That's the real problem. The UA planes are spread out across more hubs, and so are the CO planes. So when one goes bad, they can't just pull another, it's likely somewhere else.

That, combined with the technology issues, where it can take 20 minutes, sometimes more, to rebook each customer, and the impact of the cancellation is huge. It's nothing like a PMUA cancellation where you're cancelled, someone was looking out for you and sold in some protection, you get on the phone or go to the club, and 2 minutes later, you're good to go.

A little over a week ago, I was in spotty cell coverage when I got an alert of a cancelled flight for the next day. I knew I'd be out of cell coverage in 10-15 minutes, so I didn't even bother calling UA. I waited until much later when I was at a land line, and called them. Good thing, it was a 59-minute phone call to accept UAL protection and get rebooked.