Just to keep some perspective, under EU regulations airlines are required to provide vouchers and accommodation in all circumstances, including weather delays or other "exceptional circumstances". And still LH, BA, Ryanair and the like are highly profitable with $140 oil (although in Ryanair's case they rarely if ever comply with the regulations).

You're right; my tone was uncalled for, and I apologize.

But doesn't "controllable" simply mean "not weather-related" -- usually a maintenance problem? In that case, isn't it a safety decision, not a business decision?

I volunteered for a bump in Denver in May, and was told that I would have to arrange my own overnight accomodations if my seat was needed. I declined and took my name off the list.
YUCK!!
Kate

After seven years since my last UA flight I went to Chicago to join my friend for a few days. I traded for an e-voucher on CC and the non-stop OMA-ORD was uneventful. My friend gifted me 3P and I enjoyed row 5 E+.

June 16th was my return. There was a minor schedule change e-mailed to me about six weeks out. No problem. I go to OLCI the night of the 15th but it tells me I have to call UA because of the schedule change. What a load of crap...print my bloody BP, you idiots.

So after being in the holding queue for approximately 42 minutes RA fixes the problem so I then have to go back down to the lobby to print the BP. Okay, fine.

I arrive at the airport about 1.5 hours early and sit at the gate. When the GAs arrive they announce an equipment downsize and that they need several volunteers. I ask them what they are offering. She tells me what the 'protection' is. I specifically ask about a meal voucher because the option I take is four hour wait then connection to YX in MKE because I have to be home that night for morning meeting. In hindsight, I should have taken the hotel room they were offering and took the first flight next day. She offers RT ticket and I ask about a travel voucher. She says $400 and I ask if it is good on INTL; she says any UA metal. Fine, give me the voucher, please.

So I give up my seat and after they close the flight another GA shows up and first lady gives my info to her to finish reboooking me and getting my vouchers. So I am given all of this stuff and it is explained to me. I am actually given four (4) $100 vouchers that must be redeemed at the airport. I'm on a bloody e-ticket. Why doesn't this stinking excuse for an airline do e-vouchers like most other carriers? NW puts them right in my WP account so I don't even have to have the paper receipt in my hand when I go to redeem them. I ask if they can be used together and am told yes. They are numbered 1-of-4, etc. so maybe I'm ok but as I later read the small print it says they cannot be combined. So I really don't know. Thought MAYBE I would use them to go to SIN Do but now I'm thinking CC.

But then comes the kicker. Where is my meal voucher? She tells me that UA only gives meal vouchers for 1Ks now. I tell her I specifically asked and was told I would get a meal voucher BEFORE giving up my seat. Her first response was tough; after I pressed she told me to get one from GA when I arrived MKE. I get to MKE and the guy said he would if he could but he couldn't even access the flight record, that he would need to do that to give me a voucher.

So I was either lied to or misled (what's the real difference I don't know) and remembered why I haven't flew UA in over seven years.

You people may like your dysfunctional excuse for an airline but I'm sticking with what works for me. I'd drive the 450 miles to Chicago before I'd take this stinking airline again.

This is not entirely true. You can redeem them by mail. And no, you won't have to pay a ticketing fee to do either one. It's still nowhere near as convenient as electronic certificates, for sure - though that's very likely on purpose, to increase breakage - but you don't have to actually go to the airport.

They may be combined with each other; they may not be combined with other vouchers. The small print should say that, I think... but even if not, you may combine VDB vouchers from the same booklet, but cannot combine multiple booklets.

If a maintenance problem, it resulted from a business decision to spend $ instead of $$ in terms of planes, likely because UA mgmt decided that a certain Z% breakdown is profit-maximizing (or loss-minimizing). However, it is improper for UA to factor in dumping part of the cost (meals and hotel paid by the passengers themselves when UA cuts costs by canceling a flight) as part of the "savings" to UA.

Hey, what's a "flight of note"? (See post 1). Sorry if I missed an explanation in previous posts...

What do you have against that one? I've always found it really nice and accomodating. Nice sports bar. Close to Rosemont Horizon... err... Allstate Arena ;-). Right next to a Target. Could be worse.

The airlines seem to believe that they have no chance if something is passed at the Federal level, hence the enormous efforts by the airline lobby to kill past bills. The last time Congress came close to passing a bill the airlines came out with the "voluntary" customer commitments. That seemed to placate Congress for the time being. Expect to see further proposed legislation if United and other airlines keep reneging on these past commitments.

But UA does cover the cost of the hotel for non-weather-related cancellations.

I think that was meant to be sarcastic.

I don't know anyone who's ever been stuck overnight due to flying WN.

Yes. For now. If the meal abolishment sticks, hotels are probably the next to go.

And even now, to get a hotel, generally (1) the pax must ask for it, (2) the agent must be familiar with the policy, or the passenger must argue with the agent, and (3) the agent must be willing to follow the rules instead of making up their own.

Right. I echo these sentiments and add that it is often an enormous effort to get a cert because the customer service lines are through the wazoo.. even at the 1K checkin counter outside security.

A couple of things though:

First, the meal abolishment mentioned in the OP is only for non-overnight delays/cancellations. I wasn't aware that UA ever even had a policy for meal vouchers for non-overnight delays or cancellations. I certainly never saw them offered.

Second, you might have more experience with overnight cancellations than I do, but the one time it happened to me -- a few months ago -- I didn't have to ask for anything. The GA booked me on the next morning's flight and handed me a voucher covering the cost of the airport Hyatt along with some meal vouchers totaling around $15. It was handled very efficiently, and I assumed this was SOP for non-weather overnights.