the failing supervisor, Vincent **, 4 hours and 40 minutes had passed, and I finally had gotten somebody to help me with my issue. The agent at the gate confirmed to me a seat on flight 1204Y which was also delayed 1 hours and 45 minutes. Beyond the delay, I originally had a first class seat - not paid but upgraded - however, the seat I was assigned on flight 1204Y was in economy. When I asked the gate agent the possibility of a first class seat, I was scolded and castigated by the agents implying that I did not pay for first class fare, therefore I do not deserve it.

Well, on August 5th 2012, I had received an email from United.com confirming my seat upgrade to the first class cabin. Therefore, United promised to me a confirmed seat in first class, period! It turns out it was another "miss-"promise that United made thus far along with others which are failing to carry me to my destination on time, provide pleasant and efficient customer service, etc. Anyway, after another disappointing encounter with a rude United staff, and an absurd $10 food voucher - which would get one a half sandwich without beverage in most airports - I continued to wait in the lounge.

After 5 hours and 45 minutes of delay, I was able to board a plane which did not even have a video monitors. I knew an amusing flight experience was ahead of me! And as if it was not sufficient, after arriving in Houston 6 hours and 15 minutes late, my luggage did not arrive. I proceeded to baggage service to file a claim, and the employee I was talking to told me that I had negative energy, and he suggested(!), "You should not give this energy to a person who tries to help you." Ugh! Excuse me, as I exactly told the employee, "You are not trying to help me. In fact, you do not even give a damn about my whole travel experience nor my bag. If you tried to help me, you'd have started your greeting (which there was not any other than a half mouthed) may I help you with an emphatic and sincerely apology on behalf of your company for their vast failure!" Like this did not polish my disappointment and massive frustration, I was unable to attend to my meeting because my clients had left town by the time I arrived in Houston. With this missed opportunity, I was apprehended by United to close a business deal that potentially would provide me with thousands of dollars.

To summarize, I am not only upset with whole this experience, but also I lost all my belief in the new United. As if not being helped as a loyal customer was not enough, I was provided with another disappointment by losing my first class upgrade as I was promised, and still not having my luggage and my valuable belongings in it delivered on time. As a Premium Platinum customer, in addition to my disappointment, I feel betrayed and helpless. Beyond the emotional and psychological distress United has caused me, there is financial loss. I ended up missing a big opportunity to close a financially valuable business deal. Therefore, I request that United should make up for what they had promised.

I am writing to express to you the poor and unprofessional service provided to my family on Flight 1001 from Aruba to LaGuardia on July 7. My wife, 7-year-old daughter, and myself traveled in first/business class and received one of the most unprofessional encounters I have ever experienced having traveled many times before in first/business class. Here are some key points:

Stewardesses were rude and unprofessional, making comments to a little girl about throwing her off the plane or putting her in jail if she kicked the seat, which in turn upset my daughter for the duration of the flight because she thought it would happen to her. Our meal was a broken down box lunch consisting of two pieces of turkey, two pieces of cheese, crackers, and fruit. This is the first time an airline has not provided a full meal in first/business class, especially while flying during one of the three meal times. Getting a drink was a process in itself; I had to seek out the stewardess in order to receive one. In one of the rare times she was not sitting reading a magazine, I asked for a beverage. She said, "We only have that in the back of the plane. Can I get you something else?" Another time, my wife asked for a Sprite and went to the restroom. When she exited, the stewardess said, “Here,” and handed her a can.

Furthermore, pilots were taking turns sleeping. Being a frequent flyer, I understand sometimes that needs to happen. However, during the tail end of this flight, one of the pilots came out of the cockpit. When confronted by the stewardesses, he stated we were 45 behind schedule due to a headwind. Then he proceeded to put ear plugs in and sleep in the first row. When we began our final approach into LaGuardia, one of the stewardesses actually shook him and said, "I think you better get in there now." This created a very uneasy feeling in the cabin. As full-paying first class customers, I expected to receive the service and professionalism United prides itself on. Needless to say, I was very disappointed. We paid a significant amount of money expecting to receive first class service and comfort. To our dismay, that didn't happen. I'd like to know how this will be rectified?

The disinterested rep told me that the first flight she could get me on was Monday at 3:30 and they could offer me no vouchers, compensation or hotel. That meant I would be in the airport for Saturday night and Sunday night with no provisions whatsoever (later, three men in line threw a fit and made a scene and were given hotel and food vouchers by a supervisor; the supervisor promptly bolted after that). I kept expressing my disbelief that there was nothing to the nation's capitol and wasn't there another way. Finally, after about twenty minutes of her trying to figure out the computer and scratching her head and other reps trying to help but also not knowing the "new" system, she came up with a train voucher. She went on to say there was a shuttle that would take me to Dulles from Union Station.

The train left at 7:00 a.m. She told me I should take the AirTran at 5 a.m. because it would be very busy. I asked if it was safe to be on the platform at that hour and she assured me it was very busy and there were cameras (later when I was in the Amtrak station all alone, it was a comfort when 2 other people appeared, to know if I was mugged or murdered it would at least be on camera). I "slept" in Newark with a skirt, t-shirt and sandals and it was freezing. I asked for food vouchers or a blanket and was told no. I was also told it was "not United's fault that there was bad weather." I reminded her she had said it was construction on the runway. She said "that too." There were pregnant women, people with screaming babies and several in wheelchairs, all stuck in the airport.

I eventually spoke to some people on the train to Union Station who were also given vouchers for the shuttle to Dulles which they believed was a connection to a train. The rep had also told me that but since I live in the area, I was pretty sure she was mistaken and that it would be bus, not a train. It was neither. So, there were six of us after twenty four hours of travel, standing in Union Station in DC with our luggage and cars at Dulles. There happened to be a United Airlines pilot at the Starbucks where I was propped up, waiting for my husband to drive into DC to get me. He pleaded with me to write a letter which I was going to do anyway. He told me that since the merger with Continental, there was a new system and people were poorly trained and this kind of fiasco happened "all the time."

To add insult to injury, one of the people stranded at Union Station told me she was mighty glad for the McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts vouchers she got because at least she could eat. My rep told me that they weren't allowed to give them out. Others did get food, and hotel covered and they were domestic flights. It seems the reps are not on the same page at all. When I asked for a refund for the leg of the trip they cancelled, I was told that it was a wash since I was taking the train. From the time I arrived in Bozeman on Saturday morning until the time I got home on Sunday, more than 26 hours had elapsed. I cannot believe that there was no way to get me to Washington from Newark.

United showed no regard for me, a woman, traveling alone. I am still seething about the treatment and lack of respect shown to me and other customers. It didn't help that the bored, clueless agent (the others weren't much better) was chewing gum. Actually, I found it in myself to feel sorry for them because they clearly did not know what was going on. After talking to the United pilot, I now know they hadn't a clue.

I explained again, that I needed to use the restroom and that it was difficult for me to "hold it" because of a bladder problem. Her colleague joined in, telling me that it was dangerous and that I needed to return to my seat. They said that they too needed to remain seated, although one of them was standing in front of me as she said that. That did not make the danger seem apparent. I expressed that it was more dangerous for me to wait and they both, again, denied me access. The plane ride was not bumpy. I had no trouble walking down the aisle, nor did I have any trouble standing there without holding onto anything. I was already there pleading with them. Letting me into the bathroom would have been the humanitarian thing to do. The rest of the non-turbulent ride was uncomfortable for me. I attempted to distract myself with a book, but my legs remained crossed and I needed to squirm in my seat in order to not, well, urinate.

As soon as the plane landed I got up to rush to the back of the plane. People were getting out of their seats to leave and they were blocking my way. I did not make it. I wet myself. When I got out of the restroom, I looked at these flight attendants and said, "I cannot believe that you lock the bathrooms and don't let passengers into them." Then I leaned in and whispered "I have wet my pants." I paused. There was nothing, not a word, not an apology, not a concern, nothing. I waited more. Then I turned around, furious by the way, and slowly made my way past everyone in the aisles to get back to my seat. I was shaking with anger and humiliation. What kind of world is this, when a 54-year old woman cannot use the restroom? Do you know how degraded I felt wetting myself in public? Can you even begin to imagine that happening to you?! Can you imagine someone telling you that you have to "hold it in" as if you were a child trying to get out of math class with a hall pass?!

I have a client in Boston. This was a business trip. What if I was on my way to my client? What if I had to go to a meeting? I find this policy of yours to be dangerous for my career as well. I have flown literally hundreds of times in my life and have never, never been denied access to a bathroom on a plane whether the seat belt sign was on or off. I remember walking back to the restroom on planes in terrible turbulence with no one blocking my way. Everyone except your employees, evidently, understands the importance of needing to use a restroom. I suggest some training for their attendants that centers around respect and thoughtfulness instead of the rote following of policy that I received today. I pray that no one else will have to experience such disgrace. I do expect some kind of apology from the company. My treatment today was abhorrent.

United's response is that there's nothing they can do to assist and I just have to accept the departure changes. (There is a flight leaving BDL at our original departure time from another airline but United will not book us with that airline as they do not have an agreement with them.) More troubling is United has stated there are no guarantees they will not change the departure time again before the flight occurs. What aggravates me the most is United is able to freely change our departure times, and negatively impact our vacation, at their convenience without compensation to the passenger but if something was to occur which would cause me to have to submit a request to change the departure time, United would charge me a fee, per ticket, each time I submitted the request. I definitely would not recommend United nor will we use United's services again in the future.

Later that night, her connecting flight was also delayed due to mechanical errors, and her flight eventually arrived at 1:30am, 11 hours past the scheduled arrival time. If these delays were due to weather, then I would not complain since those are beyond anyone's control. However, delays due to technical issues are 100% the responsibility of the airline, United. We received no apologies, attempts to make amends with us, or otherwise improve our situation. It is not the stressful situations that lose customers, but how United handles the after service care - that is what allows these bad experiences to shift future customer decisions. Even after writing and calling about this, I have received no reply. Just some acknowledgement and minor reimbursement for the trouble they caused is all that is needed to turn what was a terrible experience into an acceptable case of company error.

Just when I thought the lady helped me out, she never gave me my proper tickets. She sent me on a wild goose chase to a gate that didn't exist! I was running through the airport like a mad person, just trying to get where I'm supposed to be. The frustration level I had was at my highest, and I have high blood pressure, not needing this annoyance. Of course, when I got to Chicago, my luggage was lost, which is typical. I will never fly United again!

We lost our prepaid hotels in USA and we were left stranded in an international airport in Bahrain and had to spend two nights in expensive hotels. Plus, were charged fees to re-issue tickets that did not happen for two days. We were able to travel two days later and still flying with the original visa my wife had as her visa was still valid with multiple visas. End result, United would not compensate for our losses that exceeded over $2,000 due to prepaid and new hotel losses and reissue tickets.

My main complaint is that United and the computer system including the US Border and Immigration Visa Office should not allow United or any other airline to be able to sell tickets unless the electronic visa to the passport holder is first obtained and the US Border has confirmed it to United. If the system wants to enforce the visa notification to the airline before a traveler is allowed to travel, then the tickets should not be sold unless the notification is first received. United is profiting by selling tickets that cannot be changed and later make on extra fees if the third party immigration office does not notify them through the computer system. This is not fair business practice to the consumer.

Later on the same trip when we’re traveling from USA to South America, United attempted the same visa issue by stating she could not travel to South America without a visa. But by then, we were prepared with information that Koreans could travel and obtain permission for 90 days without a visa, as once the passports are stamped at the destination host country, the traveler could visit the country for up to 90 days if the traveler had a round-trip ticket. The United staff and managers and SFO airport were unaware of this until finally the top manager cleared the issue and we were allowed to travel.

This to me is further proof that United should not be playing border patrol roles. They are mainly an airlines and any imposed government regulatory requirements if they over-rule and need compliance, then the proof of compliance should be met before selling the ticket rather than to be determined at the United Check-in point when it may too late to correct by leaving passengers stranded and United profiting unfairly on the consumer.

We traveled in and out of USA before via Asiana, Korean Air and Mexicana and never had the visa problem that United caused us. We tried to complain via United Customer Care but they stated that the Visa clearance has to be submitted electronically by the US Immigration Visa Office directly to the Airlines. However, even if United had notified us on this issue before selling tickets to us, the Estas Office does not offer a way to ask them to notify United once a visa has already been issued: **. If one enters, passport and other required information, the system will give you the visa # and validity details but it will not show how to notify United that the traveler already has a valid visa. The United System places the traveler on a catch-22 with a burden of proof before selling a ticket.

We got to the gate for 5577 and they wouldn’t allow my daughter and me to sit together because of weight distribution. I wasn’t happy about it but it was a short flight so I didn’t argue about it. When we landed in Burbank, we found out that United lost our luggage. The next day, I had to spend nearly $200.00 in clothing for my daughter and me. Also, my blood pressure and other medications were in my luggage. I was told that I would have my bags by the next morning. I called all day and finally received my luggage about 9:30 in the evening on 6/24/2012. I will be sure (unless it’s an emergency, which this was) to never fly on United again and I am going to copy this letter to Consumer Affairs.

The incompetence and indifference of the United staff is stunning. I have flown with them for years and years. We finally got an excellent agent Joel **, who booked her on Turkish Airlines where she got the last seat out at 11:30pm. Now, I am trying to get a refund for the return part of her ticket as we never want to fly United again for any reason. Needless to say, they will not assist us in any way. My only other option is to cancel the return flight and book a one way ticket at additional expense for her return journey. Shame on United!

When I went online to check in for the flight back to Munich, they had no record of my reservation and claimed that I had flown from Munich to Newark on June 3, abandoning the rest of my itinerary. I called the Premier desk and they got me (and my husband) on our original plan to fly Austin/Houston/Dulles/Munich. The flight out of IAH to Dulles was delayed so badly that when we got to Dulles, we had to sprint to the next flight. Then, that got delayed at the gate for almost an hour (June 19). Despite the delay at the gate, our 5 bags did not make the flight, so we didn't have the presents to take to friends' children in Munich and had to file baggage claims, so missed our plans with friends in Munich for June 20.

This is how United treats a million-miler, Premier 1K flyer. I can't imagine what they must do to occasional fliers. I'm switching to Lufthansa. It won't cost any more in the long run, because it's getting expensive to suffer United's mistakes.

We were unable to fully complete the check-in process because there was not an option to check in baggage. We asked for assistance during the check-in process and the ticket agent was unable to check in our baggage as well. It seemed the agents at the counter had not been properly notified of the cancellation, until there was difficulty with baggage check-in. The ticket agent then tried searching for other flights to Seattle. Our travel plans were extremely time-sensitive. We needed a flight that would get us to our destination on time to board a cruise liner for our seven-day Alaskan cruise trip, which required all passengers to board the ship 90 minutes prior to departure. Unfortunately, there were no flights available from United to get us to SEA to board the ship with a schedule sail time of 4:00 PDT.

The ticket agent even searched for flights through other airlines and neighboring airports, but could not find one that would arrive in Seattle by 2:30 PDT. Any flight that arrived at SEA after 2:30PM, whether departing from IAD, BWI or DCA, posed too great of a risk of being denied boarding onto the ship and subsequent stranding at the port. As a result, we had no choice but to collect our baggage and return home. We are deeply saddened by the loss of our trip and extremely disappointed that United Airlines failed to accommodate for the last minute's cancellation and/or contact us at least 24 hours in advance so we could adequately rearrange our travel plans and avoid an incident like this. The ticket agent condescendingly told us we should have flown to SEA a day in advance. We did not appreciate such commentary during a difficult situation.

As a customer, it is not our responsibility to make travel plans that could accommodate the potential of travel plan disruption caused by the carelessness and inconsideration of the airline company. It's bad that United did not have a real person customer care line that you can call and talk, but just email contact. We emailed them and three weeks later, after we filed a complaint with DTO then we heard from United through email, they offered $150 for their mishap to close the case. It's unbelievable and from reading your complaints, we feel like after the merge, United is getting worse on this department. My wife already told me to choose another airline for our travel. It's totally unsatisfactory the way United is treating their customers.

At midnight, they were informed that there are no hotels available and would supply them with a cot to sleep in the airport. When the cots came out and grabbed by other stranded passengers, there was one left. My 74 year old mother slept in the one cot while my 78 year old father slept on the floor. June 15th, United Airlines rerouted my parents to Portland, OR then onto Redmond, OR, which has only one confirmed seat and one standby seat on an overbooked flight to Redmond. One of my parents will be sitting in the Portland, OR airport for the day waiting for the next flight out. I wrote this because it is truly sad that nothing can be done and that not one person cared.

Later, she buys a return ticket with mileage points and is again assured that the refund will be to her credit card. Instead, the United agent makes an error (as confirmed later, even by other United agents) and he sends her an Electronic Travel Certificate instead. Not only is this counter to their policy and what she was told repeatedly, but she will probably never be able to use such a certificate due to her health. It’s only a few hundred dollars but United is refusing even though they admitted the error.

Her cancer group and family have been helping but now United has caused a huge setback that, for this corporate conglomerate, is such a miniscule amount. What is the point of United policy if they don't follow it? This could happen to anyone. Is this not only illegal but heinously immoral?

Finally, a black woman, who was a supervisor, came to the counter. The time was about 12:35. She told us that the flight was closed for packages and we could not check in, because the package could not be carried to the airplane. We wanted 2 people to check in, and one of the stewards said it was ok. But later, the supervisor told us that even the two persons could not check in. We are very angry about the bad service of United Airlines, and we claim for our time lost. I asked the name of the supervisor, the black woman; but she told me that she could not tell me. I tried to find her card, but I only saw some keys hanged on her chest.

This time, I made it through security before it became known that this flight too was delayed to the point that I would miss my connection. I was told to come back in the morning to try for a fourth time. I was told there was no way for me to get back to PDX that night. Southwest had a flight to Portland that night. I was told by the desk agent that I could get a refund for my United ticket, which obviously would not cover the cost of having to buy a new ticket the day of the flight from Southwest. Since my need to purchase this ticket resulted from United's failure to deliver the service I had paid for, I felt this was not acceptable.

I then got on the phone with a United agent and nearly two hours later, after much insistence on my part, I was approved by the agent for a full refund for my Southwest flight. She told me I simply had to email the new and old flight information to customerrelations@united.com and that my refund would arrive between 7-14 business days from the date of the email, which I sent from my phone immediately on 4/3/12. On 4/24/12, I received an automated email from United telling me I could request a refund by visiting the website. I tried to email back that day, but the email address no longer worked. I have since spent 3 hours 35 minutes on the phone with various United agents.

I have been told that my refund is on its way 3 times by 3 different agents. On 5/14/12, Paolo, a purported supervisor, gave me the new reference #**. He told me to fax my Southwest ticket number with this new reference number to (713) 324-1431 and that I would receive my full refund in the amount of $520.60 within 7-10 business days of the fax. I brought this information to a local service to fax this for me that very day, 5/14. They called me 2.5 hours later and informed me that this fax number had been constantly busy. I would imagine that's by design. I then called again and was told by a United agent to scan the information and email it to refunds@united.com. I did this again on 5/14. As I'm sure you are well aware, this email address does not accept incoming emails.

So then I went to the website and sent this information via the refund request form. I just received an automated email directing me to American Airlines to request a refund. The thing is, though, only my initial flight on this round trip was with American and I am not looking for a refund for either flight on that trip anyway. What I have been told by 3 of your representatives is that I would be receiving a refund for my Southwest ticket. While American Airlines has no obligation to honor these statements, United does. I was told that I had approval for this refund before I purchased this Southwest ticket, for had I not been approved, I would not have purchased this ticket. United still owes me a refund in the amount of $520.60. It has now been 53 days and many (recorded by me) hours of attention I have had to pay to this matter.

The agent at the Club, Mr. Rubin **, turned us away saying that the passes had expired. He was very curt and didn't want to listen that we had talked with an agent on the phone. I asked if he would call the Untied Club number and check their policy like I had a few months earlier. He said that wasn't his job and that he would not call. I asked if I could speak with his manager, he told me that he was the manager of the club and that I would need to stand in line outside at the customer service center near the gates if I wanted to speak with anyone else about this matter. I asked him if I could sit in one of the chairs in the empty reception area at the entrance to the club in front of him and make the call to a United Club agent myself. He said he would call security if I didn't leave.

Basically, he told me that he didn't believe that I had talked with anyone on the phone and that he had no way of verifying the pass numbers to see if they were valid or fake. Essentially, he was telling us that he felt like these passes were forged or not real and that I was not the first person to try to use fake passes! After standing in line for over two hours at the customer service area, he directed me to go to the United agent, told me that they were not affiliated with the club and that they only work on helping people with flights and the travel portion of their trips. She was quite nice and felt sorry that I had been told to stand in their long line. I felt completely screwed by the United Club agent and now my flight.

I purchased these passes myself and would be willing to sign an affidavit that these passes have not been used and are not fake. After creating a terrible ending to a wonderful visit to Italy and embarrassing me in front of my good friend, I would hope that this incident will not go unnoticed and that Mr. Rubin ** will be given a discussion regarding the treatment of longtime United Premier customers. I have been a 1k customer several times in recent years and I'm approaching 700,000 lifetime miles with United so far. This was probably the worst and hopefully, isolated mistreatment I have experienced. I would like to hear back from customer service to discuss what actions should be taken.

Repurchasing that entire return leg of the trip for 3 people is $1340.40 after taxes. That is only $56 more than the penalty fees prior to taxes. I have been a loyal Continental customer for years, partly due to customer service. This has made me reconsider continuing with United. I noticed I could have had the same original fare on Southwest with no change fee (evidently worth $1284 + tax) and no checked baggage fee (worth $300). That's an overall savings to me of $1584 + tax.

If I want to use Southwest for just the return leg, it's $883. If you add in the checked baggage for the return trip, it's a savings of $550 compared to the penalty United is leveraging for a simple error. I can accept responsibility for having made the mistake, but I feel United's response is uncalled for. Next time I fly, I will choose a company with customer service. Charging over a thousand dollars for an innocent mistake noticed within three days for a flight that is still more than a month away is ridiculously insane.

This year, I used my miles to get a ticket and was supposed to pay administrative fees. United double charged me and almost four months later, I am still trying to get my money back. Each call to them lasts more than two hours and usually, there is no resolution. Even when I think I have a resolution, I am wrong so I end up having to call back again. It took them 2 minutes to double charge me, but almost four months later, I am still waiting for my money! Never, ever again.

I called United again, on hold for close to 30 minutes before an agent picked up. I told her my story. She put me on hold for 10 minutes, came back on and said she is still investigating, please be patient. Ten minutes later, she came back on and said that due to the merger with Continental, they have some system issues, but the tickets are okay and give another few days. I will see that the status will change to "ticketed".

Well here it is now, 5 weeks after that last conversation, the trip is just another 2 weeks away and the status today says not ticketed. I called United, the recording states that agents are busy and my expected wait time is 11 minutes. Well 25 minutes later, an agent came on, I gave her my history and confirmation numbers and she said she will investigate, to please hold on. I'm on hold now for over 20 minutes listening to United's music. This is insane! United needs a major class action law case and needs to be investigated by the FAA and/or whatever government agencies there are to protect the consumer from this sort of thing!

Calling several times to receive updates, I had found out later that the wrong baggage number was filed for the missing bag. One of the agents had reported the wrong bag with the number of the bag that I had received, making it even more difficult to find the bag since people have been looking in the wrong location. On top of that, because Continental and United Airlines is merging, there is going to be an even greater delay. Mistake after another, I'm greatly disappointed by United Airlines for the inconvenience they have caused me. It would not be such a huge issue if there were simply clothes inside, but I am a student and there are a few textbooks that I desperately need for school in there.

I cannot afford to buy them again because my mother recently came out of the hospital after a failed surgery and my father has a health condition that prevents him from working. The employees of United Airlines do not even know the process of finding a lost bag to at least even give me some sort of hope that the textbooks will be found before the start of school. Reimbursements are given many weeks later. Can anything even be done at this point?

My husband has spent countless time on the phone trying to get United to credit our Visa for these vouchers. He spent 85 minutes with a lady in another country whose only solution was to cancel the ressies and rebook them through her. Fine, but she was going to charge us $150 each for the cancellation, thereby completely wasting one of our vouchers. My husband repeatedly asked for a supervisor, but she would not connect him to one. He sent an email to United and eventually received a response saying they were sorry about our problem and they attached a $100 travel voucher to the email. However, they did not address the issue. Then, he sent an email to Jeff Smisek, United CEO. We received an email from Candace **, Customer Care Rep., who said she is responding on behalf of Jeff.

Basically, she states that she researched our issue and found no evidence of error. Really? Not accepting our vouchers is not an error? Further, she states that our trip is not eligible for voucher redemption because it contains a leg with another airlines. Seriously? We didn't book with any airlines except United. If part of our trip is on another airlines, United did that to us. Why didn't the system put up a red flag and say that because part of our flight was with another airlines the vouchers could not be used when my husband typed in the voucher numbers? Ridiculous. Finally, she closes by stating that they will now "consider the matter closed and will no longer communicate about this issue." Who does she think she is talking to, a child?

At this point, we will book one more trip with United, and we will do it on the phone to make sure the $700 vouchers we now hold are going to be credited to us. Then, we will never fly United Airlines again, ever. They will not get another penny of our money. We never had these issues with Continental Airlines when we booked online using vouchers. This company seriously needs to be put under a class action lawsuit. They are the worst airlines ever. I am going back to my beloved Southwest Airlines, regardless of what they charge. Their exemplary customer service and public relations are worth the extra money, and they don't charge for check-in luggage. Obviously, they appreciate their customers.

I talked to two of them and they were very disappointed with the airline and were planning to change company. The greed that they are assuming is wrong. I have never sent a complaint to anyone in 45 years. It is time we stand up to these companies. I am for free trade for business and them making money, but this is wrong. I will look for other airlines that offer something for the money and don't rip off customers. I am very well known in my area and in other states. I am sending this message to one thousand people and asking them to send to 5 people each and to pass it on. This message will not get a response from the airline because they don't care. They just want the money. I hope everyone who reads this will take notice of this complaint. Southwest Airlines looks better everyday. Done with United Airlines.

During this process of checking in my original flight and then moving me to another flight and again not flying that night, my baggage got lost and they took about 2 hours to locate my bag. I was not offered any meal or hotel voucher for the night. I was told since I was booked with United I will need to speak to them. I went from one end to the other end of the airport to talk to the United rep. United said I booked with Continental (even though they merged) and will not be able to offer any meal or hotel voucher.

The United reps were not trained on their own policies. I talked to 2 different reps which gave me two completely different answers for meal vouchers. This has been the most horrible customer service I have ever received. I do not plan to fly United/Continental ever again.

To make matters worse, he was very nasty about the situation. He made smart comments such as I should have gotten there early, there’s nothing he could do for me, then said he could put me on a flight to Newark. I explained to him that I live in Far Rockaway, Queens and that I can’t take that flight. Then he threw another smart remark out and said I just don’t want to go home. I held my composure because I was far from home and didn’t want to get kicked out of the airport or better yet, arrested, so I took the flight for the next day at 7:35 in the morning. I then asked to speak to a manger. The manger just kept apologizing and said I can make a complaint on their website. This situation, I felt, was uncalled for and could have been handled more professionally. However, my complaint doesn’t stop here.

Neither the agent at the check-in counter nor the agent on the phone whom I spoke with on May 23rd was willing to accept the idea that making us pay twice for the same return flight was unfair and inappropriate, especially considering the unexpected need due to the death of a family member. The agent I spoke with on the phone offered to refund the cost of the original flight ($250) since Anna technically never used that ticket. I'm requesting that United Airlines refund the price of the one-way flight of ticket ** from Savannah to Denver because we had already paid for those seats under the previous ticket and making us pay a higher price for the same flight when we were traveling due to the death of a family member is wrong!

I had called United 5 times and spoke to 5 different representatives and they just kept telling me there was no payment. I had spent a total time of more than five hours on the phone with United, the bank and Visa. United's only response was to call back at a later time. Not to mention, every time I asked to speak to someone who speaks decent English, they would never transfer me. On 5-26-12, I called United back and they just kept telling me the same thing and wanting to run the credit card again. After speaking to another several agents on the matter, they finally issued my ticket. At this time, my nerves were gone and I was just ready to breakdown crying.

I will never purchase a ticket from them again. I have been buying plane tickets for years now every summer to fly my children and have never had any problem like this before. They never offered any kind of compensation for this either. Is this something they do to hundreds of people and get away with? Well they should not be allowed.

Two days lost of my dream vacation. They rebooked me for Wednesday and I now have boarding passes in hand. I just called United Airlines for a simple, and very accommodating, request of compensation for my lost two days. I requested a seating upgrade for each day I was delayed, taking me from Economy to Business Elite. They only offered me an Economy Plus upgrade, in a center seat. I currently have an aisle seat with four seats vacant in my row. I asked to talk to the supervisor (these people are in India, btw). After a prolonged wait, the supervisor told me she could not offer any upgrade at all! So, two days of my vacation (and life) wasted due to United Airlines archaic computer system (it is actually Continentals archaic system. They downgraded from their previous system to avoid paying royalties to previous system software company, the one that worked!).

I would highly recommend that anyone flying United to Australia go online and purchase the Australia ETA directly from Australia. While United is supposed to be able to do this upon check-in, their staff has not been properly trained in the older system, and that computer system obviously has multiple glitches. I will never fly United Airlines again. I don't blame the workers in this company. Culture is set by management at the highest levels. Customer service is obviously not in the top 5 priorities of the company. Perhaps, they should become a cargo hauler only.

Choose Japanese in Japan and it will show your website in US with Japanese, again not working properly. Also, I have called for Star Alliance upgrade and your agent told me it is not working, so call back in few weeks. I did call in a few weeks and asked for the NRT-LAX-NRT upgrade on SQ and was told to buy a ticket and to do the upgrade online. After I bought tickets, I found out I cannot upgrade NRT-LAX-NRT on SQ since that is operated by Airbus 380. I called the UA Tokyo reservation center and was told that is true and the agent was very sorry to have caused me loss of money and time but there was not much she could do. I asked for supervisor, but was told he/she will call me back. Customer service agent Mr. ** called me and offered me "sorry" and that is all.

Last year, I have tried to use mileage to get first class NRT-LAX-NRT on SQ but was told SQ does not have first class service, only economy and business on that route. Wrong again, they do have it, it’s just that United mileage cannot be used for an award booking for first class on SQ Airbus 380. It took me hours of calling around and weeks in waiting to get this information, but even now, today, your agents have no clue about it. Yet another booking I made over the phone, a United agent forgot to mention the handling fee and she called me back after she has already finalized my booking. That is Yakuza style business to change after agreement has been reached!

I'm fed up with United and I will do everything in my power for United to pay for each single mistake. To start, I'll take legal action against United since United knowingly is not fixing its website system. This is serious and you can be assured I will sue. You should hire a guy like me to fix all your United problems. Today, I have reported those claims to the Ministry of Land and Infrastructure of Japan.

Luckily, I've been to the United customer service desk before, so I knew exactly where to go. Since all the passengers from my cancelled flight were already in line and there were only 3 customer service representatives working, I decided to call United while I was waiting. I was on the phone for 22 minutes, less than 5 of those were spent talking to a live person. He basically told me there weren't any other options. After that useless phone call, I was third in line. I had an extremely nice and competent agent help me re-book an alternate flight. I flew to Raleigh, where my brother's fiancee lives. I was glad to have been able to make it to the shower, but this alternate destination forced me to give up one full day with my family. I was only able to go for the weekend since I couldn't take off work.

I was a little nervous checking in for my return flight home/Chicago since my flight out was such an ordeal. I was scheduled to depart on May 6th, United Flight 5764. I arrived at the airport at 4:30 for my 5:23 flight. I asked one of the employees working at check-in if my flight was going to be cancelled since I already had experienced that on this trip. She assured me it wouldn't. Our flight departure time kept getting pushed back further and further. Finally, our plane arrived at 7:20. We thought that United would work to turn the plane around quickly.

To my dismay, we were told there was a mechanical issue. Maintenance was called, but since it was a Sunday night, maintenance was on call and took over an hour to respond. I'm not sure what time it was once the plane was repaired, but the last departure time I remember seeing on the board was 10:00 p.m. TSA had left around 7:30 and all the food vendors had closed around 8:30. We weren't allowed to leave the secured area if we wanted to fly to Chicago and there wasn't anywhere to grab food or drink. Eventually, they brought the pretzels and drink cart off the plane so we could have something. During our 6-hour plus wait, we were not given many updates.

Eventually at 11:51, we all received emails that the flight was cancelled and we were all re-booked. My new flight was scheduled to depart on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 7:00 a.m. The whole reason I came back to Chicago on Sunday was so that I wouldn't miss any work. It was a busy time at my company so no one was allowed to miss work. Once we all started getting emails, there was no staff to be found and we were locked in to the gate area. Once we were let out, it took the skeleton crew that was left at the Roanoke airport 2 hours to process re-booking requests. I was given a hotel voucher and a transfer voucher. I asked about food vouchers and was told they weren't giving those out. I arrived at the hotel at 3:00 a.m. and checked out at 11:00 to be early for the Delta flight to Atlanta I was scheduled on.

My flight from Roanoke to Atlanta was uneventful, but my Delta flight from Atlanta to Chicago (flight 1977) also had mechanical issues. We found out that the flight would be cancelled once we were already seated. They gave us constant updated on the maintenance issue, then told us it was cancelled within 30 minutes. I'm not sure why United locked us in a terminal for over 6 hours just to cancel the flight. Delta was also able to find a replacement plane. We ended up in Chicago 3 hours after the scheduled arrival time, which isn't bad for a cancelled flight. It was 26 hours later than the original flight I was supposed to be on from Roanoke.

It makes me sad that United didn't offer any form of compensation. This whole ordeal cost me one day of work, one PTO day, one day with family that I rarely see, plus the original cost of the fare. I've never felt like as defeated as I did after 23 hours of trying to get home. Nobody should ever be trapped in a terminal without food or information just waiting, hoping, for a flight to go home.