Forgive me, I'm new here. Is this airline for real?
Jul 26, 2011, 9:05 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Everywhere
Programs: Delta GM, *G, BA Blue, Hyatt Plat, Marriott Silver, LHW
Posts: 753
Forgive me, I'm new here. Is this airline for real?
Short, bulleted tale from a new UA flyer (matched 1k from DL):
- Scheduled for 7:00a departure ORD-STL on UA, operated by Trans States.
- At 6:45a, the ERJ hasn't boarded yet, there's nobody at C7, and the next flight is posted on the screen.
- I know something's up, so I check the departures board, and see that my flight has been delayed to 9:45a.
- I call the 1K line to be placed on the standby list for the 8:15a flight. The powerless agent is unable to do this, and redirects me to a supervisor who happily places me on the list.
- Head over to C1 for the 8:15a flight, of course, I don't see my name on the standby list.
- Call the 1K line again, they say that they're unable to do this, the supervisor I spoke to was wrong, and I need to go to the counter. Of course... there's nobody at C1 either.
- I walk to the C-concourse customer service center; they place me on the list and I miss it anyway.
- At this point, I say screw it, it's just a day trip and I can be more productive in the office vs. waiting for a flight that will probably never leave. I call the 1K line, and ask for my ticket to be refunded. They say I need to go to the website and "un-check-in" before my ticket can be refunded. I plead ignorance on how to do this (which is actually the truth) and the agent places me on hold for 10 minutes while tracking down a web process resource to un-check-me in (un-check-in me?).
Again, forgive me, I'm new here... but is this the way UA operates? I'm familiar enough with poor operations at regional carriers, but are the RSAs completely powerless when it comes to simple tasks like placing pax on standby lists, removing them from checkin lists, and the like?
I'm venting a bit, but this was an incredibly frustrating experience and I don't want it replicated in the future. Talk me back onto the bandwagon (and away from the bAAndwAAgon).
- Scheduled for 7:00a departure ORD-STL on UA, operated by Trans States.
- At 6:45a, the ERJ hasn't boarded yet, there's nobody at C7, and the next flight is posted on the screen.
- I know something's up, so I check the departures board, and see that my flight has been delayed to 9:45a.
- I call the 1K line to be placed on the standby list for the 8:15a flight. The powerless agent is unable to do this, and redirects me to a supervisor who happily places me on the list.
- Head over to C1 for the 8:15a flight, of course, I don't see my name on the standby list.
- Call the 1K line again, they say that they're unable to do this, the supervisor I spoke to was wrong, and I need to go to the counter. Of course... there's nobody at C1 either.
- I walk to the C-concourse customer service center; they place me on the list and I miss it anyway.
- At this point, I say screw it, it's just a day trip and I can be more productive in the office vs. waiting for a flight that will probably never leave. I call the 1K line, and ask for my ticket to be refunded. They say I need to go to the website and "un-check-in" before my ticket can be refunded. I plead ignorance on how to do this (which is actually the truth) and the agent places me on hold for 10 minutes while tracking down a web process resource to un-check-me in (un-check-in me?).
Again, forgive me, I'm new here... but is this the way UA operates? I'm familiar enough with poor operations at regional carriers, but are the RSAs completely powerless when it comes to simple tasks like placing pax on standby lists, removing them from checkin lists, and the like?
I'm venting a bit, but this was an incredibly frustrating experience and I don't want it replicated in the future. Talk me back onto the bandwagon (and away from the bAAndwAAgon).
Jul 26, 2011, 9:52 am
#2
Join Date: Feb 2007
Programs: United 1K, Delta PM, Hilton Diamond, Starwood Gold, National Exec. Elite
Posts: 1,406
Short, bulleted tale from a new UA flyer (matched 1k from DL):
- Scheduled for 7:00a departure ORD-STL on UA, operated by Trans States.
- At 6:45a, the ERJ hasn't boarded yet, there's nobody at C7, and the next flight is posted on the screen.
- I know something's up, so I check the departures board, and see that my flight has been delayed to 9:45a.
- I call the 1K line to be placed on the standby list for the 8:15a flight. The powerless agent is unable to do this, and redirects me to a supervisor who happily places me on the list.
- Head over to C1 for the 8:15a flight, of course, I don't see my name on the standby list.
- Call the 1K line again, they say that they're unable to do this, the supervisor I spoke to was wrong, and I need to go to the counter. Of course... there's nobody at C1 either.
- I walk to the C-concourse customer service center; they place me on the list and I miss it anyway.
- At this point, I say screw it, it's just a day trip and I can be more productive in the office vs. waiting for a flight that will probably never leave. I call the 1K line, and ask for my ticket to be refunded. They say I need to go to the website and "un-check-in" before my ticket can be refunded. I plead ignorance on how to do this (which is actually the truth) and the agent places me on hold for 10 minutes while tracking down a web process resource to un-check-me in (un-check-in me?).
Again, forgive me, I'm new here... but is this the way UA operates? I'm familiar enough with poor operations at regional carriers, but are the RSAs completely powerless when it comes to simple tasks like placing pax on standby lists, removing them from checkin lists, and the like?
I'm venting a bit, but this was an incredibly frustrating experience and I don't want it replicated in the future. Talk me back onto the bandwagon (and away from the bAAndwAAgon).
- Scheduled for 7:00a departure ORD-STL on UA, operated by Trans States.
- At 6:45a, the ERJ hasn't boarded yet, there's nobody at C7, and the next flight is posted on the screen.
- I know something's up, so I check the departures board, and see that my flight has been delayed to 9:45a.
- I call the 1K line to be placed on the standby list for the 8:15a flight. The powerless agent is unable to do this, and redirects me to a supervisor who happily places me on the list.
- Head over to C1 for the 8:15a flight, of course, I don't see my name on the standby list.
- Call the 1K line again, they say that they're unable to do this, the supervisor I spoke to was wrong, and I need to go to the counter. Of course... there's nobody at C1 either.
- I walk to the C-concourse customer service center; they place me on the list and I miss it anyway.
- At this point, I say screw it, it's just a day trip and I can be more productive in the office vs. waiting for a flight that will probably never leave. I call the 1K line, and ask for my ticket to be refunded. They say I need to go to the website and "un-check-in" before my ticket can be refunded. I plead ignorance on how to do this (which is actually the truth) and the agent places me on hold for 10 minutes while tracking down a web process resource to un-check-me in (un-check-in me?).
Again, forgive me, I'm new here... but is this the way UA operates? I'm familiar enough with poor operations at regional carriers, but are the RSAs completely powerless when it comes to simple tasks like placing pax on standby lists, removing them from checkin lists, and the like?
I'm venting a bit, but this was an incredibly frustrating experience and I don't want it replicated in the future. Talk me back onto the bandwagon (and away from the bAAndwAAgon).
Jul 26, 2011, 11:11 am
#3
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: LAX
Posts: 6,769
Short, bulleted tale from a new UA flyer (matched 1k from DL):
- Scheduled for 7:00a departure ORD-STL on UA, operated by Trans States.
- At 6:45a, the ERJ hasn't boarded yet, there's nobody at C7, and the next flight is posted on the screen.
- I know something's up, so I check the departures board, and see that my flight has been delayed to 9:45a.
- I call the 1K line to be placed on the standby list for the 8:15a flight. The powerless agent is unable to do this, and redirects me to a supervisor who happily places me on the list.
- Head over to C1 for the 8:15a flight, of course, I don't see my name on the standby list.
- Call the 1K line again, they say that they're unable to do this, the supervisor I spoke to was wrong, and I need to go to the counter. Of course... there's nobody at C1 either.
- I walk to the C-concourse customer service center; they place me on the list and I miss it anyway.
- At this point, I say screw it, it's just a day trip and I can be more productive in the office vs. waiting for a flight that will probably never leave. I call the 1K line, and ask for my ticket to be refunded. They say I need to go to the website and "un-check-in" before my ticket can be refunded. I plead ignorance on how to do this (which is actually the truth) and the agent places me on hold for 10 minutes while tracking down a web process resource to un-check-me in (un-check-in me?).
Again, forgive me, I'm new here... but is this the way UA operates? I'm familiar enough with poor operations at regional carriers, but are the RSAs completely powerless when it comes to simple tasks like placing pax on standby lists, removing them from checkin lists, and the like?
I'm venting a bit, but this was an incredibly frustrating experience and I don't want it replicated in the future. Talk me back onto the bandwagon (and away from the bAAndwAAgon).
- Scheduled for 7:00a departure ORD-STL on UA, operated by Trans States.
- At 6:45a, the ERJ hasn't boarded yet, there's nobody at C7, and the next flight is posted on the screen.
- I know something's up, so I check the departures board, and see that my flight has been delayed to 9:45a.
- I call the 1K line to be placed on the standby list for the 8:15a flight. The powerless agent is unable to do this, and redirects me to a supervisor who happily places me on the list.
- Head over to C1 for the 8:15a flight, of course, I don't see my name on the standby list.
- Call the 1K line again, they say that they're unable to do this, the supervisor I spoke to was wrong, and I need to go to the counter. Of course... there's nobody at C1 either.
- I walk to the C-concourse customer service center; they place me on the list and I miss it anyway.
- At this point, I say screw it, it's just a day trip and I can be more productive in the office vs. waiting for a flight that will probably never leave. I call the 1K line, and ask for my ticket to be refunded. They say I need to go to the website and "un-check-in" before my ticket can be refunded. I plead ignorance on how to do this (which is actually the truth) and the agent places me on hold for 10 minutes while tracking down a web process resource to un-check-me in (un-check-in me?).
Again, forgive me, I'm new here... but is this the way UA operates? I'm familiar enough with poor operations at regional carriers, but are the RSAs completely powerless when it comes to simple tasks like placing pax on standby lists, removing them from checkin lists, and the like?
I'm venting a bit, but this was an incredibly frustrating experience and I don't want it replicated in the future. Talk me back onto the bandwagon (and away from the bAAndwAAgon).
Jul 26, 2011, 11:13 am
#4
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: LAX & EWR/JFK
Programs: Fomerly UA 1K, now Gold... next year, who knows?
Posts: 1,432
Jul 26, 2011, 11:15 am
#5
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Always on the move
Programs: Something lifetime here and there
Posts: 1,867
Your experiences are very similar to mine. I have my profile setup for emails when my flights have an "Easy Update" (translation, your day is about to suck) so I often know my flight has been delayed or cancelled. Be careful with the regional operators for UA, they are the lowest bidder and often have poorly maintained aircraft. 80% of the flights I book, take off ontime or at all. 20% of my flights have some kind of mechanical delay or cancellation. That is the UA way.
The regional can know up to several hours before departure that the plane will be late (on its internal site). UA on its easy update or website will show it on-time even up to 1 hour before its scheduled departure (when the plane hasn't even left its previous destination to take you to XYZ).... frustrating, I know.
The best way to avoid this is (and you can't do this everywhere), try to see where the plane is coming from via the united.com site looking at departure/arrivals gate to piece the planes routing for the day.
Jul 26, 2011, 11:46 am
#6
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 227
Simple question... why not talk to the gate agent? They have the most up to date information on that particular flight and control to move you around. Why bother calling a remote call center or walking all the way to customer service? 
Jul 26, 2011, 12:02 pm
#7
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Chapel Hill, NC - UA Nobody (sigh)/0.925MM, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 3,510
Did you read the OP? Hard to speak with a non-existent GA.
Jul 26, 2011, 12:04 pm
#8
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: USA
Programs: 1K 1MM; Bonvoy Ambassador; Nat'l EE; Hertz PC; Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,465
So go find one somewhere else. There's customer service agents everywhere, one of them is bound to help that 1K. If the flight is under airport control I'm not sure if the 1K line can add people to the standby list. They can confirm you on flights if need be though.
Jul 26, 2011, 12:08 pm
#9
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Chapel Hill, NC - UA Nobody (sigh)/0.925MM, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 3,510
Jul 26, 2011, 12:45 pm
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Portland
Posts: 11,572
That has not been my experience. I had a very similar experience at LAX, which resulted in me not even getting placed on the standby list because there were no agents to be found anywhere in the terminal who did not have a non-moving 20 person line in front of them. OP, yes, this is typical for UA.
Jul 26, 2011, 12:47 pm
#11
Join Date: Jul 2007
Programs: UA 1K MM, Alaska MVP Gold 75K, AA PLT
Posts: 1,082
Here's my advice (if you want to continue playing the UA/CO game...)
Read up on all the tricks we've posted here and be prepared to fend for yourself (even as a 1K) during irregular ops
Stay away from UA Express whenever possible
If you don't like what you hear from an agent, immediately hang up and call back. Eventually you may end up at the HNL call center, which has the best reps.
Good luck.
Read up on all the tricks we've posted here and be prepared to fend for yourself (even as a 1K) during irregular ops
Stay away from UA Express whenever possible
If you don't like what you hear from an agent, immediately hang up and call back. Eventually you may end up at the HNL call center, which has the best reps.
Good luck.
Jul 26, 2011, 1:20 pm
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Everywhere
Programs: Delta GM, *G, BA Blue, Hyatt Plat, Marriott Silver, LHW
Posts: 753
Wow, I figured this was just a bad day vs. SOP.
To add a little more context, this was a regional crew scheduling issue -- right before the phantom delay, the GA for the flight to Ottawa (across the concourse at C6) made an announcement that "our flight attendant and first officer have arrived, but they believe they're supposed to go to St. Louis. We'll get this sorted out, and get back to you right away." That was the first indication that this was going to go awry.
My original flight eventually cancelled, after being delayed further to 10:25... glad I chose to head into the office.
As a wonderful finale to this, I shot UA a quick e-mail that was more or less a cut & paste of my OP.
Their response:
/ugh
To add a little more context, this was a regional crew scheduling issue -- right before the phantom delay, the GA for the flight to Ottawa (across the concourse at C6) made an announcement that "our flight attendant and first officer have arrived, but they believe they're supposed to go to St. Louis. We'll get this sorted out, and get back to you right away." That was the first indication that this was going to go awry.
My original flight eventually cancelled, after being delayed further to 10:25... glad I chose to head into the office.
As a wonderful finale to this, I shot UA a quick e-mail that was more or less a cut & paste of my OP.
Their response:
Hello,
We have received your email and are working to respond as quickly as possible. Our current response time is 10 days.
Sincerely,
United Airlines Customer Relations
We have received your email and are working to respond as quickly as possible. Our current response time is 10 days.
Sincerely,
United Airlines Customer Relations
/ugh
Jul 26, 2011, 5:00 pm
#13
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: DFW
Programs: UA 1K, LH Oil & Energy Club
Posts: 316
did you email [email protected] or use another email address?
Jul 26, 2011, 6:17 pm
#14
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Denver, CO
Programs: UA 1K 25 years/2MM, Honors LT Diamond, AVIS & Hertz Prez Club
Posts: 4,756
Regarding being un-checked-in - RESERVATIONS agents cannot do this for you. You can do it yourself or you have to talk to the Web service center agents. 1K agents will bridge on the Web service center folks. This is a limitation in which systems they have available - so don't hate on the res folks for this.
And it is true, you can't be confirmed on another flight when you're checked in for one already - so they did have to do that first.
Use that knowledge to your advantage in the future. If you can't un-check-in yourself, go to a kiosk with a phone and pick it up - the person on the other end can take you off a flight, then you can use the kiosk to rebook yourself/put yourself on standby - or at that point you can call 1K and get confirmed on something else.
And it is true, you can't be confirmed on another flight when you're checked in for one already - so they did have to do that first.
Use that knowledge to your advantage in the future. If you can't un-check-in yourself, go to a kiosk with a phone and pick it up - the person on the other end can take you off a flight, then you can use the kiosk to rebook yourself/put yourself on standby - or at that point you can call 1K and get confirmed on something else.
Jul 26, 2011, 6:29 pm
#15
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,123
UAX stinks 
Please complain to United, maybe one day they'll listen.
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Please complain to United, maybe one day they'll listen.
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