UNITED AIRLINES review :  2 July 2009 by Barbara Johnson   (USA)

The only reason I gave this as high a rating as a 2 was because the flight landed. There were a series of flights - BWI to Denver to Reno. Reno to Denver to Aspen and Aspen, Denver, BWI. We had cancelled flights, delayed flights, mechanical issues (sitting on the plane), no shows with the crew, and of course, weather. Part of the flight was first class, part economy. They were equally bad. No blankets in first class? That's kind of basic and we won't discuss the food. Still, we did land and I am here to write about this nightmare sequence.

UNITED AIRLINES review :  29 June 2009 by A Wright   (Australia)

Paid $6480.00 for 3 adult and 1 child round trip to LA. We had traveled with them years ago and it was great - how they have changed.Planes were so old when we hit turbulence they creaked! Service terrible and at one stage while taking my 6 year old granddaughter to toilet I was ordered to sit down. The seat belt sigh was OFF and there was no turbulence. FA ordered us back to our seats. Other passengers were shocked. Food was beyond comment. FA's always ate before passengers so they got best of bad offerings. We were next to kitchen. We chose United over VAustralia as we wanted all inclusive. If you wanted a beer it was $8. Take our adviCe and avoid this airline. Hopefully they will go out of business very soon.

UNITED AIRLINES review :  29 June 2009 by D Wojtkowski   (USA)

B777 FRA-SFO First Class. Very poor - worst first class ever flown. Poor seat, poor service, FAs grumpy and unhelpful. Poor food, undrinkable win - why in the world would anyone possibly fly United.

UNITED AIRLINES review :  26 June 2009 by S Gregg   (Spain)

FRA-SFO return on United 744s both ways, very old and used planes, pathetic legroom, barely edible food, gloomy, overworked FAs both ways and United managed to find something to cut out even from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix! I'll make sure to avoid them like plague.

UNITED AIRLINES review :  26 June 2009 by J Tangoo   (Japan)

Honolulu-Narita/Tokyo. New first class. The original flight was cancelled after four hours of waiting on board, which could have been miserable. However, because of the delay, a hot sandwich was served to passengers. Although the announcement of the cancellation of the flight was upsetting, the ground were efficient and polite. Unfortunately, the first class seats had been all sold out on the next available flight. We were assigned to business class seats (put us on Waitlist for the first class). Ten minutes before the door closed, we were moved to the first class. Cabin attendants very polite and friendly. Upon arrival, there was an announcement of apology for the cancelled flight the previous day. I have been flying with United over the past several years and there were several times I got disappointed with their service or lack of professionalism. But this particular flight was, I must admit, very good and I would like to commend the staff involved.

UNITED AIRLINES review :  24 June 2009 : by Michael Shafer   (USA)

Reno to San Francisco and return. How United can screw up a short flight like this is just beyond me. Was originally scheduled to go out of Reno at 9:40 am. After boarding was delayed, it was announced that United had not properly scheduled enough rest for the flight crew and the flight had been cancelled. Since we were connecting on Air France for a flight to Paris, this was very worrisome. We were told to leave the terminal and go to check-in to rebook our flight. After spending some time on the phone with United, we were told we never should have left the terminal and personnel at the flight's desk could have rebooked our flight and gotten us new boarding passes at the counter. So, we had to go back through security again and wait in line until United staff finished a rush of customer rebookings (and there were many). Barely made the flight to San Francisco and the connection to Paris. Coming back, our flight to Reno from SFO was uneventful, but United announced a ton of cancellations on other flights. For a while, we were waiting nervously to see if the flight from SFO to Reno was cancelled, but the flight went ahead without incident (though I still am mad that we are now charged for even one suitcase on United). United's staff was friendly, but was overwhelmed by the amount of cancellations. The problem is, when you go on vacation and go with a short flight, you take these things because you believe the airline can get you there quickly and safely vs. the driving alternative. Although I will fly United again because of the direct flight to SFO, next time in decent weather, I will consider if just driving the four hours and parking the car in a garage is a better option.

UNITED AIRLINES review :  24 June 2009 : by L Lewin   (USA)

LGA-ORD-LGA. LGA-ORD was on time despite heavy rain showers and the usual runway back ups at LGA. The plane was full, an A319 in old colors. Cabin interior clean and tidy. The seats were uncomfortable. The flight attendants did their jobs. Pretty much what I had expected and little else. Despite good weather in ORD and LGA, and elsewhere in the country, all ORD-LGA flights that day were delayed. Information was not forthcoming. Something about subbing the plane (UA does this a lot with A320's and A319's) so if you are scheduled to be on an A320 and end up on a 319, you may get bumped. Customer service desks in Terminal One were not staffed. This is United Airlines largest and most important hub! Gates were changed several times. Broken printers, slow boarding. Totally disorganized to the point of being a good reminder how far United has fallen and why so many complain about its lousy service. This is a premier business route and UA really needs to get its act together. Awful experience.

UNITED AIRLINES review :  24 June 2009 : by G Davis   (USA)

DEN-LHR-DEN on a 777, one paid ticket and two FF tickets in economy plus. All three tickets were upgraded to business on the way out because economy was oversold. I agree with previous posts about poor cabin service. Special meal request did not arrive, headphone jack not working in one of our seats, and plane very cold the whole trip. United economy plus is a unique product amongst US airlines and I value the extra leg room. I would gladly suffer through the lousy service for the extra comfort.

UNITED AIRLINES review :  15 June 2009 : by T Liu   (Canada)

IAD-FRA Economy class, on a 777 (congratulations, United, on making a new-sh plane feel 30 years old). Connected in from an Air Canada flight from YUL. Due to the Economy Plus scam, United doesn't assign seats once the real Economy (no legroom) class fills up, so that those willing to pay the big bucks for more legroom (at the last minute) can choose their seats. So it's almost like flying standby: arrive at IAD, check in, wait for my name to appear on a screen, go get an assigned seat. On the plus side, I ended up in Economy Plus (but the most undesirable seat, in the middle of the plane). On the downside, I had to run at IAD to check in, and didn't get any choice in my seat. The plane was dingy, food was awful in quality and quantity (the folks next to me who ordered halal meals got more and better food, served much faster to boot; also, there's not even free booze as a consolation prize), and the service (while friendly) was incredibly slow and at best marginally competent. Having flown across the Atlantic on three other airlines (Lufthansa, Swiss International, and KLM) in the past year, I can say that United is the worst of this lot by a very large margin. I may have saved a few bucks, but I wouldn't do it again.

UNITED AIRLINES review :  15 June 2009 : by Leonard Rockstein   (Australia)

SYD-LAX-ORD-ROA return. I normally travel with the aid of upgrade points with United to secure a business class seat which represents good value - United is one of the only airlines that doesn't make this kind of travel difficult. Sydney Air New Zealand Lounge was very nice and far better place to while away time than the old United facility. Flight uneventful. Food was probably not up to par and the new Business Class seats are not as comfortable for tall passengers as the old weather beaten seating. Service was reasonable though not stellar. LAX Red Carpet Lounge is nasty and is in serious need of an update. Service on the Chicago sector was surprisingly upbeat and friendly in comparison to the Trans-pacific leg - very pleasant. Food atrocious - bowl of soup, a cold sandwich and a dry nasty salad for lunch. A hot meal would have been welcome and perhaps a pre-flight cocktail. The last leg with United Express to Roanoke was pretty much as expected as these flights are regional 'milk runs' and service is virtually non-existent as a rule. Overall experience was that the service was fair, food was a real disappointment and comfort was very ordinary. On the point of in-flight entertainment, this was a particular disappointment and way behind Delta. Poor and limited choices of movies and very little other content to speak off. On domestic routes, they still have the old screens hanging from the ceiling. Have a look at Qantas and see what kind of offerings they have for international flights and compare - chalk and cheese. Qantas makes the effort where United seem not to. United really need to catch up with their competitors if only to reclaim prestige.

UNITED AIRLINES review :  14 June 2009 : by E Fernandez   (USA)

JFK-LAX-JFK. The PS service is still a great product but the standards have declined significantly. No pre-departure sparkling wine offered from JFK, only juice or water. It took flight attendants more than 1 hour to come around with a cocktail. I guess they figure this will lower their beverage costs. But if they tout their service as Biz class, they should treat it like Biz class. Otherwise, fine service, plenty of legroom, comfortable seats with leg rests, good IFE with excellent noise cancelling headphones. Return flight offered more prompt service and pre-departure bubbly. Overall a good flight. But, starting next month (July 09), no more free mileage upgrades. It will beg the question why bother giving my business to United, if they are going to charge hundreds of dollars to use miles to upgrade.