nachosdelux

someone missed the joke here...

FlyfromDenver

How do you get notifications of delays or changes ? Having had a situation with a very delayed flight on Feb 4, the app was the way for me to change flights and to receive meal vouchers. I don�t think it�s an unreasonable assumption in this day and age.

eng3

Foreign traveler with no working SIM or blocked from US carriers? Free wifi isn't available in all airports. (Typically it is in UA hubs though)

halls120

I have a phone. Having one shouldn't be a prerequisite for access to customer service.

Midships

Agreed. When working am on 24hour call. When I am off-line for work, my sim goes into a non-smart phone for family emergencies only.

AsiaTravel2019

Unfortunate situation. A few observations, from a very frequent flier on multiple airlines the last 6 year, including the US3:

1.) All of the planes are sold out. UA knows they can do (or not do) whatever they want. Demand is endless. Don't like their customer no-service? Go pound sand and someone else will take your place.

2.) Customer service doesn't make money, so you are officially overhead.

3.) Frequent flier status doesn't mean anything anymore. See #1.

4.) The US3 only do the bare minimum of what they need to do to keep the cash rolling in.

I'm not saying it's right, but it is what it is.

zombietooth

I would've qualified.

Seriously though, I saw this unhelpful crap attitude being taken with a vision-impaired flyer who couldn't use a visual smartphone screen. He just wanted a human to assist him with his re-booking during IRROPS.

ani90

Of course it should! Or, to flip it round, how else does one intend to contact customer service other than by a phone call or via an app? There are so many companies today where the only useful interface is either via a phone call or via an app or webpage. So yes a phone is essential. Not a prerequisite obviously but without it then things can be difficult.

For those who don't have a phone, you need means to contact someone who does so they can help you. CS desks and agents are one option, but airlines have cut down so much on face to face customer services that this cannot be one's expected default. In many airports the customer service desks are empty as in unmanned and abandoned. Indeed in the OP picture it seems the CS area was closed and unmanned and we don't know who or what those 3 folks in the picture were. And there are no payphones around most airports either.

So yes everyone should travel with a phone and a charger. If possible a smart phone. If you dont know how to or are unable to use a smart phone (like elderly, medical reason, cannot read etc), then have someone you can call or ask for help in case of problems. I have on quite a few occasions been at home in US solving problems for elderly parents having problems in an airport in Africa or Europe. Relying on finding a CS desk is a thing of the past or one has to be prepared to spend hours in lines or get frustrated as in OP case....

halls120

If I'm at home, I have a phone I can use. That's how I contact customer service. And I always carry a mobile, but making that the default option when you are in an airport where there are airline personnel is ridiculous.

If UA is going to make having a mobile phone a requirement for receiving customer service once passengers leave home, than they should make it clear to every customer before they buy a ticket that they cannot depend on receiving assistance from UA personnel at the airport. How do you think that will go over with the traveling public? I'm sure UA's competitors would relish that advertising opportunity.

mahasamatman

Thank you for offering to pay everyone's roaming charges.

ani90

No more than I would pay the charges if they are stranded in the middle of a market in Istanbul or Marrakesh. Contingency planning is part of any travel or one has to accept the consequences. All industries are into cost cutting and they are not going to employ more agents to staff more desks because people don't have usable phones. There will of course be a limited skeletal service for people who can't roam etc but that's why they have to do their best to divert folks, who are able to do so, to use the apps or call in.

WineCountryUA

But it isn't

HkCaGu

I have a smart phone. But I can always declare it dead, frozen, un-charge-able, or the app crashed, etc.

zombietooth

In OP's case, they still refused to help him after the kiosk screen told him to "see an agent".
The problem isn't that there are fewer and less competent CS agents, it's that they were unwilling to help, even given extenuating circumstances.

halls120

I know. I was responding to those who believe the phone app is the single solution to the IRROPS rebooking problem.

The last time I arrived in FRA following a TATL, I had no access to the airport�s WiFi for the first 30 mins after touchdown. That�s why I dislike the �rely on your phone� approach.