Originally Posted by
izzik
Unless the issue is related to safety, crime, or financial transactions... wouldn't this be a waste of time and resources?
No, actually, the DOT has a special "bad airline service" complaint channel which is much easier for customers to access than their "safety" complaint channel.
If UA does something you feel is unsafe, you'll need to call or write to the FAA.
If UA does something you feel is unpleasant, you can fill out a Web form to be processed by the DOT Aviation Consumer Protection Division. See
https://www.transportation.gov/airco...umer-complaint .
The consensus a few years ago was that it is kind of a jerk move to complain to the ACPD without first giving the airline an opportunity to fix the problem and that it's socially acceptable to escalate after the airline has said "no" once. I think the thinking used a similar logic to, if Timmy steals your crayons, you should ask for them back before you run to the teacher — the teacher might not take you seriously if you escalate every trivial complaint. Not sure.