I don't normally fly United Airlines, since I prefer Alaska Airlines for travel up and down the west coast. Alaska is based in Seattle, serves more destinations nonstop, and generally provides better service. However, I got bumped in Denver during a cross-country flight on United, and received $200 worth of vouchers to use on future flights (not a bad deal in exchange for taking a flight 1/2 hour later). These were issued as four combinable $50 coupons, so that I didn't have to use the credit all at once.
Not long after receiving the vouchers, my family planned a reunion in California for my grandfather's 90th birthday. I found tickets on United for about $125 to San Francisco (which was acceptable even though I usually fly to San Jose), and after visiting the city ticket office in Bellevue to book my trip, I was ready to go.
Or so I thought until I got to the airport. When I arrived at the gate, I discovered that my flight number had been changed, and then I discovered that the flight was delayed. Especially to my surprise, considering I wasn't notified of the change, the departure time had been moved up by 20 minutes. This turned out not to matter, since the flight was delayed by more than 2 hours, but could have been a problem for many passengers if the flight had departed on time.
On the return flight, the exact same thing happened, except the departure time was moved up by an hour. No reasonable person gets to the airport more than an hour early for their flight, and I considered it extraordinarily bad that United didn't notify me this time, either. As a result, I actually sat down and wrote them a letter (on paper... airlines don't understand email yet).
United Airlines
I recently flew with United roundtrip from Seattle to San Francisco. While I recognize that flight delays, cancellations, and changes are commonplace in the industry, I think that my recent experience with United was extraordinarily poor. I hope that you can make corrections to improve your service in these areas.
When I departed on 27 April, my flight was changed to an entirely different flight number, with a departure time 20 minutes earlier. As it turned out, the earlier schedule (of which I was not notified) didn't matter, because the flight was delayed over 2 hours due to bad weather in San Francisco. I recognize that there is nothing that you can do about the weather, but you certainly could have notified me of the change in flight number and time; this caused me unnecessary confusion at the airport. Additionally, my rental car company wasn't aware that the flight number had changed, and cancelled my reservation for a rental car thinking that I was a "no show" (since I arrived into San Francisco over 2 hours later than scheduled). This wasted additional time on the ground.
I was hoping that my experience on 29 April would be better, but unfortunately it was not. The departure time was again changed--this time substantially (to an hour earlier), without me being notified. Again, it turned out that this didn't matter, because an unexplained delay resulted in the flight finally departing at a sedate 9:30pm--nearly 2 hours later than the scheduled departure time (although in my case, it's fortunate the flight did not leave on time). Of course, delayed passengers were provided no compensation of any kind for the inconvenience.
As a customer, I do not think that it is unreasonable to expect that when my flight time and/or flight number changes, United will notify me of the change (I provided my Mileage Plus number when I bought the ticket, so you obviously knew how to contact me). Additionally, I do not think that it is unreasonable for United to explain why a flight is delayed--even if you'd prefer not to admit fault. If the delay is substantial, it's only fair to at least offer a 10-minute prepaid phone card to passengers, so that they can notify friends or loved ones that they'll be arriving late.
If United Airlines wants to earn my business in the future, you must provide better service than I
received this weekend. You owe it to your customers and your shareholders, and I am both.
Customer Relations
PO Box 66100
Chicago, IL 60666
30 April, 2001
To Whom It May Concern:
Surprisingly, I received a response. It was a somewhat snotty non-apology which basically said "flight numbers change, we can't always notify you, and you should just deal with it," but they did include two $50 vouchers good toward future flights.
I guess I can handle flying on United if it's free. At this rate, after paying for one flight, I've gotten 2 more flights' worth of vouchers and enough frequent flier miles for a free ticket.
[back]