United Airlines

Customer Reviews

3 star Skytrax Rating
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Seat Comfort 12345
Staff Service 12345
Value for Money 12345
Customer rating from 4843 reviews
3/10
3 star Skytrax Rating
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1/10

"the worst experience flying"

(United States)

Trip Verified | My fiancée and I booked our vacation back in September, so this should have been a very smooth trip. A couple days before our flight to Denver which was supposed to connect us to Vegas, United Airlines decided to switch our connecting flight and not update us about the change in connecting flights. Our new connecting flight was now leaving out of Washington D.C ten minutes after we were supposed to land. 1) Nobody can get off a plane and sprint down the terminal to board. 2) Our first flight out of Newark was delayed so our connecting flight left before we even landed in D.C. Now we have lost a day of vacation and hotel reservations that we can’t get a refund. We received a response from a United rep saying we could get more leg room on our next connecting flight, which is only 1 hour. I lost a day of vacation and only get maybe an extra foot of leg room on a one hour flight? No thank you. By far the worst experience flying and you can bet that I won’t be flying United Airlines ever again.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteDulles to San Fransico
Date FlownApril 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
2/10

"Completely terrible experience"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Norfolk to Boston via Newark. I have never written a review about a service before, but my experience was so bad with United that I felt compelled to. I had a round-trip from Norfolk(VA) to Boston(MA) with a connecting flight through Newark(NY.) Every flight was delayed or canceled -not delayed by a few minutes but hours. Delayed flights caused me to miss my connecting flights and have to rebook another flight. Delayed flights are one thing that I am capable of letting go. However, they didn't even load my bag on a flight home. When i asked about it they simply said "Oh it was supposed to come on an earlier flight but it got canceled." Okay so it was just forgotten? It feels like if the bags don't go as originally planned they get tossed somewhere and forgotten until I have to call them multiple times. Still currently waiting for my checked bag to come here on the next flight from Newark to Virginia. I was told it would be coming on flight 4925 - that flight was this morning. It's still in Newark. And I asked if they can be sure if my bag will make it on the next flight this afternoon, but they can't even confirm that. I'll just have to wait until they feel like sending it on the next flight. Who knows when that is. Completely terrible experience that I have never had before. I suppose you pay for what you get. terrible service.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteNorfolk to Boston via Newark
Date FlownApril 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"completely ripping off the customer"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Redmond to San Diego. I called a United to change a ticket I purchased with my United Airline credit card through the Hopper app. The Hopper app keeps an eye on all the airline prices and compares them for you. It will then alert you when an airline has dropped ticket prices. When I called United to change my ticket to use for another day, I fully expected to pay the usual $125.00 change fee. I was told that since I used the Hopper app, which they consider to be a travel agency, that I was going to be charged $200.00 along with $125.00 change fee. For a total of $325.00. Nice work United Airlines for completely ripping off your customer.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteRedmond to San Diego
Date FlownApril 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
2/10

"felt bullied and belittled"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Fort Lauderdale to Salt Lake City with a change of planes in San Francisco to SLC (1 hr 32 min.) Airline travel is hard enough without punitive agents. On March 31 we were making a coast-to-coast trip after our cruise. Our return tickets from Fort Lauderdale to Salt Lake City were with United purchased through Expedia. Our day started at 4 am. Most airlines that I know of allow a carry on and a personal item policy. We chose the United flight because it got us back at a decent hour so we could make the 3.5-hour drive back to our home in Idaho. We had tried to print our boarding passes online with the ship’s computer/printer but were unable to with the directive we would have to see an agent at the airport. We were informed, when were arrived at the airport, that we would have to check our carry on bags because of the nature of the ticket we purchased. We weren't happy about it but did so at the extra cost of $25 a bag. We had purchased a basic economy flight ticket so that did not allow a carry on. We were placed in the very back row 38 and had a bumpy and straight-backed ride for over 6 hours. Fair enough. On arriving at San Francisco for our transfer flight of an hour and a half to SLC we had something to eat and waited. We were the last passengers to board the plane. As we were being checked in the United Agent stopped my wife. He/she said the carry on bag of my wife needed to be checked even though we had just gotten off a United jet of the same size and model so there was no question that it fit under the seat and that is the criteria that was listed by Expedia and United: “Carry-on bags are limited to one personal item that fits under the seat in front of you.” I have to interject here that my wife has used this same personal carry on bag for over 20 years of flying with all the major airlines United, Delta, American, Alaskan, and Frontier. No airline agent of flight attendant had ever given her a problem because of its size or dimensions (9x9x18). It always fit easily under the seat, even with the small computer planes that have much shorter routes with much smaller jets. My wife was forced to give up her personal bag before she could board the flight. My wife sent me on to board since my protests were falling on deaf ears. But after taking about 10 steps I turned around and went back to ask the agent if this had anything to do with the ticket we had purchased through Expedia? She/he said yes. So I went to board. My wife boarded about 3-5 minutes later and when she reached our back seats she was seething. She told me to guess what they had charged her to check her personal bag. I guessed $25? No. $50? No. She was charged $175.00! She told me she had felt bullied and belittled by what took place. This whole experience has soured us both towards flying with United Airlines. We have frequent flyer numbers with the airlines and this incident was completely out of character for the airlines that tout the “Friendly Skies”. It was illogical and unprofessional to treat loyal customers in that way.
Aircraft?
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteFort Lauderdale to Salt Lake City via San Francisco
Date FlownMarch 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"family unfriendly airline"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Newark to Dublin. Most unfriendly staff ever. We are a family of 3 flying with a 3 year old, the flight is early in the morning, so we had toddler, who was sleep deprived and we had separate seats with my husband. We asked at the gate to help us to seat together, explaining that it’s easier to handle our son together, but nobody bothered, basically, we were told, that’s our issue. In the plane my son has tantrum with crying, we tried to talk to other passengers, asking if there is a way to switch, no luck. Flight attendants just pass by saying “You are his mom, deal with it”, threatening to stop the plane taking off if I couldn’t have him seated. My explanation that I need at least my husband’s help or the window seat (preferably the second) are ignored. Finally, there is one very nice flight attendant (the only one who seems to care about passengers) who was able to switch us to the window seats, we calmed down our son and he fell asleep. Other flight attendants gave us really bad attitude, as if being a parent means to have a magic wand that will make a 3-year old behave like an adult and quietly sit through the 7-hour flight. In addition, there was no child meal that I ordered, and he refused to eat whatever they offered for adults (the food looked awful), so he had only muffin and a couple of cookies during the entire flight. Most family unfriendly airline, worst flight ever.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteNewark to Dublin
Date FlownApril 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
5/10

"crew literally toss the luggage"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Peoria to Ft. Lauderdale via Chicago. The actual flight was fine and the staff was friendly but watching the crew literally toss the luggage on the assembly line to be put on the plane really annoyed me. Thankfully my suitcase has a hard outer shell, but more care should be taken with paying customers’ luggage.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RoutePeoria to Ft. Lauderdale via Chicago
Date FlownMarch 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"I am extremely disappointed"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Corpus Christi to Houston. Extremely rude flight attendant. I expressed that I had a very short time to make my connecting flight and she just said to leave my baggage outside the plane. You are allowed 1 carry on and 1 personal item. Both of my bags are not in my possession. I believe that United as a whole is a failure and needs to revamp the customer service they use to have. I am extremely disappointed almost every time I fly with United.
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypePremium Economy
RouteCorpus Christi to Houston
Date FlownApril 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
3/10

"very unorganized"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Tampa to Houston. United is very unorganized and unaccommodating. We purchased two tickets at the same time and we are seated 17 rows apart! When we asked if there were any seats closer they had a quick now and asked us to move on. This airline seems to do little to show any shred of customer care. We will not be using this airline again.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteTampa to Houston
Date FlownMarch 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
3/10

"this ain’t luxury"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Chicago to Miami. So if I spend first class money, I expect first class accommodations. Purchased two round trip tickets for my wife and I. Both flights were first class. The outbound flight had a wonderful and friendly staff. But I was incredibly disappointed in the food choices. A burger is not an attractive option for a first class meal. Especially one with just cheese as a topping, and no lettuce, tomato, onion or anything. Plus I don’t eat meat, so I was thoroughly disappointed. Worse was the return flight. The seat, tray table and armrest was absolutely filthy. I did not feel comfortable sitting in the seat. It looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in days. Old food crumbs, hair, dust was prevalent. Could not believe United let this happen. I worked my way up in life to enjoy luxury. This ain’t luxury. I’d rather spend my hard earned money with another airline for real first class.
AircraftBoeing 737-800
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeFirst Class
RouteChicago to Miami
Date FlownMarch 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"United flights are unreliable"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Nashville to Amsterdam via Washington-Dulles. We will never fly United again. Due to a mechanical failure, we were asked to get off our flight from IAD-AMS after an hour on the tarmac. We were then asked to check back at the gate in an hour for a status update, at which point they told us to check back in another two and a half hours, though they were already pulling our bags off the plane. It was obvious the flight was not going to take off, but we were strung along for three hours. When it was finally cancelled, we were asked to walk a half a mile from service desk at D15 to C20. Once there we waited for yet another hour in line. Here is where it got absurd…At the desk the United Service Rep printed out a hotel and 6 meal vouchers for us. While they are printing, our Rep and the other customer service reps were looking at the vouchers and talking about the fact they just said "invoice" on them next to payment method and how that was not normal. The manager comes out and tells them that "it will be fine and just keep printing them." The Rep hands the vouchers to us and away we go. We wait in line for the shuttle then wait in line for the Westin service desk only to find out the vouchers do not work since there is no credit card associated with them or no established account with the Westin!!! After waiting to get on the phone with one of the United service reps at Dulles, the rep tells us we must go back to the airport to pick up a new voucher with a number! Fortunately Westin knows how to provide Customer service and convinces the United Rep at Dulles to just send over some form via email and puts us up even without a payment method. This negotiation lasted two hours. At this point we have been traveling for 11 hours with only 1 hour in flight. Also none of our food vouchers work at the hotel for the same reason. The next morning we find out the United has not yet sent the form over or paid Westin for our stay. This is the third United flight I have taken in the last 2 months that has either been overbooked or cancel by mechanical failure. United flights are unreliable and their customer service is appalling. All they do is pass the blame and never resolve the issues they have caused. I urge you to not fly them and hopefully one day their awful customer service will put them out of business.
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteNashville to Amsterdam via Washington-Dulles
Date FlownMarch 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no