United Airlines Reviews

I requested a wheel chair service for my 67-year-old mother who has severe lower back body injury, but the check-in staff told me that the wheelchair assistance staff would only show up after 5:00am. She said my mother has to go to the departure gate by herself, otherwise she would not be able to make it. I also requested the check-in staff to issue me a pass which I can use to get through the security check point so that I can help and accompany my mother (my mother can't speak nor read English) to the departure gate but the check-in staff said 'no'. My mother and I have to run to take the train to the other terminal security checkpoint in less than 45 minutes.

The service provided by United Airlines staff is unacceptable. They don't seem to care about old and disabled customer. They also create nervousness and uncomfortable situation among customers by not giving enough time for customers to make it to the departure gate. I am very disappointed with United Airlines service and I would avoid flying that airline if I have a choice in the future.

Bottom line, I'm furious for the lack of compassion, assistance and caring at United's quite obvious mistake. Now I must spend days filling out forms, compiling receipts and tracking down documentation for all the lost property in the hopes of seeing some compensation. I've circled the globe numerous times for work and pleasure. This one clinched it for me. I'll never, ever fly United again.

I spoke with Ms. Carla ** and Cheryl ** at the gate. Ms. Carla ** suggested I go look for my husband and I explained that we have luggage and it would be too difficult for me to do that; I was in the early stage of pregnancy and was not supposed to carry heavy objects. I pleaded and she suggested I ask Ms. Cheryl. Ms. Cheryl refused and in fact said she was going to close the flight without us. I then watched her pick up the telephone and tell someone there was "a customer with an attitude" at the gate. She said, "We announced last call for the flight and he should hear that and come."; I explained that he doesn't speak English so the announcement would mean nothing to him. She asked what language he spoke. I said Greek and she told me there was nobody to make an announcement in Greek. I explained that I don't want an announcement in Greek, "If you just say his name, he'll hear it and come." Again, she refused. I asked to speak with a manager, or her superior. She refused and said she was "the boss of this flight" and then raised her voice ten decibels and shouted, "You're not going to talk to me that way; I'm closing this flight and you're not getting on, there's nothing you can do about it."

My husband returned at 5:25, as soon as she closed the door; we found Ms. Lisa **, a manager, who said she would try to get us on the flight only to find out that Ms. Cheryl had our luggage removed from the aircraft. We had to take a flight the next day, and three days later our luggage arrived, damaged. This entire exchange lasted the course of at least 20 minutes, during which they could have easily made an announcement and quickly alleviated the situation. My husband had to be at work the next day and I had to be in school. The next day, not only did the aircraft not depart until 5:50pm but the captain said we were waiting for some late passengers to board. At the terminal, I heard multiple announcements requesting passengers by name to board flights, because the flights were ready to depart. Hence, there was absolutely no reason not to page my husband and remedy the situation other than Ms. **'s obstinacy and obvious inability to refrain from getting into a power struggle.

My recommendation is to ensure at least one week out that the low lives at UA have not screwed with your seat assignments in order that you have plenty of time to hang on "hold" for an indefinite period of time. Yes, I probably erred in rolling over and paying the UA-generated corrupt seat tax, but time was running out (as well as patience for this airline). Consider this no more than a word to the wise.

My ticket was originally booked through a travel agent as required by my work and is one that needs to be changed. I realized there is an increase in price now and the $150 change of ticket fee. I am currently set to leave April 28 for Managua, but I am unable to do that because of some health issues with another daughter. The total change on March 22 would have been over $300. I also have a rebate on file for $128.70. I would like to use the rebate on my change of ticket fee, but was told that my rebate amount would need to be more than the cost of the fee, which makes absolutely no sense to me. Essentially, that means I will never get my full rebate amount back because I would need to forfeit the remainder of the balance. All I want is to use the $100 certificate on one of the flights and get my money back from the rebate for $128.70 on another flight.

The manager raised his voice at me and flat out said there was nothing they could do and they were busy with the merger. There was plenty more, but that was the gist of it. On April 3, another very long, unproductive call and was told that the rules have changed since United has taken over Continental. On April 12, another email was sent and no response. On April 23, another call, 25 minutes on hold and then another 46 minutes with an agent who then tried to transfer me to a manager which led to another 14 minutes of holding with just a disconnect as soon as the manager "answered" the phone. There is still no resolution. I never had these problems with Continental.

During the whole course of our waiting for going through security, we heard no reminder from airport broadcasting. This worker refused to explain to us why he did not wait for us even if he evidently knew we already checked in and he knew our situation. This worker refused to explain to us why he did not call us through airport broadcasting even if he was aware of the situation and had the full capability to do so. His attitude stroke us as inconsiderate, indifferent and cold-blooded. This experience gives us a strong impression that United Airlines is a very inhuman corporation that has no care about customer experience. United Airlines is definitely the worst airline I have used. Avoid United Airlines whenever possible!

I had eye surgery booked Friday in Melbourne which went by the wayside. A $10 voucher doesn't buy half a meal in CA. I was at the hotel by 2 am, woken by cleaning ladies at 7 am walking in. I had no luggage at all - no carry-on, some luggage on one plane and some on another plane. Original plane was UA 943 (mechanical failure). We were thrown onto UA 689, in which my luggage I had left was stowed. They radioed ahead and said they knew we were coming. I was stranded in LA for 24 hours: no luggage, no help, and attitude. Total people stranded: about 25 of us.

Once we flew next day, we were supposed to land in Melbourne at 9:40 am. We arrived at 3:30 pm. The luggage from UA 689 is still missing. All evidence for my kids and what I bought was lost. Someone (Charles) at the gate made a decision which was a lie. Communications were sent from your people in Chicago to LAX and the pilot got us there. Now, I'm out of pocket and all my shopping. And also to rub it in, my luggage is half missing and TSA took out half my luggage from a suit case and it's missing.

As it appeared we were not getting any help, we decided to return home. Upon asking if our parking ticket could be validated, the UA representative indicated that they have never done that in the 25 years she has worked for United. Upon returning home, we received an automated phone call indicating that our rescheduled flight has again been cancelled and was changed to Thursday 4/19, leaving us with two nights in Aruba. As a result, UA left us with no choice but to cancel our trip.

My issues are as follows:

1.) The complete lack of caring or interest in attempting to help the customer. Rather than attempting to process and rectify the problem, the response was "That is all we can do." No "sorry", no "we will do everything we can to help", no "we will compensate you for your troubles," nothing. They did not care at all. It wasn't their problem, it was the customer's'

2.) This was not a weather related cancellation. The UA representative informed us that the plane was being working on the previous day and they "must have not been able to fix it". No heads up, no attempt to reassign seats prior to going to the airport at 3:30am, just expect the customer to arrive at the airport with no flight, no options, and no one available to answer any questions;

3.) Being told to return home, through no fault of my own, and having to pay to park in the extended lot, while the United representative presents as being offended that I ask for a ticket validation;

4.) United indicated that they would reimburse our fees within 8-12 weeks. Why can I book a flight and be charged immediately, but it take 8-12 weeks to be reimbursed?

5) I am in the process of providing documentation and emailing customer relations to recoup my $300 lost from canceling my hotel in Aruba. I am quite sure there will be many additional hoops to work through;

6.) We were told to contact customer relations to file our complain. Phone numbers on the United.com website are non-existent. The only option is to email.

On the 14th, we arrived at the airport at 9:30 am. We stood in a line for over two hour to reach the counter, which indicates that there is a serious lack of organization and logistics in your company. On reaching the counter, we were told that our names did not appear on the flight list and that we had cancelled our flight! Obviously, we were in shock and terribly angry. The not-very compassionate woman who was at the counter, (though she realized we were Spanish-speaking customers, did not afford us the courtesy of speaking to us in Spanish, as we found out later she was able to do), did a lot of talking but no resolving of the matter as we were hearing that the flight was being closed.

My husband asked to speak to the manager. She was not a very well-mannered individual and urgently needs to work on her people skills. Rude is a mild adjective to describe her. She told us that we had to pay our tickets to Mexico once again because our names did not appear on the flight list, even though the error was totally the fault of United Airlines, and we would be leaving on the 11:30 pm flight that arrives in Mexico City at 5:30 am, and remember, we were traveling with three children! We strongly rejected paying the tickets and insisted that we be sent via another city to make a connection to Mexico City. After much insistence, she accepted and transferred us to a young man named Brian who did everything possible to help us correctly.

Unfortunately , the flight he got for us to LA was unavoidably detained and we lost the connection to Mexico City. There were no other possibilities available to leave that day or the following, leaving us no alternative but to take the 11:30 pm flight. A man in customer service took two hours to ticket us for that flight and the only courtesy we received from the airline was a $10 voucher per person, which I'm sure you'll agree, was ridiculous. After a very long day, we reached our boarding gate. When the first attendant (an elderly Asian woman) arrived at the counter, my husband approached her and asked to buy economy plus seats that there were being announced. She very, very rudely told him to move because she was busy working. He returned various times to get this help and was turned down by all the people working there. They were able to announce the name of the boyfriend/husband of one of the flight attendants (Juliana **) to approach and receive a first-class seat but my husband's petitions were unanswered.

Once the plane was being boarded, we were stopped before boarding and were told that there was a problem with our tickets! This is when I lost it! Remember, we asked repeatedly for assistance and were denied. My children as well as I, were crying and we were all exhausted. The plane was full and the doors were about to be closed and they had to ask the plane to wait until the problem was solved. I must say, though, that the head flight attendant (whose name I unfortunately forgot) and one of the flight attendant who goes by the name of Celia ** were very kind and understood the stress we were under and did everything possible to get us seats together because we were dispersed throughout the plane. And to top things off, our luggage did not arrive with us and we did not receive it until 36 hours later. We feel the airline should compensate my family and me for this nightmare situation that we were forced to endure. I await a prompt reply to this letter.

On arrival in Tokyo, I went to a ticket agent counter at the gate, attempting to purchase an upgrade there. They told me I still had my original seat and that they could seat me with adequate legroom (though not as much as Economy Plus) at no charge, which I accepted. Upon arrival in Newark (still en route home), I checked bank accounts to discover UA charged me five times for the upgrade they said could not be processed--3x on the one account and 2x on the other. And now funds were "pending on hold" by my bank, which won't remove the hold until UA tells them to.

I immediately contacted a gate agent in Newark, who attempted to use the UA "help system" to connect me to someone who could address and remove these holds. Even they were frustrated by lack of help. I had to give up after two hours and boarded my final leg flight home. The next day, 4/14, I attempted to contact UA help and was continuously transferred to the "reservation desk agent," who told me there was "nothing they could do" and that I would have to have a refund processed, which could take up to 7-14 days and that I had to do it online.

I was transferred then to "international department" and then to a supervisor, who said basically the same thing--no way to contact anybody directly who could assist but that they would file a refund case for me and someone would contact me direct in 24 hours. Nobody has contacted me. I was also provided with 1-800-WE CARE2 to call (not available on weekends) to speak directly with the refund department. I called this number on Monday, 4/16; and I was transferred back to "reservations." Then I was told that there was no way to speak to the refund department. I have to e-mail them.

These holds were placed by UA which told me via website that they were not processing them. I have no other receipts for the charges. They placed them instantly. They can remove them instantly. If I can be provided with POC at UA to do this... But according to everybody in India I speak to, there was no way to do this.

UA has placed a hold on my funds without cause, without product, and without acknowledgment (acknowledge to the contrary actually). And now, it refuses to provide me a path to address them and have them removed. I have spent over 4 hours on hold with 6 different departments, which all said the automated system is my only recourse. That would be the same automated system that caused this issue in the first place with no way to correct it.

My next business travel overseas will encompass everything possible to AVOID booking UA in the future.

When we were about to board, the other 5 people (my son, daughter-in-law and my grandchildren and another grandmother) boarded. When my husband and I showed them our boarding passes and they were scanned, it came up "customer not found.” They then told us we were on the later flight. On the boarding pass, it said flight 1164, but they said that we were on flight 1076, which was over an hour later. We complained vehemently until they were able to get us on the flight with our children. We were scheduled to sit together, but of course there was another snag. I had to sit alone in row 10 and my husband sat in row 15 - another complaint because we never fly sitting without each other.

My husband decided to look at the baggage tickets and there were 4 of our 10 bags on flight 1076. Because of the incompetence of your workers, after we landed we had to wait for flight 1076 to come in to get our other bags. There were 2 of mine, one of my son's and one of the other persons. Ridiculous! After paying you to take our bags, you have the audacity to take our luggage and put them on another flight aside from the fact that you changed our flight without our knowledge.

Now, the people who were picking us up couldn't wait around because they had other people to pick up. So, aside from having prepaid them, we had to find someone else to take us home for an additional fee. I would like to be compensated for the payment of my luggage, for the additional amount ($80) paid to the other service and for a refund on the amount it cost us to fly home. It was a holiday week, so it wasn't cheap! Thank you!

Besides that, my wife and I like to travel together. By the way, the fellow in my seat was travelling alone! On the return flight, again, I was given an aisle seat. There is a reason we booked 8 weeks in advance as that was to ensure we'd get the seats we wanted which is not what we received. As a result, United has gone from being our first choice to our last. We will use you, but only after we have checked with your competitors. In other words, the loyalty you showed us will be treated in kind.

When we arrived at the airport on Saturday for the first leg of our flight, we asked the United attendant to change our seating arrangements on our next flight and very rudely she said no and they would do that when we arrived for our second leg of the flight. She just did not want to be bothered with it. She was not doing anything except talking and laughing with a co-worker. Now is when the real fun begins! We arrived for our final flight home. We asked a United attendant to change our seats and again he said very rudely without even looking up: "Come back in 10 minutes.” We finally did get our seats changed, but not with any smiles - very rude and unhappy people. We are all boarded and on the runway and have been sitting there for a very long time.

The pilot tells us he is waiting on a computer head count from the terminal. No, not really. Did they not just check every boarding pass? We sat there for so long that we had to go back to a gate and refuel - yes, I am serious - then back out on the runway. And, yes, I am serious again: another computer head count. Only the pilot came on and said that he was so embarrassed that he was going to do something that had not been done since the ‘90s and actually do a visual head count on board. At this time, we had been sitting on the plane for over 2 hours and we’re still on the ground! Totally unacceptable! Needless to say, we will not be flying with United ever again!

I told her the policy but she does not accept and she did not even check at the website but she just charge. I was so stressed and I was getting late. She almost made me miss my flight but fight was late 20 minutes and I got the flight. She was so rude and her behavior was so bad. So I decided not to fly with this airline again, although I am frequent flyer. I called customer relations. She said I have to deal with them at the airport and she said she can charge any amount as per her wish.

I called back to complain to a supervisor and somehow he took my call and said there was no supervisor or manager for me to talk to. We got into a heated discussion as to who had the attitude and he hung up. So, not only does United have thieves in baggage, this person, "Josh", apparently thinks these matters are trivial and funny. These people stole a camera that had pictures of my first vacation in two years and had really great pictures/videos of whales and dolphins. Thanks for all the help Josh. I hope you will be on the unemployment line soon where your unique attitude will surely make you quite employable.

Up at the gate, I asked a representative for the third time to be sure I would make the connection and he said yes. We got to Newark and when I checked at the gate he said that the flight out to Columbus, OH had left on time, over an hour before. I explained my situation and he said those "**" in Albany must not have been looking at the Saturday schedule. What?

His solution was to give me a flight in the morning. I asked for hotel rooms and he said I would need to speak to a supervisor but his wasn't there and I would have to wait and see what he said, or, I could run through the airport and catch a flight to Cleveland. When I got to that gate, the representative was so unbelievably rude, asking why the first ticket agent didn’t change my tickets. By now, this plane was boarding and he was still complaining about having to change my flight. Finally, my son and I made it on. We then waited another 30 minutes for 20 people from a late flight out of Cozumel to board.

After disembarking, I asked the attendant in Cleveland for help. She checked my tickets and told me there was nothing in her computer about me needing to go to Columbus. She said, since they changed my tickets, the flight was "complete" and they were not obligated to assist me. I pointed out I was 150 miles from home, that their flight was almost 2 hours late, all their information was wrong, and it was almost 11pm. She suggested I rent a car. When we got to Avis, the representative asked how we were doing, and when I said she didn't want to know, she responded "United?"

We were charged $167 to rent the car for essentially 2 hours of use. We were home by 1:30am. We went back to the Columbus airport the next day to get my car from the garage, return the rental, and finally find my luggage. I have waited, like everyone else, on hold forever to complain. No luck. I will never fly United again. I have had glitches with other airlines, but none with the horrible customer service I experienced here. United Airlines stinks.

But after they missed their 1st flight, they were put on a flight that waited in Houston for passengers that were coming from Minnesota to Indianapolis, that was delayed for over an hour, but they couldn't wait 3 minutes for 2 passengers to catch their 1st flight. I cannot accept this. I think they should be refunded all their money for inconvenience that the airline caused them.

I raised the complaint with UA and Qantas in LAX, but no one wanted to help. I got home and phoned Qantas and UA here. And guess what? She'd charged me $790 USD! Yes, seven hundred and ninety dollars for one suitcase to fly 1 hour from Vegas to Los Angeles! I guess I was so upset by the whole incident that I didn't check the receipt. I have a claim in with UA. Let's see how long it takes and how much it costs me to get that back!

On March 28th, my stepdaughter arrived at the airport to get onto her flight and the agent would not let her on the plane. They refused to honor the ticket and refused to book her on another flight. She was stuck at the airport and denied a flight. When asked, the agent said that they contract US Airways to fly that United flight and US Airways had a different policy with regards to children. They wouldn't even allow me to buy an accompaniment service - just flat out cancelled the ticket.

I needed to book an on-the-spot flight on another airline - Southwest, which by the way was super wonderful in all ways - at more than double the cost of the original ticket on United. I had intentionally bought the ticket more than a month ahead of time in order to make sure to get a good rate.

When trying to talk with United, the hold times are very long, sometimes more than an hour. Their agents are all in the Philippines and are unauthorized to look up past data on their computers, unauthorized to make recompense, and unauthorized to get me to a person in authority. The only way to reach customer service is to email them and then leave it up to them to get back with me. I am out over $250, hassle on both end, and huge frustration in trying to get United to compensate.

Once in Denver, we again encountered the issue of no seating arrangements on the second leg of our travel to Dallas (United 5826). The gate attendant did ultimately get us on board, but we were spread throughout the cabin once again. On our return trip on April 1, 2012 (United 5827), I arrived at the airport (Dallas Love Field) 3 hours early to ensure we are seating together on our flight. However, our tickets were still issued throughout the cabin. Once past security, we sat for hours waiting to speak with a gate attendant. None ever showed up at the gate.

At the time for boarding, with no attendant or plane in sight, I went back through security to the ticket counter where only 1 agent was working. A line of other dissatisfied customers had formed. Ten minutes prior to take off time, an announcement was made that the flight would be delayed for 1 hour and 43 minutes due to "mechanical problems". This would have caused me to miss my connecting flight to Boise, Idaho (United 440). As no other flights were available in the near future (days), the United ticket agent asked what the closest airport to Boise was. I told her Salt Lake City was the nearest. So she booked my party’s tickets to Salt Lake for the next morning with American Airlines out of DFW and provided us with taxi service and hotel accommodations for the night. Once in Salt Lake, I was told by the United agent that no further transportation was available (including shuttle service). As we were still nowhere near our final destination, I was forced to rent a vehicle and drive the remainder of our journey to Boise.

Today with one seat left, after holding another 30 more minutes so that I could talk to the president of the company and nothing would change or if I was going to cuss (I may say **, but I do not normally use bad language) and if I was mad because people were buying first class tickets, I am an ** etc. I asked to please speak to his superior and he said sure, but was put on hold again for how long? Yes, I did hang up after 30 minutes or so. Now I think I'm on some kind of list and I am afraid to take my trip. What do I do?

On 3/16/12, I applied for a refund both through united.com website and customer relations. I have not received any acknowledgement whatsoever, except an automated reply from their customer relations dept. I then tried to send to refunds@united.com posted on their website and I got the error delivery failure notification. The email link apparently is bogus and failed to deliver. I am not able to view the status on their website using my ticket number, Onepass, mileage plus ID or last name. Their fax number is bogus and is busied out constantly. Nothing that is advised by their website works to apply for a refund.

I called and held on for 1/2 hr and spoke to customer service who said they would refer my info by email and I would hear from someone within 23-48 hrs. This never happened. I am at my wit’s end and cannot get through to talk to anyone to get a refund back.

When we landed in Newark, we ran to our Paris connection which was difficult since our 9-year old daughter just got a cast taken off of her foot after 4 weeks and was still not able to use her foot properly. We made it to the gate at 9:21 pm, but the plane already left! No one from United bothered to let our Paris connection know that we are coming and that we were delayed and were running late due to flight delay. We were confused and another United gate employee directed us to United customer service. We explained to the representative what happened, but this man, whose name I did not, get was the rudest person we ever had to deal with. His supervisor was talking with another customer service representative and he kept butting in their conversation and ignored us. When we asked him to please look at our papers and see what he can do, he got upset with us and said that it was a matter of life and death and that we can wait.

We got mad and our daughter started crying and the representative got so mad at us that he stormed off! His supervisor took over and was nice enough to help us out and put us on a United flight for London at 10:05 pm and then a British Airways flight from London to Paris on March 30, 2012 at 2:45pm. Our flight attendants on the United connection to London were so casual and unprofessional, food was almost non-existent, and if anyone asked for anything like a blanket, they were answered in a rude manner. The British Airways connection from London to Paris was just wonderful—staff and flight attendants were really nice and helpful.

We lost 6 hours, but we finally made it to Paris on Saturday, March 30, 2012, but our bag did not! We filed a missing baggage report with British Airways. Today is Monday, April 2, and we have yet to receive our bag. British Airways staff are nice and helpful, but they cannot do anything about our bag—it's all up to United. Getting through to United’s customer service is nearly impossible and hold times are ridiculous! We don't have clothes and other things like prescription meds. I'm not sure how this will end, but I know that we will never, ever use United again and will not recommend this airline to anyone!

During the second meal time or snack time, I was praying. When it came to my turn, I whispered I wished to drink water when he asked what I wished to drink. He began to shout over other passengers and commenting to the other flight attendant that he couldn't hear me and how do these passengers expect you to hear them when they can't speak up! I became irate. I kept my composure and waited to complete my prayer. After praying, I pressed the call button for assistance which was ignored for 30 minutes.

When they came around to collect the garbage from the passengers, I kindly asked for the flight attendants name and mentioned I wish to comment on how I was treated. He began to shout and create a scene. He stated, "I will not give you my name. In fact, I need you to give me your name," and kept going on about how I don't know how to speak and how I dared to ask for his name. I kept repeating as calmly as I could, "Please stop. You need to stop it. You are embarrassing me and you're disturbing other passengers." He left when I refused to give him my name and after I commented on how it was absurd for him to be displaying such behavior on the airplane as a flight attendant.

The attendant returned with a form five minutes later requesting for my personal information. I asked for what and if it were because (you) wish to protect yourself for your wrong doing? He didn't reply. Instead, he said, "Fine. I have your seat number, 24A" and he walked away when asked by the passenger sitting two seats away from me to take his trouble somewhere else. I must say I am appalled. I have never been treated so poorly. This is the first time I have ever complained about a flight/airline or anyone of its constituents. I wish I had his name. I want him to be reprimanded for the humiliation he caused!

After not hearing any boarding announcement, I approached the service desk at approximately 5:25 AM to ask when we could expect to board and were told our seats had been given to someone else. The plane was full and we would have to wait to be rebooked. At this point, the plane is still sitting at the boarding gate. Other people had begun gathering around the service desk as well, and it appeared the staff was having a disruption at the nearby Gate B1.

Jadwiga ** approached a supervisor that was working with both ongoing issues and was again instructed to sit down until the staff was able to get to her. The staff was obviously under stress and told everyone they would have to sit down until the staff could attend everyone's needs. We waited approximately 10-15 minutes and watched as our plane pulled away.

I walked down to the United Club to ask if/how we could get rebooked and the attendant suggested we see the United Customer Service people (down by the dinosaur). We waited in line approximately 1/2 hour and were finally rebooked to arrive in Nicaragua at 9:30 PM that same day (losing the entire day). We again requested to see a supervisor and were instructed to wait near the desk and a supervisor would be down to talk to us. We waited another 15 minutes and told the desk we would go wait in the United Club.

We waited there another hour and finally walked back to the Customer Service desk to see when we could expect to talk with someone. They were able to get a supervisor to talk with us approximately at 8:45 AM. The supervisor told us that she wanted to hear our version of the story. She had been told by the staff that had been at the Service (Boarding) desk that boarding had been announced, and our names had been called 3 times before our seats had been given to someone else.

I would venture the PA system at the Service desk either hadn't been utilized, or was dysfunctional, but it is just my opinion. The supervisor also told us that the service desk staff (specifically the supervisor), didn't want to talk with us and she would approach them and let us know how United would be willing to compensate us (with mileage points). But neither supervisors returned.

We boarded our rebooked flight and are now in Houston with a 5-hour layover. Your staff conducts themselves like a group of school children all trying to hide behind one another, no one wanting to commit and obvious lack of training and leadership skills. I realize you have just gone through a merger and are still trying to re organize, but this is not what I expect from an airline service as seasoned and established as United.

Sure, we would like compensation, but I don't imagine it will change my opinion of what has happened. I was a premier member with Continental (which has now converted to United in some manner), travel internationally regularly, but expect service and efficiency when I fly. Fouled schedules and unprofessional staff aren't where I spend my money.

The passengers, including me, awaiting luggage were tired but polite and this employee was out of control. I went to Syracuse Hancock security and asked that they send someone down to the United baggage area because there was a worker out of control and threatening people. I returned to the area and found that my luggage had arrived. I grabbed it and left quickly, not wanting to stick around to see what might happen next. I do not know if security arrived.

I returned to Syracuse on March 22nd and asked how I might file a complaint regarding this incident. I was told to go to the United.com site and direct my comments to Scott **. I am happy to speak with anyone regarding this matter. My phone is **. Interestingly, when the taxi cab driver took me to the airport for my return to Boulder in January, I told him what had happened on that January 14th evening. He said he was pretty sure he knew who the guy was and that indeed he was often inappropriate with customers. Please contact me to let me know that you have received this complaint. I appreciate your help in making air flight safe and enjoyable.

The reason for the cancellation was that on March 18th, I was in a car accident. I have hospital records if you need but my car went off the interstate and flipped. Due to this, I am unable to make the flight as I am still recovering. I have been told that I have a $308.20 credit on my account but that when I used it, I would be charged $150 for making the change. I have no problem getting a credit voucher, however I would like the $150 waived due to the circumstances.

She added that other people have been assigned those seats and there is nothing I can do about it. My assumption is that passengers with a higher MileagePlus standing than I requested 21A and 21B and United decided to bump me out of those seats without informing me in order to satisfy that customer. This level of systemic incompetence is frightening and discouraging. United Airlines continues its tradition of operating in a manner which is disrespectful to its clients. I try to steer clear of them at all costs, but it was unavoidable on this trip and I'm now paying the price. Never again.

On the other hand, if you are the lucky one and have a completed eRefund, you can not use it online and have to wait for an agent! This is the only business that does not let you use your eVouchers online or display it anywhere in your account. It seems they are hoping you will forget you have it and never use it. I only wish I did not have to deal with this airline and will try to avoid whenever possible. I hope that others who feel the same will boycott United/Continental until they treat their customers as they deserve! Shame on them!

Then I gave up and submitted an online request 13 days ago and did not get a single response. When I sent an email to the refund office, it bounced back, citing their inbox as full. That is failure at multiple levels. Tonight, I have waited 2 hours to talk to customer service and am still on hold. This is really ridiculous. I cannot believe United is still in business.

On Thursday, March 22, I have been waiting for two hours on the phone without being able to speak to an agent. Unfortunately, I had to hang up, because I could not wait anymore. On Friday, March 23rd, I got hung up after waiting for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Today, March 25th, I tried again. Waiting for three hours, nothing happened. Is there actually somebody at the end of the line?

I don't want to be cynical, but it’s very hard to listen for such a long time the same recording over and over again, how your program has improved, its # 1, etc., etc. I have been using mileage plus for 12 years, always was happy, never experienced anything like this before.

Then at 9:30, it said the time changed to 12:55 which we were fine with, and when I asked the lady at the counter, she said to go to the customer service counter and then we were standing in line and someone asked who was flying to Minneapolis, and then they gave us vouchers for the Red Roof Inn with $20 per person for the restaurant for dinner at the hotel. We got to the hotel and they didn't have a restaurant, all they had were these compressed artificial sandwiches in a refrigeration system in the lobby area. They were horrible! So when we got to the hotel, I got on the phone and waited 2 1/2 hours to get a person and half hour on the phone with them to find a way out of Houston.

Well, we finally got a reservation for the next day in the afternoon. So while we were waiting for our flight to leave, we were at our gate and it was 10 to 15 minutes before it was going to be boarding and then all of sudden, the gate changed to another gate. So everyone got up and went to another gate, then finally we arrived in Detroit to wait for our flight there and we had time so we finally went and had a decent dinner. Then we went to the gate where we were flying out of and our flight was scheduled to leave at 8:23 and got delayed to 9:40, which meant we would not make our connection in Chicago. So the lady saw how long our paper trail was, which was a lot, and connected us with a flight on Delta Airlines which was not completely full, and would take us straight home to Minneapolis.

We really appreciated her help. We paid insurance on our flight and should had never had to rebook our own flight, it should have been done at the airport and if you're going to give somebody vouchers for a restaurant and hotel, there should be one there. We had to hurry because it was late and the last shuttle bus was leaving at 11:30, so we had to get out there as soon as we could. We have flown many times and never have had as many delays as we did with your airline. We were both disappointed in this airline trip. Our flight was on March 11th.

One of the flight attendants splashed water on the passenger sitting next to me and almost the second time, if I did not reach for the orange juice in time. There was no apology and we had to ask for extra napkins. They serve without eye contact and that is how accidents happen and bad PR begins. Also, if the flight attendants have long hair, please tell them to pin it back. One of them kept pulling it out of her eyes and then scoop ice for the next passenger. When we reached Newark, NJ, two flight attendants were in the rear of the plane nowhere to be seen. The third one was at the front of the plane with her back towards the passengers. The fourth one was at the door with baggage in hand and with a very weak goodbye. By this time, it was approximately 8:40PM and we had a 10:20 connecting flight to BWI.

However, when we checked the departure board to see which gate we needed to proceed to, we found out our flight has now been changed to 11:43PM. After about an hour, we went to United Customer Assistance. There were two employees there, one was helping a customer. I went up to the other and waited, waited and waited. I could tell he was working on something, but I would at least expect a "I will be with you in a moment". I finally turned around and went back to where the line started. As I turned around and looked back at the agent, then he tells me to come back! I wanted to make sure that the plane was actually coming in and would be taking us to BWI since it was so late! We needed to advise our hotel at the BWI airport what the situation was again. He advised me he did not know, I should ask the agent at the gate and they would have more information. More great customer service!

When I did ask the agent upon boarding flight 4186 to BWI, she blamed it on Vice President Biden who came to the airport that day and it pushed all the flights back. Funny, there were only two other flights we noticed that were delayed. Right before this, they called everyone to board and another female agent came out of no where, saying something about carry-on luggage, tagged, cargo hold, put a green ticked on it. Everyone was looking at each other as she put green tags on our carry on and then moved on to the next, not telling us where to take them or pick them up. The male flight attendant on board flight 4186 spoke so fast and so low over the intercom that you could not understand half of what he was saying. Again, sounding like I want to get this day over with, just going through the motions. He wanted to get the day over with, he should have been in our shoes! All this to a full plane of passengers. No one ever explained why the plane was late coming in!

Your phone and airport ticket agents and other airport employees were very professional. Although we were booked to fly out of BWI to Coast Rica on United, your agent(s) first booked us on a flight that did not exist on the day of our first flight, March 5, 2012. We were then put on American Airlines and the senior flight attendants were very friendly and made you feel welcomed. The other problem we had, your computer system would not allow me print our boarding pass 24 hours in advance nor would it recognize my name and I could not reach an agent after trying for almost five hours. Therefore, on March 4, 2012, we booked a room and drove to BWI to see what the problem was. The agent there could not get my boarding pass to print, however, a manager was able to get one to print. At that point, I thought all was well until we returned to the airport at 4:30AM the morning of March 5th, only to be told our flight was not at 6:40AM and that was when they put us on American Airlines.

In conclusion, I feel that a flight attendant's job is to make the passengers as happy as possible and treat people with the same respect as they would like to be treated. The only way I will fly United Airlines again is if they are the only airline to my destination.

Could you please let me know the status of this as I have not heard anything regarding this damage report? Thank you.

This second ** then went a step further and told me "you'll just have to wait until we clear out all these people" Of course, that was not acceptable. So I went to another kiosk and demanded service, thereby encountering a third brief verbal altercation. However, eventually, the individual did manage to get my ticket processed and a flight assigned. I was humiliated and furious. The management was contacted (per my request) and took more than 20 minutes to come forward to hear me complain. I informed him of the experience. He was apologetic on behalf of UA. Nevertheless, process defects are rampant and obvious. The so-called leader reiterated that his staff was unskilled/untrained ("in booking tickets"), as an explanation for this horrible event. I asked him what would be done to rectify this situation and the unprofessional behavior of his team. He said that he would address the issue (whatever that means).

Bottom line and my final words to him: "I am a board certified surgeon and a lieutenant colonel in the Army of the United States. I expect nothing more than the respect that I demonstrate to the customers I serve everyday, particularly while I am doing it in the service and defense of a nation. Get your process in control. Educate and train your staff. Teach them about courtesy and respect". As I left, I had to wonder if the cavalier and careless effort to provide quality customer care correlated with their perceptions of my ethnicity/race. I was the only African American in the line (just until I walked away). Then someone who appeared to be of the same background joined the ever-growing line of customers. The same "ever-growing" line for which I was told to wait. There is simply no excuse and I do expect an official apology from the airline.

I will never fly with UA again! That is, after I use the remaining voucher. Just so you know, the voucher, I might add, is one I did not need or seek but accepted as compensation for allowing a married couple to utilize my seat earlier in December 2011. In that case, United Airlines, as common practice, overbooked the flight (which occurs all too frequently) and actually planned to deny (or at least expressed intentions in doing so) the newlyweds' joint travel to their scheduled post-nuptial events. Just doing my part to help. It seems that I have done much more to support UA than UA has ever done to support me. Your advertisements (regarding customer care and quality service) are absolutely false and should be considered a major breach, and even fraudulent. Also, needless to say, the negative event and interactions mentioned above, obviously, became a small public spectacle and played with the dignity of a military officer, good customer and more especially, a man attempting to arrange business travel. I should hope no one else suffers the embarrassment that I experienced today. Fix this craziness now!

Because of a worker’s computer issue in California, I've been flying back & forth from NJ every year for the past 4 years, accumulating over 24,000 frequent flyer miles. If I can accumulate less than 1,000, then I earn a free round trip in US.

Besides flying, there are other ways to earn miles. I frequently get emails about special promos to earn miles, mostly from shopping online at their Mileage Plus Mall. When their New Year’s promo promised 500 bonus miles in addition to the regular miles earned from shopping at online mall, it would be enough to earn me the free flight. So when I spent over $80 at SHOES.COM, where you earned 4x the miles. I thought there would be no problems with my account being credited. Especially, since I made sure to click the icon on the email, to start the shopping process.

After 2 months of getting the run around by customer services reps, they kept promising me that it took at least 40 days to get the miles credited to my account. After waiting the 40 days, I contacted them again, asking why I still didn't get miles. Their response this time was they needed e-receipt and 2 weeks to process. So I forwarded the e-receipt and waited. But still, no miles. Again, I contact them. Their response now is that their records show that I didn’t click the icon, which is an absolute lie, so I am not entitled to miles and the free flight that I earned for being a loyal customer.

I replied back to them with what they can do with their miles. Hopefully, I can earn the free flight from a different source. I won’t be flying with United! I won't ever spend another dollar with them again. When I have to fly to California this summer for workers comp exam, it will be with one of their rivals.

I did cancel the flight reservation. I was told, "Oops, system down, call again in 24 hours." We called again and this time, the agent said that the merger was causing record transfer difficulties and delays. After three hours on hold and another hour of a supervisor calling someone else, she gave me the contact information for customer relations. I called twice for a total of another five hours on hold with no pick up. I emailed customer relations without response.

I am now ready to go to small claims court if they do not reply to a registered letter. I'm not a casual traveler. I've been a premier member of United for 25 years! United has the worst customer service of any airline and I travel a lot.

My UA Mileage Plus Credit Card, which carries with it Free Baggage from UA and priority boarding, just two of the promised perks when booking a flight with it, are now worthless as the card has been dropped from United Airlines' own website as a payment option. Hence, we are now being charged for baggage and being relegated to the last boarding groups. Agents at the ticket counters are clueless and say they can't help. Even they are apparently being forced to use worthless 800 numbers only to be disconnected themselves. The anger and frustration of thousands of passengers is palpable and I want to know what recourse we have.

The next day, I called the reservation line and once again experienced a 2 to 3 hour hold time, only to be told that I needed to contact the Mileage Plus program. When I explained that I had already done so and was told to contact reservations, the agent said she could not help me, period. I then had to re-contact the Mileage Plus program and spent several more hours trying to get through, only to be told that I would be placed on hold, as the reservations department would handle this matter. At this point, I was extremely frustrated and after another 1.5 hour wait to no avail, I disconnected the call.

Several days later, the miles were finally re-deposited. Now, we are faced with the dilemma of trying to ticket the flight. Every time we log onto our account to complete the ticketing process, the website will not complete the purchase and we receive an email stating that if we do not receive another email confirming the purchase within 3 hours, we need to contact United directly. The issues with this, the flights are only held until midnight the following day and if the reservation has not been completed by that time, the reservation expires. What is a person supposed to do if they are unable to complete the reservation process? There are not enough hours in the day to stay on hold with United in hopes that someone will finally take the call. This merger is catastrophic and I hope Mr. ** is held accountable for this disaster. I make approximately 40 round trip flights a year and given the choice, I will no longer fly "United".

The other night we stayed on the phone for three hours to change our seats, which we never did because no one ever picked up. We read on the internet that people have stayed up to 12 hours on the phone to no avail and that even travel agents had trouble getting through. At the moment, we've pretty much lost our flights. Mercifully, we paid by credit card and will contest; moreover, we got insurance. Getting money back from United would probably involve talking to a person and it has been established that that is not an option. I will go around the world to get somewhere before I ever fly United (not again because I've never done it). United's behavior is extreme; unfortunately, it is endemic to the world we have created for ourselves. Bring back regulation. This little experiment in "free market flying" has failed miserably: it's not free, it's not market determined, it's not profitable and it's obviously not flying.

We landed in Chicago and were told we had to pick up our bags, contrary to what we were told in Cancun. We collected our bags and then corralled through customs and eventually connected with "unfriendly" United reps at the bottom of an escalator, insisting we put our baggage on a conveyor belt if we were connecting to another flight. We asked if we could speak to a ticket agent as our boarding passes needed to be reconfirmed and reprinted for the remainder of our journey. This ticket agent had a lot of difficulty finding our new flight changes and called Air Canada to confirm they had room for us out of Toronto. There was no link made and this was the problem apparently. She then spent another 20 minutes trying, unsuccessfully, to reprint our boarding passes and reminded that our baggage would go straight through to Halifax.

The luggage was taken and we made it to security with minutes to spare where our Duty Free was taken from us because no one explained that it was to be put in our "checked" baggage. We went back to United ticketing to ask if there was something they could do and we were told we had to pay $45 to check our two bottles! We arrived in Toronto and once again, were informed that we indeed had to get our luggage again. We waited at carousal for 1/2 an hour, no baggage of course, had to fill out forms after running around looking for help from someone as to what we were to do about missing bags before boarding our next flight. When we arrived at the gate to board with AC, they couldn't find our reservation, no link they said.

The flight with AC was very nice and comfortable, which was appreciated after 16 hours of complete nonsense and frustration. No surprise that our bags weren't in Halifax and weren't delivered to our home (by Air Canada) two days later. First and last time that I'll fly with United!

I packed my gifts to bring home is what put me over, and from Tercira island To Chicago, no one ever said a thing. I got to feeling beat-up, when your line agent, “R emailed me for his name” came up and asked what was the hold up, and the ticket agent complained about my bag and waved my credit card at him. He looked at me, handed me a plastic bag, and said “let’s save you some money, and fix up a second carry on with 8 pounds of your clothes”. That was awesome. I pulled out some jeans and a coat. The luggage is then 50 lbs. That was a 5-star service, and it made my day. That was a simple and swift answer. He was looking out for me. Thanks a lot R. It was a nice trip, over all.

I am a Gold Elite member, travel exclusively Continental for work/personal reasons but I am now considering going to another airline. I have been on the phone trying to reach an agent since Friday for an average of an hour a day and still have not been able to speak to anyone. I work in the financial industry and I am well aware of what it takes to execute a merger. I am sad to see that both companies are risking losing many clients because of bad planning and execution. The merger of their systems happened over a week ago and we are still experiencing these waiting times of over an hour.

What the ** is going on! United Mileage Plus system is not carrying over One Pass information. I have to enter credit card info over and over when purchasing new tickets. 30 years flying and this is the biggest mess I have ever seen resulting from a merger. The refusal to honor pre-boarding of One Pass elite members, a benefit that I really enjoy because over head room for carry on is a joke these days, that’s just plain **.

If they know if there is a problem, why haven't they made the rules clear to the consumer? I was told that the courtesy only applies to an empty ski bag. Please, who checks an empty ski bag? On the website, they allow a fee free bag for a ski boot bag with the boots in the bag. Why is it different for skis? I think my complaint falls under DOT violation of section 41712. Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Enforcement Office) considers to violate section 399.84 and/or to be unfair and deceptive and/or an unfair method of competition in violation of 49 U.S.C. 41712. I have a PDF screenshot of the website if they happen to change the wording by the time this complaint is read.

We are seeking reimbursement for 5 tickets purchased 3/4/2012 for United flight 5561Y (3/3/2012) from Aspen to Denver that was delayed for mechanical problems. It took off 75 minutes late. We ran to catch our connecting flight #541Y in Denver, which also had been delayed. When arrived at the gate, the plane was stopped 20 feet from the jet way. We watched it pull away. It was the last United flight to Boston for 3/3. I stood in customer service line at DIA for 2.5 hours. The service rep then scheduled us for flight #739Y on 3/4 at 8:48 am to Chicago, connecting to Boston, arriving late afternoon.

Meanwhile, my husband held 1.5 hours on phone to reach a UA service rep. He hung up after I got tickets. We slept in a hotel in Denver and woke early to get the flight, only to find that it had been canceled. No reason given, although internet stories indicated that UA was having computer integration problems. There were no weather issues at DIA that morning. I held one hour to reach a UA service rep who said we could take a later flight to connecting to Boston and arriving around 11 p.m. Knowing of the computer issues, and based on our experience thus far, we had no confidence that United would actually get us to Boston that day, which was imperative. So I told her we could not take that offer and that we would be purchasing tickets on another airline and that in order to compensate us appropriately for the experiences of the past 18 hours, we should be reimbursed the cost of those tickets.

She said she could only authorize reimbursement for the Denver to Boston portion of our trip (a total of $1179.10). Thus far I have received no notification that UA is reimbursing us that expense. She said that to seek additional compensation, I should contact a customer care manager 8:00-5:30 during Monday-Friday at 1-800-932-2732. I called that number today, was held for 50 minutes, and hung up because I had to get to a meeting. We understand that computer integration can cause problems and would be willing to chalk this up to a few bad days for United. However, folks, like my party of 5 who were greatly disadvantaged by the communications issues you were experiencing, should be reimbursed all of our extra costs. We are seeking $2,774.00 for 5 days of tickets purchased on Jet Blue. I also request a UA letterhead statement faxed to ** stating (1) the reason why flight 5561Y on 3/3 was delayed and (2) why flight # 739Y from Denver to Chicago was canceled on 3/4. Thank you.

Attorneys: please help. This is unconscionable. In front of me in the line on 3/3 was a couple from Amherst, NH who had been on the same Aspen plane and also missed the Denver connecting flight to Logan. That means there were at least 7 paid passengers on that plane and they should have known we had arrived at the airport. How could they take off without us? That's when our nightmare began.

The stewardess walked away annoyed, as if she had been inconvenienced. When the meal came, I wanted my mother to have mine. I asked the stewardess to offer it to her. She replied "that lady does not need to eat", not knowing she was my mother, or that we were traveling together. I asked her again. She replied "she does not need food". I then said to her "that is my mother, and I would like you to ask her if she would like my meal”. She then replied that there was a company regulation stating she could not offer her the meal. I got up to bring her the meal myself, but at that point, my mother and I were no longer interested in the meal at all.

I brought it to the galley kitchen handed it to the other staff member, and asked her if there was any such regulation. At that point, the stewardess told me she was calling the captain. I thought he was going to come out and speak to us. She made up a story that she did not feel safe, and needed to be in the back. She then had another crew member bring us a misconduct form, informing us she we were under some kind of observation for being a security threat. My mother is 5'2", and 82 years old. I am 53 years old, and not much of a threat. I found that this crew member’s ability to intimidate and harass a passenger was supported by the captain, and not handled properly.

In an age when we are under real threat, we cannot have this nonsense be a part of our lives. I also fly Continental on business (first class) 2 to 3 times a month. I will never fly this airline again, unless it is the only way to get somewhere. We got off the plane, and the captain obviously realized he had been made a fool of, but he never really apologized to my elder mother. Perhaps he could have been his snarky self with me, but to disrespect a senior was very disappointing.

My wife and daughter took the two available seats and my 9-year-old son and I sat...waiting. We did not agree to be not seated. The airline gave us 4 $100 travel vouchers that can't be combined as compensation. Can you imagine, I need to pay for 4 other flights before being compensated? No compensation for rental car or hotel in Bozeman. Obviously this is not okay. I was given the airlines pamphlet on overselling seats. This states that all customers not given a flight to their destination within 4 hours, receive 4 times airfare not more than $1300 for compensation.

I paid an out-of-the-pocket amount of $78.00 plus gas for rental and $139.00 for hotel. I got into Bozeman around 9pm on Sunday and had been traveling for 38 hours, so didn't feel safe driving home in the dark in Montana, in February with my son. I have contacted United Airlines with no response. This is theft. They did not do what they were paid to do. I didn't even get to my final destination on their Dollar! Horrible airline...no wonder they are being bought out! Do not fly United! I will be hiring a lawyer.

I needed to change a flight that unfortunately for me was to fly out the Monday after their merger. Linda, the supervisor whom finally took care of the change, assured me that this would get better when things settled. However, this did not erase the complete disrespect for my time nor did she in any way offer any type of apologies for my nightmare experience. I have three emails into customer service abyss regarding this tragedy that began at two o’clock Saturday, March 3rd and did not resolve until 7:00pm Sunday, March 4th.

I had three phones in my house playing the United messages over and over like something out of a bad horror movie for over 3 hours on Saturday and finally gave up. Then today, after 1 hour 50 minutes, I got someone in a call center in India that must have been new on the job because he completely messed up everything he did. I then had to start the painful process over again to fix what he had done taking another 3 hours.

What I finally figured out was that if I chose the option of booking a ticket rather than changing a ticket, I was promptly (37 minutes) greeted by a native speaker in America. This is a horrible message to send to their customers. They take our money in America but to get it back, we need to go to India? Not OK!

After many excruciating hours and being horribly sick on top of all this (illness was the reason I had to change), I reached a very nice person who suggested I speak with a supervisor. She told me it would be about 20 minutes; it was 1 hour and 14 minutes. Linda (supervisor) in Houston did end up taking care of the change but could not have been less sympathetic and did not want to hear about my experience. She failed customer service 101. If you can’t do anything about it, at least apologize and let the customer vent.

What she should have done: Offered to waive the change fees or at least offer me some type of travel voucher to compensate me for my valuable time. If she does not have this type of authority, she should not be a supervisor. Puppet supervisors only aggravate a situation and especially this one. I have been with Verizon for 16 years because of their stellar customer service. I have ordered shoes from Zappos because of their award winning customer service. I myself have run a successful service business for 20 years because of our commitment to our customers.

Anticipating this merger, they should have set up extra call centers and instructed all of the reps to shine. Instead, they made me feel penalized for their merger and have now lost me and as many people as I can take with me for something that could have easily been avoided. Maybe they do need to enlist Tony Hsieh or at least have all your people read his book, Delivering Happiness. It really costs very little to keep a customer and so much to lose one. Shame on you United for turning the once friendly skies into the most unfriendly skies in the air.

On our return, the flight leaving San Antonio to Dulles airport went smoothly with the exception of a non-working lavatory (really). There are many people with medical issues which obviously would make this a very uncomfortable flight or worse! On arriving at Dulles, we only had a few minutes before boarding our connecting flight to Rochester, New York. Once at our gate, we approached the desk attendant to discover they did not have any seats left. We were told that they had overbooked the flight (Quote: their policy) and they would make an announcement before beginning to board hoping other customers would give up their seats and stay behind for a credit of $400 towards another flight with United.

With takeoff time drawing near, they began boarding the aircraft. During this procedure, they informed us that they did not have four seats available. They requested we leave at least one of our family members/friends behind. There are four (4) of us! Not only behind, also not having any knowledge of when they could return to Rochester since there were no available seats on any other flight for the next couple days (minimum)! We were offered one (1) voucher for $400 towards another United flight good only within the next year and a taxi ride to a hotel. Why would anyone fly United after being treated this way and it’s awfully bold and presumptuous of them dictating if and when we would be capable of using the voucher? We are people, not cattle and have no idea what life will bring in the next year.

After quickly discussing the situation and considering all factors in our circumstance, between the four of us, we decided the best alternative was for all of us to stay, rent a car (from Hertz costing us an additional $370) driving back to Rochester airport, where our luggage and vehicle would be waiting for us.

(1.) We were not going to leave one person behind (how ludicrous is that). (2.) We all had to return to work the next day (otherwise losing time and pay) which unfortunately none of us can afford. (3.) Our luggage was on its way back to Rochester leaving us without any of our clothing/personal items. (4.) We brought only enough meds (to include pain medication and blood pressure meds) for the day in our carry on so medically we were in trouble!

In stating all of the above, we do not understand how a company would knowingly put its customers in such a position. Their employees were not helpful and seemingly indifferent to the situation. The gentleman whom referred to himself as the supervisor kept repeating it was their policy to overbook and they had every right to do so leaving us stranded. United/Continental had no problem taking our money last October for those seats and we trusted in them to have those waiting for us on the exact day and time we confirmed them for.

We believe it is only right and fair for the four (4) of us to be compensated (refunded) for our additional costs (rental car) and the 4 seats flying from Dulles to Rochester of which we were forced to not use as they would not let us on the airplane!

She told me that she could give me a travel waiver that we have to use in the next year, but that the travel waiver would be for the full $810.60, and would allow us to avoid the horrendous charges (I think they were approximately $300) that we would have been charged for changing our tickets at that time. I accepted her offer. The problem now is that even though I've spent more than 3 hours on the website, I cannot figure out how to utilize our voucher, and with the deadline drawing near (only 26 days away), I am panicked that I could lose the waiver. After not being able to figure out the webpage, I contacted customer service last week, and got an electronic response that they have no record of the waiver.

Please help me. I don't know which way to turn. I am not asking for any additional compensation, I only want to be able to utilize the $860.10 waiver that I am entitled to. Please show me how!

I have been staying in China for over a year now, and I did not have any cell phone service nor did I have any USD currency with me. She told me there was nothing she can do because the flight was canceled due to the weather. She told me to use a credit card to book a hotel and that it was on my own expense. I had to stay in a hotel that cost me $350.00 that I cannot afford to spend. I have had this flight booked for over 2 months and I was told in China, 18 hours before my flight to Cleveland was going to be taking off, that this flight was "pending" because the flight wasn't full.

Now, I was told two different reasons on why this flight was canceled. I understand safety, but this was clearly a decision that was based many hours before the flight was to actually take off. There were still other flights leaving (and continued to leave that night) at the time I found out my flight was canceled. I have always used Continental as I do much flying, but my flights are constantly being canceled or rerouted. I also booked a return trip back to China, going the same route (CLE-ORD-Shanghai) and now, my itinerary just shows ORD - Shanghai. Somehow, my flight to ORD from CLE was canceled/missing. I spent over $1,350.00 on this flight and now, it has cost me hundreds more.

I am also a member of the Continental Plus but will be canceling my membership as soon as possible. I have sent the above email 4 times to various email addresses provided on Continental's website. All of these emails have gone unanswered.

Then around 4:30 pm, they announced that they were cancelling the flight. We were relatively lucky and got in line to rebook. We were about 12 people back in line. They booked us on a flight to San Diego that night (February 9) and they we flew out in the morning from San Diego around 9 am to Honolulu. We ended up arriving in Honolulu around 2 pm on Friday February 10 when we were supposed to land around 2 pm on Thursday February 9. [That is over a 24 hour delay]. And when we arrived in Honolulu, our bags had not arrived yet, they came about an hour later. I had already paid for a house for the weekend and a rental car in Oahu. That put me back at least $350.

Also, we had major issues getting our rental car because we were over a day late, even though we had called them. It was a major hassle. In addition, we lost a whole day in Oahu, when we were only staying for four days. We were not able to see or do some of the things we wanted to do because we lost a whole day. We did not get to see Pearl Harbor or Waikiki. While each person in our party got 2 $15 meal vouchers while we were delayed and then they put us up in a San Diego hotel for the night, we did not get a compensation for our missed day in Oahu.

On our way home from Kauai on Tuesday February 21 (we changed islands in the middle of our trip, it was part of our itinerary), we had a 2 pm flight to San Fransisco from Kauai. That flight was delayed over three hours and it did not take off until 5:30, which made us miss our connecting flight out of San Fransisco at 11 pm. We were then put on another flight to Denver then home to Pittsburgh. We were supposed to be home around 10 am on February 22 but did not land until close to 2:30 pm. They also gave us 2 $15 meal vouchers per person and a hotel room in San Francisco.

My husband decided he would stay behind because we had no other choice. I had said the four of us wanted to stay together as a family and they told us the next day flight was also overbooked and the chance of four of us getting on the next day flight was slim and they could not guarantee the one seat either. We were told they would take my husband's bag off the plane, that never happened. He had no luggage. After the three of us boarded the plane, I spoke to many passengers and they admitted getting on line after me without any pre-printed boarding passes. This airline was so rude and traumatized my daughter. She does not want to get on a plane again. I am staying clear of this Continental Airlines.

We filed a complaint along with receipts for the bus fare and a request for compensation for spending a sleepless night in the airport. This has been pending since July 2011 (over 7 months at this writing) and all we have received is a standard postcard saying sorry for the inconvenience. We have not even received reimbursement for the bus fare. Not only were the Continental flights unreliable by not providing a pilot, but their customer service has been literally non-existent and an insult. After reading several other complaints, I see that avoidance seems to be their standard practice.

This is a horrible scam on the part of Continental and needs to be stopped. I did have to buy a completely new ticket, but did so on another airline at twice the cost of my original. At this point, Continental owes me $500 for the difficulties and expenses they have caused. I am considering small claims court.

Since there was so much time between the current time and the scheduled departure, I asked if they could bring another plane to Cleveland. But no attempt ever seemed to be made to do that. The times continued to shift out. And when it was indicated that departure was at 11 pm, I asked to be rescheduled and for a hotel voucher and was denied. I made a fuss and finally that was done. I was angry at the callous disregard for the customers. There were no apologies, no offers to reschedule, and no attempts to find another plane. As a result, I was stuck in Cleveland overnight with no luggage, and missed my daughter’s final high school swim meet of the season. I will not fly Continental again unless there are no other options.

Then I tried to plug my laptop into the plug points provided on the plane and guess what—it’s not working with the inflight entertainment. Fine, but two screaming kids--no way to get away. I pushed the help button to get a hostess to inquire about something and it took 2 hours and 15 minutes for anyone to come to assist (extremely disappointed now). Then the last thing that really upset me was that my girlfriend is vegetarian and we wanted to get a vegetarian meal. Guess what? We could not have one even on the charging menu you can't get a vegetarian meal apart from a cheese plate. We understand that we should have requested a meal prior, but we did not. Again, the flight attendant could not even relay the message back, give feedback or anything. They did not even know what meals they were serving as we were one of the first to be served. All I can say is, wow. Finally, I will never fly again with them.

He said that he can only serve one drink per customer at the first round, so he could only offer OJ but not water. A few minutes later after the first round beverage serving, he told me that he could not serve water because the plane was ready for landing but he and another flight attendant had two serving rounds afterwards. Then he said that he ran out of Coke. I requested Coke to replace water after repeated refusal; he later gave me an opened coke and claimed that another customer did not want it, so he could give it to me. Then he asked me to remove the napkin from my used cup so he could pour the coke. I was simply stunned and speechless! How could he possibly treat a customer like that?

I was also terribly threatened by Dustin who told me that he would send me to authorities after landing after I pushed the service button twice, asking for water. I flew quite often on business and pleasure, and this is absolutely unheard of, the worst, horrible, harassing, and discriminated experience of my whole life! I did not argue with him on the flight as I did not want to disturb other customers. However, I am writing to formally complain now, so similar cases would not happen to other flying customers, to request removal of Dustin from his duty in air and request a full refund!

She was a nervous upset mess, and the only compensation was a $15.00 food coupon!

As the airport in St. Louis is about two hours away that would have meant they would have gotten here at the house at 8:30. They had to leave at 6 am in the morning to drive back to Pittsburgh. The option from the airlines was for them to fly back to Pittsburgh from Cleveland on February 12. We chose this option as there was not enough time for them to adequately rest before driving 12 hours straight through. We still have to have them come back and we will try again in a couple of weeks. I know Continental Airlines has no control over the weather and all precautions for safety were taken. I would like to know if we could get a voucher for the two tickets. The two passengers were Shayne ** and Rachel **. Thank you so much.

I wasted three hours on Friday, February 3rd 2012, to drive back to Houston not knowing whether or not my luggage would be there. I did receive the luggage and complained that the phone number on the pamphlet is not good unless someone answers the phone. I should be reimbursed for my time, rental car, and gasoline because of this inexcusable incident. I do have witnesses to this occurence.

The very nice people at the B&B take me to him twice a day, to let him out, and give him food and water, and spend time with him. Today, I spent nearly four hours sitting on the dirty concrete with him. He and I are both covered in warehouse dirt. I'll go back to see him again tonight. Continental brags about their system, their Houston kennel, and their QuickPak. Continental has (had) a good reputation for transporting pets. When I get my traumatized dog to San Isidro, you will hear much more from me. I am in San Isidro now, but have no internet. I was able to send this, and can go to a coffeehouse to check my email.

The form would only take my Chicago phone, but I won't be there until July. Costa Rican mail is completely unreliable. We rarely even check the box. Please use my email address.

In November, we are re-billed $1,200 plus for the flights we had already paid for and Continental and United agree they overcharged us but won't credit our Visa. This is since November. The flights were originally $539 each and when we re-booked the flights, they were $239 each. However, we did not get the credit and we have been re-billed $1,200 plus.

Please help. We want our Visa credited at least, if not the refund, but for the cheaper flights.

I was to arrive in Antigua in four hours. I arrived at 12:20 AM, on Sept. 4th. The airport is closed, except for customs. The baggage handlers are gone. LIAT never answered phone calls. The clothing arrived on Tuesday afternoon. My sisters arrived on Friday. I had to purchase clothes. Who can we send the file to for help. They have ignored us completely. There is no local number for LIAT, and I sent two emails, had someone in Antigua contact them, and also had a reservation at airport promise to give Mr. Anges, who we had spoken to, when I had to take a cab to airport to pick up the luggage. It cost me an additional $32.00. I want to send info to someone who could help, and put the word out there that Continental/United/LIAT are irresponsible. This was truly a trip from **.

I explained the Continental Staff at the San Diego airport, that this is an international travel, with a connecting flight operated by Qatar Airlines from Houston. Also, I showed the itinerary/e-ticket that clearly states "baggage: 2 pieces per traveler", the staff stated that the airlines policy changed, and also that the e-ticket does not indicate 2 pieces per traveler, at no cost.

I reviewed the policies, and I am pretty sure that they have charged me for no rhyme or reason. Also, it was the very first time my wife was traveling all by herself, on an international travel. I had to cough up this ridiculous amount, as I wanted her travel to be as smoothly as possible. To say the least, I am thoroughly disappointed with the level of support provided by Continental Airlines staff at San Diego airport.

They were disinterested, and never ready to acknowledge my status or figure out my complaint. Now, I have my travel to Hyderabad on February 14, 2012. How better can I explain it to the staff, that they should not charge me for the 2 bags, as I am entitled to carry them. As a premier airline, it is Continental Airlines' prerogative to offer the best possible support to the customer, and see that the service and the customer are both satisfied. If either of them fails, it would be disastrous.

I would sincerely appreciate it if my case is reviewed at the earliest. I have registered a complaint (reference number: 5144721) with Continental Airlines on their website. However, I have not yet received any response. As a customer, I seek an explanation from Continental to know how they are going to handle my case and how would I be compensated.

When I began working in Qatar, I asked United about Mileage Plus, and they assured me that all of my codeshare flights would fully count in my United Plus account. (Most of these flights are advertised as United Airlines flights, operated by Qatar Airways).

Now I discover:

1. None of the flights give me any credit toward any Premier Level in United Mileage Plus. 60,000 miles later, I'm not even allowed to board early or spend an hour in the United Lounge at the airport.

2. I cannot request an upgrade on any United/Qatar Airways codeshare flight. I have recently had surgery and need an upgrade for an upcoming flight from the US to Qatar.

United will not upgrade me on its direct flight from Washington Dulles to Doha (United 7961, operated by Qatar Airways) and neither will Qatar Airways because I don't have a Qatar Airways frequent flyer membership.

United will upgrade me on a non-codeshare flight to Frankfurt, where I can spend the 5 hour layover not in the United Lounge because I have no United miles. Then I can fly the second leg of the flight (following surgery) on Lufthansa. Lufthansa will also not upgrade me. This is a hoax... pure and simple. I want my miles transferred to Qatar Airways where I can actually use them. Any suggestions?

I had to constantly call the airline's lost/delayed baggage number to inquire where my luggage was at. This trip was supposed to be a mini vacation. I was so upset that I couldn't even enjoy my trip. Continental Airlines' customer service is horrible.

I had a rude customer service representative by the name of ** on 10/27/11. Her supervisor was no better. Her name was **. I am still awaiting my reimbursement for the items I had to buy. l have been waiting for 3 months now. Count them... 3 months!

I have called them at least 16 times. Let's see how much longer I am going to have to wait. I am going to file another complaint against this airline. This is ridiculous. I would not recommend this airline at all! My reference number is **.

Wait until the Southwest comes to Wichita, these morons will have to look for jobs.

Your $70 is more than Delta's ridiculous charge of $60 and I could fly 2.5 times with it with 2 bags on a domestic flight. Maybe if your rates were lower or if your in-flight service was worth it, we could talk about this charge being justified. But I find no reason for you to charge it. And getting your customer service reps to give me a stupid answer like "We were the last ones to do it" is not exactly comforting. I only bought this ticket because I had flown with you before and thought I’d give it a second shot. But I guess this will be the last time. I’m going back to giving my loyalties to better and bigger airlines, which obviously is a list you will never get into.

Now, I have to contact my school and pay $75 dollars for a ride to my school. Also, I had to wait 2 hours and 35 minutes extra because of this delay. Overall, I am extremely disappointed and angry about this flight experience. Hopefully, you make sure this never happens again. Thanks.

Finally, we arrived at the screen and check in and paid the baggage fees, for which no receipt was printed. After confirming the seats, the screen said to wait while the boarding passes were printed. But nothing was printed and the screen told us to contact a continental representative. There was only one employee at the desk who was pretending to help people with their kiosk issues, and his only solution was to have them check in at a different kiosk. When we explained that we had already gone through the process, he told us to speak to the only ticketing agent who was there.

For the hundreds of people in line, there was only one person who was not a baggage handler. He was doing a very good job of dealing with all of the stressed passengers who had flight issues, but it was inappropriate that he was the only one available. When we were finally able to speak to him, it turned out that even though it was a Continental flight through United, he had not yet been trained on the Continental system. So we had to go start over in the Continental line.

They were finally able to give us our boarding passes, and then we proceeded on through security but were unable to make it to the boarding gate in time. Yes, if we had run we would have been able to arrive in time, but I have a disability and aged parents so it was quite impossible. At the United boarding gate, we were told that no one could help us with a replacement flight because we were not connecting passengers.

They gave us the number to contact Continental. The first Continental representative was unclear about whether Puerto Rico was a national or international location and was unable to help with replacement tickets and connected me to United. The United representative was incredibly unhelpful and connected me to American Airlines for no reason and without telling me.

In the end, the person at the gate was kind enough to help us get replacement tickets on standby for the next morning. However, had we followed his original advice and left the terminal, we would not have been able to get the tickets and we would have been charged over $2000. It's great that Continental and United are merging, but since neither Continental nor United employees have any idea about what's going on with the flights, we were unable to make ours. We also lost hundreds of dollars in hotel and rental car fees.

On December 21st, 2011 around midnight, I checked our itinerary and our flight (CO4853) departing from ROC the following morning had been cancelled. I called customer service and I had to wait around 45 minutes to speak to an agent. After weighing different options for 1 hour and 20 minutes, I even searched over the internet other carriers for flights from ROC that had available seats. The only option they gave us was to board a plane on a "nearby" (almost 2 hours) airport - Buffalo, refund our tickets, or wait after Christmas to travel to our final destination.

We agreed to change our plans and take the Buffalo flight in order to make it home for Christmas. The flight had a departure time of 6:00 am, being that it was now 1:30 am, and we had to be there at 4:00 am, which meant leaving Rochester at 2:15 am at the latest. We finished packing and left for Buffalo without any sleep. This also meant changing our planned return flight, since we were driving to Buffalo, because even return flights were almost completely booked due to high demand. We were only given one option to return on January 2, so we could report back to work on January 3.

On our return flight (January 2nd), our flight departing from (CO1117) SJU at 4:42 pm was late for 25 minutes. Since our connection through EWR had a layover of only an hour, I knew that it will be a close call. After asking the gate agent, he said that there was plenty of time and I shouldn’t be worried. But what he wasn't expecting that as soon as the airplane landed, passengers started to conglomerate around the gate and chaos started. Passengers didn’t follow instructions and the gate agents were unresponsive to this madness. After all we sat down in the plane 40 minutes late and for the worst we had to wait to depart for another 30-40 minutes. So with a total of an hour delayed, I was sure that we were going to miss our connection to Buffalo.

After we landed, the service agent booked us for the next flight (next day at10 am - CO4838). Since apparently the airline didn't have any fault for the delayed flight (I differ), they didn't offer any other options than a pillow and a blanket. When I requested if they were willing to accommodate us in another airline flight, the answer was no. When I asked for a meal voucher, the answer was no. They sound like robots trained to say no. So, we had the option to stay in the airport overnight or pay ourselves for accommodations. Before making a decision, we asked the agent to retrieve our luggage because we needed some clothing and personal hygiene products. And also since we bought some duty free liquids, we have to put them in our checked luggage in order to pass security the next day.

To add more fire to our frustration, they sent us downstairs the terminal to baggage claim and their answers were also no, no, and no. They couldn’t retrieve our luggage because it was 9:45 pm and the office in charge of retrieving luggage closed at 10:00pm! So without our luggage, even though we knew that a hotel night will cost us money, since I have some back pain conditions and my wife had a terrible numbness in her legs, lacking any personal belonging, and without proper winter gear we decided to stay in a hotel.

We returned for our luggage the next morning (Jan. 3). The agent with the name of Erma "**" (probably I misspelled her last name) made the request (8:28 am) and informed us to wait around 45 minutes over the belt # 9 to retrieve our luggage. After almost an hour waiting surrounded by flying pigeons, we decided to return and inquire for an update. To our surprise, Mrs. Erma told us that our luggage was sent out on an earlier flight and that there was nothing she could do about it. To my frustration, I asked her if she knew this information. Why sent us to waste an hour in front of a belt? Her response was that "I'm sorry.”

Lastly, I asked her again that we didn't want to lose our duty free shopping and she offered us to buy a liquid box for $10 or $30. So, we went again to the check in area. I asked the agent if she could waive the box fee and her answer obviously was negative and prompted to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor (Mr. James **) told us that he couldn’t waive the fee, because it wasn't his fault and that at least the airline was offering an option to save our duty free products from throwing them in the garbage. At this point, I was so overwhelmed that I almost started to cry. I just paid the $20 for two small boxes and left the counter.

Mr. Smisek, this was our nightmare vacation flight with your company. I understand that sometimes they are things that are out of your control. But the extensive wait over the phone waiting for a representative on December 21st, the lack of control over SJU with passengers, the insensible employees in Newark, that won't take any other luggage retrieval request after 9:45 pm, Mrs. Erma at the baggage claim desk leaving us for an hour waiting for our luggage even though she knew that our bags were sent out on previous flight, and lastly Mr. James ** washing his hands when I asked to help me with our situation, are things that you could control with better training in customer care management.

Upon checking in in San Francisco an agent called ''Jazz'' was bullying me and saying that I will have to get my luggage in Frankfurt to transfer them. I explained to him that I have no visa to get my luggage in Germany as I have to pass the customs to do that, then he ignored me. In Dallas before boarding, I asked a continental agent about this problematic of not being able to transfer my luggage once in Germany. He did a research and told me that I will not be allowed to take the airplane as there is no convention between continental and Royal Air Maroc for my luggage to be transferred by them. I had to wait 12 hours in the airport and then I was given a flight that goes from Dallas to Spain, then Italy, then Rabat, and of course my luggage was lost in all this unti, after repeated back and forth trips to the Moroccan airport they was finally found in Frankfurt. I had to wait 10 days before my luggage arrive to Morocco.

What is astonishing is that before buying my ticket I called the customer service representatives to ask them about the luggage transfer since I don't have a Schengen visa and they confirmed many times, even after they asked their supervisor, that my luggage will go straight to morocco. Since checking agents and flight attendant were no courtesy? Continental added more stress and made my travel experience seem as hell. As a result I will never ever give them business. If anybody wants to go overseas then Air France and Lufthanza are the best to be with.

By the time I arrived at baggage claim, my car seat was there but my bag was gone. I filed a report right away at the counter for continental and was told that someone probably took my bag by mistake. I called every day at least once and finally it was confirmed that someone had taken my bag to Brazil. It was to be sent back to the United States and would need to clear customs. On December 9, 2011, 5 days after arriving home in Chicago, I spoke with an agent (Anthony who was awesome) who called Brazil to see what was going on with my bag. The agent in Brazil said he had it there with him and didn't know where to send it.

The agent from Texas gave him directions of what to do and I assumed I would have my bag within a few days. Long story short (shorter), it is now December 21, 2011 and All I have gotten out of the airline is "we are working on it" and they are not liable because someone else took my bag. They are just trying to help me out because they care about their passengers. I told them how I have things items in the bag that I need right away, such as my coat, my daughters winter coat and boots. There are many more items that I need now as well but in any event they issued me $200 for the meantime. I don't even know what that means. They told me they have 8 weeks from the date that a claim is filed - not from the date my bag went missing to locate it or cut me a check.

How am I supposed to sit around and wait to see if they find my daughters winter boots while winter is here and I am living in Chicago? They claim that because I am home, there is not that much they can do for me because they assume I have other things at home to get me by. I guess they don't understand that children do not stay the same size and I have to purchase new clothing for them each season. So I am very angry that my daughters Chanukah gifts this year are new boots, coat and doll to replace what she already owned. Now what about my makeup? I took my makeup with me and wanted it on the flight because it cost so much money. I don't have any more at home to get me by so I am borrowing from my friends and making do. I am also going to have to wait 8 weeks to be reimbursed the 200 dollars that I used to buy my daughter winter clothing. I don't have this kind of money and this is so wrong of them to not help me out more. Every time I call I get a different story from one agent to the next.

Today I called and was told my claim was received as of December 18th. I had faxed it over on the 16th so they have a few extra days to locate my belongings. They may have said that another customer took my bag to Brazil but I know for a fact that on Friday December 9th 2011, my bag was returned to the continental office and was in their hands. There is no reason why I am still waiting for it and they can no longer claim that they are not responsible. I have tried to speak to the manager and I continue to get the run around. I demand they send me a check to go out and buy myself some things that I need for the winter! This is so wrong and I always thought people suing for pain and suffering was pathetic, but I must tell you that I am so upset about this and it is effecting my mood and for some reason I can't let it go. My doctor even gave me a prescription for ** to help me through this tough time.

This is "bait and switch" as I see it, even an out and out lie. I would have had no choice at the airport but to pay out the nose. Then, after arriving, we didn't open 1 bag for several days and found when we did that of the 15 tubes of silicone sealant we had packed, which aren't available in Central America, United had removed 9 under the guise of "hazardous materials". The new "advice" note from TSA says that the airline is responsible for removal of materials, but please call TSA which we did. The SAN representative was pleasant, courteous and helpful, even finding out that United had removed the sealant in error, but the bottom line was that we were told try to contact United. (In the meantime, we received an email from United offering us a $100 voucher).

Understand that we aren't novice travelers and included 3 copies of the abbreviated MSD from the manufacturer indicating the product was not considered to be hazardous under either national or international standards. Also included was the complete chemical composition list, which no one apparently bothered to read. But, it was so "hazardous" that United left 6 tubes in our luggage. In desperation, we located a United baggage customer service number which, like many other complaints I've read, was in some country where the representative's English was totally unintelligible. We insisted on speaking to a manager and for 45 minutes, he told us he had no local phone number for United in San Diego, he was unable to contact anyone, had no phone numbers for any United employee anywhere in the world, was totally unable to do anything, "why hadn't we reported this earlier", "we should go to the airport in San Diego to report this" (we're 3000 miles away and gone for 2 months), "we should go to the airport in Costa Rica to report this" (that's only 3 hours away).

After arguing for those 45 minutes, he finally connected us directly to the baggage department in San Diego. So, the logical conclusion is that he was lying. The story hasn't ended yet, but we did talk to a nice human being who spoke understandable English in San Diego and who seems to want to cooperate. I'm so weary from struggling that I have chosen to make this report before arriving at the final outcome.

I called reservations to inquire about this charge and the actual policy in which it was created only to receive the answer "It is just United's policy.” The first representative I spoke to said it was effective October 21, 2011 and the second said June 15, 2011 but neither could point me to the actual policy or justification on the website or verify if the policy notice had been distributed to customers even mileage plus customers. Needless to say, the second representative claimed that she was the manager and there was no one else I could speak with to get additional information. I highly doubt someone sitting in an Indian call center is the last level of customer relations.

And, if so, United may want to re-think its effects on customer service. My call to **** was solved by the representative putting me on hold for 30 minutes to go and search for the policy in order to answer my questions. She returned only to point me back to the link for fees and taxes that only informs one of the fees. I believe this charge to be another outstanding fee charged by United on top of the numerous and extraneous bag fees and other elusive fees. Furthermore, if this policy was implemented in October, just prior to the holidays, United should be ashamed.

Since I've been a mileage plus member, I've experienced United's poor customer service, representatives that cannot actually solve any problems when you call the 1.800 number provided on United's website, bogus fees that a customer cannot even be certain are legal, the general lack of saver award flights which is 25,000 mile seats when people would actually be traveling, and the general elusiveness of award flights and why anytime one would want to travel on the weekend, the award flights shoot up to 50,000 miles. I will post this complaint to Facebook and Twitter in order to get people to take a stance against these fees or at least contest them at every chance possible. Additionally, an inquest should be launched into their legitimacy.

I never knew anything about these awards and there was no other person who could have requested them on my behalf. The first time I used my miles was in 2010. UA listed awards they said I used, starting in 1988 on two trips to Hawaii. I've never gone to Hawaii. I stated to UA many times that their documentation was incorrect. I have demanded that they credit the 100,000 miles back to my account.

It didn't matter how much we protested, we were told that we didn't have to catch their plane. The UA staff was very rigid, sarcastic, rude and non-compromising. This employee didn't give a damn. When asked to speak to a supervisor, she provided her friend alongside her and purported her to be the supervisor. May has well have spoke to Krusty the clown. It was an otherwise beautiful trip to States where everyone was so nice and welcoming, until the experience with these clowns. I will never travel with UA again. Much better competition out there and cheaper. Old planes, old staff set in their ways and ** service.

We experienced delays and visited their appreciation site as may be entitled to compensation for delayed flight. On checking this out, they offer petty discounts on flights as if we are ever going to fly with them again. They are dreaming to think I would step a foot on one of their planes again or give them another cent. They are rip offs! Their form of compensation was further insult to this experience.

Please also note, my husband was not even notified about this flight changed. We booked on different confirmation numbers, which means we need to be notified for each confirmation number. United only notified me of this change, and not my husband. After we were all put on the same flights, I asked if we were in economy plus, and was told my daughter who is six is in economy.

The supervisor was very unaccommodating, and would not help us. We were told there were no seats left in economy plus, and if we want to sit together, we all need to move to economy, and request a refund. We paid for economy plus, well in advance of the people who are taking up those seats. We booked our seats the day they became available.

When is it okay to split up a family, with a one year old, and a six year old. Not only did we pay for our six year old to sit next to us in economy plus, they moved her to the back of the plane, to sit next to some stranger. How negligent and absent minded is United for employing ill-equipped supervisors who cause problems, rather than solving them.

My six year old daughter is sitting in economy next to a stranger. I am trying to call someone to resolve this, but I get the same answer. There is no one to call to help me with this. We need to be in economy plus, as we have an infant, and need the extra space. Now, instead of being excited about my much needed vacation, I am stressed out about trying to have my family sit together, or even my six year old daughter sit with one of us in economy plus, a ticket we paid for. They simply tell us to ask for a refund. Someone else needs to pay, and it's not us.

We told them we were willing to take any flight into the southeast US, so I could rent a car and drive home or take a connecting flight to Mexico City and then the US. But there was 'nothing they could do'. They put us in a hotel (where I am currently) for the night and gave us each $300 vouchers to use in the future (which is less than the $400 in the terms and conditions put forth by Continental since we paid over $1,500 for the flight) with Continental Airlines. I told them I did not want that. After all of this, when we got to the hotel, I looked at the boarding passes and realized our connecting flight from Houston to Atlanta is scheduled 2 hours before our original flight from Los Cabos, even gets to Houston. Overall, they have ruined my vacation. I don't want to ever fly with them again and I definitely would recommend that others don't as well. We were 2 of at least 5 people that were pushed back from overbooking.

This is not consistent with their ticket. They were charged $50 for one additional bag to be checked in, as United allowed only one bag per person, free of cost. As a customer, this is very frustrating. We would like to request the $50 charge to be returned. The money was paid from my credit card, (Nimish ** ). This is cheating customers. We had submitted the complaint previously to United, through BBB, however they denied the claim, saying that the policy of the originating airline would be followed. They sent me a $50 coupon to be used for future United flight, however, they refused to refund the money. I do not accept the voucher.

I thought of calling customer service and see if they can help! To my surprise, a very nice woman on the phone named Donacella told me that in about one hour she would rebook the flight leaving on the 27th, same flight with same confirmation number!! This was as long as I call back and tell any customer service rep that I had my new visa on hand!! Tears started coming out my eyes when she said this was of no charge!!! I asked for an itinerary and she said it would be on my one pass account from Continental Airlines!! I needed the itinerary to give to the Brazil consulate to get a new visa!! I will attach a copy of the old visa to show you it is a real mistake because the year of the issue date you cannot see clearly!

I was off in the end of a snow storm carrying my luggage to New York to get a new visa and back to the airport!! 8 hour to complete, I finally get back and find out the flight had been canceled!! I figure OK, let me call customer care in Continental and get this straightened out for the next flight but no one answered the phone. For two days I slept at the airport, since all hotels were fully booked!! Next thing, I was in line for six hours, only to be told there was never a ticket or reservation on hold subject to me getting my new visa!! Talking with Lillian ** was not pleasant at all! I finally got customer care on the line and they confirmed I had a conversation on the 25th about a new flight out, even telling me that my second flight would not be able to leave until the next day on Tam Airlines in which I agreed on!! But they said that they will not honor this at all now!

I was blown away!! When I had the conversation, someone recorded and a copy of the paperwork off my one pass account!! I talked to a few people about this matter thru Continental and they seem to just read the right of your policy about proper paper documents and not their own customer care. I didn't make up this story!!! I would like some help putting this to close and making me feel like I didn't do the second part wrong. If the girl said on the 25th there was nothing we can do, I would have gone off in the sunset!! So I am asking that Continental Airlines rebook a flight for me at no extra charge based on the things I mentioned here. It was a very sad thing that happened, let us continue a very positive relationship!

I wrote them several times, asking them to reinstate my miles, because they never notified me in any way about my losing my miles for not using my account. Those miles were worth thousands of dollars and took 12 years to accumulate. How can they just wipe them out in one swoop? They blamed me, for not going to their website. I did not know I was supposed to go to their website, if I had no reason to visit it. I was not told they changed the rules in the United Rewards Program. They wiped out $5000.00 worth of rewards I was counting on to use.

I need some consumer protection here, because all the airlines are following suit. This is not a game. In today's economy, this is very callous, and it should be stopped. It seems like the airlines have learned a lot from the banks that they are associated with. What is our recourse, and why do we allow them to get away with this poor behavior?

I received a call on Tuesday, October 11th, from a United representative, stating that they needed to change my itinerary due to a plane change. First, the agent attempted to rebook my children alone on a flight through Denver. When I protested, he then found a direct fight the morning of December 19, and re-booked us all on this flight. That afternoon, I was routinely looking at my checking account on line. To my horror, I was debited two charges by United of $551.70 for a total charge to my account of $1,113.40, for this schedule change initiated by United. These charges were not credit card charges. The funds were drawn straight from my bank account.

I spent 40 minutes on the phone that afternoon with an agent. The agent at the end told me that the refund would be processed in full, and that it would be refunded in 3 business days, instead of the usual 7-10 due to this error on the part of United. I waited 4 business days and I still got no refund. Today, I have made two calls, one of 58 minutes in length, the second of 50 minutes. At the end of the first 58 minutes, I was informed by a supervisor that no one could help me, as the refunds department was only open from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm. When I completed the second call in the afternoon, I was told that $753.40 of the $1,113.40 would be refunded in 7-10 days. And I was told that I needed to send a separate email for the remaining $350 to the refunds department via the internet.

The net effect of this error is that I have loaned United Airlines $1,113.40 for the next 7-10 days. This is completely unacceptable. I will be following through for a refund of all of my overdraft charges. I simply cannot afford this error and the lack of my own money due to a mistake on the part of one of your ticketing agents.

The supervisor Rodney ** said that they could fly through Delta, but we would have to go ask them if they would accept the dogs. I asked why we had to check on this when their company was the one who totally messed up the whole reservation. At this point, the only bright, helpful person took it upon herself to help us (this would be Sheila **). She worked on a solution for over three hours. That solution was that they would have to wait until the next day to fly, and have connecting flights to get to their destination with their dogs. While we were not happy due to the fact that they are elderly, and my father is sick with cancer, we had no choice. As Mrs. ** worked on the travel changes, she got no help from her supervisor Rodney **, as a matter of fact he disappeared. United did give them a voucher for lodging and in airport meals; however, when Mrs. ** tried to get Rodney ** to approve them again, he was nowhere to be found, and he told her to contact someone else.

After a six-hour wait, with two large dogs that were in kennels the whole time, a Mr. ** finally emerged to approve the vouchers. However, when we arrived at the hotel, the voucher did not cover the cost of the dogs. Also, as an added perk of the wonderful customer service we received when we got to the airport, the next morning at 4:30 the wonderful skycap Anthony ** promptly informed my 86-year old father that the $3 he gave him for wheeling in the two dogs (not more than 10 feet) was not enough, and he would have to give him more money for him to get their luggage. Never mind that my husband and I were well aware that the $3 dollars was on this day a low tip, and we’re prepared to give him more money (just not in front of my elderly parents), but then he shoved money at him, and told him to get his dogs inside the best way he can.

When I got home, I did try to contact the general manager of United Airlines, Jim **, but I have not received a call back from the several messages I have left him. Also, I did not note that the cost of the non-stop flight was considerably higher than the cost of the flights they were put on, but there was no mention of compensation for that loss of money. So, I was out the difference of the flights, hotel stay, gas expense for the travel back and forth to the airport and the hotel two times, and food cost because after being at the airport for six hours, there was no way we were going to wait for gate passes to get my parents a $10 dollar meal and the unacceptable stress that was put on my family, as well as the worthless supervisor, Rodney ** horrible customer service and the total disrespect of my parents by a skycap that should have been scrubbing toilets, if he is allowed to continue employment at Charlotte International Airport.

This is the second time that UA did this. The first time, I had to cancel due to an emergency and they didn't care. They took my ticket that cost me $900 and told me that the ticket is only worth $300 and I would also have to pay $150 fee to use it.

I certainly didn't see the email, there was no warning on the web site, and the agent failed to tell me about this fee. Ironic, because my schedule was flexible and would have moved my travel dates so as not to be charged 20% extra to travel on United.

I sent an email to United customer service and I never heard back. Guess they don't read their emails either. Sent a letter, got a letter in return saying, "sorry, hope you have a better experience with us in the future." Just received an email, telling me that "you would have gotten a pop up advising you of the $150 fee and while unable to refund your money, I am attaching 2 electronic travel certificates, " but there was no attachment.

When any other company charges my credit card without my prior consent, that is considered an "unauthorized transaction". Why is United allowed to make unauthorized transactions on their customer's credit card accounts?

This is completely unacceptable and for an airline who promises commitment to their customers, this should be a very shocking reality.

Because of that particular Continental employee named Luis **, me, my wife, and my family have decided not to fly United-Continental again. It was a pity for me who used to consider Continental as one of the finest and best airlines to fly. I was a customer for more than 8 years now.

Also, I will make sure, by using my social media contacts, that the extremely rude and impolite treatment my wife received will be fully disclosed so people can be warned about the way Continental customers are treated by its employees at the Guarulhos International Airport.

Needless to say, I missed the flight because the flight decided to take off early. Well, thank you very much United for not giving a second thought about your passengers who experienced a delay. What is possibly the most appalling is the staff. It is very obvious they care nothing for their customers and will go out of their way to minimize work for themselves. No wonder U.S. airlines are going bust. Who would want to be treated like they owe the employees a favor? It was obvious that the employee just told me that I could make it for the flight because she was too lazy to find me an alternative and just wanted me to go away.

Also, when I got to Dulles, the United club lounge is possibly the worst lounge ever. They might as well just put a dummy to man the counter because that is exactly what the counter staff are. The lady just kept saying that she was not supposed to be working there so she knew nothing. Gee, thanks. Right now, my 5:30 flight has been delayed to 7:20 and then, to 7:33 and then, now, to 7:45. No reason was given; we just had to accept it. My two-hour trip has taken me 12 hours, and counting. Talk about flying in the stone ages. I could have driven to Albany by now.

Then, as I filed a complaint with a supervisor at the service desk, she stormed off the plane. She came to the desk and began to bold face lie about things I said to her. Other people were standing around to back me up and complain about her behavior. They told the supervisor that that was in fact not what happened, and that in reality, she had just come unglued on me in the plane. She then told me that I was disrespectful, arrogant, and nothing but a brat, and I would never succeed in life because I could not respect people. I informed her that I had graduated from a top ten law school (Standford, to be exact), and that I was in fact extremely successful and my mother clearly had raised me right. Then, after having her insult my mother enough, I called her a crazy **, very politely though, of course. She then said I was going to be arrested and called security. As I was leaving, she then followed me down the terminal, calling me names and screaming, "This is the future of our country right here. This is the future generation. Our country is in trouble." I have filed numerous complaints with the airline, and have yet to receive any action on their part.

This flight attendant's name was Rona (at least so she says). She is a Houston based flight attendant. Everyone, beware. I will never fly Continental Airlines again. I am canceling my rewards card with them. And I'm willing to spend double the price on flights just to avoid this airline. I am also going to speak to my firm (since numerous of the partners were on the flight and witnessed this) about choosing another airline from here forward.

We got to Moncton, almost. We were set to land (I could see the landing strip) when the pilot suddenly said it was too foggy and we had to return to Newark. He's the pilot and knows best, I guess, but I've landed in much, much worse. Anyway, when we got back to Newark, it was nearly 11:00PM and they said the flight was now officially canceled and basically, we were on our own. We all ran to the Continental 'Customer Service' area because we were in Terminal C. There was one flight to Moncton the next day, but it was full and they weren't accepting standbys. I asked to be rerouted back to Charlotte and get a credit for the trip so I could try again. I mean, what else could I do? Was I going to wait around in the airport for days to see if something might pop up? The service agent who was beyond rude took at least 90 minutes to process the paperwork, which I just knew in my heart was all wrong. Even she claimed not to really know how to do what she was doing.

The next morning, I went to Terminal A to catch the flight I was supposedly scheduled on back to Charlotte. They had no record of me on the flight. After much running around and pleading, I got an entirely different airline to put me on a flight back to Charlotte at no cost to me. I was really disheartened by the treatment of everyone connected with Continental to people who bought tickets with them. Passengers were very patient about all of these and yet we were treated poorly in return. It was like everyone at Continental had a huge chip on their shoulder. My story may have been bad, but there were people much worse off in this situation. There were people in wheelchairs, families with small children, etc. I know when the reason for a flight cancellation is "weather". There is no compensation (again, the weather in Moncton didn't seem very bad to me) but to leave us high and dry with not so much as an apology or a meal voucher, I don't know, it seemed Draconian.

To the employees at Continental and I'm including the flight attendants, ticketing agents, CSRs and grounds crews, I would say any job worth doing is worth doing well.

The refund has not occurred 14 business days later. This is the second time UAL has done this to me. I don't trust them at all anymore. Give them your credit card and they can overcharge what they quote you and then they will force you to try to get it refunded. It's a real trial and I think most people give up. Even if they refund, it's months later so they keep your money without paying any penalty for their wrongdoing. United, are you pulling a scam on people? At $25 a ticket, you're pocketing a lot of cash illegally. They know few people have the time to complain. Shame on them, using a name that plays on our democracy.

On June 17, our attempted United flight (#0930) from San Francisco to London has been cancelled due to a global computer breakdown on United Airlines. This has left our family angry, incredulous and certain that the way in which they treated us and other passengers has significantly undermined their brand integrity.

We expect to be properly compensated for this experience, which I consider a breakdown of nearly every facet of United Airlines' business. But first, let me briefly recount our experience as this information in this letter should be read and shared across their company, particularly given that, in your own words, "United is committed to continuous improvement and achieving success."

Earlier this year, our family (which includes our 7-year-old son), booked a non-stop flight on United from San Francisco to London for our dream vacation. It would be our first trip to England. We spent more than $5,700 for the non-stop round-trip flight, which included a pricey upgrade to their Economy Plus seats.

While it would have been much cheaper to fly and make a one stop (Sun Country Airlines, for instance, was offering a $1,000 per person round-trip fare), we decided to pay extra to travel United for the convenience of NOT stopping along the way, thereby getting to London quickly (anyone travelling with a young child can understand that decision). The Economy Plus seating was a large, extra sum as well, $297, and we made this decision after some debate.

At 5:15 p.m., we arrived in San Francisco to make our 7:15 p.m. flight; however, we were informed that their computers were all down. We are told that they had no idea when they would be back up (a single employee was dispatched to inform us, via walking through the increasingly frustrated crowds, to verbally update people, without the assistance of a bullhorn or microphone). The information was mostly useless and it was mostly left to the passengers to trickle down the information.

For five hours in that line, we waited with our luggage. There were more than 1,000 others in line with us. It was only at the 3 hour-30-minute mark that they begrudgingly offered water and Oreos, the latter of which wasn't really a favor.

Finally, their system went back up at 10:15 p.m. and, finally, United crew and passengers scrambled to board our flight to beat the FAA restrictions around the flight crews daily working hours. Passengers beat this deadline with one minute to spare. We were all seated, finally, and ready for our trip.

Apparently, we waited because their crew did not load the luggage in time. Then, the captain announced that the crew was missing a key flight document. Nonetheless, finally, we were told that we'd be taking off shortly. So we waited more.

A little after midnight, they cancelled the flight. Imagine the anger and disappointment. Really, imagine it. Even worse, we were stuck on the plane for an additional hour layering insult to injury because of their incompetence. Because apparently, United could not find someone to open the plane door. Yes, you read that right.

The day continues and when we were finally allowed to disembark the plane at 1:30 a.m., there were two police officers waiting by the jets door to be on the lookout, I assume, unruly passengers - there were just as many police officers as there were United staff members to book new tickets for the several international flights that were cancelled that night. There was no need for the police. The passengers here, having gone through this horrific experience, were models of professionalism. But, again, they put their airline squarely and firmly ahead of any feelings they had for their inconvenienced travellers.

At 1:50 a.m., a United employee told everyone that we would need to wait until 3 a.m. to get our luggage back. No one was offered a hotel. They did not broach this topic with us. We were not offered transportation to a hotel. We were not offered any vouchers. We were only told that, because the flight was officially cancelled, we would have the benefit of not incurring a fee for changing our flight plans. Um, some benefit. "Are you ** kidding me?" was the shared reaction among passengers.

Then, amazingly, things got even worse. We waited until 3:45 a.m. for luggage that never came. Their barebones, helpless staff at that point meant that we'd get no answers for anything. Angry, tired and with our 7-year-old limp in our arms, we left WITHOUT our luggage, spending our own money on a cab to get home. We had taken public transportation to the airport, but it wasn't operating in those wee hours of the morning. We arrived home at 5 a.m. about the time our initial flight should have landed in London.

There was no sleep for us. We had to set about contacting our hotel in England, being informed we would still need to pay for that night, and the next one, even though we were still in the United States. We had to contact our rental car agency, being informed the special discount we had received for reserving our car for a week would no longer apply as we would now be there for less than 7 days. We had to find a new flight spending a total of three hours on hold with United only to NOT get a live, breathing human on the phone. We had to find our luggage, contacting baggage support and telling them our story.

This is when United customer service practices become especially appalling. My wife is a cancer survivor, and her anti-cancer medication was in her suitcase. When she explained that to a baggage support team member, she was informed that the luggage was being held and was earmarked for London and they couldn't return it. Yes, you read that correctly.

Now take a moment to put yourself in this position, from the moment we had arrived at San Francisco airport, to now being told that our luggage may be going to London but not us. So, not surprisingly, my wife cried. Pointing out the need to have her cancer medication, she was told by an unhelpful staff that, while they understood the situation, they couldn't guarantee they could return it to her that day, even though our luggage HAD NEVER LEFT San Francisco. And here's the kicker: She was told that if United were to deliver the luggage to us, they would charge us for that convenience. The manager, however, was the first and only United employee throughout this harrowing odyssey to offer us anything more than an Oreo cookie and vague communications commitments. He said he would give us one $50 voucher for our troubles. PLEASE. Getting our luggage returned to us would have cost more than that!

So take a moment to think about what we experienced with United to this point. Think about their history of getting planes off the ground and in the air and servicing passengers and accounting for travel disruptions and unanticipated issues. Think about their actions. Think about every step of this experience and what it means to their brand.

Like others, we ultimately were left with no choice but to carry out our own research as no one at United would help us, and we identified a flight on a competing carrier that would leave Sunday, meaning we would, at a minimum, lose two days of our trip.

In other words, we are holding THEM accountable for our family being unable to see Stonehenge, Salisbury, the Longleat House, Cheddar Gorge, and the cheese factory in Cheddar. Those are experiences we will never get back that we spent months planning for in advance. We explained the situation to British Airways and had them put the tickets on hold. We were told we would need to go through United Airlines to release our tickets (that hadn't been done yet) and to get confirmation that they all would protect us.

So we had to go back to the airport Saturday (a one-hour drive) to retrieve our luggage and navigate the buffoonery of United to book a new flight ultimately, on British Airways. This took more than 3 hours of our time, even though we already had a confirmation of seats on British Airways.

Over the course of this awful experience, a number of themes clearly emerged: United, a global carrier, had absolutely no backup logistical plans in place after the global computer breakdown. Given the number of delays and cancelations in past years due to blizzards and even volcanic eruptions, this is mind boggling. United communication practices were abhorrent, lacking specifics, transparency and respect. United customer service was indifferent to this unprecedented failure on behalf of its passengers.

In short, we expect far more from their brand given their long history of navigating the myriad issues and topics I have outlined and recounted in this letter. We expect far more from an airline that charged us more than $5,700 as well as the other expenses we personally had to incur due to their incompetence and indifference.

This includes: Economy Plus airfare (we paid $297 for this service, but did not get it on our British Airways ticket) and we expect them to reimburse us for this.

We expect to be reimbursed for our transportation to and from the airport for the June 17 flight that was cancelled - $20 for a taxi ride to the Bart train; $33 for the Bart train; $30 for the taxi to a relative's home early Saturday morning. They saved United money by driving us the rest of the way home.

We expect to be reimbursed for the expenses associated with going back to the airport on June 18 to retrieve our luggage and get booked on a new flight: a $5 bridge toll, and $20 for short-term parking.

We expect them to cover the first two nights of the hotel we had booked in England that we lost because they were unable to get us to London on our time plan.

As passengers, we had zero options as part of this experience. Because their computer system was down, they couldn't release our flight. When the system was back up at 10:15, although a reasonable airline would recognize the flight needed to be cancelled and they needed to protect the passengers, they did not do so. This is especially frustrating that the Sun Country Airlines flight to Minnesota for a connection to London had not left yet. They also held our luggage hostage, taking it from us and saying that they would charge us to get it back. In this highly competitive environment for airlines, where margins are low and fuel costs are high, they simply cannot forget, or overlook, the importance of stellar customer service. And they have failed us and many others.

I look forward to their prompt, careful response to this letter and to learn how they will maintain the brand standards they purport to have. How are they going to take care of this family? We have lost a lot of respect for their brand and, as they assess and verify our experience and come up with some viable options for us, I expect them to share this letter with as many leaders at United as they can.

As their own customer commitment says: "Our goal is to make every flight a positive experience for our customers."

Clearly, they failed us.