[markballman]

Second leg of three leg flight left my sister stranded for 17 hours. United kept giving her standby status. She paid full fair. Waiting in SFO with only her cell phone, it was impossible for her to call customer service because of the 15 to 20 minute wait times so I, her brother and the person waiting to pick her up all through the night was able to call when I got home. The United agent I was connected to was indignant when I asked why the middle leg of the flight was delayed for over an hour to begin with. He blamed the FAA.
When it became clear that she would have to sit in a seat at the terminal for an extended period, I called again to complain. The agent told me to email united at costomerrelations@united.com with the complaint and confirmation number of her ticket and it would be handled immediately. My sister was given these instructions and she fired off an email. It was returned with the explanation that the email address was shut down.
Finally, my sister just rented a car and drove the last 350 miles.

[Gromit801]

So, reading between the lines, she paid full fare, missed her flight, and United was having a problem finding her a seat on another flight.

You also misspelled the email address, which is why it bounced back.

[klandreth]

This letter is in reference to my recent flight (UA 981) originally from Manama, Bahrain to Washington Dulles, and after its cancellation.( flight UA 1750 from Kuwait to Washington).

The flight from Bahrain was cancelled in Kuwait, why was never actually explained to us. The flight crew literally abandoned us in Kuwait City. They left the entire group of passengers in the hands of a totally incompetent crew from NAS(the UA Contractor in Kuwait City). The Flight Crew literally would not answer any questions, saying that was not their job. One of the officers stated that we all know that United sucks, but there is nothing we can do about it. How do you expect any loyalty from customers when your own crew is disloyal? The local representatives had very limited English language skills, their supervisor got upset and started yelling at passengers and even tried to pick a fight with one customer who was upset, he even raised his hands against the man. This person should be fired for gross negligence. We were finally herded into a bus and taken to a third world feeling hotel. It was nasty in ever sense of the word. I am Diabetic and have back problems and had no access to my meds and was told that nothing could be done. They took our passports and we were held hostage in this hotel until 9 P.M. the next day. Then we were herded into yet another line to rebook. Nothing was done ahead of time for this and it took over 5 hours on line to be rebooked to a downgraded seat from my original. Again and again I asked for access to my diabetic medicines in my checked baggage, and was denied access. We left Kuwait City in the early hours of that morning. I always book a specific seat due to DVT and lower back issues. My seat that I was down graded to was cramped and very uncomfortable. Upon arrival at Dulles the incompetency continued as I had an 8-hour layover due to delays. I kept trying standbys, they were all cancelled and I had to get myself out of this mess by booking with U.S. Air to Charlotte. There I had to rent a car to my home, today I will have to return to the system to try and get my bags.
There was nothing but rude and uncompassionate interaction up the entire line of UA personnel. I did not have a single interaction with U.A. personnel in D.C. or Kuwait City that was professional or compassionate. Most of your personal that I encountered had major English language and communication skill level inadequacies.
Sadly I am booked on a nonrefundable
Flight back to Bahrain in August, hopefully, it will be my last with United. I know that as a company they do not care, but I do. United Airlines used to be a Great American Company, and I was proud to be a loyal Customer. I just cannot risk flying with them again. My blood sugars have yet to stabilize after not having medications for two days, and I must see my Doctor about my lumbar stenosis, which was very much aggravated by this ordeal.
Their on line apology offer is ridiculous ($50.00) and actually a little offensive after what I have endured. In DC, I witnessed offers of up to $500 for volunteers to give up their seats on the oversold flights. Yet we are only offered ($50) or a few miles, which I will never use.

I will soon be a KLM or Lufthansa customer.

Kenneth Landreth, Ed.S
1July, 2012.

[cortney]

flight crew may have timed out which is why they wouldnt answer questions. they need to get to the hotel for rest. plus what could they do for you? they cant rebook you or get you hotel rooms or anything. that is customer services job. no meds with you? you checked them...your mistake, your fault. i will NEVER EVER understand why people insist on checking medication! just out of curiosity, when was this? i flew DC-kwi last week and just returned home yesterday and everything was ontime. a few of my coworkers have also taken this flight the past week without incident. thankfully our flights werent full so we had space

[klandreth]

I do not pack more than a three day supply of meds. One does not expect that level of incompetence from an Airline. Courtney, your blame the customer attitude is why United went bankrupt and probably will not survive the reorganization. After 40 years of flying, I really do see a lowering of standards for Airline crews. KSM, Lufthansa, Gulf Air, Air New Zealand, and others are really outperforming United. Courtney is an Airline worker and probably sees passengers as Cargo.

[xjcaptain]

Not just any cargo....self loading cargo!

(yes this is sarcasm and is joke...)

[klandreth]

Not that funny to someone who just paid thousands of dollars for a ride home. That cargo pays your salary.

Is this whole forum made up of Airline employee's, they seem to be making my point. They just don't get it.

[xjcaptain]

Kinda like how some people just don't get it. Lets see, I need medication to live. Lets put it in a place that I have no access to. Some people do check their brains with their bags. What exactly do you think the pilots and flight attendants could have done after the flight was canceled? Flight crews have neither the capability or authorization to handle rebooking or hotels. All I can tell you is that people who have never worked in the industry have no idea how complicated it its to handle all the variables in operating an airline much less as a professional pilot or other crew member.

[cortney]

first off, i dont treat my passengers like cargo or do i see them as cargo...EVER nor do i work for united. Im just curious as to how its the airlines fault that YOU decided to check your meds. you need meds, why check them, never know what can happen.

[klandreth]

You make my point. You are blinded by your employment. It is not about the meds. Did you read my post? It is about having a complete failure to communicate on behalf of the Company that left me and over a hundred other passengers literally stranded in Kuwait City. In the hands of their contract employees at N.A.S. who showed no willingness to help. Most of us were D.O.D.and just trying to make our way home.

I appreciate your loyalty to your field of Employment, but see it as misguided in this issue. But you just have a Great Day. God bless you.

[cortney]

Im sorry that nobody from UA was there to help, but really the flight crew couldnt do anything and usually once you check your bag, there is no getting it back. happend to my coworker last year with continental, wouldnt allow her to get her bag back after our flight was delayed (we were going to stay overnight in ewr). I do appreciate your service to our country

[xjcaptain]

Speaking of reading...you haven't answered my question...What do you think the flight crew should have done? You also wrote about the meds in your op. I also have a hard time believing the flight was canceled with no communication about the reason. Doesn't happen. The crew wouldn't just walk off without making any announcements, and the agents wouldn't simply say canceled...Had to be more to the story.

[klandreth]

Happened just like my post, I have over 100 witnesses. Most were D.O.D. or State Department. The Crew could have helped explain the situation and let us know what to do since we were mostly on unfamiliar turf. The very extended delay was no fault of my own. I hope you can see that. We passengers do pay your salary, just like Taxpayers pay mine. I respect them for that and try to always show it.

Good by Courtney. If you work for anyone but United, I will probably see you on a Middle Eastern run, I work there and must fly, I just reminisce for the Days when it was Fun.

[jimworcs]

xjcaptain... are you have a "jetblue pilot" moment? Failure to communicate is one of the single biggest problems in the airline industry and it is one of the most complained about issues on here. "Doesn't Happen"??!! wtf the are you talking about... I think you are not going to make it to Vegas.

[xjcaptain]

Part of communication is listening. You have a sender and a receiver. I see it daily at the airport. Announcements are repeatedly made, then people claim to not have heard them. This claim is usually made by passengers with wires dangling from their ears. They are so plugged into their electronics they don't pay attention to what is going around them. Very similar to the passenger that misses their connection and claims to have run all the way to the gate...Hard to not notice the steaming hot cup of coffee and McDonalds bag that was obviously just purchased on the way to the gate.

[klandreth]

If you really hate passengers as much as these post indicate, why don't you go to work for FedEx.

[xjcaptain]

I certainly do not hate passengers, most are very nice to be around. Those that do not plan ahead and are unwilling to take any responsibility for their own well being get tiring. Now the pay at FedEx would sure be a nice change.

[klandreth]

Take charge of your life. Plan ahead an quit whining. Find way to make you salary fit your skill set. You know, plan ahead. Have a nice life. I am deleting this airline supported propaganda forum.

[xjcaptain]

Cant argue with anything you said, all makes sense to me. Except the airline supported part. I understand people like to vent, and that's perfectly fine. Let's just hope that people differentiate from valid complaints that need to be addressed, and those that just want to hear themselves complain.

[rubes05]

Have you been screwed by United. Well complaining here won't do any good, because only people that see is us & we all now how bad United is.

Like my Facebook page


and then lets get all our friends to see this. Maybe then they will start to listen. Lets give them the bad publicity they deserve.

[rubes05]

Have you been screwed by United. Well complaining here won't do any good, because only people that see is us & we all now how bad United is.

Like my Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/unitedsuck

and then lets get all our friends to see this. Maybe then they will start to listen. Lets give them the bad publicity they deserve.

[Don't fly United!]

www.united.com/appreciation