wschild

I sent a complaint letter to WHQ via FedEx to Ms. Higgins over a month ago and never received a response. I'm not hopeful for her to deliver much for us.

emma dog

Ugh. You see, these thingies like: weather in Chicago; paralyzing winter storms in DC; cloudy, rainy weather in San Francisco, and year round random weather in Denver are new for 2006. God has new thingies for other airlines next year and none of this will happen in 2008!

And things like ATC... can you believe that people actually sit in dark rooms hundreds of miles away from an airplane and actually talk to the people flying them? I mean, oh my god! Like, wow. And these people tell pilots to go fast, go high, go low and go slow. Sometimes they even tell the pilots to hold. But you see, they can't exactly hold. They have to move. Airplanes aren't humming birds, you know. Although both have wings. So, they fly in circles that are really ellipses. And then the planes come in late. And the people coming off are all . And we need to make them . So we give them apples and half-cups of water. Sometimes we put lemons in the water and the people are like . And that's why things like the 2006 edition of weather and atc are .

Miles Ahead

Several years back, I flew LGA-ORD with John Edwardson, at the time, president of United. I was in NF, he was in Y. He came up to F, greeted every passenger by name, and thanked us for flying United.

drummingcraig

I may be wrong but this article (and the questions/answers there-in) seemed very similar to the one that appeared in Hemispheres last month.

Craig

snic

Gee, I thought going from Y into the F cabin was a "security issue".

flygirl94

A friend of mine worked flt 252 on 8/22. (DEN-ORD) The flight diverted to DTW, which was only the beginning of the nightmare.

Onboard in F was Ms. Higgins, as well as JoAnne Calabrese(sp?) who I think is VP of airport operations.

After landing in DTW, it took 2 hours to find a gate that could accomodate a 767, and that was at the int'l terminal. They finally parked a little after 2300, and no one was allowed of the a/c until UAL and TSA personel arrived.

My friend said that both VP's were great w/ interacting w/ the pax, and were doing everything they could. She said they really took the heat which would usually be directed at the fa's. I should say that as soon as the plane parked and people were allowed off, the pilots walked as they were illegal for the day. So were the fa's, but they had to stay until a relief crew could be flown in.

One of the VP's used their credit card to order McD's for 300 people and had catering bring fresh ice, soda and bottled h20, as supplies onboard had been depleted. Ms. Calabrese was able to track down a polish speaker on her phone to explain what was going on to a non-english speaker. Apparently they both went above and beyond the call of duty on this flight.

Flt 252 finally left DTW at 0330 w/ a new crew, and my friend didn't get to her hotel until 0230(19 hours on duty with almost 11 hours of flight time). Her 1 day trip became a 3 day. She finally got home fri morning.

I can only hope that this expierence can open management's eyes, and see where things were done right, as well as what went horribly wrong.

UnitedSkies

Looks like Ms. Higgins and Ms. Calabrese were leading by example, which is exactly what this airline needs! This is also a great example of how unfortunate turns of events do not necessarily have to end up badly for the customer/guest, because it sounds like the actions of Ms. Higgins and Ms. Calabrese probably carved a very positive impression in the minds of the passengers affected, and directly turned a bad situation into a very good one for United.

lucky9876coins

Totally agree, what a great story to hear!^

I think the criticism here is unwarranted, personally. I have heard many things about her, and all were positive in the highest degree!^ Come on folks, she has a difficult job. Stuff can't change overnight at UA, and I don't think she realized what a challenge she would have when she joined UAL. Give it some time, but I have confidence in Ms. Higgins, I really do!

blort

Were those Happy Meals?

UnitedSkies

Funny, but I'm sure they were "happy meals" though for those involved

prestonh

Interesting story...can't say I haven't lived something like that to much worse outcomes on UA and others. If UA's VP's are empowered to 'buy lunch' and recater everyone...why can't a GA or flight purser be empowered do the same thing during irrops?

LessO2

The TSA doesn't trust pax with water. Do you expect UA to trust FAs with expense accounts?

LessO2

FWIW, DEN-ORD about three or four years ago, I sat in front of Glenn Tilton.

mlasser

Kelly is a horrible writer. She general finds the positive angle on anything. Her article on DEN parking a few months ago was a laugh. Generally beleives the airlines and airports are great and takes things at their word. Chris Mathews she ain't.

mlasser

Gag. I just puked on my keyboard. Yeah, her job is hard? Guess that's why she's probably paid mid six figures. Huh, my job is hard to but I'd be fired for giving responses like hers to one of my clients. Total PR gloss over. No sense of reality. The whole 2006 comment should have been reason enough to remove her. She didn't realize the challenge that is UA? Why not? There's plenty of FT posting that would have explained it. Heck, a dozen flight before taking the job would have squared her away. If she didn't perform due dilligence, shame on her.