ctm78

I'm considering switching from AA (where I have elite status) to UAL (where I don't yet) but I'm kind of concerned about United's equipment. Over the last six UAL flights I've been on, four of them had malfunctioning IFE; and on a pre-dawn flight last Friday from RSW to ORD, 2/3 of the overhead lights in my row were burned out. (I alerted the FA upon boarding, but nothing was done nor was I offered to move to any of the other vacant seats.)

I just wanted to know if this was typical for what everyone else has experienced. So far, I much prefer United on the ground at ORD (terminal, security, ticketing) but AA has been much better to me in the air. . .so I'm at a toss-up over which to make my prefered airline.

mahasamatman

Very atypical in my experience, but it may depend on what aircraft type(s) you tend to fly.

UAX_Brasilia

Not typical at all IME. The only thing I remember is a black and white CRT on a 757 a few years ago.

CommittedLurker

On a recent 777 flight in Business from SIN-NRT, my seatback and leg rest were both broken. The seat back slowly reclined on its own, in the upright position. The leg rest would not stay up, while extended.

The flight was pretty empty, so I switched to the seat next to me which also had the same problem !

channa

35+ segments, 50K YTD.

- 1 broken footrest
- 1 non-reclining seat on an RJ

Many of us would have loved to have a broken reading light.

Always ask the FA for an apology card (referred to as "skykit" on this board) when there's a malfunction. You can go online with it and it offers you compensation.

777Brian

Cabin workability has been a focus for UA at least the last year. My experience with the IFE system has been opposite of the OP. In fact, I think the quality of video on the 757s is much improved thanks to the new digital video servers. I think the 757s and 767s have all been updated, and they are moving onto the Airbus although I am not 100% sure of the schedule. They have also continued to install new carpet and refabric the seats across the domestic fleet. I come across a burnt out light every once and a while but it requires a maintenance personnel and some time to fix them so I cut them a little slack on it. I actually think UA's aircraft are slightly better than average compared all carriers.

MKE-MR

In general the complaints have been common, especially on the old international C cabins. Last time I flew long-haul I had a declining footrest and I actually decided to complain before departure (we were leaving ORD on a 14 hour flight, so they had the ability to fix it and I wasn't really in the mood to put up with it).
The FA wasn't exactly thrilled with the request, and a half hour went by, but I was surprised to see a maintenance guy roll on board with about 5 minutes to go before departure, fiddle with it for three minutes, and fix it.

In the end we were delayed another hour for a medical issue anyway, so my complaint didn't delay the flight--but the main point being, they will sometimes fix the minor issues for you "on the spot" if you notice them when it's still possible to do something about it.

Anecdotally, things have been getting better as there has been a "deep cleaning" program in place for the past few months. But I'm mostly on the new config planes at the moment so those still look and feel new(er), regardless.

Channel 9

Do RJ seats recline?!!

gengar

I've been happy with equipment so far this year, with 60k+ BIS on UA now. My only complaint was a very squeaky seat in F on a 777 2-class (I felt like I should check I wasn't actually flying US! ), which was only annoying because it was a very turbulent flight. A person behind me during one of my MRs on 777 to FRA did have an inop IFE, though.

She should have offered to move you, but you should certainly request it when they don't.

Trulyblues

Last year I had very few issues with on-board equipment on UA planes...this year so far I have had five flights where the video system was completely non-functional (four on A319/320 and once on 757). I've had two malfunctioning reading lights this year in 26 segments (which was the same I had in 120 segments last year) but have seen people having problems with the lights on many of my flights. I've either been remarkably unlucky or there's been a problem with service/maintenance in these areas.

shinbal

I've done my time in Int'l C and F - not a ton, but enough. I was on a streak where I felt like they actually PUT me in the broken seat. I complained, and most times the FA's were right there with me, saying how the old configurations were really worn out. I got some compensation and moved on.

As far as things like reading lights and small malfunctions, many people never report such things. It's nice to think that FA's or cleaners or other personnel, whoever that may be, would wander through the cabin checking such things, but that's not going to happen. So, if no one reports a reading light out, over time you've got a lot of them burned out. Same thing with bad audio. Lots of people never use it, so it can be a long-term problem before someone actually says something. Then, you have to rely on the FA to actually report the problem. I try and speak to the purser about getting maintenance items written up, because he or she is ultimately the one I speak to about a sky kit if it's something more than an hour's annoyance.

And I don't think it's unique to UA. I have had the same experience on US, and on AA as well. I wouldn't use that as a sole basis for whether or not I pick an airline as my number one choice.

236Dakota

My biggest problem with UA equipment is their 80%+ non-functioning and often blocked off power outlets on domestic flights (I hope this isn't the same on their international equipment) and their lack of any in E+.

planemechanic

There is no need to "wander through the cabin" looking for burned out lights. The 747-400 series airplanes have a system call ACESS that will print out a list of every burned out light bulb in the airplane, you just need to ask for the list and then go fix them. If you experience a burned out bulb please report it to the crew so that it can be fixed as fast as possible.

1kBill

But of course you reported these problems to the crew so they could write them up and get maintenance to fix them. Didn't you?

If not, the very next flight probably went out with the same problems.

Doug 1029

Last weekend, I batted 500. IFE did not function on two legs of the trip, Den-SFO, SFO-ORD. On the 1st leg, IAD-DEN, we had the worst service that I experienced in 15 years. Yes, I did make a report.