United Airlines

It has taken me in excess of an hour to resolve what should be a simple matter on the phone with their customer service flights are always late (which I understand is not always the airline's fault but most of my late flights result from insufficient crew which they can do something about). The coach cabin is a mess and even first class which I usually take is sub par. Last time I flew first class they gave me a hard time when I asked for milk for my toddler children! Not to mention that they ran out of food. I already had low expectations for them but I did not expect to bring my own food to first class. Avoid at all costs.

NRT-BKK. Uneventful trip on a route about to be abandoned by United. Surprising considering the 747 was packed to the brim. Boarding was chaotic and those of us in business class had no idea where to line up to board. Nice hard product but uninspiring service and meal. Overworked flight attendant working business class in the dome got the job done though. Pilot had Channel 9 (air traffic control) activated which is one of the nice features that only United can claim. The RCC lounge at NRT has much to be desired - hands down had the worst cappuccino in my life there.

Flew from Newark to Denver where United decided without any form of communication to hold 2 of our bags to arrive with the next flight to Denver 3 hours later. After arriving in Denver we waited at the baggage carousel for nearly an hour until we were fully convinced 2 of our bags did not make the flight. Throughout the night we tried calling different customer service numbers of United and could not get a straightforward answer. 20 hours later our bags reached us. On our flight back from Denver to Newark the entire flight was boarded seat belts fastened welcomed by the pilot until another announcement from the pilot came on and I quote "there is a small problem. Should be a quick fix that will take best case 30 minutes". 10 minutes later we are told to deboard the plane because this "quick fix problem" has caused the plane to be completely out of service. As we all deboard our entire flight is told to go to one customer service desk with 4 representatives. Nearly an hour later we finally get up to the representatives and all I hear is a potential flight to Houston reboard the out-of-commission plane at 3.30 or wait until tomorrow. Save yourselves the trouble and aggravation and never fly United Airlines!

Traveling out of New Orleans Louis Armstrong airport for business around 2 pm on 3/5/14. Baggage check was totally disorganized. I was directed to a kiosk by one of the agents then waited 15 minutes after I had checked the bag electronically for someone to come and tag it. When an agent showed up to tag the bag they were clearly not in a hurry. Then my flight was delayed. Maybe there's no rush at check in because United flights are late so often.

Washington to San Diego and San Francisco to Washington. Old planes not enough overhead storage for the amount of cabin luggage they allow people to lug in. One stewardess had a shouting discussion about the oncoming superbowl from the front of the plane to row 39. No free food on a 5 hour flight no drinks except water and fruit juices of doubtful quality. Online entertainment is a joke! Never again!

Flew UAL 218 first class from HNL-ORD then connected to UAL express ORD-YWG. Service better than expected. 777-200 had recliner seats with no flatbeds for an 8 hour flight. No inflight entertainment as WiFI was not working and the old school entertainment system had already been removed. In-Charge offered all passengers compensation through UA Website. Offer on the web site was $125 off the next UA Flight for US residents or 10% off next UA flight to be used within 1 year for international travellers. Dinner and breakfast were served. Quality of both meals were OK and reminded me of Y class meals from days gone by. Ice cream sundae cart made the rounds after dinner. First Class Attendants ensured beverages were topped up and one FA even made sure water glasses were topped up while passengers slept. Difficult to find a comfortable position to sleep in recliner chairs. However the ticket price was reasonable for the passenger space offered on the aircraft. For an 8 hour overnight flight First class should offer flatbeds IMHO. UAL Express connector flight ORD-YWG ran 1 hour late due to off loading of baggage when connecting passengers failed to show. Almost an expected delay on any airline these days.

LHR-IAH-GUA. Prebooked upgrade 3 wks before travel. Check in easy with assistance from staff. Flight left on time and arrived on time in Houston. Flight attendants were friendly and the food was pretty average. You pay for your own alcohol which I don't have a problem with but theirs is expensive. Entertainment selection ok. Prem econ seats offer nothing more than extra legroom about 4" but was worth it on long haul. Nothing to complain about there and using Houston for transit we were impressed with the speedy immigration channels which took much of the hassle out of using the States. IAH-GUA also on time and again a typical short flight with nothing special but nothing to complain about.

LAX-JFK and return. Never flew United previously so after reading many reviews had lowered my expectations. I thought it was pretty good. I paid extra for more legroom which was well worth the money. Cabin crew came through the cabin regularly offering water or juice on the JFK-LAX leg in particular. The seats are more comfortable than Qantas economy and likewise the entertainment was a bit better also. My biggest complaint is the amount of luggage/baggage United allow passengers to drag onto the plane. If you are Group 5 (aisle seats) and the last to board all the bins are full of people's stuff from seats away! Even a pre-boarding offer to check wheelie bags for free due to a full flight was met with disinterest. It really is one area needing tightening up.

I used to like flying United but the last couple of trips have really make me think about other airlines. I had to fly to Honolulu in January to take care of my mom for 2 weeks. They canceled my departing flight. My flight from Houston was delayed 2 hours and there was no personal TV on the flight. Flying home it was the same. I had to return to Honolulu in Feb. The flight to and from had no personal TV. I am not a savy personal and do not have I- pads or any personal electronics (and there were many other people like me on the plane) so using Wi-Fi did us no good. Sitting on the plan for 8 hrs plus with no entertainment really did not go over well.

May 27 through June 10 2014. The customer service for this airline really needs to be greatly improved. I book my flights in advance so I can have what I want and schedule what I am doing when I get there. So to have my flights canceled and rebooked for a flight that doesn't even come close to when my connecting flight leaves the airport is a bit stupid. Now I have to have a longer flight just to get where I want to go by flying in the opposite direction of where I want to go. To top it all off I wasn't even notified of the change. Now I have to change my plans so I can accommodate the airlines wishes. Next time I think I will book with another company that I have had no problems with.