United Airlines

Unfortunately, I have come to a point that I favor drive over fly, just not worth it. With all the delays and cancels, its quicker to drive and not have to worry about ridiculous rules and pat downs

The day of our arrival in Xining, PRC, I found an email from expedia, the booking agent for my round trip travel via United Airline and it’s companion Air China. The email said there was an itinerary change and gave me a reference to see what it was. It was a flight cancelation of the Air China leg from Xining to Beijing. This was no great problem to me. However, I was traveling with my wife who booked her flight directly with UAL using points from her UAL Mileage Plus. Outbound from the US to PRC it went well. UAL and Air China were cooperative to see that we traveled together. When Air China dropped their previously scheduled flight it was necessary for UAL, the ticketing source for my wife’s travel to also reschedule her. As of this date, Friday, September 10 at 2:45 AM United still shows my wife I still booked on the cancelled Air China flight. Repeated phone calls to UAL every day for a week has resulted in a run around and deep frustration for my wife. It was call back in 12 hours or check your email in the morning for the change or call Air China, etc., etc. Air China claims they have seats available for my wife on the Air China flight they put me on, but to make the change for her UAL has to make the reschedule. This they have not done in a way to have my wife and I travel together. Such a messy way for United to run a business. Looking out for their customers? No way.

This is best website…Pls keep up the good work!

the above complaint was toward United Air

Just tried writing to all 3 people.. Will update if I get a reply. I had a very unpleasant experience with United regarding the bulk head row which is medically neccesary for me being given to paying passengers and them not moving me into it. I was told the paying passengers who paid for the $69 upgrade fee are more important than someone who medically needs that row. Really????

My daughter and I, had booked a red eye United flight from SFO. We were going to attend a family reunion party at Raleigh, NC and our flight was to go from SFO to Raleigh with a connection in DC. We boarded the flight on time and then sat in the flight for over 1 hour as our plane waited for the pilot. We presumed there must be some emergency. At a certain point it seemed clear that we would miss our connection in DC and then reach Raleigh AFTER the reunion party. So we got asked and were allowed to get off the flight. As we were walking out we saw the piolet walking towards the plane screaming that she made it in record time of four hours from Reno to SFO. If they knew for 4 hours that there was no pilot and the pilot was driving down from Reno then why did they not tell us, why did they board us?? If they had contacted and told us we would not have driven to SFO, paid to park the car and boarded the flight! This trip was booked on my miles and I tried to contact United to get my miles reimbursed. They never responded to my multiple and courteous emails!!!!

Hello, my mother flight was screwed up and you guys gave her an refund for a E-Certificate of 250. Now Im trying to use it for my 2 sisters for thanksgiving, but you guys won’t allow me to. In not one email do it say useable for one ticket, so I need answers and resolutions on how to fix this matter asap! Thanks so much

Hello all, this is great information I have found i am having a problem getting my problem resolved for over a month now. And a heads up to all is why I write more than anything. My girlfriend and I booked a flight from boston to D.C. aug.9th for the weekend of Oct.1-3 for a good friends wedding. A week before we were supposed to fly we had checked our confirmation email before, but had misplaced it we had called to have it resent. They had told us that we had booked a flight from Aug. 23-30 and we were no shows, our tickets unrefundable and flights to D.C. were now a thousand dollars!! I tried to rationalize that there must have been some mistake, we got the tickets through United operated by US Airways… they told us to call us airways i did they said to call united and back and forth. I tried to make them realize that buying a ticket aug. 9th for 179 round trip could have only been for Oct. no way if we bought a ticket on the 9th that we could have flown less than two weeks for so little. To no avail, finally after being on the phone for over 8 hours!! A supervisor agreed to put it through as a refund.BUT!! a week later we get an email saying we need to explain ourself as to why we should get a refund, I have 3 weeks later no response each time I call I get no answer no idea what’s going on with the refund, we are just out 2 tickets at 180 a piece.. HERE IS WHERE I URGE ALL TO CALL IF YOU HAVE A FUTURE FLIGHT!! My girlfriends sister had a flight with United in November, had the email everything seemed right she called just to verify. SAME THING THEY HAD THE WRONG DATES IN THE SYSTEM. Instead of NOVEMBER they had her and her husband flying in June, so it wasn’t past like my problem. She had her email and was able to confirm, but she is telling her friends as am i and know the world. THERE IS A COVER UP, there is a computer glitch they don’t want to share, I just heard of a third person this happening to yesterday, so double check there is something crazy going on. I will be calling these numbers and emailing trying to get my money back on my credit card. As for me and my friends wedding we had to drive from boston to D.C. 8 hrs on a friday night after work, got into d.c. the next morning in time for the wedding just to drive back and back to work by monday. THANKS UNITED!!!

Frustrated after a few months of getting no response from United? TRY FOUR YEARS! After being a loyal and happy United Mileage Plus customer since 1989, I said “Yes” when, in 2006, United offered membership in their elite (and now defunct) UNITED AIIRLINES AMENITI LuxuryTravel Club. The so-called deals were so over-priced, it undoubtedly became the cause of their demise. But United charged my credit card twice for the $350 membership fee, and after calling, writing, and emailing for four years: I STILL HAVE YET TO RECEIVE A REFUND!

We got to the gate a minute after it says the plane will depart even though there are people still getting settled in the cabin. We were told for 25 minutes that we can’t get on from another flight. Then we had sat in the airplane for 45 minutes and the crew keeps telling us that we are going to get deicied and that we are going to leave and neither of those two things have happened.

Hello, I am trying to change my flights to a week later. I have been told that it will cost from 257. to 486. Going to and leaving from the same place. I dont understand why. End of July to the 1st week in August. How can the prices vary so much? Then I was told by another agent to hold on and they were supposedly speaking with their manger. thebaays3@sc.rr.com

I am writing to you to express my complete dissatisfaction with United Airlines.  I recently returned from a trip to Mexico. (may 20-28th) I left from Honolulu Hawaii on May 20.  I was to take the redeye out of Honolulu at 11:15 and connect in San Francisco to Puerto Vallarta. In Honolulu the flight was delayed, with this being said we were booked on another flight through Alaska once we arrived in SFO.  The booking agent put us on a flight knowing that we only had a 45 minute layover and had to change carriers.  We found that it was customary when traveling International that one must board 1 hour to flight time.  With this being said, we were confused as to why we were placed on a flight knowing we would not make the connection.  We had to go and wait in a line AGAIN with United for hours to be placed on yet another flight through US Air with a connection through Phoenix.  We arrived in Puerto Vallarta but our bags did not.(FOR SEVEN DAYS)  We not only arrived at 11 pm at night on the 21st (after traveling 28 hours) and paying for a day at an all inclusive resort that we did not get to enjoy.  Our bags did not arrive until the 27th at 10pm at night when we were leaving on the 28th at noon.  I was without my prenatal vitamins and belongings for 7 days.  Instead of enjoying my last trip before I become a mother, I spent my leisure time checking in and calling about my bags.  This was my boyfriends first vacation in 5 years as he has been deployed and redeployed as a US Army Medic to and from Iraq and he too was treated awful and disrespectfully. We were unable to enjoy the all inclusive restaurants due to a dress code and not having our possessions.  I was told daily that “your bags will be in tomorrow” We finally received our bags 6 days later.  I think this is totally unacceptable.  I asked a United Representative “Do you not care?”  His response was “I used to care about 6 years ago”.  I think this is a terrible way to treat customers and that is the voice and face of your representation.

Lori Dougherty

Copy of email that I sent today, to ; and ; regarding United Airlines’ recent computer systems failure, and lessons, hopefully, learned…
“United Airlines’ recent computer systems failure created a major challenge for your new merged airline, and lessons, hopefully, were learned…
Hopefully, for the future, your IT Support Staff will build in some systems redundancy in the event of a system-wide failure… A remote (from your mainframe or server farm) system should be available, in the event that your system is hacked, the OS is corrupted, or site is hit by a tornado, hurricane, flood, fire, etc… Also, if they haven’t already done so, they should have an uninterruptible power supply, in the event of a local power failure…
We were in your SFO RCC (Red Carpet Club) during the computer meltdown, and thought you might want some feedback… First, it’s extremely clean, friendly, and highly professional… Many disgruntled passengers were overheard, commenting, “…well if we have to wait, the (RCC) makes it much more bearable,” and “…thank god for this (RCC)…”Many others told us that they always appreciated, and depended, greatly, on the extremely helpful RCC-United Customer Service Staff…The SFO RCC made a lot of points with the crowd when they started pouring free drinks for everyone… Then they lost points when the Customer Service Staff left, unexpectedly, in the middle of the crisis… I’m sure that they thought that they could do nothing; however, they could have done a lot of sympathizing and “hand holding,” until the computers came back up…Now, a suggestion for easing the pain for any/ all of the disgruntled, frustrated, inconvenienced United passengers, who formally complain… For anyone that is already a loyal RCC member, extend their membership free, for the next year… For non-(but potential) members, give them several “Courtesy RCC Membership” one-day vouchers, to be used during the next year… They’ll be happier, might actually choose United more often, to use the RCC; and, more importantly, will probably join, and “talk up” the RCC, once they see how nice it is…
United/Continental will have plenty of challenges, merging two great airlines, as it is; without having disaffected customers…  These suggestions, plus merging the two mileage programs, should go a long way toward attracting and retaining loyal passenger-customers…
Just a few thoughts; hopefully, like chicken soup, they can’t hurt, and may help…Sincerely,
COMMANDER JAY C. OAKMAN, US COAST GUARD (ret) &
E. Catherine Allen-Oakman45 ORA WAY, SUITE# 304A (HM OFFICE)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131-2557email@: strategicqualityadvice@yahoo.com (Jay)
and, catherineallenoakman@yahoo.com (Cathy)

Sorry I have to agree with Wai Hai.  4 hours isn’t too bad.  I had a 12 hour overnight layover on my most recent flight.  While we got a hotel stay we had to pay out of pocket for food and lost money on a day’s car rental (luckily the rental place didn’t charge us that night due to the situation)

I mean luckily the condo rental owner didn’t charge us for that night). When I emailed United, they wouldn’t even compensate us for the extra costs incurred.

Copy of an email I just sent to United (Smisek and Cellin)

I have had one of the most miserable travel experiences of
my life with your airline.

I made reservations way back in February, and yet I got
bumped from my flight from Dulles to Madrid on July 6. The flight was terribly
oversold, and several people, including myself got bumped. This basically
ruined my entire vacation. I was supposed to meet several people today in
Pamplona. And since I was a no show in Madrid for my Iberia connection to
Pamplona, they canceled my return as well, leaving me with no way to get back
from Pamplona to Madrid for my return flight on July 11th.

Your people at the gate in Dulles were completely uncaring
and basically said we were on our own. We had to run from gate D21 to the
customer service counter at C20. Quite a jog with bags. Upon getting there, I
found 25 people in line ahead of me, and only two customer service reps
working. On several occasions, one of them would leave for 15 minutes at a
time, leaving only one person to handle the long line of people, which
eventually ballooned to about 40. Many United staff walked by, yet no one
called for additional people to help out at the customer service counter.

I waited in line for two hours before I finally got to talk
to the rep. Basically, there was nothing they could do, and the couldn’t “touch”
my Iberia connection. They really didn’t seem to care about anyone’s
predicament, and were less than helpful. Where has your “helpful” customer
service people gone who used to bend over backwards to take care of stranded
passengers? Are we all just dollar signs to you?

I ended up rebooked on the same United flight an entire day
later. Although I got a check for $600, it doesn’t cover the lost day of my
vacation (which I would rather have than the money), the lost prepaid hotel
charges for missing my first day check-in (approx. $380), and the cost of a new
ticket on Iberia (which after trading in my old ticket and paying the
penalties, cost me an additional $985!).

Your overbooking policy is a crime, and your customer
service is abysmal. You should be ashamed of your company and the way it operates.
I was a charter member of the Mileage Plus program in the early 1980s, and have
flown United for years, and this is by far the worst airline experience I have
ever had. You need to review your overbooking policies and retrain your people
on why your airline even exists, to service your customers! I thought you
should know.
 

I need the contact information for Jesse Soto, in Global Services in Chicago I have misplaced his business card. Help please provide his email or the phone number for Global Services at Chicago O’Hare. Thanks my email is wesgraham@remax.net

United forced us to check our carry on bag at the gate due to overcrowding on the plane, and they lost our carry on bag. It did not make it to our final destination.  This happened 14 days ago. They claim they have located the bag and it’s in Germany, yet they cannot seem to actually get it to me. I call every day, and every day I get the same old story. Twice I’ve been hung up on, which just further irritated me. I’m to the point I’m ready to call the consumer reporter at our major TV station to see if he can get anywhere with them. All I know is I will never fly United again.

This is the reply i have received from James, who is working as customer serv rep for united.

Thank you for contacting United Airlines Customer Relations. I’m sorry about your recent dining experience on United and please accept my apologies that we did not serve you better. Our goal is to provide an excellent travel experience for our guests, and we know that the food you enjoy on board is part of this. I apologize for your disappointment in not meeting our mutual expectations on this occasion. Further, I am sorry we were not as responsive to you as we should have been after bringing your concerns to our attention. We take reports of food-related complaints very seriously and investigate each and every instance. I have also shared your comments with our catering team for review as they work to ensure each dining experience on United represents our high-quality standards.Permit me to simply say I am sorry for your experience.  I offer the included certificates for you and your wife in hopes that you use it and give us the opportunity to regain your confidence and support. We look forward to serving you.At the conclusion of this email, please fill out the survey where you can rate your experience with the Customer Care department. We value your feedback and hope that you are satisfied with our service.

July 30th 2011 I was on flight ua287 seat 28e Chicago/vancover when the
passenger from 28d from Germany had been cancelled from his flight the night before. He made arrangements and confirmed them to be sure he was on this flight as he had a 7pm meeting that day. ticketing agent gets on the plane to tell him they have no confirmation of his seat. naturally the man gets upset but not beligerent.  when He refused to leave I thought it was poor the stews said they would bring in marshals. I was happy to see a classy service rep make a ticket for him and kudoos to the passenger who gave up his seat for this man so he wouldnt be double-bumped. I have noticed a lot of seat flight and seat changes since you are merging with
other airlines and this causes a lot of confusion and problems for passengers this could be improved.

Your corporate website states, in part, “[m]ost importantly,
the actions we take and decisions we make matter. More is expected of us, and
we rise to that expectation with commitment and a true sense of responsibility.”  I completely agree that in this age of
cut-rate and low cost airlines, more is expected of a mainstream and
established airline like United.  This
note is offered to United as documentation of many areas where I feel United,
or specifically, certain staff members of united, are shirking their
responsibilities and failing to display the commitment that United dreams of.  Bluntly, in my recent experience, the United
Staff at BTV (Burlington, VT) do not “rise to that expectation with commitment
and a true sense of responsibility.”   In fact, I suspect that they run their only
little fiefdom, ignorant of the responsibility United corporate touts. 

Please note, even though I could rightfully demand
reimbursement or other forms of remuneration, I am not asking for
anything.  No credits, cash, or
miles.  I would rather that United
investigate and correct my allegations.  United
had safely gotten my family, friends, and colleagues, safely to and from our
destinations.  If that is the level of
service that United Airlines aspires too, then you have achieved that and
customer service is irrelevant.  However,
if United aspires to commitment, responsibility, and wants to provide a solid
customer experience, then pleas take note of the following and consider taking
the opportunity to enhance the customer experience at BTV.

Very specifically, BTV employees a female supervisor (and I
apologize for not knowing her name, but with the small staff at BTV, there
can’t be too many female supervisors who a slightly shorter than average with
dark hair).  During numerous encounters
with this supervisor (at the check-in counter), other BTV employees (of United),
customers, and agents of neighboring airlines (US Air and Jet Blue) have
commiserated with me regarding this individual. 
They regularly use a derogatory term generally applied to female dogs to
describe her and her attitude. 

Following are descriptions of “recent” interactions with
her:

·        
I purchased “Premier Travel Plus” on September
25 (receipt #0164060308111) for my October 2 flight, BTV-IAD-BRU, Conf. #
XSXPZY, Ticket number 0168677585545. 
Aside from the added leg room from the plus seats, and the use of the
United club at IAD, one very significant reason I wanted the service was for
the free second bag on international travel. 
I had close to an 11 hour layover at IAD and another 5 hour layover at
BRU (for onward travel to VNO).  I needed
two pieces of luggage to bring certain home repair items to VNO and did not
want to overweight one piece of luggage or have to have any carry-on (due to
the long lay-overs).  When I arrived at
the check-in, the supervisor told me the second bag would be $100.  I showed her the receipt and told her I was
entitled to two bags for international based on the Premier Travel Plus.  She acknowledged that she saw the Premier
Service on the computer, but absolutely refused to look up the terms of the
program or take the second bag.  Again,
she acknowledged that I had purchased the service, but refused to check the
second bag for free.  Luckily, the second
bag, though fairly large, was accepted at the gate as a carry-on.  Unfortunately, I now had the potential of
lugging this baggage through long layovers and international terminals.  The supervisor’s refusal to provide a service
that I had paid for and her refusal to even look up the service benefits is
completely unacceptable.  As a side note,
after pulling the bag behind me at IAD for five hours , I left the secure area
of the airport and went to the check-in counter again…  the IAD representative immediately recognized
the Premier Service and promptly and respectfully checked the bag, apologizing
for the poor service at BTV.

·        
On the same itinerary noted above, for my return
trip, on Oct 17, I had a roughly 6 hour layover at ORD (AMS-ORD-BTV).  In what I consider extraordinary service, it
only took me 18 minutes to clear passport control, pick up my bag (which was
already on the carousel by the time I cleared passport control… which is the
extraordinary part), clear customs, and re-check my bag.  Unfortunately, that’s where the good service
ended.  At BTV, my baggage did not
arrive.  I as told, at roughly 1030PM, to
go to the UA ticket counter and talk to the rep there for the claim forms.  I, with four other clients, waited 45 minutes
at an unmanned desk, in a deserted airport, after 23 straight hours of travel,
for someone… anyone, to even acknowledge that we were lined up and waiting, let
along set up our claims.  After knocking
in the doors, looking for a live person, and even getting a baggage handler to
try to find someone… NO ONE showed up. 
At 1115PM I completed a lost luggage form, wrote on the top that I got
tired of waiting for someone, and left it on the ticket desk.

At approximately midnight, already home,
some 45 miles away, I receive a phone call telling me that my luggage was at
the airport and that I abandoned it there. 
Since I left it, I would need to get it as they would not deliver
it.  Getting nowhere with the agent, I
ended the call and resolved to call in the morning.  Tuesday morning, being unable to get a number
for BTV, I called the claim service and found out that the BTV staff never
recorded/entered  the lost luggage claim
I filed.  I also found out that my
luggage had arrived on an earlier flight. 
I was on the 730PM flight, but my luggage was put on the 415PM
flight.  When that flight arrived, the
BTV staff took and stored my bag for my arrival.  However… there was NO ONE at BTV when my
flight arrived to give me my bag.  What
is a reasonable time to wait in a deserted airport by an empty counter with no
sign of life?  45 minutes was my
limit.  I did not abandon my bag, UA
failed to give it to… or to have someone there to give it to me. 

The claim agent filed the claim and, after
what I explained, (see above) agreed that UA would deliver the bag to me.  He told me that he sent a priority message to
BTV directing them the deliver the bag. 
Roughly four hours, I had not heard from BTV and decided to call the
claim line rise to that expectation with commitment and a true sense of
responsibility.”Manager’s phone (802-863-2206) and NEVER had the courtesy of a
return call.  Much worse, I called a
second number…  A woman answered the
phone, “United Airlines”.  I simply said,
“Hello, this is Mark Andrysiak, I am calling to follow-up on a lost bag.”  At that point, the woman HUNG UP on me
without a word.  Three subsequent calls
to the number (802-863-6035) went unanswered.

It appears that the staff at BTV NEVER
attempted to set up the delivery of my bag. 
In my view, someone there had a temper tantrum and was adamant  that I must pick up my bag… even after
apparent direction from the UA claims agent to deliver the baggage.  This appears to be very vindictive
unprofessional business practices… all because I wouldn’t wait another 45
minutes, on top of 45 minutes I already waited, without ANY sign of life at
BTV. 

·        
On September 11, we brought the sister of our
adopted daughter to BTV for her return flight to the UK.  Inga is a Lithuanian national traveling on a
Lithuanian-EU passport who legally resides, currently, in London.  Inga had just completed a two week with our
family as, she was reunited, for the first time, with her sister, whom we
adopted, in 16 years.  They were
separated shortly after birth and had searched for years to find each
other.  The reunion was fantastic, until
we arrived at BTV and had to deal with the above noted supervisor. 

Upon check-in, the supervisor asked
for Inga’s passport, as required, and after studying the passport and reviewing
her computer,  said, “she needs a visa,
give me a copy of that.”  My wife and I
explained to her that some 15 years ago, Lithuanians needed Visa’s to travel to
the USA, UK, and other western countries. 
However, since Lithuania joined the EU, visa’s were no longer needed and
that Inga was free to live in any EU country that she wanted.  Her UK registration papers were in the UK, on
record, as required, by the UK.  She did
not need those papers to enter the country, they were already there.  The woman said that she wouldn’t issue the
boarding pass because she wasn’t authorized to go to the UK.  Her computer was telling her so.  We again explained that NO visa’s were
required and that either her computer was wrong or she was misinterpreting what
she read.  We “discussed” this situation
for another ten or so minutes, holding up the rest of the passengers checking
in.  We even told the supervisor that is
she was correct, Inga could still enter the UK for six months without ANY
paperwork, other than a passport.  By
this time, Inga was reduced to tears and the supervisor showed no remorse for
her refusal to issue the boarding pass.  The
supervisor was insistent that Inga could not board.  We insistent that she was wrong and demanded
that she call someone familiar with UK entry laws.  She refused to do anything but read her
computer.  We were at a stand-off.  After a few minutes, she looked again at her
computer, read a few lines, then issued the boarding pass.  No apology. 
No explanation for the change.  No
comment what so ever.   As a side note,
Inga arrived in the UK, presented her passport to border control, and was
admitted without question or delay.  The
UK had her residence authorization right on their systems, exactly where it
should be.

I understand the heightened
scrutiny needed for travel on Sept 11. 
However, I doubt this situation was caused by 9/11.  It, in my opinion, was caused by the
supervisor’s lack of understanding passport rules (understandable, since I’m
sure not too many Lithuanians who live in the UK pass through BTV) AND her
refusal to try to find a solution or seek help. 
She caused Inga to cry and did not even acknowledge it.  BTV gets a lot of international travel
(French, Canadians, many many Brits during ski season, and many eastern
Europeans and South Americans (again ski season).  If she treats all foreigners like she treated
Inga, she will only foster the tern “ugly American” overseas.  She needs to show compassion and, even more
so, show an interest in resolving a problem, rather than causing a problem.

·        
Last July, my 94 year old father came for a
visit.  While he is still physically
active, he is showing early signs of dementia and memory loss.  He is still very much self-supportive, but
needs help with new situations and unfamiliar surroundings.  In preparing for his trip, I told my sister
in Chicago that she should request a gate pass so that she could accompany him
through security and get on the right flight at ORD.  The gate agent immediately issued the pass
for her and my father ultimately had a great flight out.  When I brought my father to BTV, the same
supervisor as noted above, refused to issue me a pass to walk my father to the
gate.  She said he looks healthy enough
and doesn’t appear to need support.  I
explained that physically, his condition is better than most 60 year olds, but
mentally, in unfamiliar situations, he is easily confused.  Further, his concept of time is questionable
and while he could easily sit at the right gate to board a plane, any delay or
any issue could cause him to panic and cause problems.  This woman absolutely refused to give me a
pass siting no reason other than “he looks fine to me.”  

I brought him as far as I could… up
to the TSA agent checking ID and boarding pass. 
Told my dad what to do…  Walk to
the conveyor, take off jacket and place in plastic bin.  Take off shoes and belt and place in
bin.  Empty pockets.  Carry-on on the belt and then wait for TSA to
ask you to walk through the metal detector. 
Every instruction went in one ear and out the other.  No sooner did he get to the screening area when
he got confused and started to panic.  It
was sad.  It was a lost kid who couldn’t
understand one instruction.  Luckily,
some other passengers were able to help him through the process, but not before
humiliating and angering him.  Once in
the waiting area (separated from the rest of the airport by only glass at BTV)
he saw me standing behind the glass and couldn’t understand why we were
separated.  The other passengers, God
bless them, were trying to help as best they could, but he was totally
confused.  I returned to the UA ticket
counter and once again pleaded with the supervisor for a pass so I could sit
with him until on the plane.  She just
told me it was impossible for her to do and that she had other work to do.  A US Air rep at the next counter heard all
that was going on, called me over, and gave me a pass, referring to the UA
supervisor in a very derogatory manner and indicating that she saw this type of
activity from her all the time

After I got to the boarding area,
my father immediately calmed down.  I
bought the couple (other passengers) a cup of coffee as a thanks, and then sat
quietly with my father.  He boarded the
plane without issue and flew to Chicago, where he met my sister already at the
gate, having received the appropriate pass, without hassle or question, for the
ORD ticket agent.

The supervisor needs to understand
that she is not a doctor and cannot judge people by appearance.  While my father was physically fit, mentally,
he is starting to have problems.  She has
to understand that when people request help, it is her job to give it, not
judge others.

In summary, related to BTV, I actually dread having to go
through the check-in process there as I’ll more than likely run into this
supervisor.  I need to go to ORD in a
couple of weeks and am seriously considering going 70 miles out of my way and
flying out of MHT just to avoid the woman. 
This shouldn’t even be a consideration. 
This supervisor needs to be trained in customer service and needs to
practice good customer service.  She may
rule the roost in BTV, but it is only hurting UA’s image.

On a couple of miscellaneous points, UA overall has an
opportunity to pay better attention to details. 
A few observations…  On my flight
from IAD to BRU (noted above) I was in seat 21G (or whatever the window seat is
there).  When I opened the supplied blanket,
it reeked of mold… enough to water you eyes. 
At least the flight was fairly warm. 
My audio jack was shorting out, making it difficult to listen to a
movie.  At least it was a night flight
and I was able to sleep.  At the UA Club
at IAD, I think it was concourse F (I could be wrong), you had a couple of
dispensers for crackers, trail mix, nuts, etc. 
Knobs to release the contents were broken on two of the containers.  The nuts were almost gone, while the trail
mix and crackers were full… meaning that they had been in that condition for
some time.  On a recent flight from IAD
to BTV (Portland-IAD-BTV), the seat I was assigned to was broken… missing the
seat cushion.  This was a known condition
as the was physically roped off.  The
flight attendant said just take any seat. 
I had to move three times as the plane filled up.  Felt like a homeless vagrant.

All of this combined suggests an airline in decline.  I hope that is not the case.  The very first time I ever flew was in 1969
as a kid and it was on a UA stretch 707 from ORD to LAX.  I remember the flight, the service, and the
awe of flying (heck, I was just a kid). 
From that day, I always liked UA. 
 As I got older, I watched a
number of airlines fold and go out of business, watched UA go into bankruptcy,
and watched funny little upstarts like Southwest and PSA try to redefine
travel.  The industry is hurting and cuts
need to be made to stay in business… but there is one thing that is free…
Client Service!  You could jam more seats
onto a plane, stop serving meals, charge for luggage, etc., and have the public
accept it better if client service is good. 
Give me a grouchy flight attendant, a dictator-like supervisor, a broken
plane, and you set yourselves up for a complaint.  If someone tells me something with a smile, I
am far more likely to ignore a mundane problem. 
Your BTV supervisor IS a problem and she needs some serious
reeducation.  Please look into the issues
I’ve brought up here.

Sincerely,

Mark Andrysiak

Premier Member #0001168xxxx

PO Box xxxx

Montpelier VT  05601

You are absolutely correct that TA has its own issues with fraud, but when I have found what I consider a questionable review (say, a “glowing” review by a person with one post, or a very positive/negative review in the midst of generally negative/positive reviews) I do alert TA and they have always responded, saying they are checking into it and appreciate the alert.