United

[TinkandGoofy'sMom]

Anyone have anything positive to say about flying United? They have the cheapest flights from Toronto to Hawaii, but all the reviews I've read are negative. I'd rather pay a little extra for a better experience, especially for such a long travel day with kids.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

United is a major carrier not a fly by night operation. I would have no concerns flying them and have periodically had frequent flyer status with them. At the moment Delta has me a little peeved and I'm thinking of heading back to United.

Really - of the major airlines they all are very very similar - it's just when we get peeved we post about the bad. When things go as they should we don't post! If they were the best price I'd book it.

At the moment there isn't anything significant happening on the majors going to Hawaii that would deter me from any of them - United, Delta, American and USAir (merging I guess but it would be fine).

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

People only post when they have bad experiences which means airlines get trashed. I have great and bad experiences on all of them. (Except Spirit as I refuse to fly them )

 

[amym2]

We just flew United from Indianapolis to Hawaii through Chicago and then home through Houston and didn't have any issues. Both were on 777-200s, although the flight out we had the typical two movies on the fold-down screens, while on the flight home we had the personal movie screens with 9 choices. Our only issue was that the only kid-friendly movie was Monsters Inc 2 and it was shown both directions. Of course we had to pay for food as only beverages were included, but the items we paid for were edible. I don't think any of the major airlines include free meals any more. Our flights were on time, flight attendants were nice, nothing to complain about. That said, we flew on miles, and didn't pay for the flights, so I couldn't complain much anyway!

ETA: DH flies United overseas frequently (thus how we flew with miles) and typically has nothing to complain about, although going through Europe sometimes his luggage doesn't make it.

 

[crisi]

I've flown United and its fine. Air travel is so much of a cattle call now. Unless you pay a LOT more for a ticket, I don't think you are going to find a significantly better experience.

 

[Chuck S]

I had a really bad experience with United on a charter flight to Hawaii years ago, and did not fly them again until recently. My recent trip to Disney World was an old Continental route, and it was fine. Every airline had good flights and bad flights...if United has the right price, or the best times/connections I'd fly them.

Edited to add: Occasionally (though not often) I've found legacy carriers to be less expensive than Southwest, even considering the luggage fees. So be sure to check before just assuming one airline will be cheaper than another because they don't charge some extra fees.

 

[CarolMN]

Moved from DVC Boards

 

[Gracie09]

It's as good as any of the legacy carriers

 

[DebbieB]

Just keep in mind that the legacies do not have good change policies. You are looking at a $200 change fee per ticket for a change so be sure your plans are solid.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I'm a UA 1K frequent flyer, so with the benefits I get from my status, I think UA is great. You do have the option of paying extra for Economy Plus seats (more legroom, free for elite Members); the extra room makes a big difference on long flights.

 

[bumbershoot]

We quite like them. Especially liked the plane we were on from Orlando to Newark, with the screens that allowed us to watch movies. DH hadn't seen that except on international flights, but I think that plane had either started in or was continuing onward internationally. The flight from Newark to Seattle did not have those screens (sad).

 

[bballmom56]

We just flew them two weeks ago to Florida and back.

The positives - they got us to our destination and back safely and pretty much on schedule. The outbound flight was actually early and the return flight was delayed only about 15 minutes. But that was not a fault of theirs. They did a pretty good job of keeping us informed. Complimentary drinks were offered.

The negatives - I have never been so smushed in a middle airplane seat as I was on our outbound flight. I don't remember what kind of plane it was, but it was VERY tight. And I am 5'6", 140 lbs. In fact, I commented to DH when we got on the little puddle jumper for the second leg of our outbound trip that we had much more seat room in the little plane. The United flight attendants were not at all welcoming or friendly. They seemed to want to be anywhere but there. I thought maybe that was just my impression, but when we boarded the puddle jumper, there were other passengers from our United flight that were commenting the same thing. The flight crew on our flight back was much better. Also, my middle seat on the return flight seemed to have a bit more room.

Now I know my negatives can be found on any airline at any time, but it didn't leave me wanting to make United my first choice airline. We were happy with Continental before the merger. Oh well, I know times change, things change and they have to be more economical. But it doesn't cost more to be cheerful, friendly and welcoming. I may still fly United because of times and cost.

 

[TinkandGoofy'sMom]

Thanks for your comments everyone. United is cheaper for us, and the schedule works well for us as well, so I'll keep an open mind. Feeling a little relieved now! I'll look into the fine print now regarding baggage and changes in flights. Hoping to book within the next few days for our trip in August.

 

[mikek]

get in your mind that they all stink now a days and you will have nothing but an awful flight

then if you have a non-horrible experience you'll feel you came out ahead.

(only partially in jest...)

but seriously united is no worse than anyone else.

One thing about united is they have a mix of planes that were former continental and legacy untitled. So sometimes you get a flight with the seat back entertainment system and other times you get the old school overhead movie. (the same goes for their flight crews BTW- lol. The old united and their unions didn't like each other, continental had better relations...)

You can check a few days before on their flight status page and it will tell you which specific planes are scheduled for your routes and what the amenities will be. If you are getting the seat back entertainment flights- you can buy it in bulk in advance (I think you need to buy 5 user/flight segments for a discount) and get something of a discount. Look around their site for the info.

For us- paying extra for the economy plus seats is worth it. No idea how much more they nail you for to Hawaii.

If you aren't averse to playing with credit cards- for such a long expensive flight and if you have a group going with you - check out their credit card programs. Since you have a few days you could apply online and get a card to buy your tickets with. You can get some bonus miles, free check bags, and priority boarding. The first year is usually free.

 

[DisneyHeather]

We're flying on United to WDW in December from San Francisco because they had a non stop and there's nine of us going including my 2 year old with his car seat. They changed the flight times about a month after we booked and we called and got them to move all of us to an earlier outgoing flight (which is the one we'd wanted originally but had been more expensive) for free so that was cool since we'll now get into MCO at a decent time.

So keep in mind if they change the flight times there's no fee to switch your flight but if you change your flight times I'm sure they charge a lot.

 

[dis_guy]

My favourite US airline. We fly them quite a lot when flying to the US and contrary to many experiences people report, I've had nothing but positive experiences with them.

If we get a flight/time change the phone reps change it to what I want quickly and without complaint. I'm sure it helps that I have my request ready and don't complain to them. The gate agents are sympathetic and helpful as a rule. Even when all h*ll breaks loose and an airport is backlogged with missed flights because of weather, the customer service people deal with customers very quickly and efficiently.

Way better than some I've been on.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Anyone have anything positive to say about flying United? They have the cheapest flights from Toronto to Hawaii, but all the reviews I've read are negative. I'd rather pay a little extra for a better experience, especially for such a long travel day with kids.

From our rinky-dink airport United is our only option, besides Southwest. DH is a United FF member, so we fly United ALOT. Other than issues with disability assistance at connections (which could well be the airport's fault), we've never had any problems with United.

 

[bdcp]

DH (and I when I fly) uses United exclusively. He currently has around 600,000 ff miles which gives you an idea how often he travels. He's never had a major issue, just minor ones with ground issues(luggage delays in particular) and over the last 15+ years, a couple of cancelled flights and a handful of delays. We also have two friends who are Captains with United. We live 5 miles from Dulles airport which is a United hub.

 

[TinkandGoofy'sMom]

I feel much better now! I plan to be prepared with plenty of our own snacks and drinks, and everyone will have their own entertainment system in case the choices for movies/tv on the plane are not so great.

 

[bumbershoot]

I feel much better now! I plan to be prepared with plenty of our own snacks and drinks, and everyone will have their own entertainment system in case the choices for movies/tv on the plane are not so great.

FWIW on our recent flights (Orlando to Newark, Newark to Seattle) they had nearly countless beverage services, and walked up and down the aisles with trays of water even more times. And I really like their Tapas boxes that cost about $6. I always include travel days into my food budget, so even though we do typically bring some food and maybe get something at the airport (just in case the vegetarian tapas box is sold out), we don't have to stint on pre and post vacation food.

You can check a few days before on their flight status page and it will tell you which specific planes are scheduled for your routes and what the amenities will be. If you are getting the seat back entertainment flights- you can buy it in bulk in advance (I think you need to buy 5 user/flight segments for a discount) and get something of a discount. Look around their site for the info.

FWIW when we had the seatback system (orlando to newark) it was all free. Which was awesome.


In fact the only issue we had with our last flight was that there were some first class passengers who managed to convince the flight attendants that they were playing the wrong movie (on our flight Newark to Seattle when we just had the dropdown TVs). Halfway through Monsters University they just turned it off and put on the more grownup movie instead. I watched the FAs messing with the system (thinking they were fixing it) and was highly irritated when I found out what had happened. Pulled out the flight magazine to show them that the other passengers were 100% wrong. Alas the FAs didn't stop that movie, but put MU back on after it finished and offered free food and beverage to us, and, I assume, anyone else who might have noticed and talked to them. Doubt there were many others since it was a late night flight and we'd been delayed over 2 hours. I just hope those first class passengers realized what they had done later and felt ashamed for mixing up what direction we were traveling OR what date it was! (I know the FAs felt a bit silly)