Sorry about your experience, but I think this kind of thing is the exception rather than the rule. I'm not trying to say that it wasn't a fiasco, but realistically, UA is going to try to get the flight out because if they don't, that inconveniences not only you, but the people at the other end who are counting on getting where they need to go. It also throws crews and aircraft out of position, which can be costly and time consuming to re-sync. If that means fixing the plane, it means fixing the plane. No airline can just throw up their hands at the first sign of adversity and cancel the flight, nor can they know how long a maintenance delay will last. Have you ever worked on a car? When you think you're just going to do an oil change, it's never just an oil change... Airplanes are not as simple as fixing Granny's old Chevy. They are complex machines and there is no room for error. As the plane was being fixed, it seems to me that the crew tried to help out by showing movies, feeding pax, etc. They couldn't have known that mid-meal the Captain would say "Let's go."

As far as SQ not being prepared for you, you stated that your flight was cancelled very late at night...probably after SQ and most other airlines' staff were gone for the night. At that point, the UA NRT agents had to rebook you on what they could find available in the CRS, and between airlines there is a delay in communicating back and forth.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I *AM* very sorry for your troubles, but UA is hardly even close to the level of service that Pan Am deteriorated to (yet) and that overall, this kind of experience is far from a normal occurrence.

[This message has been edited by UAEmployee (edited 08-23-2003).]