United MileagePlus (Consolidated) - This, my friends, is over-entitled.

Flying transcontinental eastbound tonight, the DirecTV system was not working at many seats for some reason on this 737-800. Not a big deal for me, personally, as I slept most of the way.

But on disembarking, one passenger is heatedly talking to the lead FA and others, and I hear:

"I am furious that the TVs were not working when the Olympics were on" (yes he used the word "furious")
"Who can I speak to about this, a manager?"
"I am going to want something back for this"

At some times, can you not sympathize with airline management that customers can turn on you so quickly? A service that some other airlines don't even offer, that allows you to view TV while flying across the country? Now is an entitlement? Has anyone seen that Louis CK clip?

I hazard to wonder if the pax even knew about the service before getting on the plane. Or whether the airline would have suffered less outrage if they had used a plane without Directv at all.

Compared to this, the passengers I saw on the ground at Newark, whose flight to India had been canceled and were in a 150+ person line waiting to be rebooked -- should have been acting more entitled and yelling.... They were calm by comparison to this man's Olympic viewing woes.

Flying transcontinental eastbound tonight, the DirecTV system was not working at many seats for some reason on this 737-800. Not a big deal for me, personally, as I slept most of the way.

But on disembarking, one passenger is heatedly talking to the lead FA and others, and I hear:

"I am furious that the TVs were not working when the Olympics were on" (yes he used the word "furious")
"Who can I speak to about this, a manager?"
"I am going to want something back for this"

At some times, can you not sympathize with airline management that customers can turn on you so quickly? A service that some other airlines don't even offer, that allows you to view TV while flying across the country? Now is an entitlement? Has anyone seen that Louis CK clip?

Compared to this, the passengers I saw on the ground at Newark, whose flight to India had been canceled and were in a 150+ person line waiting to be rebooked -- should have been acting more entitled and yelling.... They were calm by comparison to this man's Olympic viewing woes.

I might have specifically selected a CO flight just so I would have TV / Olympics coverage... DL and AA had better flight times, but I wanted to watch Phelps and the USA team, so I chose UA.

I can understand his disappointment, and do hope that he is properly compensated. (7,500 RDM's?)

PS I hope the people on the cancelled India flight are compensated even better....

Makes perfect sense to me --- Wanting to see a 6 hour taped delay program on a 6 hour trans-con flight!

I might have specifically selected a CO flight just so I would have TV / Olympics coverage... DL and AA had better flight times, but I wanted to watch Phelps and the USA team, so I chose UA.

I can understand his disappointment, and do hope that he is properly compensated. (7,500 RDM's?)

PS I hope the people on the cancelled India flight are compensated even better....

But no one is ever guaranteed a Live TV setup on their flight. There are some 737s, for example, without it. What would happen then? Aircraft, even if scheduled to have it, sometimes get swapped out, just like the PMUA new config 777 sometimes get swapped out with the old.

The pax should get their money back if he charged it and the tv didn't work. Not sure anything else is necessarily deserved.

Last time I flew DL (not by choice), the only consolation for me was that it was supposed to have personal tv, as listed in the flight status the day of. Guess what - an aircraft swap happened last minute, and we had overhead screens. Sucks - but what can you do?

If watching the Olympics live is that important, the best place to be is on the ground.

sports event are not delayed. Msnbc coverage on CO directv is live as aired. I would have been very upset too if my IFE didn't work. It's what you expect when you booked that flight.

Makes perfect sense to me --- Wanting to see a 6 hour taped delay program on a 6 hour trans-con flight!

I like the evening coverage better, and try to avoid finding out who won so I can see it 'live' on the prime time show.

Come on, we all know there are DYKWIA types everywhere...

But no one is ever guaranteed a Live TV setup on their flight. There are some 737s, for example, without it. What would happen then? Aircraft, even if scheduled to have it, sometimes get swapped out, just like the PMUA new config 777 sometimes get swapped out with the old.

The pax should get their money back if he charged it and the tv didn't work. Not sure anything else is necessarily deserved.

Last time I flew DL (not by choice), the only consolation for me was that it was supposed to have personal tv, as listed in the flight status the day of. Guess what - an aircraft swap happened last minute, and we had overhead screens. Sucks - but what can you do?

If watching the Olympics live is that important, the best place to be is on the ground.


what



ever....

sports event are not delayed. Msnbc coverage on CO directv is live as aired. I would have been very upset too if my IFE didn't work. It's what you expect when you booked that flight.


While you are in fact receiving the currently live broadcast MSNBC signal while airborne, the post you are referencing was more likely a well earned cheapshot at NBC (and the NBC family of networks...:rolleyes:) tape delaying much of the Olympic coverage it broadcasts.

Clearly he should get something back if he paid for the DirecTV -- I can't remember if they made an announcement about that (vaguely recall hearing something while dozing).

But from the sound of it, it was as if he wanted a partial refund on his ticket.

Last time I flew DL (not by choice)

Ha. NEVER by choice. :p

The FA should remind him he can fly JetBlue. I've been watching the Olympics tonight - due to all of the "spoilers" posted on the web today there hasn't been a surprise tonight so what's the big deal?

It really depends what the pax expected back. If he had an expectation of DirectTV based upon UA had indicated would be the "amenities" on this flight, then being disappointed is natural. Not an excuse to be rude and the compensation has to be small, more of a token than anything else.

Not over entitled. Flew with fantasy football guys last season from LAX to EWR to watch late night Giants eagles game at Meadowlands and purposely took the morning LAX-EWR 737 flight (in Y, aisles seats) so we could get the morning NFL games and rip on each other. Would have ruined the party if DTV down.

If the OP really wanted to watch the Olympics that bad, he could have easily just remained at home.

If the OP really wanted to watch the Olympics that bad, he could have easily just remained at home.

Next time you're downgraded from global first to economy, they can tell you that if you wanted so badly to lie on a bed you could have just stayed home.

You mentioned that "many" of the sets were not working. Pax couldn't have switched seats with someone whose set was working but didn't want to watch?

You mentioned that "many" of the sets were not working. Pax couldn't have switched seats with someone whose set was working but didn't want to watch?
What?! Ask a passenger to switch seats?!
Please read any of the numerous threads about "this is my seat and I'm not gonna switch with anyone, especially a family". :D

But no one is ever guaranteed a Live TV setup on their flight. There are some 737s, for example, without it. What would happen then? Aircraft, even if scheduled to have it, sometimes get swapped out, just like the PMUA new config 777 sometimes get swapped out with the old.

The pax should get their money back if he charged it and the tv didn't work. Not sure anything else is necessarily deserved.

Last time I flew DL (not by choice), the only consolation for me was that it was supposed to have personal tv, as listed in the flight status the day of. Guess what - an aircraft swap happened last minute, and we had overhead screens. Sucks - but what can you do?

If watching the Olympics live is that important, the best place to be is on the ground.

No he was not guaranteed, but it is just another example of the inconsistencies of this airlines. You never know what you might get. Fares aren't 99 transcontinental anymore. United expects fees at every corner now and is not service oriented. This person is probably frustrated with ll the money he gave to united for such a below industry standard product.

Anyone that is upset by this should absolutely move their business to an airline that guarantees that DTV will work on every flight at every time.
Those are the consistent airlines, and UA will soon find out how their inconsistensies on this important issue will surely lead to their demise.

Just a service distinction, on Jetblue if the TV is not working they automatically give you a $25 credit after your flight. (But they do also advertise the TV as one of the points of flying them).

Next time you're downgraded from global first to economy, they can tell you that if you wanted so badly to lie on a bed you could have just stayed home.

They could. But since DTV isn't on every UA flight, the outrage is pretty whiny and lame, because common sense would suggest that there is the distinct possibility that you aren't going to have it on the flight you have booked.

The outrage is lame. You would have a valid claim (one which I had, and didn't press as it was my next-to-last UA flight anyway and I didn't need the miles), no need to make a public song and dance about it.

System was totally hosed on our BOS-LAX a couple of weeks ago, just couldn't boot. Nothing a nice iPod full of music and an Elmore Leonard book couldn't fix for me, a lot of upset people on the flight tho'. I had finally reached acceptance and determined something was bound to go wrong on every flight :D

I love how people make a scene with FAs/GAs, as if it was in their control to give you any comp (sky kits notwithstanding).

That DTV system is a piece of crap. Not sure why CO even considered such a system.

Given United's current marketing campaign, maybe the passenger wanted to be "moved" by the Olympians and United at the same time? :D

Outrage - a bit too much. Annoyed as heck - yes. Without an iPod full of music, hours staring at the seat in front of you is mind numbing. Best bet is to prepare for the worst. There is always a fully charged tablet in tow to watch Louis CK reruns when I fly. :D

The outrage is lame. You would have a valid claim (one which I had, and didn't press as it was my next-to-last UA flight anyway and I didn't need the miles), no need to make a public song and dance about it.

System was totally hosed on our BOS-LAX a couple of weeks ago, just couldn't boot. Nothing a nice iPod full of music and an Elmore Leonard book couldn't fix for me, a lot of upset people on the flight tho'. I had finally reached acceptance and determined something was bound to go wrong on every flight :D

I love how people make a scene with FAs/GAs, as if it was in their control to give you any comp (sky kits notwithstanding).

What?! Ask a passenger to switch seats?!
Please read any of the numerous threads about "this is my seat and I'm not gonna switch with anyone, especially a family". :D

Yes, I have read them, but those incidents don't match my experience. I saw one woman negotiate three middle seats for a full row a couple of weeks ago and was shocked she could pull it off. Granted it was a short IAD->ORD flight but most people were very nice about it. One woman wouldn't do the aisle for middle switch because she just had a 10+ hour flight in a middle seat but the next guy she asked did.

I get quite irritated too when the DTV is not working... I look forward to it on every flight where I know the plane is equipped with it. I've never yelled at a FA about it because I know that there's nothing they can do. But the guy in the OP was right to be irritated.. he was looking forward to watching the Olympics during this flight using equipment the airline touts.. I would feel quite similar if I were flying on a Sunday afternoon and wanted to watch football but couldn't. His anger is misdirected though if he's yelling at a FA.

I get quite irritated too when the DTV is not working... I look forward to it on every flight where I know the plane is equipped with it. I've never yelled at a FA about it because I know that there's nothing they can do. But the guy in the OP was right to be irritated.. he was looking forward to watching the Olympics during this flight using equipment the airline touts.. I would feel quite similar if I were flying on a Sunday afternoon and wanted to watch football but couldn't. His anger is misdirected though if he's yelling at a FA.
If watching a particular event is really that important, then one can record it. Expecting that DTV will work on a plane, on any airline, at all times, is pretty silly. I can imagine a child becoming upset because they miss Barney at a particular time, but I'm pretty amazed that an adult would have the same reaction AND not have a back-up plan (e.g. book, music, iPad) to stay entertained during a flight.
Is there a full moon today? The dramatics and outrage over things is really quite remarkable.

If the OP really wanted to watch the Olympics that bad, he could have easily just remained at home.

Perhaps the Lil Woman has heard about enough of his b-tching also, and threw him out of the house!

He is not over-entitled.

He may be a DYKWIA type of person. But if the 737 in question equips with DirecTV and it does not work, UA should address the issue like a malfunctioned IFE.

If your DTV monitor is not working, then you can't see the Safety briefing. Does that mean an FA has to come to your seat and perform the briefing manually? Or are you expected to share the nearest working monitor? What if the person in that seat doesn't want to share? What if you can't see the SMI/J opening monologue? Does the FA have to perform that "looking off-camera" posed speech for you as well? :p


I keep a small, inexpensive, audio splitter in my headset case. In several instances, when my monitor was working, but not the person's next to me, I've used the splitter so we could share my screen and audio. The individual was always someone I was traveling with - could be interesting if offered to a stranger.

PS I hope the people on the cancelled India flight are compensated even better....

That's a joke, right? It's not as if UA has any control over the fact that half of India is without power.

I do agree that the guy was entitled to be upset, though.

It sounds like he might have been a little out of line, but I think the guy was right to complain. If nobody complains they have no incentive to write it up and fix.

That's a joke, right? It's not as if UA has any control over the fact that half of India is without power.

I do agree that the guy was entitled to be upset, though.

Half of India is without power? I was not aware of this.

Half of India is without power? I was not aware of this.

World's biggest blackout leaves 620 million people without power in India (http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/164422546.html?id=164422546)

World's biggest blackout leaves 620 million people without power in India (http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/164422546.html?id=164422546)

Is the blackout the reason that UA quoted on 7/30 that their India (EWR) flight was cancelled?

I would imagine India's airports have sufficient generator capacity to run normal operations even without the grid.

I've been on several flights with the DTV system out lately..... Of course, it's a disappointment.... But getting upset about it is just stupid.

I was behind someone about my age (30ish) last week in F and he got verbally pissed about it.... Talking on the phone to someone about how the "f**king DTV" was out.... My first thought was - .........!!!!

I might have specifically selected a CO flight just so I would have TV / Olympics coverage... DL and AA had better flight times, but I wanted to watch Phelps and the USA team, so I chose UA.

I can understand his disappointment, and do hope that he is properly compensated. (7,500 RDM's?)

PS I hope the people on the cancelled India flight are compensated even better....

I've flown Lufthansa twice where the TV screens were down. They compensated with 150eu both times, voluntarily.

This was about 5 years ago, and as this sort of gear is standard on most international flights globally, United still doesn't have anything close to this on its Pacific flights. I have flown the dinosaur 747 between Sydney to SFO and LA 8 times this year, the 5 in coach were horrible compared to competition.

For most people, ain't no cure for stooooopid!!

Just to provide more clarification:

The TV screens were functional, they were on, and the movie channels *did* work.

The DirecTV live channels did not display any images -- only a constant message of "Call cust. serv" etc, with a card ID number and receiver ID number.

So there was entertainment on board. Just not the channels that some (or the guy) wanted.

I was flying LH F on an award ticket last year. My IFE and seat power cut out for about 20 minutes. No big deal, but I sent LH an email after the fact and was credited 10,000 RDM to my (at the time pmCO) account. No reason not to send the e-mail, highlight the problem and hopefully bank some RDM's...the problem of course is e-mailing the new UA = no response ever.

The DirecTV live channels did not display any images -- only a constant message of "Call cust. serv" etc, with a card ID number and receiver ID number.

Sounds like UA forgot to pay the DirecTV bill. :D

Is the blackout the reason that UA quoted on 7/30 that their India (EWR) flight was cancelled?

I would imagine India's airports have sufficient generator capacity to run normal operations even without the grid.
The blackout had nothing to do with it. I flew LH to DEL on 7/30, and no problems.

(I'm booking my international flights away from UA this summer, a decision that's now been vindicated. Had I not done so, I would have been on this EWR-DEL flight.)