Traveling on UA anyone have a good experience?

[Disneyhenry]

My family of 12 used the group travel desk and we were booked on United, it was out of Seattle to Orlando, one stop each way. When we booked they gave us our seat assignments and it all look just wonderful. Arriving at the airport very early, and while checking in we found out that UA changed all of our seat assignments. None of us were sitting together and most of had middle seats. It was a lot of work just to get the toddlers to sit with their parents.

We had the same experience on our return. In Orlando they couldn't change my sisters seat on the next connection which was in Washington DC. In Washington DC she went straight to the podium to changes seats so she could sit next to her 4 year old. The agent actually said to her "What do you expect when you got such a good deal on your ticket, with the price you paid you have to sit in the middle seat" we wondered why they even bothered to give us seat assignments in the 1st place. I never had as hard of time as my sis did, me and my son have the same last name, honestly IDK why she had such a hard time getting her 4 year old to sit next to her, the only thing that I can think of was they had different last names.

Has anyone traveled on United? If so how as your experience?
I am actually scared to use them again because it was such a nightmare, do they always change the seat assignments or was it just because we had the group rate?

 

[n2mm]

We too had seat issues on united. We arrived to find people sitting In our seats. They pulled out the tickets and we both had the same seat assignments. We were lucky that they did put us in the exit row. We were only 2 so wasn't too bad. We also had our entire party seated all over the plan to include my young grandson who didn't sit near anyone in our family. Most of us were in middle seats. I do avoid united out of Dulles but since JetBlue pulled their nonstops to fl out they are the only show left. We often have to drive 2 hours now to get to Reagan to fly JetBlue. Or 1 1/2 hrs to bwi to fly SW but that can be a circus too

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I used to travel United all the time. For the most part, we only have United and US Airways to choose from our small airport (it's not worth driving to SFO or SJC when it's all added up). We choose not to fly United not because of seating problems, that never happened to us, but because most of the time are flight was either delayed or canceled. My Mom was just visiting us and when we got to the airport, he flight was canceled. And they were already cancelling the flights for the next day. No reason was given. I live in California, the weather is generally fine. Even my Mom said she will never travel United again. The lady at the United counter said so many customers have been complaining. Wonder why?

 

[bumbershoot]

All airlines that have seat assignments can change them. You have to keep an eye on things, make sure your actual plane hasn't changed, etc.

I can't imagine doing a group booking at all. What a pain.

We quite like United, even though things do change. (also with Delta, Alaska, etc etc etc) Just gotta keep an eye on it!

 

[abbydancer]

I fly UA all the time, and mostly haven't had problems with seat assignments changing except occasionally when they change the equipment, which might be what happened to you.

 

[winterman]

Disneyhenry, I would like to point out that the color you use is very difficult to read. At least it was for me.

Now to United. I usually fly 1 or 2 round trips/year and for the last 5 or 6 years it's been on United. I learned years ago with Delta, to keep an eye on the reservation. Sometimes the type of plane changes and you are either put in any random seat or not reseated at all. When this happens the sooner you catch the change, the more choice of available seats to switch to. I usually book flights far in advance and check the status at least weekly.

 

[ktate82]

I flew UA from Stl to MCO and back once. It was just me and my two kids (7 and 6 at the time) and we got a great deal. They did so many changes on us, I couldn't keep up with it all. They changed our flights without so much as an email or anything. The change only gave us 15 mins between flights. I found it by randomly checking our information. When I called in, they said no, you won't be able to make the connecting flights so they wanted to change me from a 3.5 hour flight with one stop 45 min layover which I had booked to an 8 hour flight with two stops. I said no. They finally switched all my stuff to better match what I had. But then I had to fight for a seat assignment so we would all be together. The agent on the phone kept telling me "they will make sure you are together at the airport". I stood firm and said you know as well as I do other people will have assigned seats and it will be me asking people to switch when they are not obligated to. He finally and begrudgingly assigned us seats. I heard the "such a good deal" comment too. We stick with SW from now on.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I used to travel United all the time. For the most part, we only have United and US Airways to choose from our small airport (it's not worth driving to SFO or SJC when it's all added up). We choose not to fly United not because of seating problems, that never happened to us, but because most of the time are flight was either delayed or canceled. My Mom was just visiting us and when we got to the airport, he flight was canceled. And they were already cancelling the flights for the next day. No reason was given. I live in California, the weather is generally fine. Even my Mom said she will never travel United again. The lady at the United counter said so many customers have been complaining. Wonder why?

Sandy: We are down the coast from you in San Luis Obispo. We rarely fly the commuter jets because of so many issues with misconnects over the years. For leisure travel, we typically drive to LAX or SJC, even though it means an overnight or 2. -- Suzanne

 

[MillauFr]

We are flying United in a couple of weeks from Seattle to Orlando. The only reason we are on United because my mother in law had frequent flier miles she gave us so it was a free trip. Otherwise I would have flown non-stop on Alaska. I am a bit worried because United has been doing poorly in the customer service and delay rankings that I have seen recently. Seems like the upper management does not have a clue.

At least we are not being routed through San Francisco, Chicago, or Newark. Hoping for the best.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I'm a 1K on UA and my husband is a million miler, so yes, I've had experience flying them.

Sounds like you had an equipment swap, so seat assignments changed. That is why you need to check your flights once in a while, not just at check in. That was a mistake on your part. By the way, this can happen on any airline.

I don't for one minute believe a gate agent made the comment about the ticket price. They would have no idea what you paid for a ticket just looking at a boarding pass.

I agree; please do not change the default font or color if you want people to be able to read your posts.

 

[gwynne]

Whenever I'm booked on any airline I check my seats/flights every couple of weeks. As the trip gets closer, I check more often.

United was very kind to us on our trip several weeks ago. We missed a connection due to aircraft maintenance. They really went the extra mile to assist us, and their efforts were appreciated.

 

[dougsmom98]

Whenever I'm booked on any airline I check my seats/flights every couple of weeks. As the trip gets closer, I check more often.

We do this same thing. We also make sure we check in exactly 24 hours in advance and confirm our seats at that time. We have flown United a lot and by doing this, we have not had a problem.

 

[Disneyhenry]

Thank you everyone, and sorry about the blue looking horrible on the yellow. I don't think I will ever fly United again, sea fly out of Seattle so I have lots of options, with 12 of us traveling we needed to go with the cheapest, but it is worth a few extra bucks to go on non stop with Alaska I guess, maybe give Delta another chance (we sat on the runway for an hour last time we traveled on them, very hard for a 2 year old)
Thanks again for all the info on making it a smooth flight

 

[abbydancer]

Thank you everyone, and sorry about the blue looking horrible on the yellow. I don't think I will ever fly United again, sea fly out of Seattle so I have lots of options, with 12 of us traveling we needed to go with the cheapest, but it is worth a few extra bucks to go on non stop with Alaska I guess, maybe give Delta another chance (we sat on the runway for an hour last time we traveled on them, very hard for a 2 year old)
Thanks again for all the info on making it a smooth flight

Hopefully, you'll have a great flight. Honestly? Any airline can give you a great experience, or a really horrible one. My nieces, who occasionally flight unaccompanied, have each come off a plane saying "I'm never flying x again". One was jet blue, one was virgin america and the third was delta.

We always fly UA, and have some great flights, and some not so great. Last week, our New York flight was 5 hours late, because they changed the plane, and using a flight that arrived later. Everyone on the plane got a "we're sorry" email and a choice of miles of travel certificate. I just used ours to save about 35% on our WDW tickets. (Husband probably doesn't know we're leaving at 6:00 am - oh well, I upgraded him)

Have a great flight on whatever airline you choose.

 

[bumbershoot]

We are flying United in a couple of weeks from Seattle to Orlando. The only reason we are on United because my mother in law had frequent flier miles she gave us so it was a free trip. Otherwise I would have flown non-stop on Alaska. I am a bit worried because United has been doing poorly in the customer service and delay rankings that I have seen recently. Seems like the upper management does not have a clue.

At least we are not being routed through San Francisco, Chicago, or Newark. Hoping for the best.

We've had delays at Newark and Chicago, but at least you're usually on the ground, and there are many things to do and see and eat.

With SFO it can be hard getting INTO the airport, so you are sometimes delayed in Seattle, waiting for a weather window, or you get to circle for awhile.

Where are you connecting" Houston or DC, I imagine? (it's like we use United to go home a lot LOL)


Free trips are good! United isn't bad. We still book them.

Thank you everyone, and sorry about the blue looking horrible on the yellow. I don't think I will ever fly United again, sea fly out of Seattle so I have lots of options, with 12 of us traveling we needed to go with the cheapest, but it is worth a few extra bucks to go on non stop with Alaska I guess, maybe give Delta another chance (we sat on the runway for an hour last time we traveled on them, very hard for a 2 year old)
Thanks again for all the info on making it a smooth flight

Even on the Alaska nonstop, watch it!

I booked flight "16" leaving at 8am and getting in at 4:30 for November. The other day I was checking to see if the prices had dropped for my travel companion (I used Dh's miles so it won't change things for me) and noticed that there was a notice on both of our reservations (once you went in and checked on the actual reservation).

Not a big change; boards at 8:05 and actually lands earlier. But the flight number is now 18.

If they had changed equipment (planes) our seating might have changed.

So you still have to check!



(flight numbers might be reversed in my mind, no matter, though)

 

[MillauFr]

We've had delays at Newark and Chicago, but at least you're usually on the ground, and there are many things to do and see and eat.

With SFO it can be hard getting INTO the airport, so you are sometimes delayed in Seattle, waiting for a weather window, or you get to circle for awhile.

Where are you connecting" Houston or DC, I imagine? (it's like we use United to go home a lot LOL)


Free trips are good! United isn't bad. We still book them.



Even on the Alaska nonstop, watch it!

I booked flight "16" leaving at 8am and getting in at 4:30 for November. The other day I was checking to see if the prices had dropped for my travel companion (I used Dh's miles so it won't change things for me) and noticed that there was a notice on both of our reservations (once you went in and checked on the actual reservation).

Not a big change; boards at 8:05 and actually lands earlier. But the flight number is now 18.

If they had changed equipment (planes) our seating might have changed.

So you still have to check!



(flight numbers might be reversed in my mind, no matter, though)

Yes we are connecting in Houston. Originally I had booked a connection through San Francisco because that flight was the lowest number of miles. United later changed our flights to one connecting in Houston which is a plus with all of the runway construction at SFO this summer.

 

[abbydancer]

Yes we are connecting in Houston. Originally I had booked a connection through San Francisco because that flight was the lowest number of miles. United later changed our flights to one connecting in Houston which is a plus with all of the runway construction at SFO this summer.

The runway construction hasn't really had the impact I was afraid it would, at least so far.

 

[MillauFr]

The runway construction hasn't really had the impact I was afraid it would, at least so far.

From what I have seen SEA/SFO flights in the morning have frequently been delayed.

Example Alaska 222 is scheduled to arrive at SFO at 8:51a. Over the last few days it has arrived...
7/28 10:24a
7/27 9:14a
7/26 9:12a
7/25 9:11a
7/24 9:22a
7/23 10:02a
7/22 10:40a
7/21 11:00a
7/20 10:15a
7/19 10:07a

They haven't been ontime once in the last 10 days. This is from an airline who has one of the best ontime records in the industry. I don't even dare look up United's ontime % into SFO this summer.

 

[abbydancer]

From what I have seen SEA/SFO flights in the morning have frequently been delayed.

Example Alaska 222 is scheduled to arrive at SFO at 8:51a. Over the last few days it has arrived...
7/28 10:24a
7/27 9:14a
7/26 9:12a
7/25 9:11a
7/24 9:22a
7/23 10:02a
7/22 10:40a
7/21 11:00a
7/20 10:15a
7/19 10:07a

They haven't been ontime once in the last 10 days. This is from an airline who has one of the best ontime records in the industry. I don't even dare look up United's ontime % into SFO this summer.

So far, my flights in have mostly been on time or early. Knock wood. Delays thus far mostly caused at the other end.

Yesterdays morning flights on UA from Seattle were 50% within 5 minutes of on time, and 2 (total 4) were more - one about 20 minutes, other about 55 minutes.

Now that I think about it, that's probably not all that different on UA, which doesn't have the greatest on time percentage, when the runways aren't under construction.

In theory, the carriers have worked with the airport to work things out during this period. We'll see how the summer progresses.

And Houston's probably a better choice anyway because there are more flights to Orlando from there in case of a missed connection.