Tell me about United Airlines

[RockyMtnMom]

Hi All!

First a huge THANK YOU for all of the information that you have given this "lurker" over the past four years I can't imagine what our WDW trips would have been like if not for the great tips and advice on this site.

We are planning a trip on DCL in October and have checked out prices on both Air Canada and WestJet. Cost for 4, Edmonton to MCO, is $4100 to 4470. United is offering flights -- with better times -- for $2800.

I don't know what to do...we've always traveled with a Canadian carrier, but the price difference seems too good to pass up. I'm a bit (well, more than a bit) concerned with United's reputation for cancelled and delayed flights. I've never had a problem with AC or WJ, and I don't know whether to take the risk with United.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[casper_jj11]

We regularly fly with United or US Airways from Ottawa. We don't like to do a stopover in Toronto as we prefer to clear customs in Ottawa and never see our luggage until we arrive at MCO. Its also easier coming home. For that reason, if we have to have a stopover, we stopover in the US. We've never had a problem... wait, once, we had a delay in Phili that was over an hour but other than that, no problems at all. DH travels a lot for work and he too flies US Air and United... avoids Delta like the plague due to delays and overbooking issues. The thing is too, often when you book with AC, its code shared with United or US air so the airplane and flight crew are actually US/United and not AC. If its saving that much money, I'd say go for it. Now, that said, I've never seen that big of a difference flying out of Ottawa in the price between AC/WJ and US or United .. some different but not that much... you might want to double check that you're looking at full fee amounts there.

 

[SmilingGrump]

First off, for that much price difference, I'd go United.

Which city do you connect through? If you're connecting through Houston, then that's the old Continental Airlines (they got bought out by United) which was GREAT to fly. The chances of you getting a Continental crew are a bit better if you're going through Houston.

As for the other United routes ... look to see what airplane you'd be flying on. I try to avoid their little planes (the Bombardiers and Embraers) but for $1300 AND better times I'd put up with them!

One word of advice, check your connection time at your stopover. I have had a connection on United where I had to sprint from gate to gate because of delays. I now look for connectors with a 90min+ wait. If the planes are on time, then we have time for a leisurely lunch and washroom break. If we're delayed, it's rarely over an hour so we still have time to grab lunch to go and make the connector.

Enjoy your trip in October! I'm bringing my DD in January and we're on the redeye from Edmonton to Houston .. at least we both have no problems sleeping on planes!

 

[ChisJo]

OOOOOOH - I HATE United!

They've lost my bags twice! I have had more delayed/cancelled flights with them then any other airline. I have had the rudest customer service on the phone. They charge for EVERYTHING! Their planes are old and uncomfortable. Zero entertainment (not the biggest deal but a nice perk when you have it!). Zero anything on flights - well, I shouldn't say that. Last time I got half a can of pop....not the whole can....no no no....half a can. We had a cancelled flight in Chicago due to a snowstorm....do you think that United did a darn thing for us???? Nope....it took 5 hours to get a hold of someone, and then they said sorry - there's nothing we can do for you today, call back tomorrow. WTH? What were we supposed to do for the next 16 hours? No compensation, no attempt to try to get us on a flight the next day, nothing, no apologies (I understand they don't control the weather....however, customer service is appreciated for stranded travellers - I am a very nice person by the way - I never yell at anyone!). I ended up calling Air Canada since we booked the tickets through their website (read their flights carefully by the by when you book with them....lesson learned!), and AC was nice enough to get us a flight that night to Vancouver with an early morning flight to Edmonton the next day - United then lost our bags. Again, no apology. We called them for the next 2 weeks looking for our bags. We had the tag numbers and everything....they told us that those don't mean a thing if bags aren't where they are supposed to be. Again, WTH? Zero attempt by them to provide us with any sort of compensation. Thanks but no thanks.

On a different flight, we missed our connector because their first flight was delayed taking off for 55 minutes. We had a 65 minute layover in Chicago with our connecting flight being on the opposite side of the airport. We were, of course, in the back of the first plane. Yet again, United didn't want to do anything for us. I had to control my hubby who was about to lose it, and had to keep my cool to try to work something out to get us to Orlando. We got to Orlando the next day after sleeping in the airport because United didn't do anything for us. Apparently, it was our fault that we missed that connector.

And finally, third times a charm (we've flown with them at least 6 times). We had a trip to Arizona booked. We booked our flights on Aeroplan points, ended up on United. Flight was at 6:15am. Printed my boarding passes at midnight the night before. Get to the airport at 5am. There is a line of people unable to print their boarding passes at the machines. There is 1 United person working at the desk, and the line by this point is at least 40 people deep. Then she starts yelling for people who are scheduled for a flight that left after us to go to the counter. Finally, we hear through the grapevine that our flight was cancelled due to mechanical error. Ok, fine, cancel my flight due to error - I'm actually ok with that. By the time we get to the counter, she is saying that everyone got an email about the cancellation (which I never received....I had my iPhone with me to verify), and they were working at getting a flight for the following day. Again, WHAT? It is 6am, and I'm not getting on a flight until the next day? Seriously? No apology....it is what it is attitude. AC came to the rescue once again. They got us on a flight to Vancouver with a connector to Phoenix, arriving 6hrs after our initial flight arrival. And it was in first class, the entire way.

I refuse to fly with them now. I don't care if I spend an extra $50 -$200 on a flight if it means not flying with them - they are in my opinion, the worst airline available for us living in Edmonton.

 

[Tower]

United and Air Canada (and US Air) are all part of the Star Alliance group. They're pretty well all the same IMO. Coming from Edmonton, you'd likely get a connection, but I would not worry about it. The best you can do is be early for your Edmonton departure and pray that all goes well.
Personally, I stay away from Air Canada anymore unless I really have to. Flew AC in January with connections to other carriers once I hit Seoul. The Asian airlines really know how to treat their passengers well! AC, United and US Airways have a lot to learn from companies like Korean Airlines, Bangkok Airlines and Thai Airways! A LOT!

 

[dis_guy]

I've flown with United a lot. In that time there were lost seat assignments, a couple of missed connections, weather delays, etc. They have given me great service and some not so great service. With missing seat assignments, we got extra legroom seats for no cost. For the missed connections (due to weather) we were on the next plane out and still sitting together. No airline has ever lost my luggage.

The trouble with air travel in my opinion, is that people just take it all so personally. While I was waiting in line to rebook our last missed connection, there was a young woman (who apparently missed the same connection I had) on her phone yelling about how the f****** airline had f****** messed up her f****** plans> Yeah, we got there 4 hours late, and yeah, it was a pain, but thousands of other travelers in Houston had the same experience that day. It seems some people think it's all about them and if there's a problem they can treat the airline staff like dirt and then come on the net and flame the airline.

I laugh when I see people say that this airline (like WJ) is so much better than that airline, and that airline is lousy (like UA) because they don't have seat-back entertainment on every plane, but personally I can't really see much difference in the service I receive from any of the airlines I fly. In fact the worst customer service I've ever had was from a rude WJ employee in Edmonton, the best was United from a gate agent in Denver who looked after us when the airline lost our seat assignments. She ended up bumping 4 people by offering very good incentives that they were lining up for. Everyone went away feeling like they won the lottery!

Sorry for the long post.

 

[Sue M]

As you can see, people have varying experiences on airlines. I've had good ones on Continental and United. I prefer Continental, but now they've merged.

I like flying thru Houston or Denver. Both are good airports.

I've had horrible flights and customer service on Air Canada and Delta, I'll spare you the details, lol!

for that price dif; I wouldn't think twice about going United

Actually I prefer the U.S. airlines, because it means I can check my luggage straight thru, instead of going thru Toronto, picking up luggage, lugging it to customs, going thru customs, re-checking luggage for connecting flight- what a colossal hassle.
On the U.S. airlines, I just go thru Customs here in Vancouver and don't have to see my luggage till we arrive in Florida! Waaaay easier.

 

[dis_guy]

As you can see, people have varying experiences on airlines. I've had good ones on Continental and United. I prefer Continental, but now they've merged.

I like flying thru Houston or Denver. Both are good airports.

I've had horrible flights and customer service on Air Canada and Delta, I'll spare you the details, lol!

for that price dif; I wouldn't think twice about going United

Actually I prefer the U.S. airlines, because it means I can check my luggage straight thru, instead of going thru Toronto, picking up luggage, lugging it to customs, going thru customs, re-checking luggage for connecting flight- what a colossal hassle.
On the U.S. airlines, I just go thru Customs here in Vancouver and don't have to see my luggage till we arrive in Florida! Waaaay easier.

I agree, I loved CON but now it's all United. I hope the new UAL takes a few lessons from their merger partner. On my last Continental flight some of the cabin crew had wristbands proudly proclaiming "Ex Con" on them!

Agree about DEN and IAH. Avoid ORD (Chicago) like the plague!There seems to always be weather issues. Mind you DEN has blizzards and IAH has its share of fog.

Agree about Delta. Been a long, long time since I've flown AC. Don't plan to again anytime soon. I've been looking for a flight to Hawaii. To be honest, United has better flight times and prices than AC with more direct connections through San Francisco (from Edmonton).

Yup, doing customs and immigration at your point of departure is a big plus. I don't wanna see that bag until it magically arrives in my room at WDW.

 

[ccudmore]

United breaks guitars

 

[W8n4night]

Recently (Feb 2012) flew United out of Saskatoon, now options out of Saskatoon have never been great and at the end of the day most airlines operate the same and have good days and bad.

On our recent trip we sat on the plane at the gate for over two hour while they tried unsuccessfully to address a maintenance issue. Not so much as a water was offered while we sat there. Eventually they let ppl off the plane and at around 3 hours took the plane off line. To their credit they very quickly prepped and brought around another plane (albeit smaller) but they were working very hard to get everyone seated and heading out by bringing additional staff to a second gate for boarding pass issuance and seating. Information and communications from them on their plan and status was very good. Had this happened in Saskatoon at departure we'd have been SOL but since we were in Minneapolis options existed.

At the end of the day a 50.00 dollar voucher was handed out against a future flight. Things could have been dealt with better and I won't lie it stressful and frustrating but it was clear they were doing everything that could be done as quickly as they could. I wouldn't hesitate to fly United again based on competitive price and service.

My issue is the simply lousy departure times out of Saskatoon into Minneapolis as a connecting hub. Anything even remotely close to a reasonable departure time is at an insane premium price wise.

 

[bababear_50]

I understand the price difference is great but I would never fly with them again. Just got back Sunday and worst flights i've ever taken. 3 times changes before and then a major 5 hour lay over from Washington to Orlando,no notice just happened,they said it's never happened before-yeah right.Planes old,we took off and head back to Toronto only to have to go back and land due to maintenance issues,which took forever,no offer of water-and it was dry on that plane,they couldn't get the plane to pressurize.Customer service people have awful customer service skills. Free ear buds but $7.99 to watch t.v.
My son researched their airline and it has had a terrible past with the overall condition of their planes and hiring and keeping pilots.25.00 fee for first bag of luggage.My luggage arrived at Disney with coffee spilt all over it and all my fresh clothing had to be washed again.My zipper was broken and the Cambridge emblem torn off.

Overall my experience has taught me to book far in advance and book West jet or Air Canada.


Hugs Mel

 

[GrtWtNorth]

We used United / Continental flying between Calgary and Orlando (via Denver or Houston) last October. No complaints.

One HUGE benefit to flying with United or Continental or any other Star Alliance partner is that you accumulate 100% of your Air Canada AeroPlan miles. To fly Air Canada would have cost 30-50% more for the cheapest Tango fare, which would only give us 25% of the AeroPlan miles.

Service wise -- It's a big airline, not that different than Air Canada. You never know what kind of service you're going to get. All Star Alliance airlines put their best and most senior staff on overseas and long-haul flights, so when flying shorter flights within North America, staff tend to be brand new or under-performing-but-can't-be-fired employees. That's just my own opinion.

 

[KittyKat1978]

I flew United from Vancouver to Orlando last Sept. On our way there, we were diverted to Tampa due to a storm and a need for re-fuel (not United's fault) and on the way home a row of seats had come unbolted and it took them an hour to get it fixed.

We were scheduled on a 6:30pm flight out of MCO to Chicago. They had re-booked us on a flight the next morning from Chicago and were setting us up with a hotel and some food vouchers (or so they said - to be dealt with it in Chicago).

When we got to Chicago, our original connection was delayed so we actually made it!! But that was both flights delayed on the way home. Not really that good.

The big thing that I have a problem with is the fact that they damaged my luggage. Thankfully, I bought it at Bentlys and they fixed the damaged wheel and zipper. For that alone, I try not to fly United. But if it comes down to cost, I would choose the cheaper flights and go with United.

 

[TaniaU]

I'm not really a fan of the US airlines, but they do offer some great deals. If the prices are close (obviously your example isn't ) I'll go with WestJet or AirCanada. Sign up for their web offers email, we got a great deal on AC to MCO and then another 1 day sale deal on a WJ flight from Calgary to LAX...but you have to book fast!