Flying United

[canadianjovigirl]

Just wondering how bad it really is to fly United? We have never flown them but are flying with them for our Christmas vacation and it was purely a budget decision as flights were not quite $800 versus $1300 with other carriers and with 5 of us that adds up quickly..............

I'm thinking it cant be that bad and i guess if it is we suck it up as its the price we pay to save $$$

 

[CammelleandBre]

My sister flew United last week, and she had no complaints. She really enjoyed the directv at her seat.

 

[jgreco]

Had a friend earlier this week come visit me, he flew United. His flight actually left early because everyone had checked in and he arrived 1/2 hour early.

 

[hugabearjo]

Sorry to be the bearer of a bad experience. My cousin and uncle were flying across the country two weeks ago and their last leg was cancelled. The united attitude was too bad.....find your own way. They got booked on another flight and had to run through the Denver airport. My uncle started having chest pains and had to rest and again they said too bad.... They ended up flying in 350 miles from final destination I had to drive and pick them up. Luggage was lost for four days and many many many phone calls finally found them. No one wanted to take a claim because she wasn't in the airport they were supposed to be in ( because of cancelled flight). After all this they were rude, told my cousin well it all worked out, you got to your destination. She did but because I drove 700 miles to get her. They offered no compensation even for being stranded in Denver which is about 1150 miles from where she was supposed to end up. They just said too bad. This wasn't weather related the weather was wonderful.

Sorry moral of story.....please have a couple of outfits, medication and essential makeup and toiletries in a carry on.

Lastly she had to pay for lost bags coming and going home.

 

[monica213]

For a short flight, max 4 hours in my opinion you should be fine... Anything longer you will probably uncomfortable. Flown them plenty of time from NJ to FL and can't really complain but flew from France to NJ and couldn't wait to get off the plane. They used a long haul domestic plane on an overseas flight and it was the worst flight I have ever taken. This is just my experiences.

 

[Jedimike]

I fly United all the time and have no complaints. I regularly fly Southwest, United and Delta. IMO, Delta is the worst, but overall they are all pretty similiar.

 

[ennisb]

We Flew end of May on United from Newark NJ to San Francisco then a couple of days later to Hawaii and back home. All flights on time, service was fine and this was just after the merger with Continental! Not the first time I have flown them for business a bunch to Denver and again no issues.

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

I flew United in June and had a good experience. I was able to upgrade to first class both ways for a small fee. The service was excellent and thankfully we had 2 smooth flights. So I would fly them again.

 

[canadianjovigirl]

We have allowed extra time for our layover due to it being the christmas season and weather delays so hoping that will prevent missing a flight but i guess theres not much we can do if something like that was to happen.

Guess we will just hope for the best. All legs of our journey are on 737-700 planes so hoping for the best i guess and will just remind myself that is what you get for saving a few grand

We usually fly Canadian airlines, other than once to Mexico we flew Continental and it was okay but the aircraft was old and no entertainment but other than that all was good.

I'm sure there is somebody somewhere that has a horror story for every airline, just trying to see what the norm is.

 

[siouxi31]

I fly them about every couple of weeks out of O'Hare and don't really have issues. About three months ago, I had an issue flying out of Phoenix that REALLY ticked me off with them but I've had one-off experiences with other airlines too.

For the most part, I have no particular complaint that occurs often.

 

[swilshire]

I fly Delta, American and United. I have had bad experiences with all of them and good flights with each. Flying in general is not much fun these days, but just go with a good attitude and be prepared to deal with any problems that occur. You're as likely to have a good experience with United as with any of the major airlines.

Sheila

 

[Swimalie]

You'll have good and bad for every airline. They all have issues at times. That being said, we fly them because they are the carrier for my husband's work so we earn frequent flier points. The 3 of us just flew 5.5 hours with them this past June. No issues. But once my husband had a connecting flight through NY to DC when they sent his luggage to NM. It was found 4 months later, after we had to buy all new items since he had to travel again (cost of over $400) and they refused to pay for anything we had to replace even though it was their fault they sent the suitcase to the wrong place. But in 11 years of him flying them, that was the only incident.

 

[lurkernj]

We've flown United/Continental quite a bit and never had any issues. We liked them better as Continental, but they're still fine. We used them to go to Hawaii last year, and they were fine. They were our preferred airline for many years, though now we're branching out to Southwest due to the credit card bonuses, and we'll be trying Airtran for the first time at the end of the month.

Like PP said, there's going to be good and bad reviews with any airline.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

What's wrong with United? We have flown with them frequently for years. Are there better airlines? I do agree I like the Continental planes better than most of the United ones I've been on. But, I've certainly flown worse airlines.

 

[Irin997]

We flew last year from Baltimore to Hawaii and had no problems flying into Maui with stops in Chicago and San Francisco. Flying home from Honolulu into Chicago we had a delay because of a plan part and then a delay from Chicago to Baltimore because of weather. But none of this was United's fault, they couldn't have been nicer about the delays, and we wouldn't hesitate to fly with them again.

 

[GMU MOM]

I fly United all the time and have no complaints. I regularly fly Southwest, United and Delta. IMO, Delta is the worst, but overall they are all pretty similiar.

I agree, Delta is the worst airline. I vowed never to fly them ever again!

I've flown United many times both domestic and international and they are a very good airline. I have no complaints at all.

Last month we were flying back from Mexico via Houston and missed our connection flight due to a long line in immigration and UA did a great job protecting us on the next flight out so we wouldn't have to spend the night in Houston.

We will be flying United to Disneyland Christmas week this year and I have no worries at all other thn the normal airport concerns.

 

[AimeeMichele]

I fly United all of the time and love them! When we're going to WDW in October we are flying United. Their planes are great, seats are super comfy, I've only had fantastic airline crew (whereas American's crew can get really snippy) and they are really turning me into having them as my favorite airlines. Of course, flights can get delayed and cancelled, however most of the time it's not the airlines fault unless it has something to do with the crew, but the fault of weather conditions.

Relax and enjoy United!

 

[bettymae1121]

Just wondering how bad it really is to fly United? We have never flown them but are flying with them for our Christmas vacation and it was purely a budget decision as flights were not quite $800 versus $1300 with other carriers and with 5 of us that adds up quickly..............

I'm thinking it cant be that bad and i guess if it is we suck it up as its the price we pay to save $$$

If you have frequent flyer numbers with Air Canada, be sure to give them to United, they are Star Alliance partners and you'll get miles for the United flights!

I've flown on United for 20 years, never a bad experiance yet, although I haven't flown with them since the merger. You did the right thing, allowing for extra layover time in winter. Storms can really foul up airline schedules and extra time is always a good idea.

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

I have flown them and had no issues. Really you need to fly them and judge for yourself. What you think of bad service may not be what others consider bad service and vise versa.

 

[surfergirl602]

Flying with them is fine until something goes wrong. And then they disappear on you. After our last experience with torn apart luggage, a crushed stroller frame and no willingness to help us with a missed connection because united delayed and left late, we won't ever fly them again.