United Airlines

LHR-ORD-LHR. Initial impressions of United were not great as I attempted to check in online only to find that their website system 'could not check you in at this time' after going through the whole process! United now operate from the new terminal 2 at Heathrow which is a big improvement. However upon boarding it was noticeable that the 767 was quite old (pre Boeing 'signature interior' and my seat was uncomfortable. The IFE system is also outdated and was unreliable. However the flight was punctual. The check in system for my return flight ORD-LHR was poor. Initial check in at the airport required using an automated terminal but I could not select a seat as these are allocated at the gate. It is then necessary to queue again to be allocated a seat. There is also not enough space in the departure area to accommodate everyone travelling on the flight. The onboard conditions were also similar on the return flight to the outbound (same aircraft type) except that I was bumped down into the standard economy section from the Economy Plus section. As someone who is 6ft plus this meant squeezing into a cramped seat with minimal legroom - totally unsuitable for a lengthy flight. In addition they ran out of meal choices so passengers had to 'get what they are given'. United also have a stingy policy of charging for alcoholic drinks at inflated prices. Once again the seat was not comfortable and the IFE system was not even working this time. Thankfully arrival was slightly early and the arrival process at Heathrow was most efficient. I will try to avoid flying with United again until they improve the quality of their product.

HNL-ORD. Overnight in a B777-200. United is refurbishing these aircrafts-and we wished they would hurry it up! No sound A/V Wi-Fi. No entertainment whatsoever (but at least no one had worked the Sudoku in my "Hemispheres" mag.). My seat worked ok but my wife had to manually lift the leg support on hers and couldn't unhinge the foot rest. Then in addition the reading light for her seat wouldn't turn off. On-board staff were great: sincerely apologetic for the lack of amenities profusely sympathetic about the seat problems. Service was excellent. Dinner was very good breakfast less so but still appreciated. This could be a very good trip once the planes are fixed up.

LAX-ORD-FRA-EWR-LAX last month. All flights arrived on time with no major issues. ORD-FRA on 747 and FRA-EWR on 777. Had upper deck on the 747 and it's the best place on the plane. Less people in a much more secluded environment. On both directions the crew was congenial and the service was top notch. I appreciated being thanked for my business and for flying UA. The United Club in EWR was a bit crowded for my liking but overall a great experience on all 4 legs. I fly almost every week and they tend to get me where I need to go on-time.

Had a multi-city going ORD-PEK and NRT-LAX-ORD. First leg was okay with the in-flight entertainment being satisfactory. On the first leg service was acceptable with it seeming the best on my NRT-LAX part of the itinerary. However because I went on standby for an earlier LAX-ORD flight the agent service *inside* the airport was actually quite poor as I was actually yelled at (along with a whole line of delayed passengers) by one of their agents. At this point I plan on only flying United for domestic flights because I'm a Star Alliance Gold member but otherwise there are much better airlines for any future international trips I may take in the future.

First class on 767-400 round trip Newark-Honolulu. Seat and entertainment couldn't be better. Meal service was an embarrassment in both directions. Departed Newark 9.15am served an omelette an hour later then not a morsel until an inedible cheeseburger an hour before landing. Departed Honolulu 8.10pm served a snack of hummus peppers feta with a bag of chips then not a morsel until an inedible breakfast sandwich 45 minutes before landing. I politely complained and was offered a chicken wrap from economy. I offered to pay but money refused. This is not a route with complimentary upgrades. Everyone paid to sit up front. I can't understand why UA continues to alienate customers.

I checked in and went to gate and all was fine for our flight from SFO to Portland. Went to have lunch and came back 10 mins before boarding there was a cancellation of our flight. The next flight and all fights were full leaving from any airport Oakland San Jose etc. They could not accommodate us on any flight until the next morning. I ended up driving 12 hours. I am so disappointed that we were not notified ahead of time even just a couple of hours and I could have made other arrangements. The worst part is the cancellation was due to them being understaffed! Ridiculous reason and poor planning on their part.

I have flown UA 4 times from DEN-LGA over the last 2 months; As a Gold card holder I have been upgraded on 5/8 segments. Surprisingly all flights have been on time and even one landed 20 min early. In First UA is decent though they could learn from Delta about better food. All crew were friendly and actually smiled and were chatty with passengers. In Coach most crew also seemed decent and I like their snack boxes. Main problem is lack of consistent product with some aircraft with Wi-Fi some with PTVs and some with nothing. DEN and SFO based crews clearly nicer then EWR based ones.

In May my flight from Newark to Toronto was cancelled due to bad weather - eventually 3 hours after boarding and sitting on the tarmac. I was then left stranded as an international passenger trying to deal with a very surly United ground staff "customer service agent" who told me either to sleep overnight in the airport or find a hotel? No help or assistance. I complained to United officially on my return to the UK and in fact they "granted" me a voucher for $150 off my next booking. They added that they hoped that this did not give me a bad impression of United. Unfortunately I had already made my next booking to the US with United travelling Belfast to Newark to Knoxville early July. Flights from Newark to Knoxville cancelled two days in a row. As there are 3 of us this time I have to find hotels for 2 nights in a row. One positive that came of this was that United re-routed us to Knoxville via Atlanta using Delta. On the way back from Knoxville via Washington to Newark the United flight was delayed by 2 hours. We are then re-routed from Washington to London then Belfast. It maybe incidental to note that no other airlines had delays at Knoxville that day? At least we get home albeit some 4 hours later than expected. Due to delays in arriving we miss the connection London to Belfast. Luckily this flight is on a British Airways plane so I go to BA and it is sorted - promptly and courteously by a nice customer service lady.

First Class from LA to Dulles. When breakfast service came they had cereal and fruit. That's the meal for a $3000 ticket. The attendant repeatedly told me "That is all we currently have available". I offered to buy my own breakfast from the coach menu and was informed that I would indeed have to purchase my meal. On my return flight scheduled at 2.30 pm from Dulles the flight was delayed twice then cancelled at 6pm. Provided with a $100 coupon - certainly doesn't pay for a hotel room in DC. My original plan - flying back on the 10.10 pm flight indeed proved irrational. It was also delayed. I asked the customer service agent to put me on American 6.15 flight to LA. She refused pointing out that I was on backup for 10.10 pm with United. She reissued my ticket on American at the coach rate. She also incorrectly copied down the gate to delay my progress. Thankfully they were on the same concourse. When I made it to American I indeed confirmed that there still was an open first class ticket. The lovely American agent called United and unfortunately did no better than I had for the past three hours finding someone who could reissue the ticket as first class. American graciously put me in the last seat without any help and much hindrance from United. I can honestly say that one should strongly consider their well being before booking a United flight.

Went ORD-DCA-ORD to visit family. On a regional jet the flight was still somewhat comfortable. Coming back to Chicago there was some confusion with passengers who needed to get seats together and while I didn't mind moving I would hope they could try and resolve these things before the plane is full and it becomes hard to move around because of people in aisles etc.