Eric

Having been a life long Delta customer I tried the services of United Airlines. Getting to our destination was not a problem, but returning through O'Hare Airport we found that the airline was less than accomodating. After landing sixteen minutes late and running to our next gate, we found the plane in front of us with the door shut. They would not allow us to board. They rebooked us for a morning flight, but refused to provide overnight accomadations or transportation to and from the airport due to a air traffic control/weather problem. On two occassions Delta has been more than accomodating in problems of this nature to provide accomodations and transportaion. Are there any of you that have experienced this kind of difficulty with United?

topoftheworld

A year and a half ago, they 'bumped' my mom halfway on her trip, in Hong Kong. <BR>They did provide overnight accomodations <BR>and meal tickets. They will never see my dollar again.

Richard

Sorry, I disagree...... <BR> <BR>I fly United almost exclusively and rarely have a problem and find them most accomodating. I must also add that the stronger alliance your have with them (frequent flyer miles) the better you ar treated. <BR> <BR>I have flown a few different airlines and there is no comparison.

Richard

Did you know that Delta and United are now alliance partners?

Christina

I don't think any of the airlines are really that great any more, I fly United & Delta a lot, TWA less so and I do refuse to fly USAir because they are the worst in all ways. I fly British Air or Air France overseas, usually. But, though I'm no airlines' fan, even I think that on the surface you seem unreasonable in your demands. Why do you think an airline whose door is already closed should let you on board?? I don't and sure wouldn't if I were a passenger on that plane. As far as the other, I don't see why an airline should be financially responsible for weather problems. If it was their own fault for a late plane, I could see it, and sometimes it is, but why should they pay for the weather? I had terrible times and lack of monetary coverage for certain expenses due to missing a TWA connection at JFK after a long international flight, which required staying overnight because no flights were leaving anymore to my city, and I believe it was totally TWA's fault--no weather problems, it was a mechanical or staffing problem, I think-- and they treated us terribly (several hundred passengers were stranded). Yes, we got "free" accommodations and a "free" bus to it, but I had to shell out $40 myself to get a cab to the airport in the morning because the "free" bus service they were providing only came at one time in the morning which I did not think would get me there in time, especially in rush hour (and I wasn't missing another flight); the motel was in a bad area (bars on the windows) almost an hour from the airport with no food facilities (we hadn't eaten in hours and had missed dinner) and the bus driver who took us from JFK to the motel drove recklessly and violated traffic laws, plus got lost and took us on an unplanned tour of Long Island for about an hour because he didn't know where this motel was. And we had had to wait an hour or more at JFK for this bus. So, I guess your situation just doesn't seem that bad to me if it was due to weather. I mean, that's just life -- it happens sometimes when you're traveling and flying a lot. Knowing what I know now, I would have simply paid for a ticket on another airline to get home rather than staying in NY overnight (there were flights to my city, Washington, which is only an hour away, there just weren't any on TWA) to get my paid-for ride from TWA--I wasted a day and about $50 of my own money, anyway, it wasn't worth it.

Beth

Actually, Christina, I don't think Eric is being that unreasonable. In this case he was late for a connecting flight because they were late getting into O'Hare. In this case I think the airline should provide overnight accomodations. Regardless of the weather, I do think the airlines should do this. However, I side with the airlines in refusing to let the late arrivals board. I know its a pain, but its much more pain for all the passengers on the plane (many of whom undoubtedly have connections to make) if the plane is late because they waited for a late connection. <BR> <BR>I wonder if Congress threatening to create an air travellers "bill of rights" will actually have any positive effect on the airlines. sure would be nice.

D. Spiegel

I flew recently from Dulles to Paris on United. We delayed takeoff about 15 minutes to wait for a plane that was late in making a Dulles connection. It seemed there was a number of passengers needing to make that connection. I thought it was civilized thinking. No one on the plane seemed to object to the delayed takeoff from Dulles. The door, however, was not closed at the time, and the passengers were kept informed.

elvira

I gotta ask, Eric: who booked your flight that left you less than an hour for connections?! If I'm coming from overseas, I get a minimum of 2 hours layover in my port city (NYC, Boston, Chicago)so I have a cushion in case of delays, long customs lines, etc. Domestically, one to two hours, but even then I lean toward two hours. <BR>My experience with UAL is: unexplained delays, or delays explained by lies ("fog in San Francisco" then finding out when we land there was no fog all day). My sister found the same thing, with indifference by the staff to add insult to injury. My mom, however, LOVES UAL...go figure.

Eric

A few thoughts! <BR> <BR>Richard, yes I know that united and Delta are alliance partners that is why we bought the tickets on United. <BR> <BR>Christina, United has a policy of closing the doors to the plane five minutes before their scheduled departure time. My flight was scheduled to leave at 9:45, and I was staring at the plane at 9:40. Due to my expierences all of this is irrelevant due to the fact that most planes that do pull away from the gate on time very seldom leave the ground on time. I have always thought that one of the perks of air travel is that the airplane can increase its air speed to compensate for its late departures. Many times Delta has waited for late incomming flights in order for passangers to reach their connecting flights. And personally I have never been offended by this. <BR> <BR>Elvira, I, through the magic of the internet, booked my own flight. This was a learning experience and why I would never allow such little time to make connecing flights. <BR> <BR>Thank you for all your relpys. Eric <BR> <BR>

wendy

Gee, how I wish Southwestern flew overseas...

D.B.

If you have any questions about the regulation of air carriers, see: <BR> <BR>http://www.onetravel.com/airfarerepo..._an_expert.cfm <BR> <BR>Also, I have found the following site to be pretty good for getting an idea of what's out there. I still use a travel agent, but this site gives me some knowledge up-front, and I can play with ideas to my hearts content. <BR> <BR>http://www.1travel.com/crs.htm <BR> <BR>(I usually click on the "US/Domestic Departure" line, even for international travel.) <BR> <BR> <BR>-regards <BR>

Tricia

sending up