I've always interpreted this as their hope, maybe overly optimistic, that they could do a quick turnaround and catch up if the incoming isn't egrigiously late. And at hubs, they could swap out a different plane. So I have seen this as a choice, not a bug. Very different than the last time I flew AA in 2024 in CLT when there was no update on the flight (app or GAs) 5 minutes before boarding with no plane at the gate...

We have discussed this ad nauseam,
UA quoting wrong reasons for delay? How is the reason determined? Swapped aircraft?

Typically, a sign of an inbound plane swap upcoming.

Let's continue the discussion, if desired, in the existing thread

Alaska has the second best interface IMO of US airline apps, but I have not ever used it in an IRROP situation and I doubt it'd be anywhere near UA in that regard. DL is solid all around, probably the second best overall in the US, but it's still quite far from UA. AA's app is awful IME.

For international, I think LH has the best app I've used but it too is indeed quite far behind UA.

I suspect this was an intentional "guardrail" decision -- the philosophy being that UA is OK with letting a user DIY a nonstop standby such that if they miss the option they're at least somewhere they wanted to be [at some point] but not OK with letting a user DIY a connecting standby with the risk that the user gets stuck somewhere they never wanted to be/may not be savvy enough to figure out (and thus become more of United's problem, at least as far as PR goes ("United stranded me in Boise!" -- when the person was in ORD trying to get SFO and took a standby ORD-BOI-SFO routing, cleared ORD-BOI but not BOI-SFO).

SDC is also subject to constantly changing inventory and UA has, for the most part at least the places I'm flying to (YMMV) gotten really good at selling 100% of the seats on the aircraft. Example: Last week I was flying EWR-CLE somewhere in the J cabin (think it might have been the C RBD) -- I was originally on an 8pm flight because that was the only afternoon nonstop with inventory available and while I usually finish early-ish with this client, the only option before that with seats when I booked would have been a 10 or 11 am departure -- and when I start with the client at 9am and would have to get from the WTC area to EWR ...that seemed a bit optimistic even if the entire visit was just "Hey, good to see you, bye!"

When I first checked in for that flight there were no SDC options after noon and before what I was booked on. As I got clarity for how the day was going to go I checked again, and a 4pm NS not only appeared but had 2 seats open. During IROPS that inventory volatility is even more magnified as hundreds if not thousands of itineraries are being revised in a very short timeframe.

The problem is the AOD agents (at least every time I've tried using them) provide frighteningly wrong information, ghost you mid-issue (presumably because they're juggling multiple contacts simultaneously and lose track of things), screw up the PNR in some way that than results in having to be more aggressive than I prefer with the next agent/supervisor to get it fixed -- or various combinations of those three.

I don't object to having it as an optionbut UA pushing it as the only option is insulting -- I want a customer service experience where I have the person I'm working with's full and undivided attention just as they have mine. That's not what I've experienced with AOD. And the gate agent's "Fob off and use AOD, no one at the airport will help you" attitude (seen it people watching in many stations -- hub and line; experienced it first hand in IAD) really doesn't help either the UA image or the appeal of AOD.

I'll have to try to remember that next time I fly AA (currently due in ~14 months based on average "UA screwed something up so badly they had to send me on AA instead" timing ;) )

This, x1000. I absolutely detest the AOD concept, and think that creating it was one of the worst decisions coming out of the Kirby Kwality regime.

Well that's quite the non sequitur when the point being responded to related exclusively to the app. Though I actually I do think their customer facing IT is the best and they are also most transparent and most accurate in providing updated departure times.

I gotta say, the AS app sucks. You can't even cancel a flight on it and the last updates have been regressive, such that it now regularly freezes on the booking page.

What kind of compensation is UA throwing at people for this SNAFU? I’m a 1K with an F ticket that sat for 3+ hours on the tarmac in Denver. I’m not on the DYKWIA camp and demanding anything, but considering the circumstances, I wouldn’t mind some miles as a comp. People getting anything? Best way to get some comp?

Although I didn’t request compensation and hadn’t gotten around to requesting possible reimbursement for a self booked hotel once my repeatedly delayed flight was eventually canceled late at night, United did send me an email on Tuesday directing me to the United Cares page for compensation. I received an ETC for $175.

There was nothing more frightening last night than being on the taxiway and the Captain announcing on the PA that, "We're just waiting for our final weight calculations. It's taking a little longer than it should." Fortunately, about a minute later, we turned onto the runway and took off.