Having flown United Airlines to Europe twice in the last few months, I've resolved never to do so again. Their planes are old, service is nonexistent. Delays are frequent. On a recent flight to France
0
Cat:Tips Tools and DealsForum:0EE9686A
Cat:Tips Tools and DealsForum:0EE9686ADiscussion:3b6da0f5-aa1f-45d9-9ad2-149c5883aa4d
Having flown United Airlines to Europe twice in the last few months, I've resolved never to do so again. Their planes are old, service is nonexistent. Delays are frequent. On a recent flight to France, flights were significantly delayed coming and going because of old aircraft. Cabin attendants were surly. There was a charge for alcoholic beverages. There were too few cabin attendants. Food was bad.
European airlines are vastly superior in every regard.
Having flown United Airlines to Europe twice in the last few months, I've resolved never to do so again. Their planes are old, service is nonexistent. Delays are frequent. On a recent flight to France, flights were significantly delayed coming and going because of old aircraft. Cabin attendants were surly. There was a charge for alcoholic beverages. There were too few cabin attendants. Food was bad. European airlines are vastly superior in every regard. Posted by wivisitor2
How do planes being old cause delays? Posted by SaraEMiller
Old planes require more maintenance and things go wrong more frequently, like old cars. For example, on the most recently delayed flight, the windshield was leaking. This isn't as common on newer planes.
I haven't flown United (purposely avoided) since 1999 because of the way I was treated from everyone I encountered flying from London to LA. If I didn't love travelling so much, this experience would have probably kept me grounded the rest of my life. I have tried to pass on the advice-even on Frommers:
I advise everyone I know to avoid United like the plague. They have to be one of the worst (if not the worst) airline going. They do not care about passengers and have NO customer service. My worst experience flying was with them and trust me, it was a true nightmare (I was flying with my 2 young children)
I would usually agree with Globe_Trotting_Geoff, but taking into consideration that the company you would be dealing with is United...don't even waste your time. They must have the worst customer service of every airline out there. I spent so much time, calling and writing letters after a nightmare journey from Heathrow to Chicago with my 2 year old and 5 year old children. No one offered assistance at any point of the trip and took away my trolley so I had to carry all my luggage, car seat and push the stroller all on my own-transferring from one terminal to another. My daughter had diarrhea and I didn't even have a chance to change her or I would have missed my flight. They didn't even do pre-boarding for kids, but I finally did get some help from other moms boarding the plane. Not one United employee could have cared less and I got more of the same from customer service-no response whatsoever. I will never fly United again, due to this experience and another experience my husband and kids had due to luggage problems. My suggestion is to add United to Lufthansa as airlines not to fly in the future.
Having flown United Airlines to Europe twice in the last few months, I've resolved never to do so again. Their planes are old, service is nonexistent. Delays are frequent. On a recent flight to France, flights were significantly delayed coming and going because of old aircraft. Cabin attendants were surly. There was a charge for alcoholic beverages. There were too few cabin attendants. Food was bad. European airlines are vastly superior in every regard. Posted by wivisitor2
We frequently fly United, but I ALWAYS book transatlantic flights on 777's or 767's which are newer than the vintage 747's...better seats & individual entertainment screens.It's always worth checking the aircraft - I'd suggest avoiding transatlantic 757's on other airlines too.
We had a classic line from a United Flight Attendant on the way to Australia from L.A. My wife had preordered a vegetarian meal and it was listed on their sheet but could not be found. My wife was getting hungry and the other meals were being cleared and the attendant had never come back to update us. My wife asked if they had found her meal and the attendant snapped that "No we didn't stop the plane to get your meal" and walked away...
When we finally got to Australia they had also left one of our bags back in LOS ANGELES after mistagging it.
How do planes being old cause delays? Posted by SaraEMiller
United is my carrier of choice; I've historically done 3-4 Chicago-Europe trips on United every year. The planes are generally 777's and have been fine. Food in coach is food in coach, and you've always paid for alcohol, which I avoid on flights anyway.
I do have to say, though, that when I flew United partner, Lufthansa, I was very pleased with coach food and service, but will still try to get on a United flight as I can get the Ex-Plus seating, which is more comfortable on an overseas flight.
We frequently fly United, but I ALWAYS book transatlantic flights on 777's or 767's which are newer than the vintage 747's...better seats & individual entertainment screens.It's always worth checking the aircraft - I'd suggest avoiding transatlantic 757's on other airlines too.Keep traveling!Anne Posted by Anne - Music and Markets
I keep trying to avoid United but it hasn't work too well up to this point. I booked a tour to Croatia and specifically asked NOT to be booked on United. The tour company complied and booked us on Lufthansa. Guess what, it is a code share flight being flown by United!!!!
We have found that the foreign carriers are superior to any we have experienced which are American, United, American, Delta, etc. United ought to send some of their personnel to Singapore Air's training school...exceptional and gracious service, even in cattle class!
Old planes require more maintenance and things go wrong more frequently, like old cars. For example, on the most recently delayed flight, the windshield was leaking. This isn't as common on newer planes. Posted by wivisitor2
I signed on to point out that planes, like other things, do wear out, and the older they are.....etc.
But I want to add that I flew United (which was once my airline of choice) from Albuquerque to Seattle in April and had a totally nightmare experience and vowed never to fly United again. I was hastled at the gate generally and then made to choose between a small medical device and my small purse for carry-on, so I chose my also small flight bag for them to whisk away - and it contained items I might have needed badly en route. Next time I bring my purse and medical device in a (still) small bag, together, and perhaps I won't have a problem, but hadn't had a problem to date on other airlines so wasn't expecting it. Woman's was nasty; she seemed to enjoy making things as difficult as possible.
It is harder and harder for an older passenger to fly; I requested a cart because my connecting flight left from the other end of the concourse in Denver - and no help there. Just try to run at age 70 with 2 bad knees and an arm with no biceps tendon.
They may be understaffed, but travelers are people, too, and not one United employee was anything but surly, rude and unhelpful. Many of us have been in employee situations in which we were understaffed and still managed to treat other humans with respect and care. Corporate climate must be awful at United.
On our recent flight from Chicago to Anchorage, I said to the flight attendant, " why doesn't United just add $5 to every ticket & instead of selling the snack boxes, they would just pass them out & you wouldn't have to collect money. She said, " why don't they add $200 to every tickect & maybe I could get my pension back".
Ther are no happy campers working for United! United is now the Greyhound Bus of the Air.
I've had better service with UAL than Northwest, but I prefer Virgin over both. I did however fly Lufthansia to Germany from Chicago last year on my way to Athens and was very impressed with the craft, service and attendants.
The killer was the couple with the screaming baby for the 8 hour flight. the parents put on their headphones and did not take the screaming wriggling baby down the stairs to the lower level bathrooms to play in the secure area or cry in the bathroom. That part was a nightmare. I asked the attendants to ask the parents to take the child to the bathroom area and they said they were not allowed to, they were as unhappy as the rest of us. The child only stopped screaming on descent, go figure.
As to UAL, my flights with them have been just okay. The food quality and taste has really diminished over the many years I have flown and the crafts are old, drabby and not too clean anymore. On a very crowded 15 hour flight from Chicago to Hong Kong, the attendants had PB&J sandwhiches in the galley, but they were all done by the time I was able to get the guy next to me to move. I have enough miles for an overseas ticket that I will use, and then we'll see.
I returned a week ago from Croatia, via Frankfurt and we were on United. Two and one half hours sitting on the plane while they figured out what to do with a cracked window. Horribly uncomfortable seats, the worst, non caring flight attendants I have ever seen. Not a smile or pleasant word until we were on the ground in Chicago. They need to be retired along with some planes. I also took their German partner over and it was just a little bit better. Mari. Fly international several times a year.
On 9/27/03, I paid UA $2228.12 for airfare to Europe. In return for my investment in travel, I received only neglect and rudeness by United staff, on the ground and in the air. Now understand, I did not ask for any special treatment, unless one calls asking for water special treatment. The flight attendants were the most rude and neglective I have ever encountered. After that experience, I swore never to use UA again and I haven't.
Since 2003, my family of 4 has flown to Hawaii 8 times, and to Europe 7 times, plus countless flights within the USA. We NEVER fly United. That means that United lost the opportunity to profit from at least 100 round-trips.
I, and I am sure millions of others, are tired of paying to be mistreated, from the time we arrive at the luggage kiosk; to the "TSA strip search," to being crumpled into too small seats, to not being allowed out of those seats "while the seat belt light is on (always!), to being ignored - or worse - by flight attendants, to losing our luggage, to being herded like cattle to slaughter on returning home - to more lost luggage.
Airlines need to be giving us a reason TO FLY; not a reason NOT TO FLY.
United used to be my favorite airline. No longer! I flew to Ukraine in August. The Austrian Airline and Lufthansa portions were fine. However, on the United segments, the TSA hassles, cramped seats, and no service made for unpleasant flights. In addition, I gave United my luggage in Phoenix at 5 a.m. on August 12. I did not see it again until 2 p.m. on August 23 in Kiev--14 hours before I left for the USA. While I was in Yalta, I was told my suitcase had been located in Chicago. It went from Phoenix to Chicago and no farther although the United tag (still on it on my arrival home) clearly said,"Chicago, Vienna, Odessa."
I will not fly UAL ever again after being left at the gate in Chicago with 10-minutes to go on a transfer from one of their other flights. They locked the doors on us, refused to let us on and then made us sit in Chicago for 12 hours. Never again UAL.
I flew United this summer: SMF-ORD, ORD-FRA. I didn't understand all the grousing about United. The planes were clean and I liked that I could upgrade to Economy Plus on the ORD-FRA leg for just $90. I didn't think the service was bad. I observed to my wife that there was a flight attendant on either United flight under the age of 45. "Oh yes," she replied, "that young guy was under 30."
We returned on Lufthansa from FRA to LAX. That's when I realized the service on United wasn't bad; there just wasn't any.
The difference was substantial. Didn't sleep on the return because I was mesmerized by this beautiful blonde (female) flight attendant. Very personable FAs. Free wine, free beer, even a cognac after our dinner. (This is in economy.) The only drawback was that there is no Economy Plus on LH. But I'd rather be treated well on LH than have legroom on UA!
A friend who flies to Europe frequently noted that the difference is found on the airlines like LH that are still government-supported. Of course that won't last long; look what happened to SwissAir, Alitalia, and others.
Last month I was to take my 100 year old grandma from ORD to DEN on United. I had bought our tickets 2 months earlier online and then called customer service to verify a wheelchair had been reserved at both airports as grandma is unable to walk upstairs or for any long distances. When we arrived in Chicago at 5 am, I asked for the wheelchair when we checked our bags. I was directed by the counter agent to go to the North end of the terminal and see if someone from wheelchairs would help us. There were 3 women dressed in uniform shirts sitting in and beside the wheelchairs that told me I would have to go back and go thru the check-in line again to get a supervisor to request the wheelchair. I did this and was told by the counter agent that the three women were supposed to have helped me but if they didn't, there wasn't anything anyone could do. After 2 hours, and still no one would help us and as our flight time drew near, a man standing near us that had overheard our empty pleas for assistance, went somewhere and spoke to a United supervisor who said he would try to get someone. Just minutes before the flight was due to board a wheelchair was brought and we had to push and run to security, then run to the gate. Instead of boarding grandma early so we would have time to get her down the aisle, the gate attendant said she could just wait until her number was called. The trip was supposed to have been a family celebration and thanks to the rude and uncaring employee's at United, it was ruined.
I just finished reading a number of posts complaining about United. I was wondering if they're better or worse than Delta----it may just be a problem for tall people.
I just returned from a flight from BWI to/from Athens. Delta treated me more than adequately in all respects but the seating. I'm 6 feet tall and found that the leg room was non-existent. I had to sit up straight for both flights, including the overnighter to Athens, because my knees touched the seat in front. Otherwise, I had to spread my legs around the seat in front, and that wasn't going to work since the seat on one side was taken and my other leg would have been in the aisle.
Amazingly, there weren't any empty seats on the flights. Must be a lot of people that love Delta vice United. I can't imagine what taller people do if they can't afford first class.
I would like to add my comments regarding another US carrrier - US Airways. My husband and I flew from SFO- PHL -ROM Their Envoy service which was a total joke. New plane - old tired flight crews with total bad attitude. Service and food poor!
I had an experience with a code share flight between United and Lufthansa that left me unwilling to fly either airline again. As some have mentioned , the inflight service is noticeably better on Lufthansa but the checkin service was a nightmare. I was travelling to Cairo from San Francsisco with my 6 year old daughter thru Frankfurt. We had reconfirmed our flight the day before and had a printout confirming everything with a record locator number and assigned seat numbers. When we got to the counter they said our reservation was cancelled . After an hour and a half a supervisor finally figured out the glitch and got us on the flight at the last minute. (No apology). I was rather concerned about our return flight at this point but was assured that all was fixed in the system.
Of course when we got to Cairo at 2:00AM for our return flight they said they had no reservation or seats available for us.Lufthansa tried to blame United . We called United from Cairo and they said the reservation was in order and it was Lufthansa's fault. Then Lufthansa said we could fly on separate flights as they found one seat open. When I pointed out that I was with my 6 year old they just shrugged and didn't seem to care. They even tried to get tips from us at the counter for taking our bags and ended up damaging our bag . And according to the fine print the damage was not covered as it was the handle they broke off our new bag., not the bag itself.
Once again at the last minute they got us on the flight, this time with seats many rows apart, and still no apologies or explanations. On board we were able to adjust our seats to sit together and inflight service was fine.
Just wanted to point out that we loved our trip to Egypt and the people there were very friendly but the Lufthansa checkin personnel at the counters were not Egyptian .
