Mike Jacoubowsky

UA 4409 ORD-FSD has been a bit of a disaster for UA tonight; mechanicals kept inbound from coming in, then something else, and a short while ago they decided to ferry an empty plain from CLE. #3178 . Not on flightaware yet but shows on United app. On the phone app, it shows only 1C occupied on the inbound rescue flight. On the web app, the seatmap is unavailable. Just wondering if the FA is being shown occupying a seat as a non-rev? Anything to amuse myself, this is not going to be a fun night. There have been endless changes in both arrival times and this is at least the third different inbound associated with this flight. I considered trip-in-vain option but last flight back to SFO had already boarded.

Had I any idea earlier on that the delays would be so bad I would have burned a lounge pass, but being on crutches right now I'm not getting around too quickly so didn't want to be too far from the gate, plus, the initial delay was minimal. Each subsequent delay added incrementally, in small chunks. The flight is full; otherwise I'd suspect they'd just cancel. Earliest flight out tomorrow doesn't arrive until 11:42am, missing much of the meeting I need to attend.

Latest update: We're now seeing 3:14am. Getting a bit absurd. Nothing has been weather related, at least not according to the app.

StuckinITH

If it's a CR2, seat 1C is usually reserved for disabled passengers so would show as occupied on an empty plane. It's usually released for non-disabled passengers at some point.

Sorry that you had a painful long, long delay at ORD. Did they finally give you a hotel room?

MBS MillionMiler

To further this, 1C ALWAYS shows blocked on a CRJ...6 months before departure, 6 minutes before departure, 6 minutes after departure. (Including positioning flights like this one).

It only shows as available during the check-in process (on-line, at the airport kiosks or by an agent), and becomes selectable to any passenger* at T-24h before the flight.

*Non-status pax would generally get charged to select this on their own, free to elites.

toddt

Interestingly enough it went out 12 hours late with a delay notice of crew scheduling. My guess is after the plane got there the crew was out of hours. Left 7:41am arriving 9:37am so that probably didn't help your meeting.

MSPeconomist

Mike Jacoubowsky

Yes, that's what I figured out for one of the 3 attempts to fly us out. Plane from CLE took too long to get out of CLE I think. Crew would have timed out getting us back to ORD. But there's also the possibility that FSD isn't even open at 3:14am?

Yes, I was thinking it might be reserved for someone disabled. Like me on crutches. :-) Hey, I'm getting a LOT of exercise. That's a good thing, sorta. The hotel saga... read below.
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OP here. Here's what I sent United via their customer service form on-line, on 3/13/19. I'll post again when I get a reply. I also posted this here, with some photos- http://www.chainreactionblogs.com/diary/2019/03/13/united-airlines-total-fail-on-my-biz-trip-to-sioux-falls/

UA 4409 3/10/19 meltdown- Equipment & UA staff failures

I haven’t had a truly bad experience on United in quite a few years. My SFO-FSD flight that began 3/10 was straight out of twilight-zone hell.What a United gate agent who’s hearing news he doesn’t want to pass onto the passengers looks like.After our first plane went mechanical, we were told two different “rescue” planes were coming for us. One of the planes never left its origin, and the other actually did arrive but apparently the crew must have timed out because it was within minutes of arrival that the flight was rescheduled to the next morning. I was tracking the different inbounds using both the UA app and Flightaware.Scheduled departure of UA 4409 7:50pm
First delay at 6:48pm 3/10, said departure 9:45pm.

Subsequent delays-
7:44pm told 11pm departure
10:11pm told 11:49pm departure
10:24pm told 12:05am departure
11:03pm told 12:34am departure
11:09pm told 1:25am departure
11:26pm told 12:50am departure
11:26pm receive notification plane has arrived
11:33pm receive notification rescheduled to 7:52am

11:35pm gate agent tells us to head to customer service area in concourse B (flight was at E1).This is the van I couldn’t get to in time. Being on crutches, I would have to wait for the next one since everyone else waiting was faster.So I’m heading off, on crutches, to concourse B. Obviously I’m among the last to get there. It’s just before midnight that I get my turn. I let her know it’s not easy for me to get around but she tells me there’s nothing closer than the Comfort Inn, where it seems most of us have been sent. I ask how to catch the shuttle; she tells me you just go down the escalator and out the doors to the hotel shuttle area. She doesn’t tell me the hotel shuttle area is quite some distance to walk (remember, I’m on crutches), on sometimes-icy sidewalk and pavement. Had to ask a parking lot shuttle driver for directions; he kindly took me part of the way. Far more consideration than I got from United that evening. I get to the shuttle waiting area, and the Comfort Inn shuttle arrives. Fastest-person wins. Guy on crutches (me) is left behind. This is at 12:25am.Checking in at the Comfort Inn 1:01am25 minutes later the shuttle returns, and the driver makes sure I get on this time. There are others from UA 4409 that are still waiting for him to make his next round. Was United unaware of the capacity issues when booking so many people from one flight into the same (smallish) hotel? It was another 20 minutes waiting to get checked in. On the way we passed many name-brand hotels with vacancy signs. This was not the only game in town. Perhaps, if I were higher level than Gold, it might have made a difference?

One more final and tough-to-rationalize United act. We were told 7:52am departure when we left ORD. At 4:49am United moved up the departure to 7:15am! Bear in mind this was not a re-booking; this was our original flight. Filled only by the original UA4409 passengers. The hotel shuttles were booked solid when we arrived and besides, nobody had any way of knowing they should be getting up even earlier. Thankfully a wonderful United gate agent accepted me onto 4409, even though boarding was closed.

I lived through the Summer of Hell as well as the “We realize you have a choice of which bankrupt airline to fly” years and never let things get to me. But UA4409- it was like the plane/passengers that United tried to forget. Made much worse by the way a guy on crutches was treated w/regards the accommodations. It was a humbling experience for me. If this experience was within United’s policies, I need to think about moving on. I do not want to move on though. United is convenient and most of my experiences are positive.

I realize my business won’t make a dent in United’s bottom line, but if (my experience) was within the norm for United policies, I surely wouldn’t be the only one. Please convince me staying makes sense.