Baze

Does anybody have any actual information about this or are we going to read nothing but negative speculation?

FlyWorld

Are you suggesting that all the facts reported thus far are speculation?

Are you suggesting the plane didn't divert? Or, the passengers were put into a hotel? Or, they were fed? Or, United Contintal did communicate? Or, they weren't sent to EWR?

Which reported facts are you disputing and why?

kettle1

Throw some of that UA positive spin on this one. BAZE you need to try other carriers. Nothing personal. This is what I have read:

1. The PAX were taken to Military dormitories.

2. The PAX were given NO info from UA on what was going on.

3. The PAX were given NO food for several hours.

4. The PAX were given two blankets.

5. The flight crew were put up in a hotel.

6. The flight went to EWR from Goose Bay, not onto LHR.

FAIL, FAIL, FAIL on UA!

UA has turned into a joke.

UA should have refunded every person on that flt and given another free trip. That would have kept this mess out of social media. ANOTHER UA FAILURE!

If I was on that flt, I would be pissed and I would contact UA, the media and let people know how UA treats people.

As for the brave soldiers in the Canadian Military. They joined. The PAX on UA did not. I served my time in the US Air Force and I know when I am being treated bad. UA you failed big time on this one!

tom911

One of the passengers posted an hour ago on the Daily Mail site:
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz3d0jORWzi

Another post by a resident of Goose Bay an hour ago:

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz3d0maqj77

Maybe UA will get a press release out on Monday.

Kacee

The way they usually do.

It's not uncommon to hold pax from a diverted flight in a sterile area. It's likely some percentage did not have visas for Canada.

HkCaGu

Exactly. You cancel any flight on a ten-times-a-day route to rescue them. Or wait, isn't EWR-LHR itself a high frequency route already? Back when HNL-GUM became HNL-MDY, they canceled a sUA 772 to fly HNL-MDY-HNL and the passengers were only there for a few hours. How can they cancel ex-HNL on demand and can't for EWR?

yevlesh2

Ok, either we are missing something here, or UA is really hitting new lows:

1) It took them 20 hours to actually get the passengers out of Goose Bay
2) After those 20 hours, the passengers were flown to EWR
3) After arriving at EWR, the passengers spent yet another 3 hours sitting around EWR and then took the same exact plane to LHR. UA 2063 - still en route to LHR right now.

This really sounds like pure insanity from an operational standpoint.


BTW, looks like today's UA 925 made a (brief) diversion to Goose Bay as well.

flyallegheny

Yes, it looks like UA 925 LHR-IAD stopped there. UA 2065 YYR-EWR looks like it was an unscheduled flight for other refugees.

FlyWorld

They have finally spoken.

Full of compassion and truth, as usual.

"United Airlines spokesperson Hallie Eisenpress said in a statement that "hotel space was not available, so we accommodated our customers at a local military base and provided meals.""

http://www.kmbz.com/Passengers-Aboar...ight-/21633226

boss315

Ain't NO way to run any business, much less a customer service oriented one! Feel so bad for all of the PX.....prisoners are treated better than that....oh, they were prisoners of UA...very similar to experiences I had before leaving UA...except I was in a place with hotels and snacks.

LASUA1K

Again, UA didn't have 2 757's to get those people to LHR? It's a joke, 20 hours just to be flown to EWR. Who made that idiotic decision?

NewportGuy

You do know of course that we have United spokespersons who post here from time to time (not naming names, as there are several). But notice that when various United supporters post their press releases and other "good news" items, they are all over the place eager to talk. But few of these "supporters" seem to show up when United's customer service fails happen.

I know it is against the rules to call out individual posters, but it does seem a bit disingenuous to wave the flag only when it is sunshine and puppy dogs. This was a colossal fail, and you would think United would be falling all over themselves to apologize and explain.

cfischer

what an idiotic decisions (if planned to pick up pax). Now they had a flight from LHR arriving past 10 p.m. which means the last flight bank is gone and on top of all the disgruntled folks in YYR they have to accommodate all the connecting LHR pax in IAD as well which was already in bad shape with 2 other widebody MX cancellation yesterday.

BearX220

UA employee groups have a decades-long history of throwing customers under the bus to score points against management. Nothing new here.

You're seeing an immature but not uncommon view of the job of external communications: ignore / evade bad news, embrace little bits of cheer. It's typical at a lot of poorly run companies. They resent explaining themselves to customers and think bad news will evaporate by itself. In fact it metastasizes and drives their brand into the ground, but you can never convince them of that. This is a hallmark of companies that run on internal fear and anger. At United you will hear not a word about a cancel / delay / diversion leader board as long as your arm, not a syllable of response to livid customers venting to the Daily Mail, but there will be a cheery dispatch about an extra olive coming soon to first class salads. It's ridiculous and irrational but there you have it.

Kacee

That's the quote on Good Morning America this morning.

Passengers Aboard Diverted United Airlines Flight Spend Night in Unheated Military Barracks.

A public relations disaster, as it absolutely should be.