United MileagePlus (Consolidated) - Unbelievable Nightmare (Multiple MX Issues on IAD-HNL/IAD-SFO/SFO-HNL Flights)

Below is the travesty that occurred on June 3 and June 4. Reservation #*** and ***

Cancelled flight due to mechanical problem #1:on SUNDAY 6/3/2012 we boarded UA556 for an on-time departure at 12:54 PM. Our destination was Honolulu and then an Island Air flight to Kauai for 7 days.

Once seated we were told there was a delay to replace a light . Over 40 minutes later we were told the flight was cancelled- but no worry; another plane was on its way.

We were deplaned and directed to wait in the gate area.

After the entire plane was emptied, an announcement was made that there was no plane, and we (over 200 passengers) were to proceed to Customer service for rebooking.( My husband and I were travelling with our best friends, one of them with moderate Parkinsons).

I RAN to customer service along with the other 200+ customers. We were one-third back in a very long line, that after 30 minutes did not move 1 customer.

During this time we also received a text rebooking us onto a flight WEDNESDAY-4 days later. I decided to try to book something on my own, and after 40 minutes was able to get us a flight to San Francisco at 4:12 PM- that same day.

Delayed United Flight due to Mechanical Problem#2: We boarded Flt. 704 to San Francisco. This flight was delayed over 30 minutes due to mechanical problems.

Postponed United FLight #520 due to Mechanical Problems. We arrived in San Francisco and boarded our flight to Honolulu. Once boarded, the plane left the gate and was taxiing to the runway.

The plane pulled over and the captain announced that a hydraulic fluid pressure gage had dropped into dangerous levels and he needed to call Houston to find out how to proceed.

He came back on After 15 minutes. we were told We needed go back to the gate and the problem could be looked at. We went back to the gate. After an extended period of time, the captain said "Good News- we were able to fix the problem and are leaving soon." After another period of time, he came back on again, and said, "We are not going to fly this plane- but we have another." We deplaned.

Waiting for New Plane:

We waited in the gate area for a flight to leave after midnight. We decided to work on rebooking the flight from Honolulu to Kauaii. There was a line of 7 people and 4 agents.

After 20 minutes, the line did not move. Another female agent began taking customers (we were first in line).

My husband and I showed her the boarding passes and explained our situation. She ignored me and looked only at the terminal and advised me we did not have any fare to Kauaii- there was no record. I tried to explain again- she thrust the tickets back in my face. I said "You are not listening to me." She told me to get out of her line and told me to go back to the line.

I asked her if she was calling a supervisor. She told me "No". I am not waiting on you.

She called the next customer. We went back in line and waited. A young man finally finished with customers and we approached him. He told us he was not ready to take care of us- that he had to do documentation for the previous customer.

After 20 minutes or more, he called us up- We told our story- He looked into the matter. However, during the time we were at his window, he engaged in lengthy inappropriate, overly friendly dialogue. Ordinarily, this would have been OK.

However, our flight to Honolulu was leaving at any time, and my friend, now many hours without food or rest, was experiencing significant Parkinson symptoms. My husband asked for an earlier flight from Honolulu to Kauaii and I explained we wanted it mainly because of our friend. He called her over and asked her," When did you get your PD (Parkinson's Disease)?"

He was able to book us on a Hawaiian Airlines flight early the next morning.
We arrived in Honolulu and looked for our bags; talked to the agent and were told my friend's bag was there; they did not know where mine was. After looking, we could not find either bag. We went to the Hawaiian Airlines to get boarding passes for Kauaii.

No Tickets to Kauaii: My husband and male friend received boarding passes. We were told there were no tickets for me or my friend (the one with Parkinsons). After making phone calls, tickets were finally issued and we flew to Kauaii.

Lost Bags: Once in Kauaii, we looked for our baggage. We could not find it. It was too early to get help. We went to our hotel. I called lost baggage, was told my friend's bag was in Kauaii- mine was still MIA. I was told to submit a claim and wait.

Found Bags: We decided to go back to the airport, on our own. We looked in several airline baggage areas and spoke to United and Island AIr personnel. United Airlines told us it was not their problem-It was Island Air- We went to finally found the bags in Hawaiian Air office.

Summary: We were lied to, in order to deplane us, in LA. There were 3 United Airline Planes in 24 hours with mechanical issues- two of which had to be taken out of service. At no time were we offered food; for the most part we experienced rude agents without sympathy, or even professionalism. They seemed indifferent to the needs of people in line.

I cannot believe that it takes over 40 minutes to deal with a single customer issue.

We have been flying, almost exclusively, on United Airline flights for many years. We have a mileage plus card¸a United credit card, and economy plus seating. Between flying to see our children who both live out of state, my business flying, and taking our vacation, we are frequent flyers.

At the beginning of every flight, we are subjected to the President of United Airlines unveiling new planes and new levels of customer service. If this trip is indicative of those new levels of customer service, we need to find another airline. I would love for UA to reveal our experience to their passengers.
Why would we EVER get on another United Plane???? They appear to have unsafe planes and inefficient, uncaring employees.

:mad::mad:

Why would we EVER get on another United Plane???? They appear to have unsafe planes and inefficient, uncaring employees.

They appear to have unsafe planes and inefficient, uncaring employees.

Actually - you were delivered safely, that's why the MX delays. The inefficiency speaks for itself.

s

Welcome to FT!
Sorry to hear about your experience(s).
First off, I asked the moderator to delete the PNR/reservation numbers from your post as those contain personal information that could identify you in a public forum.
As you note, you've flown a bit and you obviously know that planes, like other mechanical things, break down. Looks like you got very unlucky with three delayed and/or cancelled flights due to mechanical issues in short order. To say UA flies unsafe aircraft doesn't make sense given you didn't have to fly on a broken plane.
I missed the part where you were lied to.
It also looks like you encountered a couple of less than professional staff.
And to top it off your bags were delayed.
I know you're frustrated. If you want to fly UA again, I'd suggest you write a note detailing your experience in a very factual, concise manner. You may get some miles and/or a voucher.

3 Lil Abners flying from LAS-SFO-LIH (Kauai) during Spring break. Taxi to the runway in Vegas and wait for about 30 mins and then head back to the gate --- APU won't start and after another 30 mins & this flight is going to cause us to mis-connect in SFO because we are all told to get off the plane in LAS while they fix it. No customer service line there but I did call the 1K desk to find out that here were no more seats to LIH for three days.

Trip cancelled and returned home with people that had been planning on Hawaii for 9 months. Stopped at a gym on the way home and signed up the family to make up for the cancellation. Best thing that happened to us,

Sometimes things happen and sometimes ya just gotta go along with inconveniences. The walk back to the parking lot was the most depressing thing that I have had to do to my wife & son, ever, because neither one of them had been to Hawaii.

What I'm getting at is things break, and people get sick, and we don't always get what we expected, but sometimes a person has to roll with the punches, during travel.

My previous wife died a very slow death and we were both 1K's til nearly the end. I'd take any of the MX's that you had happen to you any day to have her back again, You had a person with Parkinson's that managed to get to Hawaii eventually and it may be that persons last time, so if it were me I'd be thankful that I was fortunate to enjoy Hawaii eventually with that friend, which I will never be able to with a wife of 46 years, ever again.

These MX's do screw up one's plans, but there are more important things to dwell upon, so my friend, enjoy every day that you can spend with a close friend and treasure the companionship, because eventually the sojourn will end.


Write CS and be brief, and perhaps they'll give you something,.
Good luck!!!^

Did you need to go to HNL first? After the first mechanical, I would have been asking for an alternate flight directly into LIH.

[I]
We waited in the gate area for a flight to leave after midnight.[B] We decided to work on rebooking the flight from Honolulu to Kauaii. There was a line of 7 people and 4 agents.

After 20 minutes, the line did not move. Another female agent began taking customers (we were first in line).

My husband and I showed her the boarding passes and explained our situation. She ignored me and looked only at the terminal and advised me we did not have any fare to Kauaii- there was no record. I tried to explain again- she thrust the tickets back in my face. I said "You are not listening to me." She told me to get out of her line and told me to go back to the line.



Did you need to go to HNL first? After the first mechanical, I would have been asking for an alternate flight directly into LIH.

That would have probably been a good idea, but apparently the OP was having trouble getting ANYONE to assist him IN A PROFESSIONAL MANNER, which is par for the course in SFO.

A lot of responses seem to look at this as a "tough luck, happens" isolated incident. It's not. It starting to become a pattern.

Welcome to FT. I hope venting makes you feel a tad bit better. And yes, I am glad you arrived safely and the lack of CS from the agents in SFO is not acceptable. While it's unbelievable that you had so many mechanical issues, I am glad the issues were caught before you were in the air. And I am sorry for the baggage delays.

I too would write a concise letter to CS. And hopefully you could put the issues behind you and had a great trip to LIH. BTW - have you returned and had no issues?

Sorry for your troubles, that would have been frustrating.

First the planes weren't unsafe, because the pilots did their jobs and had them fixed or taken out of service if something was wrong. Would you rather they just take their chances and risk your life for less inconvenience? I would hope not, as I would not be participating in that. Is United now skimping on fixing things prior to them actually breaking to save a buck? You'd have to write the CEO on that one, but I think I saw him taking a quarter out of a blind man's hat on the street the other day. ;)

No excuse for the bad customer service. I'm sure the agents were overwhelmed if there were 200+ customers and only 2-3 agents, so they have to move quickly, but still, from what I hear our customer service ratings have gone down, partly due to the SHARES debacle, and just overall low morale. I know that doesn't make your issues any better, but hopefully as agents get used to SHARES and labor groups get contracts and morale improves, things get better. I can only hope.

FWIW, I've only had two mechanical cancels over the entire summer, so I don't see a huge uptick in these, but I know when it hits you three times in a trip that doesn't help. Hope your return trip is much easier, I know I appreciate all your business.

AD

A lot of responses seem to look at this as a "tough luck, happens" isolated incident. It's not. It starting to become a pattern.

I'll all for not flying if the plane isn't right. I'm also getting the feeling that there has been a radical increase in the number of mx issues and delays on UA and no one else. Coincidence? I guess it's possible.

I'm sorry to say that the experience IS believable.

It's terrible to go through that sort of thing.

Arriving safely is still the most important thing. NOT arriving safely . . . now that IS a Travesty.

The poor CS . . . no excuse. Write United and complain, which will probably make you feel better. Don't use United, or make them your final preference.

I find all the major US-based airlines have poor CS overall. It's hit or miss if you get good CS folks or bad ones. The bads ones leave a very bad impression that can leave one really mad. Completely understandable.

Actually - you were delivered safely, that's why the MX delays. The inefficiency speaks for itself.

s

Yeah with disgusting emplyees and attitudes the whole way. It is sad this merger went through. We now have less competition and many employees who do not care.

A lot of responses seem to look at this as a "tough luck, happens" isolated incident. It's not. It starting to become a pattern.

Exactly! It sounds like many of the posters are kettle flyers or emplyees and are willing to put up with horrible service from airlines.

I find all the major US-based airlines have poor CS overall. It's hit or miss if you get good CS folks or bad ones. The bads ones leave a very bad impression that can leave one really mad. Completely understandable.

This.

Poor service is everywhere, and it is standard. Holding at least a low-elite status sometimes makes things a bit better. As such, I avoid taking any important trip on an airline where I don't hold at least low-elite - doubly so if I have family with me. If I flat-out didn't travel enough anymore, I would still get Star Silver somehow...through Aegean or a US Airways trial or...something.

But *S or AA Gold just mitigates the worst of the worst. It gives you a phone number to call that sometimes yields an answer. In some cases, it gives you the option to walk back outside security and get in the F/J counter line. It's still not great.

OP, at the end of the trip, what was your total delay getting into LIH?

I think there are two separate issues here.

One is the mechanical. Planes break down all of the time, on all airlines; it is just a fact of life. I personally don't think that it happens any more frequently on United, but the fact is that if you fly long enough you'll encounter a situation where two or three planes break down in a row. Happened to me on JetBlue once. I'm just not sure I accept that the MX issues are United's fault.

That said, before the merger I never flew UA much, but on CO it was always a huge battle to get an itinerary patched up when there were problems related to mechanical issues, weather, schedule changes, etc. This was my biggest complaint with PMCO: 70% of the agents you'd talk to would refuse to book you on non-CO metal, 20% of them would agree non-CO metal is OK but had to be a code-share, and perhaps 10% would actually book you on a *alliance flight with no code share (I never talked to such an agent, but others seemed to have credible stories of their existence!). The general feeling on the PMCO board seemed to be that no one really knew what the official rebooking policy was: it was dictated by the agent you were dealing with and how they felt that day. And so I do sympathize with the OP here. Dealing with non-helpful (even rude) agents is no fun in a stressful situation.

The best tactic if you have elite status is to call reservations rather than waiting in line (if you don't have status, this possibly might not work as well). Why? Well, you don't have to wait behind 200 people. And if you get a bad agent, you can hang up and try again... you have no such recourse waiting in a line. And if possible you should also call up knowing exactly what flights you want (do a quick web search before you call)... don't rely on the agent here.

Hope you have better travels in the future...

A lot of responses seem to look at this as a "tough luck, happens" isolated incident. It's not. It starting to become a pattern.

Agreed, except I'd delete "starting". It is a pattern.

I'll all for not flying if the plane isn't right. I'm also getting the feeling that there has been a radical increase in the number of mx issues and delays on UA and no one else. Coincidence? I guess it's possible.

No radical increase in mx, I suspect. But due to SHARES and a management approach that translates into lousy customer service, a radical increase in IRROPS handled in an irresponsible, irritating way that causes greater inconvenience and delays for customers than in the past.

Imusphych, I'm very sorry to hear about your experience. It sounds like you were simply unlucky in the number of mechanical delays you encountered. But the customer service, misinformation and lost reservations were truly atrocious and, as I've noted, a pattern on UA these days. As others have advised, you might try writing to UA to concisely explain what happened, highlighting the poor information and customer service along the way. Don't count on getting much of a reply or much compensation, if any.

Probably the best course is to vote with your feet and fly other airlines.

When I used to take UA to Hawaii, I have never experienced anything like this (across 15 or so flights). Now I take HA so no experience post 3/3.

Most every other external facing portion of the UA system seems so be experiencing difficulty through this complex merger, if anything, for those asserting Mx is a fact of life, my question is, why wouldn't one expect to see an increase in Mx delays as the integration of two large airlines with different mechanics, processes, and fleets take place?

Given what has unfolded in other aspects of the airlines merger, why expect the integration of aircraft maintenance to be problem free?

An increase in Mx issues may now be the next chapter in the unfolding UA saga.

already started.

I think part of the problem here is crossfleeting. When pmCO aircraft operate out of pmUA hubs, and pmUA aircraft operate out of pmCO hubs, there is going to be a spare parts issue - it is inevitable.

This.

Poor service is everywhere, and it is standard. Holding at least a low-elite status sometimes makes things a bit better. As such, I avoid taking any important trip on an airline where I don't hold at least low-elite - doubly so if I have family with me. If I flat-out didn't travel enough anymore, I would still get Star Silver somehow...through Aegean or a US Airways trial or...something.

But *S or AA Gold just mitigates the worst of the worst. It gives you a phone number to call that sometimes yields an answer. In some cases, it gives you the option to walk back outside security and get in the F/J counter line. It's still not great.

OP, at the end of the trip, what was your total delay getting into LIH?

I can tell you this lowly AA GLD got a very good treatment in a misconnect situation to LIH, and it was an award booking no less. I cannot imagine what we would suffer (and be humiliated byCO/UA agents if the same happened).

There is a stark contrast between AA and UA (or rather CO) ways of treating misconnect passengers who are on award tickets.

We were on MIA-LAX-LIH on the last portion of an AA award that was IST-LHR-MIA-LAX-LIH, the European portion was flown almost 10 months ago (meaning we had a stopover at MIA for 10 months) before we started the last portion.

It started rocky - got a voice message from AA about MIA-LAX would delay for an hour. OK, no biggie, we had built in 2.50 hours (largely because LAX-LIH only had 2 daily flights - one in the morning one in late afternoon.)

At the airport, it became obvious the delay was due to the delay of the inbound aircraft. The one hour turned into 1.5... and then 2...

We knew we would miss connection but there was no any option to get to LAX on time as the one DL flight would barely make it already had its gate closed.

The bad part was the communication was very scanty but the rebooking was swift for those who could be rebooked.

Agents were busy re-booking folks who connected at LAX to other places in West Coast. A group of 6 or 7 ladies ahead of us were to be at LAS for a bridal rehearsal - with the bride among them... Agent booked them on the MIA-LAS direct flight and told them to wait for their checked bags to arrive via the original routing. When it was my turn, I told the agent to put a notation in our PNR to protect us in the case of misconnect which we knew it was a certainty. Agent comforted me we would make it (no we wouldn't) and notated our PNR.

We arrived LAX just in time to see the LIH bound flight was on its way to take off. We headed to AA customer service center and handed the agent our MIA-LAX and LAX-LIH boarding passes. Agent took a look in the system and told us, "They have rebooked you - tomorrow morning flight to LIH." and proceeded to type on the keyboard. I asked, "We would need hotel voucher and meal vouchers then..." While I was trailing off in my sentence, she already said, "They are on their way. Let me do your BPs for tomorrow first, then the hotel and meal vouchers." After we were handed all these, she even walked us out to the hall and pointed us the direction where to find the hotel shuttle (a HIX). We had a decent dinner at On the Border at T4, using the dinner voucher and paid a little extra, then headed to HIX for a good night sleep. The next morning we had our breakfast at On the Border again using the breakfast voucher before we boarded our flight. Despite we lost a prepaid night at Kauai, about 2/3 of a day in Kauai (we arrived at 2pm the next day), and had to call rental car to change the reservation, I felt that since AA took such good care of us, I decided not write to complain about the lack of communication during the whole process - as at the end, it seemed everyone was taken care of in a very reasonable manner.

Based on what I read in UA/CO forums I could not imagine what poor treatment we would get when similar things happened with us on award tickets... I am sure we would be the last to be rebooked because "You are on award ticket."

I''m also getting the feeling that there has been a radical increase in the number of mx issues and delays on UA and no one else.

Most every other external facing portion of the UA system seems so be experiencing difficulty through this complex merger, if anything, for those asserting Mx is a fact of life, my question is, why wouldn't one expect to see an increase in Mx delays as the integration of two large airlines with different mechanics, processes, and fleets take place?

... An increase in Mx issues may now be the next chapter in the unfolding UA saga.

It's just anecdotal, but I'm observing (and experiencing) a scary spike in UA cancellations. Had one myself two or three weeks ago; my rebook was delayed and disrupted by another; my mother-in-law just went through two, one in each direction of a round-trip; I'm seeing long, barely-moving rebook lines in SEA, ORD, DCA and elsewhere.

All the dismissive "Well, you got there, didn't you?" comments ought to be balanced against the possibility that merger-related fleet mix issues or tight turn schedules may be resulting in many more at-the-gate cancellations. I've seen enough of this firsthand that I no longer expect any UA flight to operate as published. The hostile CS and general difficulties communicating with the airline in any way are just the icing on the cake.

1. People lose a lot of sympathy when you use words such as "travesty." That's generally reserved for situations where people are held prisoners for 25 years for a crime they didn't commit.

2. The MX issues are MX issues. Civil aviation in the USA has never been safer and that's largely because there's zero tolerance for mechanical issues. This is esp. true on long overwater flights.

3. I am sorry that your friend has a medical condition. But, one would hope that if food, medication and other items are necessary for long trips, that s/he has backup supplies.

4. The agents didn't give you the best customer service, but they did get you to your destination.

If you are upset, you can certainly file a complaint with UA. I would cut out all the back and forth and focus on the CS issues and forget about MX because UA will tell you the same thing anyone else will tell you which is that things break and they need to get fixed.

1. People lose a lot of sympathy when you use words such as "travesty." That's generally reserved for situations where people are held prisoners for 25 years for a crime they didn't commit.

2. The MX issues are MX issues. Civil aviation in the USA has never been safer and that's largely because there's zero tolerance for mechanical issues. This is esp. true on long overwater flights.

3. I am sorry that your friend has a medical condition. But, one would hope that if food, medication and other items are necessary for long trips, that s/he has backup supplies.

4. The agents didn't give you the best customer service, but they did get you to your destination.

If you are upset, you can certainly file a complaint with UA. I would cut out all the back and forth and focus on the CS issues and forget about MX because UA will tell you the same thing anyone else will tell you which is that things break and they need to get fixed.

^^^^^^^^^^

1. People lose a lot of sympathy when you use words such as "travesty." That's generally reserved for situations where people are held prisoners for 25 years for a crime they didn't commit.

2. The MX issues are MX issues. Civil aviation in the USA has never been safer and that's largely because there's zero tolerance for mechanical issues. This is esp. true on long overwater flights.

3. I am sorry that your friend has a medical condition. But, one would hope that if food, medication and other items are necessary for long trips, that s/he has backup supplies.

4. The agents didn't give you the best customer service, but they did get you to your destination.

If you are upset, you can certainly file a complaint with UA. I would cut out all the back and forth and focus on the CS issues and forget about MX because UA will tell you the same thing anyone else will tell you which is that things break and they need to get fixed.

The OPs description sounded like a very rough way to start the holiday, the trite 'they got you to their destination' rings hollow. This isn't a business trip. The idea behind vacation is relaxation, not 24 hours of multiple consecutive Mx accompanied with CS agents treating the OP party with contempt. Mx happens, but acceptance of Mx passenger treatment with dis-respect as MO is unexcusable.

For the OP, future travel can occur on airline choices that are not going through merger chaos.

When MX becomes a regular problem it is an indication of maintenance failures. An airline that goes mx too much will lose passengers. When the plane is already boarded at the gate is not the time to discover something is broken. I think there is more to this story, possibly some Union issues.

The OPs description sounded like a very rough way to start the holiday, the trite 'they got you to their destination' rings hollow. This isn't a business trip. The idea behind vacation is relaxation, not 24 hours of multiple consecutive Mx accompanied with CS agents treating the OP party with contempt. Mx happens, but acceptance of Mx passenger treatment with dis-respect as MO is unexcusable.

For the OP, future travel can occur on airline choices that are not going through merger chaos.

All true. And I also have a lot of trouble with the "they got you to your destination" perspective. An airline is responsible for far more than that, not least decent customer service.

However, I wouldn't mark this down solely or even mainly to merger chaos. It seems to be an ongoing fact of life that UA now has a reservation system and management culture ill suited to handle IRROPS. I hope I'm wrong, but this seems to be the new normal that won't fade away once merger chaos fades.

is so much wheel spinning and so much human interaction in each transaction which must be more expensive than having a proper reservation system that can deal with this stuff in advance. Even a stonewall takes time and must be draining on the stonewallers. Looks like poor planning to me.

Just guessing, but I doubt very much that anyone on this thread speculating about a "spike", or "pattern", or "radical increase in the number of mechanical issues on United aircraft has any basis in fact for such a statment other than personal experience or what they read here.

Not a big deal, but that kind of speculaion and conjecture isn't very enlightening (or interesting).