UNITED AIRLINES review : 19 May 2008 : by Eric Harrison

Customer Rating : 1/5

Arrived at Vegas airport 7am for our 10.30 departure. Got our tickets and boarding passes immediately. Huge queues even at that time. Consulted with airline staff as to whether we would actually make the flight. "No Problem" was their reply. Some 3 hours later, nowhere near the baggage point. Asked staff repeatedly, pointing out our flight time. Reached the baggage check in at 10.35 to be told the flight had gone and we would have to go to the back of the queue and rebook. Fortunately there was a chap in the same predicament, also having waited 3hrs + to hand baggage in. He stood on his suitcase and informed the 800 or so passengers what had occured. He then addressed the Airline staff with his Mobile phone in his hand, stating he was about to telephone his local radio station. What a difference. The once lethargic staff seemed to jump into life. We were immediately offered alternatives. Unfortunately, one was not flying until 15th the other was Waiting 3hrs for a flight to Denver, then another wait of 4 hrs for a flight to Heathrow, then a further 9hr wait for a connection to Manchester. WE took the flight but I will never ever travel economy class with united again. It is now 16th May and I have still not recovered. Thanks United, Why not try calling flights to individual desks and not all flights to one queue. £125 out of pocket for hotel stay in Manchester prior to a 3hr drive home to Newcastle.

UNITED AIRLINES review : 16 May 2008 : by J Ash

Customer Rating : 4/5

London-Chicago-Orlando in Economy Plus. Needed extra legroom and more than happy with what we got. Okay it's not huge but for £200 for a year it's well worth it compared to the price other airlines. We're not seasoned travellers, we fly once a year for our vacation so we not going to moan about food or service etc as for once a year we can bear with it if it's poor, but glad to say it wasn't, onboard staff very good. Charlotte-Chicago-London and both times amazed how people try to take such huge 'hand luggage' with them, as mentioned by someone before it slows the boarding down and people can't get through without banging into peoples seats. Overall though must say that was very impressed and would consider using United again.

UNITED AIRLINES review : 16 May 2008 : by J Shelton

Customer Rating : 4/5

PHL-ORD-XNA-ORD. Good United service, planes on time and clean. Skywest was the equipment from ORD- XNA both ways. FAs were nice and helpful. Missed flight back from ORD-PHL due to delay on ground at ORD. Gate was backed up for 1/2 hour after arrival, seemed to be impacting quite a few flights at that hour. Quickly rebooked to next flight to PHL, customer agent gave me a better seat in Economy Plus for my troubles without asking. A nice touch.

UNITED AIRLINES review : 11 May 2008 : by J Reed

Customer Rating : 4/5

Economy Plus in Ted (United's all coach planes) from LAS-IAD; Economy Plus in United on return. Although empty middle seats are becoming a rarity with increased fuel prices and cancellations, United's policy of limiting its extra-leg room Economy Plus sections to elite flyers and those paying a premium concentrates the empty middle seats somewhat in the Economy Plus section, slightly improving the odds of extra elbow room with the extra leg room. At 6 feet I enjoy the extra few inches of seat pitch, esp. when the passenger in front of me hits the recline button. For me, this is the big plus to United's economy and a motivator for me to earn elite status with United. Just bring a book or a magazine as United's video offerings leave a great deal to be desired.

UNITED AIRLINES review : 11 May 2008 : by Ron Kuhlmann

Customer Rating : 4/5

SFO-PVG/PEK-SFO Business. The outbound flight was very nice and crew personable. The food was tasty and the seat was okay - soon to be replaced. The return was delayed by 3hrs, service was fine. The lounge in Beijing's Terminal 3 is superb. Overall, they were pleasant flights with good service. The cabins are a bit dated but that is being rectified.

UNITED AIRLINES review : 5 May 2008 : by P Vollmer

Customer Rating : 1/5

SFO-Shanghai in Business. Terrible service, food, TV screen is not much bigger than my IPhone and a lot less sharp. The flight attendants all seemed to be upset about their work. It is amazing that with so much competition the US carriers fail to improve their transpacific service.

UNITED AIRLINES review : 5 May 2008 : by S Adlam

Customer Rating : 4/5

LAX-DEN-LAX. First. 6.15am flight went great - ground staff very helpful with return boarding pass. Air crew managed friendly service and food good. Return 8pm flight was late (as most west coast bound flights out of Denver are in the evening). The service was slap dash with nuts and drinks pretty much just handed at you. For a fast one day trip into Denver in all United responded well.

UNITED AIRLINES review : 30 April 2008 : by N Alger

Customer Rating : 3/5

LHR to IAD return in Economy Plus, outbound on a 767 return on 777. I much prefer the 767 experience. Smaller plane means fewer passengers and therefore better service from the crew. I fly United as they consistently offer the cheapest flights to the US from Heathrow. I don't mind paying for a glass of wine and while I agree that the food served may be not up to BA quality, I have a tip - always book a special meal - these are far superior to the standard offerings in my experience.

UNITED AIRLINES review : 29 April 2008 : by L Beaty

Customer Rating : 3/5

SFO-HNL - First Class (Domestic First) on 777. Okay experience. Flight crew extremely helpful and friendly though well past 55 and one wonders about how the bankruptcy a few years ago has played havoc with their retirement. The plane itself was dingy, scruffy each way. The seats were uninspiring, old and the fabric had been re-sewn in various places. There was no footrest. No individual screens just a main screen (broken on the way to Honolulu). Food was by Trader Vics and was okay but nothing to write home about.

UNITED AIRLINES review : 29 April 2008 : by R Weber

Customer Rating : 4/5

ORD-LHR Economy Plus on a quite old 777, but cabin interior was ok and clean. I use the online check in, which makes things a lot easier, especially when starting the trip at O'Hare. I also book my flights online and I never had problems choosing my seat, even when booking just a few days in advance. United ground crew at ORD, LHR and MUC are friendly and willing to make a change of seats possible. United FA are very american, so it's more easy going rather than great service. However they serve a lot of water, something I appreciate during intercontinental flights and they constantly pick up trash, so you have a clean space during the flight. Food is awful, but not worse than on some other Star Alliance carriers. Alcoholic beverages are not free of charge on flights to Europe, so there are always complaints from passengers. IFE is ok, movie selection was fine. Economy plus seats on United are certainly the second best option after BA's Premier Economy when traveling from US to Europe and viceversa. The 5 inches more legroom really pay out. United seats are also wider and softer than LH e.g., so you do not arrive totally squeezed after a long flight. On flights to Europe in Economy on Star Alliance Carriers, I would rate United with a 4 star. Compared to other carriers on routes to Europe I would rate them with a 3 star.

United Airlines review by Dana Ford

23 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Decided to upgrade to economy plus since my husband and I are both tall. We paid the extra 119.00 per person for an extra 5 inches. Needless to say it is a big scam. They do not give you 5 inches. We did not see the flight crew for about 5 hours and they did not pick up our awful dinner for about an hour - and offered no drinks with dinner! Kudos to Eddie, the manager who helped us in London.

United Airlines review by L Saligoi

15 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

At least 15 years behind the competition. Travelled Los Angeles to London Heathrow in business class. Business class in name only - more like economy plus. Food was awful, staff were lazy and the service was appalling. Seat very uncomfortable and the Inflight entertainment limited to say the least. I will not even mention the lounge - needless to say consistent with the rest of my comments.

United Airlines review by G Jones

15 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Our tickets were booked online, on checking the seating situation we found that the 3 of us were all in different sections of the plane! The self check in system is not user friendly but is very quick to offer the option to purchase seats together. The flight London to San Francisco and connection to Las Vegas was fine. However the return flights were dreadful. At LAX we had major delays due to a dent in the plane, sent to an alternative flight which was overbooked, then sent back to the original flight 2-3 hours later. Missed our connection in San Francisco and had to queue up to see a rep in the "Customer Services" area. This should be renamed "Dont Care" as 2 of the 4 staff on duty left as soon as they realised that a large group of people were starting to build up in the queue. After waiting for an hour we finally reached the desk only to find that the girl's English was poor and her lack of ability to organise anything would be put to the test. Around midnight we finally had been booked on a flight to London for the next day but had to really push to get a bed for the night. On going to check in for the flight the next day we were told that the girl had only booked one of us in properly for the flight and that we would have to wait for new tickets. Luckily we all managed to get seats. I will not use United again, and in future will only get direct flights.

United Airlines review by Rita O'Brien

5 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Sydney to LAX on United and will never fly with this carrier again. When I booked the flight from the US to Australia I was given Economy Plus seats for both legs of trip yet on the return flight was crammed into a window seat in economy. I usually fly Qantas which has roomier seat space in economy. I was surprised to see that the television screens were mounted few and far between on the roof instead of every seat as I'm accustomed to on Qantas. The chicken meal I was given was not just cold but chilled as though it had never been in the warmer so was inedible. The staff was distant and rude. In the line at immigration in LAX I heard numerous complaints from those on the same flight so I was not alone.

United Airlines review by G Marcotte

3 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

SMF-ORD-BDL. SMF-ORD segment was excellent, with FA in the F cabin attentive and helpful, as this was quite the opposite of or flight out. Pre departure drinks available to everyone in the cabin, unlike our flight out. United signature nuts were actually warm. The lunch was subpar. ORD-BDL segment was basic UA domestic F cabin service. I was surprised to get a hot meal however for a 1:30 min flight.

United Airlines review by P Borschberg

3 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

SIN-NRT flight cancelled. UA knew about this hours before, but failed to inform passengers who showed up at check-in counters after 4:30 AM. Check-in counter crew at the brand-spanking new Changi Terminal 3 were very inefficient, unfriendly, and proved nothing less than incompetent.

United Airlines review by Rupert Dingle

1 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-BZN via IAD & DEN Economy Plus. IFE was very poor on LHR-IAD B767 but the food was good, full hot breakfast and good snack. $5 snack box on the IAD-DEN worth it for the 3.5hr flight. Other than poor IFE the other downfall was the crew on the DEN-BZN who weren’t interested in the economy pax and just plain rude. Although much improved than other reviews and I look forward to the direct DEN- LHR return being of similar standard. The Economy plus was worth the extra money but only just!

United Airlines review by Terry Benewich

28 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Flew round trip from Grand Rapids to Denver on Canadair jet. Had concern about the aircraft for a 2+ hour flight but we arrived early at both destinations and the seating was surprisingly comfortable in economy plus. Check-in, checked baggage, boarding was quick. Flight service was prompt and courteous. I found United excellent when you have an E-ticket, no large carry-ons and no other problems.

United Airlines review by Katherine Galliart

27 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

I recently returned from a trip to Paris. I'm from Kansas City, so we were supposed to leave at 1133am and we didn't end up leaving until 6pm. The plane had "tire issues" and instead of flying mechanics and tires to KCI they drove them from St Louis - and instead of booking us on a different flight to Dulles, they had us wait. We missed our Atlantic flight out of Dulles so they booked us a flight to fly to Frankfurt, Germany and then to Paris on Air France. Well, we get to Dulles and to the gate for Frankfurt and they had overbooked the flight and told us we were not flying out that night. So they made us stay. on top of that they didn't know where our luggage was. They told us it was on the flight to Paris- which we had missed. So we missed two days of our trip. I last saw my luggage on that Thursday we were supposed to leave, and didn't receive it until late Monday night. They gave us food vouchers and a free round trip to any of the 48 states, but after I use my free round trip I am not flying United again.

United Airlines review by T Tsitakis

27 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LAX-LHR ad return - outbound was ok. Our special meals were ordered as one low salt and one diabetic - they were both wrong! The return trip was the same, and to top it off during take off, there was a problem with all 4 mid cabin rest rooms, which resulted in blue water soaking both rear cabin aisles, causing the flight attendants to announce "pick up all your carry on bags" - and put them where? We could not get out our seat was during take off!

United Airlines review by Masaki Oda

25 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

IAD-NRT Economy Plus. Check in at Premier Executive Section in Dulles was a mess. The agent at the entrance directed me to a particular counter knowing I had a paper ticket (Star alliance RTW). However, the man at the desk forced me to step out of the line, and use Easy Check in despite the fact I told him that it wouldn't work. Finding out that it did not work as expected, I called for assistance but noone helped. So I had to go back to the lady at the entrance, and she blamed me that I did not follow her direction. The whole process took 45 minutes, and the last word I received from the one who checked me in was "You should have used e-ticket". I believe this is not my problem. After all the mess, the flight was pleasant. Good food and drinks as well as better-than-average seats. The only complaint was that there should be more toilets available for economy cabin particularly because this is a super-long distance flights (14 hours 30 minutes). Like many other US carriers, UA is far beyond in in-flight entertainment. Despite the fact that it has good selections of audio programs (in cooperation with XM radio) in addition to Channel 9: live ATC, they need more in-flight videos. Washington-Dulles based flight attendants are, in my experience, generally better than those based in other stations. The crew on this particular flight was efficient and friendly.

United Airlines review by James Williamson

21 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

ORD-DEN Economy 757. I don't remember ever having seen such a poorly organised airline in my life. 5 mins before the flight was due to leave there was a queue a mile long of people trying to get seating, they were upgrading some people and bumping others. Surely this should have been done at the check in not the gate. The flight was very full and the number of people taking on multiple, very large hand baggage was frightening. The plane was only 1/4 boarded and all the overhead bins were full, this accounted for delays in boarding as people tried, in vein, to find somewhere to put their baggage. Why do people not check their suitcases into the hold and why are they allowed to carry this much stuff as hand baggage? Once airborne things got a little better. The flight attendants were attentive and polite while serving drinks. I found the seat to be usual cramped and uncomfortable but nothing that different to any other airline's economy class. I must say that I do not like the Boeing 757. I doubt I would choose this airline out of choice. Was part of a BMI Star Alliance booking.

United Airlines review by D Ward

21 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-ORD return, Premium Economy out and upgraded to Business on return. Plenty of leg room in Premium and excellent service in Business. IFE not on demand, but crew friendly and professional.

United Airlines review by M Hendricks

19 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

I recently had the displeasure of flying with United Airlines from Sydney (Australia) to Philadelphia return - the worst airline I have travelled. The flight attendants were rude and bordered on being racist! The interior decor and seating was poor and dated. This airline's interior is in serious/desperate need of an upgrade.

United Airlines review by M Bisch

17 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

I have just returned from a round trip to Italy with 5 students on a Spring Break study tour via United and Lufthansa fights and must say that the United segments (IND-IAD, IAD -Frankfurt outgoing and IAD-IND returning) were the worst nightmare I have ever had with an airline. Each of 3 United flights was delayed and overbooked. Our first leg IND-IAD was delayed for 3 hours by a missing FA, with little communication or explanation from the airline reps. Once onboard we sat on the ground for another 45 mins because of a missing, I kid you not, demonstration oxygen mask! On arrival in DC we were further delayed at the gate while a search was made for a gate attendant. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that all of our United flights were delayed and overbooked to the point of absurdity. All delays originally attributed to crew shortages miraculously became "weather" delays. United customer service representatives told me so many obvious lies I would have laughed if their utter rudeness had not shocked me so much. The best information on our flights I had came from calling my husband who looked the flights on the internet from our home. Perhaps United should invest in a DSL connection? I will never fly United again and wish this service had a negative star rating. United is a black hole.

United Airlines review by Phillip Howarth

12 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-LAX-HNL First class LHR-LAX excellent flat beds, good amenity kits, poor IFE, they use video cassette tapes for feature films which are out of date. Food excellent - take a sleep suit with you they don't provide pj's. First class LAX-HNL a 6 hour flight - very, very poor. Only a premium economy style cabin, poor seats - not even a business class set up. This should not be called a first class cabin or sold as one.

United Airlines review by Ron Kuhlmann

10 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

SFO-LAX-FRA Economy plus a very pleasant experience. Economy plus comfortable and the crews continue to exhibit personality and goodwill. The attitude has changed remarkably over the past few years and when the only differentiator is "nice", United is doing a good job. Lounges however, as compared to others, are substandard.

United Airlines review by G Stella

7 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Every time I fly United, there is at least one gate or service person so rude and so needing to seek other work, I shudder at going with them. I go with United only when others have made the travel arrangements and have no other choice. On my trip to Tokyo and from Bejing, the 747's were so shabby and tv screens largely out of focus. Surely United can figure out a way to add 2 more inches of legroom for a 10 hour flight. If you want to fly United, my best to you. You may need all the best wishes you can get. The leg from Tokyo to Bejing on ANA All Nippon Airways was like going from the 3rd world to the 1st.

United Airlines review by Jay Sitlani

6 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

IAD-Zurich Boeing 767-300 in Economy. Seated in the very last row of the aircraft where, for some reason, the seats had an extra inch or two of legroom making the flight comfortable enough. The inflight service was friendly and meal just about edible. Charging $5 for a cocktail in my book is still a sign of tackiness as were the loud repeated announcements of the flight purser all through the entire aircraft on what the dinner choices were in Business Class.

United Airlines review by H Albertse

4 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

United Airlines as part of a "Round-the-World" trip, which consisted of flights on South African Express Airways, Qantas (South African Airways codeshare flight), United and South African Airways. All international sectors were in Business Class, South African domestic sectors in economy class and US domestic sectors in First Class. When I boarded the United 747-400 and stepped into Business Class; for my flight from Sydney to San Francisco; it felt as if I was sucked through a time vacuum into aviation history. While the plane's exterior was refreshed with the new United paint scheme, the same could not be said about the interior furnishings. The business class seats were outdated, uncomfortable and a disgrace. The quality of the food was average, while general food service was poor. Two of the female flight attendants, in Business Class, impressed me with their level of attentiveness; while their young, male counterpart was the opposite. Inflight entertainment is sub- par compared to airlines like South African Airways, Qantas, BA, etc. Why on earth United Airlines decided not to refurbish and fit Economy Class with PTV’s on the 747-400’s is a total mystery.

United Airlines review by Raymond Bate

28 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-ORD-MCI return - Business LHR-ORD, First ORD-MCI. UA need to hurry up with the roll-out of their new business class product. LHR-ORD is woefully inadequate, FAs okay, meal service not up to other carrier business class standards, mechanical seats awful. On the plus side, flights left on time, and arrived early. ORD-MCI - probably the worst airport experience. Outbound flight delayed over 3 hours with little/no announcements. Passengers left wondering what was going on. On the return, again a further delay of over a hour to get off the ground, left 15 minutes to change gates at ORD for the international connection. FAs on the domestic service good, but again, meal service, or lack thereof, inadequate.

United Airlines review by A Kwok

28 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

I flew to SFO and return (Air Canada) operated by UA of which I did not know until I got my boarding pass. We had a connection flight at Chicago as well both ways and back. While boarding UA for the first 5 hours of the flight they served flat pop and pretzel (you get one bag). You can purchase a snack box for $5 which to me was terrible food. The plane was old and legroom almost non-existent. The flight attendants were obnoxious. One was chewing gum while sarcastically saying 'I wish we could serve meals'. On a 5 hour flight I expected better. Going to SFO was fine - my luggage arrived safely and the flights were on time. Returning however was a complete nightmare and they lost my luggage. I did the usual procedure for lost luggage, gave me a number to call which was to a call centre in India who doesn't speak English who kept promising me it will take 24-48hrs to retrieve my luggage. To this day I still don't have any words from those people. I will never fly with this airline again unless it is my last option.

United Airlines review by A Arndt

28 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

DEN-LGA Staff very pleasant and helpful on the ground and in the air both directions. While TV's were not working on the B757 outbound, it was nice to still have audio. The cockpit channel is a nice feature that other airlines should follow. Overall pretty good experience, cabin should be updated from late 80's early 90's decor. Otherwise seats comfortable and good experience

United Airlines review by K Nolan

26 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

IAD-BRU. Hadn't flown a US airline long haul in a while, and this experience really drove home why people avoid them. 2-5-2 seating makes no sense at all. FAs unpleasant; film selection very poor (and this on the flagship 777) and sound quality on my headphones unlistenable. I generally find airline food quite palatable, but dinner was difficult to plow through despite being quite small. So while it does what it says on the tin - in future I'd only fly United longhaul if it were considerably cheaper.

United Airlines review by J Miller

25 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

MEL-SYD-SFO-YYC. All I can say about United is how deplorable they have become. Quarter full plane Mel to Syd, uninterested and rude FA's. SYD-SFO the FA's on this flight were more attentive and were good with bringing water and such through the cabin. No movies for 13 hours as the big screen wasn't working at the back. Leg room standard for economy but food far below. Once in SFO, was looking to connect on an earlier flight - UAL reps told me to get in line - waited in line for 2 hours with 10 people in front of me, to have them tell me 'nothing we can do.

United Airlines review by James Brownjohn

19 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

SAN-SFO/SFO-FRA/FRA-MAN economy +. SFO-FRA 747 with bulkhead videos and walkman-style earphones. Food lousy, alcohol $5 a go, only bearable due to being in 'economy plus' with a few inches more legroom and aircraft 1/4 full. If it's full and without the extra legroom it must be awful. I got no advice about connections due to flight is delay, but at least the guy at SAN organised re-routing fast when asked.