United Airlines :(

[archmaker]

Flying today out of IAH, and terminal B is the small regional jets. The flight to Harlingen at 3pm ish is having mechancial problem, they can't find a replacement, so they cancelled the flight. I am on the flight to Raleigh-Durham, and all of sudden it has issue and it is cancelled. Now this is all in the space of about an hour or less. Not because of bad weather but because of problems with the planes and not haveing any spares.

Now understand, I have and always will believe, that one should never get on an airplane that the pilot doesn't want to fly.

But come on, they didn't wait an hour before they cancelled the flights (5:12 flight cancelled at 6:01pm).

[Artful]

http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/15-reasons-why-flying-united-airlines-sucks/



Let me count all the reasons why I think you should never ever fly United Airlines if you have the choice:

1) They lose children.

2) They kick service dogs.

3) They break guitars.

4) United is so bad pilots will still tell you that they are a Continental crew. It’s their not-so-subtle way of telling you they aren’t part of this mess.

5) United doesn’t respond to customer service requests on Twitter.

6) When you do call customer service, you get some guy in India who has no idea what you’re talking about. Now, I’m a product of the global age and I don’t care where a call center is located. Hell, the Mars rover could be answering my customer service request. I don’t care. What I care about is that he speaks my language and knows what I’m talking about. It took 20 minutes for the customer service representative to figure out I wanted a round the world ticket, not a round trip ticket. Then, upon telling me that wasn’t his department, he transferred me to someone else who had no idea why I was calling and then transferred me to another department. And another time when I called for help, the representative just hung up on me.

7) Their planes are old and ugly. They keep talking about upgrades but at least American has a date for the arrival of their new planes. United does not.

8) They have the worst on-time status of all the airlines.

9) They lose the most bags.

10) Their on-board meals are a joke. I understand that economy meals are never good but when I’m paying $10 USD for something, I’d like it to be at least mildly edible. Their snack boxes are not. At least I can get a sandwich on other airlines. The bad (and free) cheese sandwich I got from Croatia Airlines is better than what you get fed on United.
11) There are no upgrades, even when you offer money. On my flight to Sweden, business class only had 3 people in it. I asked if there were any elite upgrades and when they said no, I asked if I could purchase an upgrade, having heard the guy in front of me ask and get an affirmative response. I was told “no, there was no space.” That plane flew with a half-empty first class and a mostly-empty business class. Way to encourage customer loyalty among your elite fliers, United!

12) Their in-flight service sucks and the flight attendants are pretty sour. (My guess? It’s a manifestation of the crappy corporate culture post-merger.)

13) Have I mentioned their planes are old and outdated?

14) They have no Wi-Fi.

15) Their flights cost more than their competitors…but with crappier service!

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100739507


Two troubling statistics about airline service in the first quarter showed passengers are paying the price for airlines packing more people onto planes and leaving little wiggle room in their schedules.

The Department of Transportation said complaints about airline service in the first quarter jumped 17.1 percent. At the same time, the rate of passengers being bumped, or involuntarily denied boarding, increased to 1.06 passengers per every 10,000 flying.

Complaints and Bumping Trending Higher

The latest statistics continue a trend for U.S. based airlines of bumping more passengers as they cut their capacity.

In 2011, the industry bumped 0.78 passengers per 10,000 travelers. Last year, the rate edged higher to .97 passengers bumped.

While the rate seems low, those who track the industry noted involuntary denied boardings are becoming more common and are growing into a larger issue for airlines. Carriers looking to maximize a profit have long made it a practice to oversell flights. They say the overbooking of flights is necessary because a certain percentage of flyers cancel trips or change their travel plans at the last minute.

Airlines say they can't afford to waste potential revenue and leave seats empty, so they overbook flights. As carriers have cut their schedules and shifted to smaller planes for many routes, they have little wiggle room when flights are cancelled due to weather, mechanical problems, or other last minute issues.

(Read More: Cashing in Frequent Flier Rewards Easiest on Value Airlines)
The bottom line: there are often more people booked than seats available.

Meanwhile, customer complaints about airline service are also trending higher. In 2011, the Department of Transportation recorded 1.19 complaints per 100,000 passengers. Last year, the rate of complaints jumped to 1.43 per 100,000 passengers.

March on-time arrivals slip

The Department of Transportation also reported March on-time arrivals edged lower compared to a year ago. In March, 79.8 percent of flights were on-time, down 2.4 percent from March of 2012.

Highest On-Time Arrival Rates:

1. Hawaiian Airlines – 91.0 percent

2. Virgin America – 87.3 percent

3. Alaska Airlines – 85.5 percent

Lowest On-Time Arrival Rates:

1. ExpressJet Airlines – 71.6 percent

2. JetBlue Airways – 72.3 percent

3. Frontier Airlines – 74.0 percent

Source: Department of Transportation

And of course with the TSA treating all passengers as criminal/terrorists - I no longer consider flying unless it's the only option.

http://www.ecu.edu/cs-educ/econ/upload/ecu0513.pdf

[waksupi]

I swore off commercial airlines. Last time I traveled, I was on 6 planes, and only 4 of them could get off the ground.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

[MaryB]

I gave up flying, I have metal in my back and shoulder and am tired of getting groped

[fecmech]

Great video Waksupi!

[Silver Eagle]

Add Spirit Airlines to the list of "will not fly again". Multiple reasons for that. Primary is a 11 hour delay due to a cancelled flight and no crew for its replacement.

[pdawg_shooter]

I can't fly. When I put on my pants my pocket knife goes in the pocket. Been that way since I was 7 or so (62 now) and I will not change now.

[Artful]

Great video Waksupi!
Wait there are more...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-UoERHaSQg

[Artful]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P45E0uGVyeg

[km101]

I REFUSE to fly United ever again. They lost my luggage on a non-stop flight from Houston to Chicago! Never got one of the bags back. They never offered an apology. How can you lose luggage on a "non-stop"?

[pdawg_shooter]

I REFUSE to fly United ever again. They lost my luggage on a non-stop flight from Houston to Chicago! Never got one of the bags back. They never offered an apology. How can you lose luggage on a "non-stop"?

Stolen, not lost. Happens a LOT!