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.

United Airlines review by Montague Smith

15 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Dulles-Narita 777 in Business Class not a pleasant experience - movement area when seat in front of you is fully flat is non-existent. You literally need too reset your seat so you can get out and move about. Meal service the same as other business class flights, requested Japanese meal, was informed it was out of stock but when the passenger behind was asked it was available. Fruit was dry, declined the usual fillet mignon and chicken option.

United Airlines review by Gregory Payne

12 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

PEK-ORD - Business Class Return segment with wife and new adopted daughter - used upgrade mileage. Traveled over Chinese New Year and the business class cabin was very open (nice benefit as we were traveling with the baby). FAs were very good and attentive the entire flight. The 15 hour trip was uneventful. Boarding in Beijing was smooth and the flight left early. Baggage claim in Chicago was slow (45 minutes). The seats are not great, but the cabin was clean and the food was acceptable.

United Airlines review by Stephen Huang

12 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

PEK-SFO-EWR/LGA-BWI-LAX-JFK, LAX-SFO-PEK in economy class. Inflight services were basic and crew helpful and friendly most of the time. Baggage arrived shortly after landing on each flight. Planes were old but in good conditions.

United Airlines review by Ron Kuhlmann

7 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

OAK-MSY-OAK Very interesting trip. My original routing was outbound over DEN and return via ORD. Four hours before departure, my OAK-DEN flight was cancelled. I was due to give a speech the next day so I needed to get there and tried to get rebooked via ORD which proved to be a time-consuming, though ultimately successful endeavor - until I got to the airport. The Chicago flight was delayed by four hours and I was going to miss the last connection. Ultimately, I flew to LAX, waited 5 hours, flew overnight to PHL, and changed to USAir for the leg to New Orleans. After the first battles with res over the Chicago change, all the staff involved were helpful and did their best to work things out. The crews were also friendly and considerate. Despite snow in Chicago on the return, it went as planned. Except for the folks in res who tried to make life very difficult, United gets good marks for the way things were handled. I made it to the conference with two whole hours to spare!

United Airlines review by Greg Nishihira

7 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

CLD-LAX-ORD-MUC. All flights on-time. Snowstorm in Chicago delayed our departure but not enough to make us late into Munich. De-icing operation showed that United ground staff in Chicago are fully competant to handle adversity (at least on this occasion). AVOD in economy class was a surprise. I don't know if this is just on their 767's or simply on select aircraft. All in all I was very happy with the service. I don't have great expectations on UAL trans-oceanic flights, so it's nice when things go off without a hitch. Have to deduct a point for dinner service, which consisted of some sort of mystery meat.

United Airlines review by Marc Van

5 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Bru-Iad-Fll-Bru early January and Bru-Iad-Bru. Both flights in business, on time and good service. UA dinner service faster than LH which is appreciated on relatively short overnight flights. I found the old style cradle seat more comfortable to sit and relax than modern angled lie flat seats. Entertainment system is just ok.

United Airlines review by J Creasey

4 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

SFO-LHR-SFO Business Class. Flight was delayed and food below standard of average business class cuisine. UA does not come close to Virgin or BA. FAs seem to be indifferent. I suppose that is to be expected when they are so unhappy with their company, but this directly affects service to their customers! UA just doesn't get it. When I called their customer support I am only allowed to speak with a call center on the opposite side of the world. The automated system asked me if I would "answer a few questions" after the call with the customer service center rep. I think the CS rep center is on to this since rather than hanging up after our call she put me on permanent hold. Just to see how long this would last I left my phone connected. I hung up after over 90 minutes left on hold. I believe this intentionally prevented me from providing my feedback on their automated system.

United Airlines review by J Weiss

4 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

YYC-HNL-SIN-YYC in economy class. A total of 7 flights via various hubs. More or less on time every time and luggage showed up. Quite simply they are nothing more than a means to an end. Cabin service was so-so, meals edible but forgettable and in-flight entertainment varied from basic to why bother. Seats were bearable but not especially comfortable. Would've preferred flying an Asian airline if they were less stingy with doling out frequent flyer miles on economy fares.

United Airlines review by N Brown

31 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-SFO-LHR. I do this trip regularly and the competitors on the route are BA and Virgin. BA has more professional service and Virgin has better entertainment. However, only United gives you miles and, for frequent flyers, more legroom free of charge. Check in with United at LHR is excellent - at SFO more hit and miss. United lounge at LHR is much better than the one at SFO. The same continues with the food - perfectly acceptable flying out of London but very sub-standard on the return - however, you always get a salad. The interiors of the planes are tired, but seats are more comfortable than those on Virgin, even if you are stuck in Economy rather than Economy Plus. I find United timekeeping better than Virgin and BA who are late on this route.

United Airlines review by A Carroll

30 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

SAN-IAD-ZRH return. A 3.5 hour departure delay on the IAD-ZRH, 767-300 was initially boarded and then cleared out as mechanics continued to work on a fuel valve issue and everyone was redirected to an alternate gate where an aircraft that was originally bound to Rio de Janeiro was commandeered and loaded up for our flight to Switzerland. Gate staff did a commendable job of keeping us up to date. On domestic legs, flight attendants friendly and made rounds offering refreshments. The $5 buy- onboard meals were worth it. For our international flights, FA's IAD-ZRH offeed free wine with dinner. United's aircraft interiors are definitely showing their age. On all flights, the seat cushions were packed out and covers grimy.

United Airlines review by Peter Pomeranze

24 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

JFK-LAX : PS Service is the best first class transcon on the market. International loung,almost flat seat, good food, attentive, friendly service. United clearly cares about this route as service etc is better than first class international on many routes. Layout of 757 cabin is comfy and cozy without being close.

United Airlines review by Gregory Payne

22 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

ORD-PEK Business Class. My wife and I upgraded a full fare coach ticket with 30,000 FF miles and were seated in the upper deck. FA were experienced, but the service was adequate for the price of the ticket. The seats and foot service were British Airways Coach quality, but UA is the only direct service on this route. The upper deck was very quiet and 16 AB does have great legroom. Would I pay $10,000-$15,000 RT for this ticket - absolutely not. I was a past 100K United flyer, but now I just fly whoever is more convenient. FF loyalty may return when service improves. This flight seems on par for a 3 star airline. Maybe more competition on these Asian destinations from Chicago will push United to improve.

United Airlines review by A Arndt

22 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

MLI-DEN-MLI used Mileage Plus award ticket. Upgraded to Business on outbound journey, nice to have extra legroom on smaller aircraft. Seats comfortable and pleasant staff. Just drink service on flight, FA made two rounds. Economy on return trip, used online check-in so getting to gate at DEN a breeze. While legroom was cramped in 31 seat pitch, was smooth, FA pleasant.

United Airlines review by T Nayak

21 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Washington DC (IAD) to Albuquerque (ABQ) return. The service was typical ie drinks and pretzels. They showed a movie during the total flight time of over 4 hours. Just wish the seats had more leg room. The flight was full and the FA was a little rude by telling the passengers to keep there one hand bag below the seat and only one in overhead (then why allow two bags?).

United Airlines review by W Keeney

21 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

SYD-SFO in First. FAs very senior, as always on this route, and pretty set in their service routine: good at dinner, but held the breakfast service until about an hour out of SFO. They probably think they're doing the late sleepers a favor, but it doesn't work very well for the rest of us. Biggest problem on UA long-hauls is the absence of blackout curtains between galley and cabin, and the FAs leave the galley lights on all night. Far too bright for restful sleep, especially in rows 4 and 5. UA also does not supply pads for the seats when in lie-flat mode, nor sleep-suits. In short, UA FC has a long way to go to even get close to SQ or CX: perhaps the new seats and service package will address some of these defects.

United Airlines review by T Wiehe

17 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Flew United from San Francisco to Phoenix after returning from Japan. Although luggage was transfered, getting a boarding pass was required. No one was available to route the passengers to the appropriate lines and it was a hit and miss finding the right area. There were only four staff members handling a large line. Many unattended auto-check in machines were not available. We tried one and it didn't work so we had to stand in line with all the others and wait for a staff person for a simple check in. When inquiring about the lack of help, the polite clerk said she didn't know why they hadn't staffed more people and asked a fellow employee why there weren't any "A's or B's" working today. I presume A's and B's are the folks who route the passengers to the correct line. Finding the entrance to the line was almost impossible with frustrated passengers milling about looking for the correct line and entrance. When we finished, we finally had to duck under the rope to get out. It was pandemonium and a shrp contrast to the Japan Airlines flight just taken back from Tokyo. I understand why United is showing a 3 star rating. It wouldn't surprise me if it fell to a 2 star soon. I will avoid United in the future.

United Airlines review by T Morgan

15 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

HNL-ORD, ORD-LAX, LAX-HNL. Inflight service was surly and arrogant at best. On the return leg, I was flying back to Honolulu with a friend who is from the Philippines and who is a graduate student in the US. My friend is proficient in English but has a strong accent. When he asked the FA if he could purchase a second snack box, the FA glared at him, stated that he could not understand my friend and simply walked away with no response. I travel about three times a year to various points in Asia and have flown with the airlines there. Even in economy class on such airlines as ANA, JAL, Singapore or Cathay, I have seen FAs deal with passengers they could not understand in a patient, compassionate and caring manner. On this recent trip with United , I found only a few FAs who were interested in serving the passengers, but the majority of them acted as though the passengers were a nuisance that they didn't want to be bothered with. Do they even understand who is ultimately paying their salaries?

United Airlines review by J Faulkner

13 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

SYD to LAX, SFO to YYC, JFK to SYD Economy plus. I should of learnt my lesson the last time, this airline is horrible. Delayed 2 hours in Sydney on the tarmac, arrived in LAX with one hour to make our Calgary connection, customs took 1.5 hours so connection was missed. Was given a flight via SFO to Calgary, then LAX-SFO flight was delayed, given little or no chance to get another flight. I was forced to buy a ticket on Virgin to SFO. Finally made connection to YYC , but luggage took 30 more hours to arrive at our hotel and only a computer to talk to when enquiring about luggage. Pacific flight still using projector for entertainment! Surprisingly flight from JFK to LAX was good as we were upgraded to Business, and staff very nice. LAX to SYD delayed again on tarmac and missed connection in Sydney. They have much to learn, though I suspect its poor standard is due to its search for the mighty dollar. JFK to LAX made me bump my rating up one star, otherwise very poor.

United Airlines review by M Rihter

10 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

ORD-HKG Economy Plus. Food so-so. Flight attendants make you feel so uncomfortable. Entertainment is so-so. Screen is not visible and jerky.

United Airlines review by R Scorer

9 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LAX-LHR First Class. Premium check-in zone at LAX took 45mins and a shambles. Menu cards were not ready so we were given a photocopy. Dinner Filet Mignon was nice but veg/potatoes were awful. All night there were FA's walking thru to the front of the galley disturbing sleep. All in all very disappointing.

United Airlines review by Neil Rutherford

9 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-ORD-LHR over Christmas. First class both legs. Chaos at LHR on way out, many passengers were stranded the day before because of Fog. A great flight, lots of drink and tasty food. The return flight was a breeze, EasyCheckin machine utilised at airport, done within about 10 mins and then to Red Carpet Club. Flight left on time, food and service was again perfect, I really could not have asked for more. I look forward to trying out the new F/J seats currently being installed.

United Airlines review by J Fawcett

9 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Returning from Chicago with a 10 month old baby we were placed at the back of the aircraft with no sky cot (which had been requested and supplied on outbound journey). I asked to be moved and to be provided with a sky cot and was told no. The journey was horrendous trying to juggle a baby on my knee as she was not given a seat, even though I paid a rather large fare for her. The food was fairly unpleasant, although water was offered frequently. We will not fly United Airlines again.

United Airlines review by Theresa Neate

9 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

MEL-TPA. I travelled 7 United flights including 2 international). Out of those 7, 2 were delayed, and on 3rd my luggage was lost. Economy class was extremely basic and dated, small, distant and fuzzy tv screens, average food, etc - things I thought had disappeared in the early 90's. I believe it's a two-star airline, not three-star. Its only redeeming feature is some friendly cabin crew.

United Airlines review by R Michaels

9 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Sydney-San Francisco, first class. Friendly cabin crew, seats are horribly old and worn, but comfortable. The food was average - cheese and cream on everything. Overall not a bad experience, but I wouldn't pay for this service if you can avoid it.

United Airlines review by E Thalmann

9 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

FRA-SFO-SYD-SFO-FRA. Service-level on transatlantic flight lowest I know - no free alcoholic beverages, very poor sight from the last rows to the video-screen (not on FRA-SFO in 777 - here there are excellent individual screens on each seat). Very strict seating-policy: Lower booking- classes get middle-seat on Boeing 777 (2-5-2 configuration); pre-seating on the internet offers aisle or window-seats only in the last three rows (and this six weeks before departure!). Big video- screen on SYD-SFO had a failure - 13,5 hours without movies. 4.) My baggage didn't arrive. After informative and friendly handling by Lufthansa in FRA (who couldn't find anything), the case was turned back to United. No information for one-week until I phoned. It took nearly three-weeks to send me a complaint form.

United Airlines review by Neill Bell

9 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

DEN-OGG return. Both flights were elderly 767s so no seatback screens. For a 7.5 hour flight, I still find it odd to have to pay for food & wine, especially when the price was a lot more than a BA Den-LHR flight - I guess bean counters run the show so that will not change unless they get real competition. Worthy of mention was the return flight, New Years Eve & although most FAs worked hard & were cheerful, we had one who barely managed English, never smiled & refused to take money to get drinks for passengers. I kid you not, we had to make lists, collect funds & go aft & buy the drinks for the older passengers. Sums United up really, it is a Joyless airline.

United Airlines review by J Faix

9 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Both my sons are military and flew into Phoenix after Christmas on separate dates. One was delayed in Washington Dulles for 3 hrs & no reason other than the plane needed service. The other son was delayed for service and barely made his connecting United Flight. It was almost impossible to reach an agent - return itinerary not available on the united website - finally found out it was leaving as U S Airways & completely different flight numbers & different airport terminals. This is very bad customer service.

United Airlines review by J Pfeifer

9 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LAX-SEA: Typical rude and disorganized service. I had a problem getting checked in and couldn't get any help. Airplane dirty and service wasn't much better. They act like they are doing you a favor by handing you a bag of pretzels and a Coke.