<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by KGruendel:
Hmmmm, let's see here. If a flight is sold on UA ticket stock, by a UA reservations agent, with the word "United" in the airline's name (United Express), on a plane painted in United's colors, leaving from a gate with signs reading "United" or "United Express," with check-in performed by United personnel at a counter that says "United," with the inflight magazine being the official United inflight magazine, etc. etc. how can you argue that United bears no responsibility for this?</font>
First, the employees were SkyWest, not United. The whole "image" thing is part of what regional carriers are all about. They even have uniforms that say United on them. However, the planes, gates, checkin posts all belong to SkyWest (or one of the other regionals branded as UX). There are contractual agreements about how these carriers are permitted to use the UA logo and are supplied with UA materials, but the obligations to the customer belong to the actual underlying carrier.
You'll note that the boarding pass (printed on UA ticket stock) has a message clearly printed on both your stub and the retained airline coupon indicating that "United Express service provided by XXXXXXXX" with the true carrier's name listed.
You suggest if the ticket was purchased at UAL.COM, that was further proof of responsibility. If I buy a ticket from ITN.COM directly, does American Express, GetThere, LP and SABRE have equal responsibility for my flight's operations the day of travel? I think not.
[This message has been edited by SFO 1K (edited 01-22-2002).]