channa

I'm glad it worked for you in this instance.

Unfortunately, the IRROP rebooking tool has been inconsistent, IME. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not.

I wish they did it like DL -- if a flight in the res has ~15 minutes or more of delay, you can rebook.

transportprof

But then more than half of United's flights would be open for free SDC.

uanj

Sometimes I think there are two Uniteds out there, the one I fly and the one everyone here writes about.

I have been getting solid customer service, especially with the domestic FAs. The International ones just a bit less so, especially those pmCO FAs who still hold on to "we don't treat GSs special because we treat everyone special". When I hear that I always wish there was an easy way to stich to the side of the plane. But overall no complaints. At the ticket counter or boarding gate agents have been pleasant and helpful.

You are being unkind to UA.... But it still made me smile.

transportprof

You are right. I should have qualified my comment with "On some days...." There have been a lot of bad days for UA timekeeping this summer (see SFH II thread), and it's when things go pear shaped that UA earns the ire and disdain of most passengers.

United's operations remind me of NJ Transit these days. When everything goes normally, it's pretty ok, but when there's a breakdown, there's no resilience and the passenger has to fend for him/herself.

United's rock-bottom customer quality/satisfaction rankings are independent of the FT 'vibe', and are reflecting the reality on the ground. I think that some of us are more vocal in our criticism because we have experienced UA at much higher levels of performance and are frustrated by current management's eagerness to sacrifice performance for short term financial gimmicks like a $3 billion stock buy back.

hagan73

Flying to IAD and on to LHR. Original XXX>IAD went MX and I was protected on a different direct flight. Ends up being fixed in time to not break any MCTs. Put back on XXX>IAD>LHR but now the entire way there is Y (score!) throw 15K miles on the international segment and clear it instantly via 1K desk while boarding XXX>IAD.

Get to IAD at far end of D LHR is boarding opposite farthest end of C - run there but I missed it and now misconnected. Call 1K desk and state above, but that I was rebooked in Y even though I had a confined seat in J and I want to be re accommodated as such. No problem, 3 minutes later I'm booked with the last seat in full J fare for the next flight - didn't even have to push. UC got me a voucher for the Hilton and $14 In meal vouchers. All this was completed in 10 minutes.

Return the next day, no lineup at premiere check in. Invited to GFL when I got to UC. Gate agent hands me 4B that she was able to unblock from crew rest for me. First choice in meal. Arrived 30 minutes early to LHR. Bags there almost as I was.

Everyone along the way was polite and my 1K status really did come in handy and had tangible value. Very satisfied with the entire trip - well done United!

goalie

Just got off the phone with a great Untied agent!

I called to ask about award change fees (sucks not being a 1k anymore ) to get goalie-dad home from PBI before Hurricane Erika hits Sunday/Monday (dad's coming home to SF on Wednesday) and even tho there is no weather waiver in place for south Florida (as of now), the agent knew one would probably be issued but too late to get dad's flights changed so she thanked me for being proactive and waived the $50 change fee and goalie-dad is now leaving PBI* on Saturday

*original routing was PBI-EWR-SFO departing at 08:00 arriving SFO at 16:15 and although the routing remains the same, goalie-dad doesn't have to be at PBI at 07:00 and can sleep at bit late as his flight departs PBI at 12:04 and he arrives SFO at 21:00 (which interestingly enough, these are the flights & dates I originally tried to get his award ticked booked on but there was no saver availability )

Keller281

with my companion in a wheelchair. Gate checked the wheelchair at all the airports. It was delivered promptly. Priority boarding for every flights. We were in BF anyhow. Anything but a ^ for the ground agents and the FAs.

roadkit

I have been flying UA for quite some time. This is the first year in 10 I haven;t been a 1K -- only PremPlat.

Recently flew MUC-IAD in C and had, without a doubt, the best experience EVER.

To be brief, the entire C cabin crew were exemplary, starting with the International Flight Service Manager. Unfortunately, I didn't write his name down, but have provided this info to UA and hopefully they can pass along my thanks to he and his team.

Each member of the flight crew personally greeted me, and also thanked me for flying UA before we landed. In-flight service was fantastic. No hunting for the FA to refill my wine glass -- they were on it. No waiting to fill my water glass -- they were on it.

If this is the new United, they are really doing something right.

^^^

kluau88

From my experience this has happened to me mostly on international flights that are sCO.

fly747first

My experience has been entirely the opposite: consistently better pre-merger UA crews and average to horrible sCO crews (especially EWR-based ones) on international flights.

ErgoTraveler

Glad you had a great flight and service.

UAL250

I had a great flight on UA132 (the IAD-MUC flight) last month. The crew was very similar to yours and I have nothing but good things to say about them.

truncated

Flying KIX-SFO-JFK in Y. No status. The evening before I'm supposed to depart UA cancels SFO-KIX-SFO for "weather" — there was a typhoon approaching Kyushu but every other plane got in/out of Kansai fine, go figure.

By the time I see the cancellation email the Japan reservations line is closed, and only option on .bomb are to take the same flight the following day. Call the general 800 number, first agent says since it's weather we don't rebook on OAL (tried asking for the UA codeshares on NH OSA-TYO but no dice), there are no other UA flights out of KIX so you have to fly the following day. HUACA.

Second agent: there are no flights on UA but let me look at our airline partners; I suggest NH (UA codeshare) KIX-HND-LAX which is one of the few flights with seats open (the two ITM-NRT flights are fully booked the next day, as is UA876 HND-SFO). Agent sees availability, calls ANA (?), and rebooks me KIX-HND-LAX-EWR.

Open my itinerary and turns out I'm rebooked in full Y (original booking class was S — so now 100% mileage on OZ, yay). OLCI with NH and discover that I've been op-upped to J for HND-LAX. And the usual 772 on the route was swapped for an IOJ 77W. Thus in the end instead of 10 hours in 3-3-3 E- on a UA 787 I find myself in 1-2-1 J on NH.

Therefore: thanks United for cancelling on me?

pmarrsouth

I flew UA1021 from EWR-PTY yesterday (3rd Sept). Alex, one of the male flight attendants, made the 5ish hour flight very pleasant. He clearly loves his job and cares about the passengers.

It would be great if someone like him could educate other FAs on how easy it is to make passengers' experieces much better.

He was mentioned in they survey and online compliment form by myself already

YadiMolina

For karma's sake, I wanted to post this here, even though it's late.

On about 19 Jul I am flying NRT - ORD, UA 882 I believe. Mechanical issues as we are pushed back. This delays us, after many announcements, about 4 hours in departing. After takeoff, flight deck announces that due to duty limits, we'd be stopping in SFO for a crew change. Eventually, we land ORD 8 hours late, 11 pm.

I was in J, and hoofed it out of the plane, hoping to get my "Priority" baggage and queue up for a hotel voucher at the front of the line. One bag came after 25% of the other bags... the 2nd bag never showed. Meanwhile, the line exiting customs is stretching back into the baggage area as almost everyone on the flight is queued up at the counter outside customs.

I sneak out through Global Entry (don't ask) and hear a United Agent saying "get your own hotel, and submit a claim." Fine, I call my preferred hotel chain, closest room is 20 miles north. I take a cab there. I arrive at the hotel, the clerk says "reservations desk is wrong, no rooms". OK, book at another chain, call Uber and head there (other side of Chicagoland). Second hotel calls and says "reservation desk is wrong, we have no rooms." Ugh. I tell Uber guy to drop me at ORD.

As I return to ORD, resigned to sleeping in the terminal, I see that the United counter at the Intl Terminal is handling the very last of the customers from my flight. I step up to the counter and goodnaturedly asked for a room and my luggage. The agent laughed: "where were you? There are no rooms within 30 miles of the airport!"

I resigned myself to a few hours shuteye in a terminal chair, but I asked to track my lost luggage anyway. He scanned my tag, and pointed to my luggage off to the side. "Is that it?" Hooray! It had my clean clothes, my carry-on had the dirty. Then I asked when I could re-check my bags, enter the terminal, and access the lounge.

The agent - named something Khan or Khan something - clicked around on his terminal, muttered something, then spit out a voucher for a hotel! What luck! Afterall, I had a comfortable sleep in a hotel, and a leisurely - though belated - return to my home.

I don't think the UA agent did anything above and beyond in my case, but for karma's sake I feel I should commend my luck.