F#@%ing United Airlines!!!!
 

HELP!!!

My 82 year old mom, had a very rough time of traveling from Indiana to Iowa the other day, thanks to the friendly skies of United. The delay in the first leg of the flight caused her to miss her Chicago connection. Booked on the next flight from Chicago there was five separate delays. Long story short, whereas she was supposed to arrive in Des Moines at 4:30 pm she arrived a little past 9:30 pm. On top of that, they neglected to give her the wheel chair service we had asked for in both Chicago and DM! ON TOP OF THAT, her new suitcase was badly ripped open. The United baggage claim woman rudely washed her hands (United's hand) off of any responsibility for that. "You need to contact the manufacturer!" Pure bull crap!! :cuss: Now that I'm trying to contact United, I only get many levels of recordings, none having anything to do with our problem. Googling United customer service hasn't been helpful. :banghead: I know United is going bankrupt and probably don't give two bird droppings about the customer. Nevertheless, I need your advice.

You really want advice? I don't think you're going to like it.

United and every other airline is just that, an airborne taxi service. They don't have nurses on staff. If your mother is 82 and wheelchair bound, she needs to have an accompanying nursemaid or your going to continue to be disappointed no matter which airline you fly. Or, she need not fly at all.

Never route through Chicago, unless it's through Midway.

Phob,
Well put...
In other words... stop your bitching... man up and S.T.F.U!

Your bitching will get you nowhere and you already know this.

My advice on what? Why major airline are loosing money hand over fist while regional smaller airlines are making money with better flights and customer service.

Sorry to hear about your mom's experience though.

I can't recall ever having a positive experience when dealing with an airline. Honestly, why would you be surprised?

I agree. If they can restrict pregnant women from flying once they are so far along in their pregnancy then why can't there be other standards of health and/or mobility applied for people travelling alone?

I'm not aware of many airlines that are turning a profit these days. You can't expect them to offer hand and foot treatment at the price-war fares that people expect. IMO if someone needs this kind of attention they should have someone else accompanying them.

Mom's not wheelchair bound. But weakened by age. Lives in Indiana close to one son. But visits the other two once a year each. We've been asking and receiving wheelcahir service for her especially through larger airports. That's never been outside of the norm. Nor, the airlines owning up to their damaging of one's property through neglect and mishandling. Sorry Phob, I don't agree with your point.

I was on a flight from Philly to Indy the other day (Northwest, I think). Just before our descent this 20-something girl in the row in front of me gets up to go to the batroom only to find in occupied. By the time the person gets out, the pilot had turned on the seatbelt sign. The flight attendant (a very feminine man) informed her that the light was on a nd that she needed to stay in her seat.

She seemd to be ok with it and sat back down. So the plane lands and begins to taxi to the terminal (the taxi's here in Indy can be almost 15 min long). Meanwhile the seatbelt light is still on and the Flight attendant has already reminded everyone to stayput until the plane comes to a stop at the terminal.

Well, I guess this girl really had to go bad. She gets up to go to the bathroom. The FA tells the pilot to stop the plane and that we won't move again until everyone is in their seats. The girl gets back to her seat all giggly and embarrassed-like and the FA comes back to ask for her ID and tells her that he is required to file a report with the FAA and she just committed a federal offense punishable up to $10,000 and 6 months in jail.

If this girl didn't go to the bathroom, she was pissing in her pants now. She of course argues the point and the FA takes her ID up to the front of the plane. A co-worker of mine in the second row (who didn't really know what was going on) said he came up with her ID and before he went back, pulled a filled syringe out of a bag and took it with him!! I know she was arguing the point with him, but she wasn't being mean or agressive. They agrued back and forth a little bit more and then she got off the plane, but that was quite the scene. I wonder what became of it.

And that isn't the airlines fault. Once you check in luggage and it goes on that conveyor belt it is handled by the airport staff, not the airlines.

I don't expect you would agree since you're intimately involved.

I think the bag is a separate issue. Weather delays are another issue entirely. Given the alternatives, I'll take Momma arriving 5 hours late.

The 3rd issue:
I think that any person who can't get around for themselves should either pay a premium for babysitting or bring along their own babysitter. You can't expect an airline to hold somebody's hand for $89.95.

More like $289.95.

Damn. Expensive peanuts.

ROFL Actually one small bag of cheese crackers. Ironically, she has violently hated cheese all her life! Par for the course, wouldn't you say?

They probably delayed the flight to do a background check to make sure your mom wasn't on the no flight list.

From Indiana to Iowa? Your kidding. I can fly all the way across the country for that. I can fly my wife and I to London for a little more than that.

For $289.95 on a 45 minute flight, you should expect a happy ending.

82, 4'-11", 105 lbs+-, Very lightskinned! :shrug:

Yup.

What I mean is, United should send an attractive flight attendent home with your mother to give you the happy ending.

I'm just playin with you. There is no love lost with me an United. They are the only airline that serves the city I was raised in Medford Oregon. They want $500 for a round trip flight there from SF. The flight is 60 minutes long. If another airline tries to compete they will will fly you anywhere for a buck until the other airling pulls out because they can't make any money then it's back up to $500 again. :cuss:

I just tell them to get me the damned wheelchair or I will use my cane to beat them about the head and shoulders.

Just the type of low-key suspect who would expect to sneak through.

ROFL I'm sure this will help

That I agree with, HOWEVER she is their customer and they did accept her as a passsenger (without medical qualifications) so in that respect they should help her within the bounds of the airport. Bag and weather what can you do. It would not surprise me to find something in the ADA act (admittedly as poorly crafted as that abortion is), that covers this aspect of public travel.

But, travelling on an airline is not what it used to be!

Oh, so you're saying you've always had good service in the past, but just want to bitch about the one time you didn't get it.

In other words, they get it right more often than not.

That would be acceptable.

That's EXACTLY what they did with a very quaint little airline (Midway I think) a few years ago. My son and I actually flew to Chicago for $19 each at one point. United started matching their fares and consumers with no foresight chose United over them. I used to point out the sneaky strategy and argue with them, but the answer always was,"Why should I fly that Airline when I can fly United for the same price!"... :banghead:

We got average, acceptable service genarally. This one was TERRIBLE. What's worse, I had insisted and convinced my mom to come and visit as she was using advancing age as the excuse not to travel here.

Maybe you should have considered transporting her in a Traditional Caravan?

You should listen to your mother, young man.

Maybe YOU should consider going to Visit HER, since she's a hunder-fifty-sevum.

Careful. The red's showing a bit. ;)

What do you have against Dodge Minivans?

Yeah but it's gotten so that the little ritual of "I'm getting too old for this" is the accepted norm. Then when she comes here she has fun. My son really loves her and my friends seem to as well. They are always the ones who keep asking me when she's coming back for a visit.

:D
Nothing. Just not red ones. That's all I meant by "red." ;)