|
|
 Extreme Delays on United Airlines
Posted Mon August 6, 2007 12:00 pm, by Sebastian H. written to United Airlines
Write a Letter to this Company | Rate this Company
My flight from Denver to Los Angeles (UA773) scheduled to depart at 5:53 left 5 hours late at approximately 11pm on a different flight that appeared to have been set up (on a much larger aircraft) for the many stranded travelers en route to Los Angeles.
What began as a 30 minute delay turned into an hour, two hours, etc. All the while staff at DIA airport did their best to avoid answering questions from passengers, or communicating via the PA system in an effective manner. All we were told is that the incoming aircraft was diverted to Colorado Springs and would arrive later. Organization from the UA staff was severely lacking and left much to be desired. Thankfully for them most if not all the passengers were extremely patient and polite, myself included.
My return flight from Los Angeles to Denver was not as worse, but only because the bar had been set so low already.
Scheduled to depart at 8:30PM on flight UA304, the flight was delayed 3 hours before finally taking off just before midnight. No reason was given for the delays. What was supposed to be an arrival of 11:45 turned into an nightmarish 2:45am. Adding insult to injury was the news from the flight crew informing passengers that a mix up with the beverage service resulted in not having enough beverages for everyone on board. I promptly fell asleep as soon as I boarded the plane and do not know if beverage service made it to my aisle (2nd to last row - Seat 18A), but the audacity of such news was surprising even to a seasoned flier like myself in this day of cut backs and charging for peanuts. Embarrassed and apologetic, the crew suggested writing to United Airlines and voicing complaints. Even without the prompt, this letter was being drafted in my head.
I would like United Airlines to offer an explanation for the various problems, apologize and provide some sort of compensation. Due to the late arrival of the flight into Denver I lost a ride home from the airport and did not have the available options of hiring a shuttle van as all but taxis were running.
Ideally United Airlines will provide a cash refund to myself in the amount of $52.60 for the taxi fare I was forced to pay in order to make it home. I can provide copies of the taxi receipt if needed. I would also appreciate a voucher for future travel.
Suggestions for future situations of this nature: Communicate! Inform passengers of the situation in a prompt, clear, and effective manner. Proactive forecasting of the delay rather than constantly pushing out the estimated departure time would have been much more preferable. Service of this nature should not be tolerated when people such as myself spend their hard earned money expecting common decency and respect. We are not children and we can handle bad news. Simply undermining our worth because in a lot of ways we can take it or leave it is a terrible approach.
I hope this letter is read and these suggestions are taken seriously. I chose United due to its hub status in Denver and because of the low rates. In the future I will not fret over paying more money to fly with a different carrier knowing that no matter what, it will not be United Airlines.
I appreciate your time.
Regards,
 Reply
| Log In/Create an account | 21 comments |
|
|
| PlanetFeedback Comments are subject to strict terms and conditions. We reserve the right to deny site membership privileges to any individuals acting inappropriately. |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
Another my plane was late and I want a freebee letter....yawn
Reply
|
|
|
|
|
by Will P. Posted Wed August 8, 2007 @ 12:40 AM
|
|
|
I liked the way this letter was constructed, but thought the freebie
grab diminished what could be a real complaint.
Reply
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Blackrack Posted Tue August 7, 2007 @ 8:59 AM
|
|
|
Though I do not believe the OP deserves a refund or anything else, I
can see how not having enough drinks for the whole plane would be a
problem now that passengers are not permitted to bring any drinks onto
the plane.
When it comes down to it, no one knows the future or can control the
weather. Whether they told you why or not, the plane wasn't safe to
fly in and therefore you were lucky not to be doing so.
Reply
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by rkcbw0314 Posted Tue August 7, 2007 @ 1:40 AM
|
|
|
Sorry you had such a terrible experience on United. However, it is not
surprising. United comes in last in virtually every customer
satisfaction survey. The DOT even certified United as having the worst
customer service of any airline in 2006.
Be sure to forward this account to the consumer division at the DOT.
United will only be forced to improve its customer service when enough
customers report their horrible experiences to the DOT. TYou can email
your complaint to airconsumer@dot.gov
Reply
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No.
by Ms. Me Wed August 8, 2007 @ 8:25 AM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Heresy!
by Tech Happy Erik Tue August 7, 2007 @ 3:27 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SHARED LETTERS 
del.icio.us
Digg this
