United Airlines

As a long time Continental customer and I really am trying to like United but they sure make it difficult. This is supposed to be an American company but they outsource customer service to India and Philippines with poor service to us customers. My flight from Narita to Newark Liberty was on a 777 that needs repairs and a good cleaning. My seat controls weren't working properly and the lavatories were dirty. Absolutely no amenities in the lavatories. I asked the flight staff for some soap and she gave me her own bacteria spray! For the cost of a business class ticket on this international flight you would think that United would provide what is standard on other airlines. The food was mediocre and no longer worthy of a business first pricing. All my other flights to Asia and around Asia were with Asiana and Bangkok Air. Amazing trips and outstanding service staff and amenities. Of the Star Alliance group United seems to be the only airline in the group charging outrageous prices and giving the customers barely basic services. I know all our USA airlines are the same lousy service but it sure does embarrass us with the rest of the world and I envy their far superior airlines. I took several 45 minute flights on Bangkok Air and would you believe they provided box breakfast/lunch with soft drink on each flight at no extra charge. And served and cleaned up over 100 passengers within the 45 minutes. It takes that long to get one drink sometimes with United.

LAX-NRT-LAX (en-route to BKK) BizFirst on UA's new 787. Service both directions was really top notch. The crew were professional and attentive and on both legs the International Service Co-ordinator came to personally thank each passenger for their business and for choosing United (I thought that added a very nice touch). Meals were actually quite good and the wine parings worked well. Opted for the Japanese meal on the return and found it pleasantly delicious (including the array of sushi appetizers). The best thing about the trip was the aircraft. Arrived refreshed and didn't feel like I'd spent 12 hours in an airplane upon landing. Would recommend flying the a/c wherever possible. Overall high marks for this flight.

Orange County-SFO Round Trip - April 2014. Be aware: paying extra for an Economy Plus gives you the privilege to board last (group 5). On a full plane it means that the overhead bins will be full when you embark and you will be deny boarding with your carry-ons. They will be checked at the gate of the aircraft. It happened to us on both legs of this trip even though our carry-ons were undersized and we had only one per person other than my wife's purse and my computer shoulder bag. But for our surcharge we had a free half glass of water served by stern attendants. What a bargain! Too bad Virgin America no longer flies out of SNA. I really miss them. Their service is light years ahead of United. And when you pay a premium for a Virgin seat you have real perks coming with it. Not bait and deceit.

Most excruciating flight I have endured was the 757 UA flight from Newark to Oslo on 5 April. The seats in economy were sadistically cramped. The aisle was so narrow that the crew could not move their carts without repeatedly banging and bumping into passenger seats. United's utter contempt for its customers and its crews is all too evident in its creation of such a tortuous experience. United has finally jumped the shark in the cheap cheesy penny-pinching department. I can choose to fly another airline and believe me I will.

This was our worst experience. United Airlines had already been the airline with the most customer complaints and proved to be true when we took a trip to Florida. On the way back our flight for 3pm had been delayed for 5pm and then was cancelled due to "maintenance issues." We took another flight for 8pm and again was delayed to 9.30pm. We asked the lady at the counter and she said that the cabin crew wasn't prepared for travel so they delayed the flight. They are disorganized and I will never be flying United again.

United Express: I flew from ORD to ASE in March and although they have us over a barrel as they are the only airline with non- stops the flight wasn't bad. We had to cram into a little regional jet definitely much smaller than United's traditional mainline aircraft but it was a relatively new plane. The seats did seem smaller but the service was jut about the same as its big brother. The fare was on the high side though.

I have flown from Newark to Delhi or Mumbai multiple times. The routing works well for me as I can access EWR from Philadelphia easily with the Amtrak codeshare although since they require more than a 3 hour layover in EWR on the way back the codeshare is only useful outbound. I like the Economy Plus seating which is a plus for the long trip. Despite being at the top Premier level however I find that I never get upgraded to business class despite supposedly having "System-wide upgrades" available. In practice these can never be used on these flights in my experience and one has to pay extra to be "eligible" then does not get the upgrade anyway. I am trying to book a ticket now and even though 38/40 business class seats are empty they will not confirm the upgrade and from what one reads on the internet the only way to get it is to check again and again and again and perhaps you might get lucky when they have opened one. In general the "free upgrade" offer for international travel seems to be a scam. The economy plus seating is better than normal economy though although I'm not sure it compares favorably with other airlines' economy.

London Heathrow-Chicago O'Hare UA0929. Chicago O’Hare Intl-Denver UA1014 29th May 2013. Denver-Rapid City UA4914. Rapid City-Chicago O’Hare UA4414. Chicago O’Hare-London Heathrow UK. UA0938 23rd June 2013. I cannot understand United are not upping their care for its customers. We flew with United on our last holiday and quite honestly never again. We have flown to many places around the world and United without any doubt are the worst airline I have used. The cabin crew are lazy and somewhat rude doing as little as they can. They could not even ask for the window blinds to be raised when coming in to land at London Heathrow. They did a standard talk when we were on the plane (with a special welcome to our premium and military customers). So quite obviously the economy passengers do not matter remembering of course that it is economy passengers that are the bulk of their customers.

HNL to BKK. Aborted take off in HNL. Plane back to ramp sit inside plane for 5 hours. Problem could not be fixed mechanical. Flight cancelled. Told to disembark get out luggage at Arrivals and go to Departure area to rebook. This on a 747 with 350 plus people on it - all pulling their luggage about 1/2 mile to Departure area. Line up at departure area United to re-book - wait 7 hours to get to counter. Only 2 staff members to rebook the entire airplane. I was put on Delta the next day to NRT. Gave me $10 voucher for meals and over night free stay in Waikiki hotel. Cheapest meal at hotel was $18. Next AM Delta took off on time got me to TKO then transfer to United back to BKK. Never again with United!

I flew from DCA-EWR on Monday April 14. It was a mess United cancelled all of its flight out of DC without any reason. The weather was perfect my flight was suppose to be at 11.30am they cancelled it then I was put on the 4.30pm which was delayed and finally at 6.30pm they decided to cancel. They don't think of their passengers they don't respect their time this airline is really the worst airline I've ever flown. Would not recommend.