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

"airport personel rude and uncaring"

(United States)

San Francisco to Monterey with United. Of the 6 legs on a round trip flight, 5 were more than 2 hours late, crews and airport personel were rude and uncaring, this last flight from SFO to MRY was delayed 3 times and then cancelled at 1am leaving us stranded in SFO. The customer service reps said the most they could do was see if they could get some blankets for everyone, no refunds, no bus to get us home, no vouchers, nothing, most people ended up renting cars and driving to the destination. The explanation was 'weather', they gave this standing in front of a Doppler radar map showing no clouds or weather anywhere in the west and the plane was supposed to be coming from Burbank. People in line checked weather apps for Burbank, SFO and Monterey, it was clear and beautiful in all those places and everywhere in between. They use weather as the excuse so they don't have to refund the tickets because it's beyond their control. United employees are so rude it's obvious that they are unhappy and tired of lying to passengers. Staff onboard stood chatting in the galley and are rude to passengers, no please, thank you, etc. Won't take this airline again.
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteSFO to MRY
Date FlownJuly 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"no explanation given"

(United States)

Verified Review | I have flown United Airlines several times, and they have shown incredible consistency in being the absolutely worst airline. My negative experiences with the airline date back to 2007. As for the present trip under review from New York LaGuardia to Chicago, here are the most relevant issues. First, the flight was delayed leaving the airport by over two hours. There was no explanation given for what led to the delay while we waited at the gate. Second, the space between seats is simply unfairly small. I am a 5' 10" man who is not at all overweight. And yet, my knees were pressed firmly against the seat in front of me, and the space was so small that I could not open my laptop computer to do work on the flight (my laptop is a MacBook Air, the thinnest model). Third, once in Chicago airspace we were told we could not land and circled the airport for close to an hour. When it finally appeared that we were going to land, the landing was aborted at the very last moment and were re-routed to Detroit. The problem: no information was given that we were heading there, just a little surprise when we arrived at a different airport. Upon exiting the plane, there were no gate agents there to help with booking connecting flights, only the personnel who dealt with lost luggage. I could actually say more negative things about this flight but am limited by space. Suffice it to say that I will absolutely never fly United again unless they are literally the only option in getting to my destination city. I would happily pay double to avoid getting on a United flight.
AircraftA319
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteLGA to ORD
Date FlownNovember 2015
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"agents at the counter don't help"

(United States)

I have been flying United Airlines very often from MBS (Saginaw) to ORD and back. Recently since a new company took over the previous ground handling it has been terrible. I have only flown 3 times in the past 3 weeks. The agents at the counter don't help with much at all. The ground handling is very slow. At a small airport like MBS with 3 united flights a day, you should not have to wait for ramp staff to come outside and meet the plane. The previous company AirWis had some of the greatest agents I have ever met and were always very respectful and good at their jobs. The new people need some more workers working a flight at a time so they can turn one on time also.
AircraftCRJ 200
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteORD to MBS
Date FlownJuly 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"never fly United Airlines again"

(Ireland)

Verified Review | Having flown on many different airlines whilst travelling over the years, my family and I decided to opt for a little more comfort while taking an overnight flight from Sacramento to Newark via O'Hare. It turned out that economy plus on United Airlines is a scam to make you pay more money for very little else. We ended up having to pay for checking in bags, the seats were uncomfortable and the added 'leg room' was laughable. I had some box under the seat in front of me that meant i had to move my feet to the left for the flight, very uncomfortable. Staff on the flight were not interested in the economy plus / economy cattle behind the curtain and I was told a flat no when i asked if they had a spare blanket for my son who was freezing. I would never fly United Airlines again, save your money and book another airline that have genuine perks and benefits for your money.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypePremium Economy
RouteSMF to EWR via ORD
Date FlownJuly 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
5/10

"lot of space for improvement"

(Austria)

Verified Review | The United flight 841 from New York JFK to Los Angeles in August 2015 was a so called "premium service" one and the flown class was branded as "BusinessFirst". Thus led to high expectations which were not met at all. After an efficient boarding process the first disappointments. The cabin made an outdated impression and signs of abrasion were found everywhere; cables fixed with tape, worn armrests and not working lights were just a few of them. The cabin staff was split half-in-half: 50 per cent were very friendly and seemed to care about passengers, however, the other half behaved like their job is a tremendous burden for them and customers seen as a factor of distress. The selection of food found in the menu was good but the quality of the served meals was bluntly put an impertinence; especially the meat was flavourless and rubber-like. The beverages were much better, though the coffee was another letdown. On the positve side, the IFE was very easy to handle and the provided films, games, and music covering a broad palette of tastes. In addition, the price-performance-ratio was straight. Overall it can be stated that there is a lot of space for improvement.
AircraftBoeing 757
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteJFK to LAX
Date FlownAugust 2015
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
8/10

"the staff were fantastic"

(United Kingdom)

Verified Review | I have flown United once before and swore never again, however I had heard they had improved so gave them another go flying from Newark to Birmingham, UK. I was pleasantly surprised the check in staff were helpful and we just sailed through. Yes we were delayed but what could United do about a thunderstorm. Communication about gate changes and the delay could have been much better, but once we boarded the plane the staff were fantastic. The only thing that let down the whole experience was the food at Newark International Airport. It is disgusting and this is from someone who will eat anything and not complain. We had heard it was bad but did not believe it, believe everything you hear and eat before you arrive. The only saving grace is that there is a Starbucks, which is about the worst I have been to all over the world, but better than anything else we found in the six hours we spent at this airport.
AircraftBoeing 757-200
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteEWR to BHX
Date FlownJuly 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
3/10

"attendants very sweet and cordial"

(United States)

Washington Dulles to Mexico City. We have a round trip from and to DC - the first flight was in economy class, it's the worst economy class I have ever been to, the seats are super super small! I'm 5 ft 9 and my knees were touching the front seat! The second flight was in economy plus and I recommend you flying in this class more than other. It has good leg room and comfy seats. The United ground staff at Dulles are rude, one staff member in the check in area started shouting to us to move. Good thing that the flight attendants were very sweet and cordial. The worst of all is that our plane was supposed to depart at 5:15 we depart at 7:30 - 2 hours of delay!
AircraftBoeing 737-800
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteIAD to MEX
Date FlownJuly 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
6/10

"competent, reliable service"

(United States)

Verified Review | Chicago to Sao Paulo. I fly United a lot, because I live in Chicago and have the opportunity to collect miles and other benefits. Generally, I've been satisfied with this arrangement. I'm not unrealistic about United - you definitely don't get the small luxuries that Asian and some European airlines provide, but United generally provides competent, reliable service, and most staff members are reasonably friendly. Recent flights to and from GRU were par for the course. The flights were on time. Staff were efficient. The economy plus seats were fine. The small screens on the 767s are pretty bad, but I understand why it might not be worth updating them. I don't eat meat and have learned that "Asian vegetarian" tends to be better quality than regular vegetarian. The "Asian vegetarian" suppers were reasonable in both directions, although there was nothing at all Asian about the GRU to ORD supper (soy burgers plus rice and vegetables). The ORD to GRU supper was quite good and (except maybe for the curried tofu) quite South Asian. It even came with plain yogurt. However, United should be embarrassed by the breakfasts (in both directions), which consisted entirely of a stale roll and a tiny package of jam. People who didn't request a special meal got a croissant and a sweetened yogurt, which would have been just as "Asian vegetarian" as what I did get. My seatmate who (unlike me) is actually South Asian was just furious. This is the sort of thing that undermines United's improving reputation. Asian and most European airlines are much more generous about breakfasts and usually provide vegetarians (and everyone else) with a full meal. Let me add that I complained about the breakfast on the GRU to ORD flight to an FA as gently as I could, and she very nicely supplied me with a regular breakfast. I urged my seatmate to do the same, and he just got angrier. I appreciated the reasonable-quality wine that United is now distributing for free in economy.
AircraftBoeing 767
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypePremium Economy
RouteORD to GRU
Date FlownJuly 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
10/10

"was so helpful"

(United States)

Originally supposed to fly Spirit. Flight cancelled and they will not get me on another one to Houston for two days. I must get home to take care of my 90 year old mother. After cancellation at 9.30 pm, I went to United window and a wonderful lady at the counter was so helpful. The bottom line is I was able to get home, leaving that night. The staff member went to the gate to make sure things went smoothly since there was a lot involved in her getting this to work - the crew on the incoming flight had to approve going onward if we were to leave Minneapolis.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteMSP to IAH
Date FlownJuly 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
1/10

"two planes taken out of service"

(United States)

Flew Denver to Detroit. Numbers don't go low enough to rate my review of my experience with United Airlines. My family was scheduled to depart at 11.10am - 5hrs later, two planes taken out of service. A flight crew that walked away from the flight (and passengers), rude gate staff, we are now being told if they can find a replacement flight crew we might have a departure at 6.30pm. If anything can be learned by this experience - don't fly United.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteDEN to DTW
Date FlownJuly 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no