bkcarolina

I recently took my fifth trans-Atlantic flight of the year, which was carefully booked four months ago so that I'd be on UA operated flights for the long legs (no way to avoid European airlines for the legs within Europe), with a layover of a few hours in London on the return to VIE so that I could fit in a meeting.

Two days before departure I reprint my itinerary to find that I have been rerouted and no longer go through London and am now on Austrian for the trans-Atlantic leg. No notification whatsoever, so who knows when or how this happened?

When I call, I'm eventually (not easy to get to that point) told that it's because BMI, my LHR-VIE carrier, has dropped Star Alliance, so I'm entirely rerouted and no longer going through LHR (despite the fact that Austrian and several Star Alliance partners have many flights that could get me back to VIE). This, by the way, despite an email from UA a few weeks earlier assuring me that if I have any already-booked travel on BMI the tickets will still be honored as if nothing had changed. I'm pretty sure this excuse is untrue, as I'm leaving Kansas City on the final day of a convention when many flights from there are overbooked, and I suspect they just didn't want me going to CHI and wanted to send me to IAD because there was more space.

I ask to be rerouted again, but the agent isn't too with it and can't understand why if I leave DC on the evening of July 9 on a red-eye to London I would then want my LON-VIE flight to be on July 10. She never is able to work that one out. So I find my own flights on their website and tell her which ones I want (the original two legs being my originally booked two legs). No seats available, says she. But I'm looking at them. Hmmm...she still says she can't and a good 1.5 hours later I'm transferred to her incredibly unhelpful and obnoxious supervisor, who tells me their only obligation is to get me to VIE no matter how they decide they want to do it. I explain to her that I have booked to go through LHR because I need to go through LHR, and there are still flights (many) that can do it.

NO, just NO. Your plans have already been changed once, and we only allow one free change. But I didn't make (or even know about) the change, says I. NO, just NO--we only allow one change and you have had yours. Incredibly rude and unhelpful in every way, from tone of voice to lack of effort on her part.

Eventually I have to cancel my London meeting and fly on Austrian to VIE from IAD in a cramped seat that I cannot fit into (the E+ seating is the ONLY reason I use UA and always make sure to get a UA operated flight for the long legs of the trip).

I have two more trans-Atlantic flights already booked for July on UA, but I guess I should have the miles credited to USAirways and see if they can do any better in terms of decent customer service? It was quite clear to me that UA appreciates my business not at all.

So I have to keep rewatching "United Breaks Guitars" to amuse myself and try to keep a sense of humor, and as a reminder that even though UA said loudly and clearly that that public relations fiasco had taught them a lesson about delivering good or at least respectful customer service, that also was just a platitude with absolutely no sincerity behind it.