adastra

After an absolutely lovely week in Alaska, I headed back overnight ANC-SEA-ORD-BWI. My first two flights were entirely uneventful, but that last step has been a doozy! This morning's UA527 boarded on-time, left the gate slightly early, and made it to nearly 10,000 feet before we turned around for an unpressurized cabin. (I heard the captain alert ATC about 5 minutes before they made a cabin announcement.) We turned right around and landed back at ORD, where they were unable to immediately fix the issue.

We waited on the original A320 (N433UA) for nearly an hour until they found us a new plane at C26... only to find, after boarding, that this A320 (N435UA) was also broken! The lav dump valve was malfunctioning, with a repair estimate of 3+ hours. The crew said it was the first time they'd experienced two back-to-back maintenance issues on a single flight like this. They went looking for plane #3, and apparently didn't find it - as we neared the 4-hour mark from the original departure time, UA527 was canceled entirely, leaving 60+ displaced passengers looking for a way to WAS. Unfortunately, there was also at least one other canceled ORD-WAS flight today, so the standby lists were already packed.

As a displaced F passenger, I ended up #2 on the standby and upgrade lists for UA3667, with a confirmed F seat later tonight on UA334. I waited at the gate for UA3667, watching the standby list like a hawk... and I'm glad that I did. My name was #2 on both, then I popped up with a confirmed seat (2D). Hooray! But as soon as my name appeared, it disappeared once again - from both lists entirely. I approached the GAs and asked why my name was gone, and got a total brush-off: "We're not going to clear any standbys. The flight is oversold and we're asking for volunteers. We can't deal with you right now, please wait until boarding has finished." Meanwhile, someone else was cleared into 2D and I heard one of the GAs complaining that the upgrade list had been processed incorrectly and she was "fixing it."

Well, I got fixed good - when they took me back off the flight, they took me off the standby list entirely, and lost my confirmed seat on UA334!! The exact same thing happened to the #1 passenger on the list, who had been confirmed on an earlier flight back to BWI. Now they were telling us that the earliest confirmed seat would be sometime tomorrow, with all of the standby options before then looking grim. For the first time since the flight delays began nearly 6 hours earlier, I was feeling pretty close to my breaking point.

Eventually, I got back my confirmed F seat on UA334, but the #1 on the list didn't get hers back and had to settle for one on UA334 (6 hours later than her previous confirmed flight would've arrived). We're also on the standby list on the next flight to BWI, though I fear that I'm risking my confirmed seat once again if the ORD agents can't process the list properly! I'm waiting in the club to see what will happen next - the next standby opportunity boards in 40 minutes!

We got plenty of apologies for the debacle, but mostly, a lot of complaints and excuses about the computer system. I have no idea what the GAs did to completely screw up my reservation, and I'm glad that I noticed promptly and was able to get my confirmed seat back (even if that flight leaves over 24 hours after I departed Alaska). If you happen to be on tonight's flight, I apologize in advance for my grunginess and jet-lagged, sleep-deprived delirium. Assuming I make it onto that flight!

adastra

An update to the insanity: I cleared standby on UA476, and have never been happier to get 28E. Boarded an exceptionally hot plane - the APU was dead. My upgrade cleared but I almost didn't get the seat - the GA told me it was a mistake and tried to kick me off the plane when the new owner of 28E showed up. But I swam upstream to 4A and claimed it as the door closed.

Waited 40 minutes for air carts to start the engines. Mid-taxi, found out we were likely to be rerouted due to weather. Sat on the tarmac for another 40 minutes (still in a stifling unairconditioned plane) before we headed back to the gate - the reroute requires more fuel than we have.

Now we're at the gate for at least another 20-30 minutes for refueling and to get passengers who deplaned back aboard. This really has become epic - in the end, it'll take me at least 20 hours to get from ANC to BWI. And we haven't taken off yet. I've already received one "customer appreciation" email today, and I think they owe me more than appreciation for these issues.

I don't even want to think about my luggage...

No1racer

Wow, what a story. Good luck getting in to BWI. Weather there at least doesn't look bad.

bwiflyer01

I was supposed to be on UA 476 today while going LAX-ORD-BWI. Luckily I SDC'd to go LAX-CLE-BWI for better upgrade and weather odds. We escaped CLE right before the weather hit. Looks like you guys rerouted via Canada. Your experience sounds awful.

HokieEngineer

Recently I was in LAS and boarded an A320 to ORD. Sat on plane for 20 minutes until the announced something was broken and we were going to use a different plane. Got on the new A320 and sat for an hour because something was broken on the new plane! They finally fixed whatever it was and we got on our way.

I've also had mx problems on 4 out of 5 of my last flights. A320 and 757.

ChicagoJetSet

Wow, that's pretty insane. Looks like the SHARES system is causing mishaps in the system; one passenger at a time. Good luck on your continued journey!

chinatraderjmr

Does anyone see a pattern here? Looks like way more sUA planes are having more problems then usual.

If these guys are going to start playing games screwing up our summer I hope we make it very clear right back that we could give a damn about the pay and conditions they work under. While I'm pretty much anti union, I've always backed pilots trying to regain "pay" that was lost since 9/11. If I miss a meeting, family event, tanning session due to union shenanigans, I'll never back them for anything in the future.

aluminumdriver

No one is playing games, there's nothing going on with the pilots, so I'd appreciate you not blaming us for Mr. SMISEK'S decisions! We're just as ticked off as you are.

Pilots are not responsible for maintenance or the SHARES debacle. We're also not responsible for Smisek undermanning the airline once again.

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PotomacApproach

.5% cancel rate and 18% late flights rate for April, worse than most of the majors, but nothing like the 7% cancel, 50% late from the Summer of Hell

will be interesting to see how May and June come out

Cbmaz

What's the SHARES Debacle? Have you ever worked it?

aluminumdriver

Just read this forum to see what the SHARES system is and all the problems it's caused. I'm not a gate or ticket agent, so I don't deal with SHARES other than when it messes up my deadhead tickets (quit often it seems).

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weirdlyndon

Mechanicals and cancellations happen daily. It's just not always that an FTer is affected and posts it. I don't see a pattern here anymore than any other airline and normal maintenance issues.

adastra

Made it to BWI a mere 22 hours after I departed ANC. In the end, we were delayed nearly 3 hours for the APU+reroute+fuel combo - 3 lovely hours on an unairconditioned 752. But it made it, and my luggage was waiting for me in baggage jail, having arrived on one of the earlier flights. So I guess that's a silver lining. :P

If there were any patterns today, they all revolved around SHARES and the agents fighting the system to make it do what they needed it to do. At the gates, the clubs, and the customer service center, I saw issue after issue as they tried to rebook dozens of stranded passengers. They struggled to get me confirmed for a flight and on standby for earlier options. They struggled to figure out how to rebook my tickets because I was on an award ticket. They struggled to find and book connections or partner flights. I only got a confirmed seat on UA334 because I'd seen availability on a cursory search via my phone - the agents were telling me that they couldn't find a seat for 24+ hours when I was able to find several viable options much sooner. (They did try to rebook me onto ORD-CLE-BWI with a 17 minute connection, an option that they presented to several passengers, and I pity whoever eventually accepted it out of desperation.) Many agents are very clearly nearing their breaking point in dealing with the computers, and it shows.

There was also plenty of misinformation and conflicting information, and I don't know how other passengers got home if they weren't aggressive and proactive in their handling of the situation. Unfortunately, I know most flyers aren't, and they just wait for the agents to tell them what to do - a one-way ticket to disappointment (if not disaster). The system makes it hard to get passengers efficiently and reliably rebooked... but also easy for any of the number of agents who touch your reservation to screw it up. I spoke to one of the GAs who was helping out with SHARES guidance who complained that there were too many inexperienced agents messing around with the standbys and rebookings. That's pretty clearly what happened with my standby/confirmed seat debacle. Somewhere in correcting a mistake in processing upgrade/standby, they wiped my remaining reservation. That's a pretty powerful mistake.

The mechanical and weather issues are disappointing, but I know they happen. My disappointment is in what happens after a delay or cancellation occurs - the confusion, the struggles with the system, the misinformation, and the bad attitudes.

chinatraderjmr

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My comment was about a possibility. If you say that's not the case I have no reason to not believe you as I believe you've always been honest with us in the past

HOWEVER, you must admit its happened in the past and many of us are concerned the same things coming this summer. Are you saying our fears are without merit and this is something you guys would never and have never done?? You / me / we can only blame Smisek / Shares for so much. Up till now your right. 99% of blame falls there but if there was to be ANY kind of job action / work slowdown etc, then the blame no longer will belong with SHARES or SMI/J. It will belong to the angry pilot / mechanic, / UNION who ends up hurting ME for how the company deals with them and that something I'll never get behind.

You are a lucky lucky guy

aluminumdriver

I can't promise you that the operation won't fall apart, it's being run on a threadbare operation. I can say that the pilots won't be a part of any nefarious action. I've seen three letters today from three union councils and our Master Chairman telling pilots that while they may be frustrated with management, to not take it out on the operation. Many of us believe the company would love to sue us again to delay negotiations. The union is smart enough to not fall into that trap. So, while I fully expect our operations to be rather up and down this summer, it won't be due to the pilots.

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