Triplicates
Member
Worst airline ever. Unfortunately, they dominate my hometown's airport.
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United Airlines are complete shit
- Thread starter Hilti92
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teacupcopter
Banned
Most of the US carriers are awful. I'm really lucky that in Australia we have access from our major cities to most of the best airlines in the world to get around anywhere we usually do (Cathay or Singapore into Asia, also into Europe with the Middle Eastern carriers like Emirates/Etihad/Qatar, Qantas and Air NZ to get to the US)
I'm a travel agent and all I hear about people going to America is "nice trip, loved NYC, loved flying Qantas or Virgin Australia or Air New Zealand on the way over... but AA/UA/DL/VX/Whatever were AWFUL"
Yeah the US carriers are unbelievably awful and they aren't even cheap. This year I flew on a discount Euro airline. My ticket was literally only forty Euros and I still got more leg room and better service than any US carrier flight I've ever been on. I don't even get how it's possible to be that bad, when the US has lower safety standards than the EU. I also used to think Air Canada was pretty bad, but it's actually pretty good relatively compared to the other NA carriers.
United is shit. I had to amend my flight schedule because booking through their website got me a flight that landed at La Guardia in NYC and then flew out of JFK internationally in NYC 45 minutes later. What the fuck? And they charged me for the amendment.
Continental Airlines was godlike and then this fucking merger happened
How can I book a discount euro flight and can I be a U.S. Passport/citizen and still take advantage of it while in Europe?
Continental Airlines was godlike and then this fucking merger happened
How can I book a discount euro flight and can I be a U.S. Passport/citizen and still take advantage of it while in Europe?
outunderthestars
Banned
Hang on, You sent a twitter message and made a thread instead of calling customer service to see about an update?
It was just EasyJet, anyone can buy ticktets. They're cheap because they don't offer any amenities, like peanuts or drinks and bringing baggage costs extra. But if you're just taking short flights between European countries, that's not really an issue. If you're flying to Europe from North America, you should consider Icelandair. They're ridiculously cheap because they do a very short layover in Iceland. I flew from Toronto to Paris this summer for like 500 dollars and it was well worth it. The food on that plane was also surprisingly good too.
Customer service has been contacted on the issue and they're trying to justify the $250 or change the flight date for over $1000 in fees.
Affeinvasion
Member
As a Houstonian the switch from continental to United was a real punch in the dick. I dint want to drive down to hobby to take southwest...
outunderthestars
Banned
I feel like we are missing a key component of this story.
I've flown United probably 30 times in the last two years, and have never had any problem changing the flight when they had a change in itineraries.
EatinOlives
Member
That's weird, I've flown with them a bunch of times and this is the first time I'm hearing of particularly bad service. I fly almost exclusively United at this point.
Now, American Airlines, THAT'S a shitload of fuck. The last time I flew with them was several years ago, when our flight was delayed by a few minutes because they ran out of space and had standby people. They were harassing a passenger to give up another one of his seats (they had apparently already taken one) that he had bought as extra space for his special-needs daughter. This was a full-price ticket and the flight attendant kept harassing him to give it up. They refused to offer him a dime of a refund because according to them "you don't own that seat, American does, so technically we can do whatever we want."
Apparently they needed his consent or something because the passenger thankfully never budged. The asshole attendant only stopped after several surrounding passengers started shouting him down for picking on the poor guy.
Now, American Airlines, THAT'S a shitload of fuck. The last time I flew with them was several years ago, when our flight was delayed by a few minutes because they ran out of space and had standby people. They were harassing a passenger to give up another one of his seats (they had apparently already taken one) that he had bought as extra space for his special-needs daughter. This was a full-price ticket and the flight attendant kept harassing him to give it up. They refused to offer him a dime of a refund because according to them "you don't own that seat, American does, so technically we can do whatever we want."
Apparently they needed his consent or something because the passenger thankfully never budged. The asshole attendant only stopped after several surrounding passengers started shouting him down for picking on the poor guy.
Nope. All details are provided. Have talked to several customer service agents now.
ZackieChan
Member
Yeah, AirAsia is awesome. Good food, too.
All the airlines I've flown on from US to Asia have been great, actually. I usually don't have a bad experience with any flying. I think I just have a lot of patience and forgiveness.
GoldenEye 007
Member
lol it was probably a staff member wanting to get on board. But that sounds crazy. I didn't know they would go to those lengths to try to bump a passenger.
Liquid_015
Gold Member
Take Cathay Pacific if you're going to Asia, its the fucking best man.
WeeBritian
Neo Member
I had the recent misfortune to fly with Delta. On my flight from SFO to Minneapolis (3.5 hours about), the plane did not have running water. Thank goodness the toilets flushed, but it was basically like being on a Greyhound bus that happened to have the power of flight.
storafötter
Member
If you are coming from Europe; a lot of companies are partners with United so I am always forced to use them if I have a layover somewhere in the US. Most of the time I have used them they have delayed or cancelled my flights. However my hate for them was intense during the holidays where they had cancelled my trip to London days prior but never told me and I was stuck at Ohare. The best they could do is offer hotel coupon when they should have given me a free hotel, but no they wanted to put the blame on the airline I booked with even if it was their flight that they cancelled.
ZackieChan
Member
EVA was also quite good for me. They're all cheaper than united, too.
Yup, not what I paid for.
Delta international business class is a great deal. Marginally less plush and much cheaper than competitors.
For domestic, Alaska all day every day. Helps to have status. Alaska MVP75k basically means no fees and free upgrades to first class almost every flight.
For domestic, Alaska all day every day. Helps to have status. Alaska MVP75k basically means no fees and free upgrades to first class almost every flight.
Veritigo_X
Member
Yeah they are shit. For some reason my company loves booking with them so I have to fly with them fairly often. My last experience had my 8:00 PM flight cancelled and instead of letting us know in a timely manner they strung everyone along until 2:30 AM. "Things are looking up! We'll have you boarding in the next half hour" was their catchphrase that night. It started to become a joke each time they said it and by midnight passengers were justifiably irrate. The best part was the rescheduled flight the next morning got cancelled as well and they put me on another morning flight for the next day. Luckily my company is cool so they bought me another flight with a different airline to get me home while they dealt with United customer service.
ZackieChan
Member
Seriously? Enjoy the hassle over "not what I paid for."
Also, you probably agreed to this when you purchased the ticket. In the fine print somewhere.
i3allistic
Member
Sucks bro, i remember flying American Companies Airline to Asia when i was in the service, worst freaking flight ever in my life.....and they don't seem to give a shit about customer service.Since then I avoid any American owned airline to ASIA, Singapore airline my 1st option and i'm willing to pay the extra few hundred dollar
I ended up getting a refund so it's obviously no problem. My issue is that I just feel I should have received a bigger refund
I'm moving to Germany in two weeks. My choice came down to UA or Lufthansa at the same rate. Such an easy decision to go with Lufthansa. I've flown UA internationally and it was a bad experience.
The way this thread reads though that you thought you could get something out of this because the flight time is different by an hour and a hlaf. Can you physically not make that time or do you feel like they owe you something because a change was made?
The way this thread reads though that you thought you could get something out of this because the flight time is different by an hour and a hlaf. Can you physically not make that time or do you feel like they owe you something because a change was made?
PeakPointMatrix
Member
Wait.
So the moment a flight gets slightly delayed, you demand a refund? An hour and a half delay is nothing, if not expected 50% of the time when flying. Emergencies on the tarmac, unfavorable weather, etc, happen all the time and is out of the airline's control. Would you rather they send a plane full of lives into dangerous weather conditions just so you "get what you pay for"? Or is your safety not worth the hour and a half of your time for conditions to improve so much so that you demand a 100% refund on non-refundable tickets?
BladeoftheImmortal
Member
Depends on where you fly to and from. My flights from China to Atlanta are always in the 1800-2000 range for roundtrip. These are the lowest quoted prices I get from Expedia, etc.
My mom's flight to Thailand was 2,000 bucks and she booked 4 months in advance.
What? My flight is a month and a bit from now. It has nothing to do with weather. I addressed that I'm reaching asking for a refund in this situation. You haven't read anything posted by me other than that, have you?
GoldenEye 007
Member
Oh.... Um, that's probably not a good idea. Delays happen. I'm shocked they offered you any refund.
How does a 1.5 hour delay on a return flight ruin the vacation or plans?
IISANDERII
Member
Yeah i just read a bit about it and it seems the decision is the credit card company's/bank. Worth a try because that refund amount is insulting and they may consider it falls under buyer protection.
It's probably in the fine print that it was a non-amendable fare, and if you wanted a refund you'd only get the first $250 of it if the price was higher. Sucks, but I believe it is pretty standard with airfares globally, not just via United.
If you bought a fully amendable, cancellable fare, stick to your guns and don't allow them to fob you off.
But I join everyone else in saying - seriously, all this hassle over 1.5 hours, when it could be delayed out of their control when it comes anyway? Are you booking with someone else, probably at a higher price for a one way trip?
If you bought a fully amendable, cancellable fare, stick to your guns and don't allow them to fob you off.
But I join everyone else in saying - seriously, all this hassle over 1.5 hours, when it could be delayed out of their control when it comes anyway? Are you booking with someone else, probably at a higher price for a one way trip?
ZackieChan
Member
He said something about a personal obligation, but it's ludicrous to have an unavoidable obligation when you're returning from a long flight. There are so many things that could delay the trip that it is a total uncertainty when you'll actually arrive home. If anything, it's a good thing that they told you about the change in schedule so far ahead, so you can change that obligation. OP is being pretty unreasonable.
Clockwork
Member
This. I don't understand how 1.5 hours is make or break territory. You could experience the same delay without advance notification. It happens all the time.
If your life is so micromanaged that you can't deal with a trivial change in schedule I feel truly awful for you.
Had I encountered the same situation I would probably just shrug and say whatever.
Meh.
brochiller
Member
As terrible as they are they are still far better than American or US Airways when it comes to flying trans-Atlantic economy.
i3allistic
Member
Damn son, i just booked my ticket from SFO to Macau to Ho Chi Minh to Bangkok to Krabi and Home for less than $1200 ~ EVA AIR + VietnamAir + Thai Air
Southwest and Virgin America are pretty good, but for international flights I try to stick with non-US airlines. I'm going to Japan in Septemeber on Air China. That should be interesting... haha. But the flight was only $700 so whatever.
The United flights on the 787 are pretty good. Anything else though is pretty terrible. They need to update the rest of their fleet with better tech.
The United flights on the 787 are pretty good. Anything else though is pretty terrible. They need to update the rest of their fleet with better tech.
Shamrock7r
Member
My worst experience is still with American.
Was leaving from South Texas, to Dallas, to Hawaii.
Our first flight is delayed 45 minutes because the Pilot needs a break apparently. No problem I guess, we have a 2 hour layover in Dallas before our plane to Hawaii. We get to the Dallas airport and get stuck on the tarmac for 1 hour and 45 minutes because they couldn't get the jet bridge to work. FINALLY they let us go down the stairs of the airplane and up the stairs to the airport. Like the McAllister family from Home Alone we rush to the other side of the airport to get to our connecting flight but miss it by 10 minutes. Have to go to a connecting flight to phoenix and then Hawaii which was an extra 6 hours. Essentially we lost a day in Hawaii.
On the way back, everything went fine from Hawaii to Dallas.... but our Dallas flight got delayed about an hour because they couldn't find one of the flight attendants... seriously.
Fuck American
Was leaving from South Texas, to Dallas, to Hawaii.
Our first flight is delayed 45 minutes because the Pilot needs a break apparently. No problem I guess, we have a 2 hour layover in Dallas before our plane to Hawaii. We get to the Dallas airport and get stuck on the tarmac for 1 hour and 45 minutes because they couldn't get the jet bridge to work. FINALLY they let us go down the stairs of the airplane and up the stairs to the airport. Like the McAllister family from Home Alone we rush to the other side of the airport to get to our connecting flight but miss it by 10 minutes. Have to go to a connecting flight to phoenix and then Hawaii which was an extra 6 hours. Essentially we lost a day in Hawaii.
On the way back, everything went fine from Hawaii to Dallas.... but our Dallas flight got delayed about an hour because they couldn't find one of the flight attendants... seriously.
Fuck American
I flew Air China from London Heathrow to Beijing, and then back from Hong Kong. Absolutely fine. Had plenty of in-flight entertainment, food was fine and drinks were complementary.
United were fine when I flew with them too... never really had a bad flight experience other than delays because of weather.
Good to know, thanks! I also checked the ratings of the specific flight I'm on (from LA to Tokyo) and there were very few instances of delays. Was going to fly on Singapore but the price went up by like $200 before I was ready to buy. Oh well.
Best domestic flight I've ever been on was Virgin America. They're really awesome. Best international flight would probably be Garuda Indonesia. They're known for having one of the best economy classes, and their food was awesome.
Oh man Air China. I remember flying on a 747 as a kid on Air China. The funniest thing was that they didn't have electronic headphones, meaning instead of a wire, it was just a plastic tube that went into your ears. The other end plugged into a hole in the chair that had a tiny speaker inside of it lmao
I just flew on Air China last month. They have touchscreen TVs now with movies, but it is the most absurdly bad UI/software I've ever used. It lags and crashes when you try to select anything. So at least they've upgraded from where they used to be lol
ZackieChan
Member
This is more my experience. Even one way from Bangkok is like $600. I usually just buy one ways since I just kind of wander from place to place a lot.
Best coast ftw.
Air China, China Southern, China Eastern and most other Asia-based airlines have all been excellent for me. Lots of in-flight entertainment, good leg room, food is good, etc.
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