United Cancellations Getting Insane
Jul 15, 2012, 11:29 pm
#31
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: AUS after 40+ SFO/OAK
Programs: UA MM (recovering former 1K), Marriott Titanium Lifetime
Posts: 550
UA total 302 Dep + Arr, 9 cancelled, about 3%;
All the others total 654 Dep + Arr, 1 cancel.
Pretty clear which airline is messed up, when even SkyWest only has 1 cxl.
Jul 16, 2012, 12:03 am
#32
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: SEA
Programs: AS MVP Gold75K
Posts: 850
Anecdotal information - whether about one person's experience or the cancellations at one hub airport on one day - isn't enough to make an assessment.
I'm curious if anyone has stats on true cancellations (not just cancelled flight plans) for the past month or two. It would be useful to compare the stats to the previous year.
If there is a real change, then we can try to learn its cause.
I'm curious if anyone has stats on true cancellations (not just cancelled flight plans) for the past month or two. It would be useful to compare the stats to the previous year.
If there is a real change, then we can try to learn its cause.
Jul 16, 2012, 12:13 am
#33
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Benicia, California, USA
Programs: AA PLT,AS,UA PP,J6,FB,EY,LH,SQ,HH Dmd,Hyatt Glbl,Marriott Plat,IHG Plat,Accor Gold
Posts: 10,820
I'm not implying anything.....but when FAB who happens to be a strike prepardness coordinator AND says that mgmt is just as guilty he has implied that the refusals are valid AS HE HAS SAID NOTHING TO REFUTE WHAT I OVERHEARD AT THE BAR ABOUT THE REFUSALS. ONLY THAT MGMT IS JUST AS GUILTY
Seriously, something you overheard at a bar is not the most reliable information, to put it mildly.
More generally, we're seeing a management team that is screwing up in all sorts of ways. Why should we not assume that their systems and policies are not responsible for the cancellations?
I don't buy the conspiracy argument, or even an argument that says that some disgruntled pilots are behaving differently than they otherwise might.
The simplest explanation is that the flight schedule is (as always) extra heavy in the summer, and UA has just enough personnel to cover what they have scheduled if everything goes perfectly---fewer than they need in the real world. I personally have not experienced any cancellations this summer, though I have had two delays due to crew rest issues that led to the cancellation of the subsequent flight using the plane I was riding. This is consistent with a simple under-staffing problem.
The simplest explanation is that the flight schedule is (as always) extra heavy in the summer, and UA has just enough personnel to cover what they have scheduled if everything goes perfectly---fewer than they need in the real world. I personally have not experienced any cancellations this summer, though I have had two delays due to crew rest issues that led to the cancellation of the subsequent flight using the plane I was riding. This is consistent with a simple under-staffing problem.
Jul 16, 2012, 12:37 am
#34
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: back in the saddle in AMWAJ
Programs: EK PLAT 2022-2023, UAplat soon to be LH senator!
Posts: 367
thunderroad,
really????im still at the bar????you are correct im still here with the ual pilots as you have so assumed
.....and i may i say i sealed the deal with my omani counterparts...
really????im still at the bar????you are correct im still here with the ual pilots as you have so assumed
.....and i may i say i sealed the deal with my omani counterparts...
Jul 16, 2012, 12:40 am
#35
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Benicia, California, USA
Programs: AA PLT,AS,UA PP,J6,FB,EY,LH,SQ,HH Dmd,Hyatt Glbl,Marriott Plat,IHG Plat,Accor Gold
Posts: 10,820
Jul 16, 2012, 12:43 am
#36
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: back in the saddle in AMWAJ
Programs: EK PLAT 2022-2023, UAplat soon to be LH senator!
Posts: 367
the best part is EK starts IAD on sept 12th.....free at last free at last....
Jul 16, 2012, 1:13 am
#37
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Las Vegas
Programs: DL Platinum, AA Lifetime Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Platinum, Radisson Premium
Posts: 6,638
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_1_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9B206 Safari/7534.48.3)
And to think they were #1 in operational reliability just a year and a half ago... Oh wait, sorry, that was sUA management and they didn't know how to do anything right <sarc>
And to think they were #1 in operational reliability just a year and a half ago... Oh wait, sorry, that was sUA management and they didn't know how to do anything right <sarc>
Jul 16, 2012, 2:08 am
#38
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: PAE
Posts: 302
Anecdotal information - whether about one person's experience or the cancellations at one hub airport on one day - isn't enough to make an assessment.
I'm curious if anyone has stats on true cancellations (not just cancelled flight plans) for the past month or two. It would be useful to compare the stats to the previous year.
If there is a real change, then we can try to learn its cause.
I'm curious if anyone has stats on true cancellations (not just cancelled flight plans) for the past month or two. It would be useful to compare the stats to the previous year.
If there is a real change, then we can try to learn its cause.
Unfortunately, they show data only for yesterday and the day before that.
http://flightaware.com/live/cancelled
Jul 16, 2012, 3:57 am
#39
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: JFK
Programs: UA Gold (Million Miler), FI Gold, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 1,075
I'm a ten-year member of mileage plus, and until this year, I'd experienced just one non-weather cancellation on UA. Since May I've had three. I wrote to complain.
In my letter I also related the fact that at EWR when approaching a check-in agent to ask to be waitlisted for an earlier alternative flight following my cancellation that this agent made an "I'm too busy" face and then flipped me off. Seriously. I got a $125 e-cert emailed to me.
Note that I'm ex-UA, not ex-CO, but my experience with UA was never like this. Maybe it was normal at CO.
In my letter I also related the fact that at EWR when approaching a check-in agent to ask to be waitlisted for an earlier alternative flight following my cancellation that this agent made an "I'm too busy" face and then flipped me off. Seriously. I got a $125 e-cert emailed to me.
Note that I'm ex-UA, not ex-CO, but my experience with UA was never like this. Maybe it was normal at CO.
Jul 16, 2012, 5:26 am
#40
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 57,617
Wrong. Back in february, pilots were warning that there would be a pilot shortage during the summer, and it had nothing to do with rejecting airplanes or job actions. It had everything to do with more flights scheduled than pilots available to fly them.
Jul 16, 2012, 7:42 am
#41
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Our Nation's Capital
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott BonVoy LT Titanium Elite, National Executive Elite
Posts: 832
They're rejecting planes left and right.
Jul 16, 2012, 8:25 am
#43
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 690
In my letter I also related the fact that at EWR when approaching a check-in agent to ask to be waitlisted for an earlier alternative flight following my cancellation that this agent made an "I'm too busy" face and then flipped me off. Seriously. I got a $125 e-cert emailed to me.
Note that I'm ex-UA, not ex-CO, but my experience with UA was never like this. Maybe it was normal at CO.
Note that I'm ex-UA, not ex-CO, but my experience with UA was never like this. Maybe it was normal at CO.
Jul 16, 2012, 9:13 am
#45
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 3
Last night my SFO to ORD flight got cancelled. I was 10 min from boarding to SFO, when I got the call from booking, (after they had already changed the plane, so I had lost my upgrade seat). They tried to get me on another flight, and only possible one was out of LAX on DELTA the next day! All UA flights from LAX to ORD were also cancelled. Kicker: I received a meal voucher. I tried to use it at LAX, and the restaurant said that United is on a credit hold and they do accept their vouchers at this time. I asked what that means, he said "United never pays us back for the vouchers". That's bad! I'm a Platinum on Delta as well - re-thinking the benefits of pushing to keep my 1K.