UA to me : Use Another airline! After our last experience I wished I never would have had! Bad smell , lack of good air circulation, old and junky seats, small and filthy toilet, meals are not fresh, do not even know what the ingredients were? did not look appetizing, strange meal combination. Unfriendly steward, was just trying to get done with any work before she even started (did not want to help passengers). Even the way they were boarding was really awkward, some people are running around and shouting at people where they have to go, regardless of booked class. Maybe a Chicago attitude? This was an international flight, an old plane, a nightmare flight.! Rating should be zero (0) stars, if the option was available. read more

0/5 stars. Worst experience ever. Booked a flight for New Years with confirmation then when I arrived at airport found out flight was overbooked and many of us couldn't get on the plane. Agents and customer service people were disrespectful and rude. There were many people on standby list who couldn't get on multiple previous flights. Staff members did not try to help you at all and kept telling you to wait or go to customer service line (where people waited 1-3hours) only to be faced with a rude manager who cannot explain policy and did not have clear reasoning for what they are doing, then only to tell you to complain to the "company." I know there were many frustrated people. File your complaints to Dept of Transportation and at least it will be evaluated by someone not in the system: https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/file-consumer-complaint Not worth the aggravation for buying a ticket for a flight you can't even get on. Needless to say fellow passengers and I are boycotting United for life. read more

Here's my long post for the year AKA RANT: About two weeks ago, I called United Airlines and while over the phone, I arranged tickets for both my nephews (13 Y/O and 17 Y/O). United was the only airline that was non-stop and although I haven't had great experiences with them in the past, I decided to give them a chance. (INSERT BAD IDEA FAIRY HERE) I inquired on what the procedure was for unaccompanied minors and I was informed because one of them was 17, the other could travel with him and therefore, neither would be considered unaccompanied. Well, fast forward two weeks and the day of the flight... They were told they could not get on the plane without a $150 fee for the 13 Y/O being considered unaccompanied. Well, I paid the money and called customer service and guess what? I have to pay it again when they return home (so now we're up to an additional $300, plus the fee of me initially calling). Needless to say that once I had the bad experience with them, I should have never dealt with them again (which is what I usually do, but no, I gave them another chance and they have yet again, disappointed me). I have a LOT of experience with unaccompanied minors and in the 20 years that I have had to deal with the flights, this has been the first (and last) time that this will happen! read more

Nobody is traveling because of Coronavirus. I called United today spent almost 2 hours on hold. Like many folks my travel plans were forced to change. I tried to reason with several agents for a full refund. Each rep I spoke to read off of a scrip, and was exceptionally rude when I asked for a refund. When I asked for a supervisor they became rude and uncooperative, they even threatened to hang up on me because I asked to speak to a supervisor. When they finally agreed to transfer me to a supervisor they lied and just transferred me to another person who also could not help. One rep even told me that I should have bought a first class ticket, and even tried to sell me one to which they said if I was willing to buy a $3000 ticket in exchange for my my old one, I could then call back the next day and cancel and get a full refund then. United are a bunch of crooks, why would I give them more money just to turn around and try to get it back. So essentially they wanted me to let them borrow $3k for a day just to get a refund. I just can't believe that a corporation could treat their customers with such little respect. Some reps even told me that I should still fly and not to worry about the CDC travel guidelines. The bigger concern here is that United is telling people to ignore the pandemic and fly anyway, SERIOUSLY!!. It also really sounded like they were trying to scam money from me. Take my advice, fly ANY OTHER AIRLINE. These crooks will treat you like used toilet paper. read more

Has anyone else had problems with having their seats changed when they take United flights. The last few flights I have been in I have had my seat changed. Two of my friends had that happen recently and yesterday my sister and her husband had the same thing happen. read more

Horrible service 1st flight got delayed 1hr second flight got cancelled.. the ticket taker said because the crew wasn't getting along?... really?!?! Than I couldn't get another flight for 22 hrs they're just as bad as allegiant or spirit and they charge you twice is much JOKE read more

The Time Warner of the air. Hey United they have computers now. If a plane has 100 seats sell 100 tickets, simple. Checked in, went to gate and got bumped from first class to coach. I was checked in! WTF read more

Terrible customer service for such an expensive airlines!! Our flight was delayed and then cancelled because the onboard computer wouldn't work. Got on the plane pulled away from the gate and had to return. The pilot explained that it had happened 5-6 times before in the week and they never fixed the aircraft! Why did they risk people's lives after several computer malfunctions. Then after all of this they didn't offer us ticket credit or anything in TYPICAL United fashion they gave us $10 food vouchers. Chips and a drink in the airport cost $10.05?!??????!!! I have never had a good experience flying this airlines! read more

I'm on a plane that's over 80degrees right now. Sweating for 40 min cuz the are late to take off. This is horrible never fly united or mesa air lines who is operating this plane read more

Worse airline to travel with. United airline staffs don't have any manner, customer service in IAH airport. So sad

Ok. Haters be hatin', as they say. I flew across the country today and frankly I wasn't expecting much from my United flight. Yes, the plane was full, and yes there was no formal meal service, but the flight was still a good one. There was food available for purchase for those who did not buy anything in the airport and the stewardesses came around frequently to deliver beverages. I did not witness any United surliness; the crew was professional and friendly. Now here's what I want to rave about. On this airbus there was no installed entertainment system as I've come to expect on many planes nowadays. Instead, there was wifi on the plane and you could use that wifi access with the United app to access a veritable cornucopia of movies, tv shows, and music. I was really doubtful, but it worked like a charm and I was pretty happy to use my own iPad. Thanks for innovating, United! read more

In January I booked seats together from Dulles to Denver for my disabled wife and myself. On checking in we were given boarding passes for different rows. The passenger service desk was indifferent if not hostile, saying we had either to ask some other passengers to move if we wanted to sit together or "we can sell you two upgraded seats together for an additional $50." Their shoulder shrugging explanation for splitting us was "maybe the aircraft type was changed". read more

As mentioned in another airline review air travel has become a kin to being hearded to get you in a metal tube. I like united I actually fly them the most and have done so for many years mainly because they have a hub at Washington Dulles. I'd say I've had mixed experiences over the years. Last week they were on the fair side due to a delay. But you can't fly a plane without a pilot. Given recent events I feel like they've gotten better with giving passengers updates at the gate and while I was waiting for my flight they had someone stationed by an arriving flight to offer connection info which I haven't seen them provide a staff person to do this in a long time. Although some might turn away from united because of some of their public relations missteps I will probably continue to fly them because of routes offered and they're generally cheaper. I love to travel and you're going to have good experiences and some not so good especially when you've traveled as much as I have. read more

The worst airline to fly by far. The recent news just highlights United's gross money first culture that's been breeding for years. One time I booked a flight to Paris for vacation, United boarded everyone then told everyone to un-board because there was a mechanical error with one of the cargo latch. We got off and they told us to wait 2 hours... It went by and they issued another delay for 1 hour... Then finally they announced that the flight was canceled and directed everyone to like 2 counters to rebook flights. The lines were insane, waited another 2 hours to talk to the rep. They REFUSED to compensate our lost hotel night in Paris and didn't compensate for canceling our direct flight and switch to a non-direct flight the next day. After spending basically the whole day waiting at the airport we had no choice but to go home. Also they told us to leave the checked-luggage with them and they'll take care of it the next day. When I arrived at the airport the next day for my flight I asked about my checked bags and NO ONE knew anything about it. I ran around from the front check in to different United booths they keep directing me to (in different terminals too lol) and in the end THEY STILL DIDNT SEND MY CHECKED BAGS. I had to call multiple times from Paris and spoke to supremely unhelpful United employees until my parents got to the airport and coincidentally saw my bag and took it with them... Seriously never fly United if you have a choice. You'd rather pay a little extra than to fly with this incompetent airline. read more

United's 10:45pm flight to Hartford is ALWAYS LATE from IAD...not your usual delay either, but HOURS late! I have taken this flight 3 times in the last 2 months and it has never left on time...not once...I am now looking for a new travel partner to get me to and from Hartford. What a disappointment! United stopped being "friendly" years ago... they need a new tagline... because there is very little that is friendly about United. read more

I was initially booked to depart on a flight to Brazil on July 17th but due to severe weather many flights were grounded and that's when the nightmare started. We were stranded about 16hrs in the airport. Bad weather is understandable but why was there no attempt to accommodate any of us in a hotel or to somehow compensate those whose plans were totally wrecked?!?! Why were we constantly lead on by United personnel that we would be boarding our flight and be in our way if we were just patient enough? In fact we boarded and disembarked two times under the pretense of leaving but ended up only "taking a lap" on the tarmac or simply disembarking again. We all missed our connecting flights and had no idea how or if we would reach our destinations. Along with the rest of us, families with small children and senior citizens were forced to spend the night on the floor of the airport with nothing more than the equivalent of cookies and juice to hold them over indefinitely. Ample drinking water was provided though. Let's sum this part up as LACK OF CLEAR & HONEST COMMUNICATION and POOR ACCOMMODATION for customers waiting an interminable amount of time and missing flight connections. When I finally reached my destination 2 days after I was originally expected (to do community service in a fishing village), I learned that United had lost my luggage and I didn't receive it for 6/7 days. Not to worry, United (supposedly) reimburses passengers for expenses/purchases during those days, right? Apparently not so! Until today I have had no luck in getting assistance or compliance with this policy from customer service and my organization is out of hundreds of dollars. LIVE UP TO THE ASSURANCES YOU GIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS! I apologize for the lengthy post but this is apparently the only forum I have to address this in. It seems their only interest in customers is in selling you another ticket. So disgusted! read more

Well sitting at Dulles or another late flight from United 4946 to mdt in 8/15 We are waiting for a crew person that is to deadhead on this flight. So far we are 40 mins late Isn't it crazy that the customer has no recourse. And I am a 1K member. Absolutely no consideration for the passengers. How about a new rule that over an hour late that we refund 1/2 the fare. Or better. Next time the customer is running late, who do I call to get them to hold the plane for me? Put the crew member in a car and have them drive the 2 hours to mdt. Why have an entire plane wait for him? Yea United! read more

If it was possible to rate it less than 1 star, I would. I've flown various times, through various airlines and this is by far the worst. My flight was cancelled( and they did not provide any form of refund, nor did they cover my hotel arrangements since I had to wait 16 hours for the next flight)... The next morning, my flight was again, delayed for hours, and nothing was done for those waiting. Those working in customer service did not speak any other languages so they are not able to help those who can speak very little English. Rude employees and extraordinarily unhelpful. First and definitely the last time I will fly United!!! Spare yourself the head ache, DO NOT USE THIS AIRLINE. read more

Horrible customer service. Cancelled my direct flight home because they didn't plan ahead with their staffing plan. No compensation was offered, no empathy, and no apology. I was advised it "wasn't their fault" since they use a vendor. I was rebooked to an airport over 2 hours from my home airport and told to submit my receipt for the rental car and I might get reimbursed. I was supposed to make it home at 7pm and finally got home at 3am. I WILL NOT be flying United again and will pass along the information to the rest of my company that will be flying in and out of IAD this year to also not use United. read more

I have been with United as a Premiere member for 8 years now. I have been as high a 1K but never lower than Gold. Of the US carriers they are the best. I have been on all of the others and no one competes for Frequent travelers. For the 1-2 time a year flyers fly whoever as it doesn't really matter. If you fly 50K or more a year then United is the way to go. Their upgrade program is much better then Delta's and American's. Those two make it hard to go from economy to business on International flights. I have done it with ease on United. For Gold members the economy plus at booking is huge to me. I don't like the back of the plane being crammed into the standard seats. i guess that is why many of us business travelers stay with whatever airline we currently fly with. The food on the planes either international or domestic in economy is a joke. I refer to flying United as being on the United Diet. I bring food and drinks because the service is not what it used to be. The food in Business and or First is pretty good but not fulfilling. Considering what you pay to be up front it is kinda sad. but for the US carriers this is standard. Most of the major Foreign carriers serve great food in all classes of service. Flying is not fun anymore it is just point A to B for all. If you have a chance fly Luftanza or Singapore Air and see how things should be. read more

Sucks! With a smile and cheerful disposition, trained gate agents just say 'no'. Basic Economy tickets basically mean you don't sit with others in your party and no accommodation is made. Now I know why everyone offered their condolences when I naively boasted I was flying United. Oh well, we all make mistakes - but not again, I would rather take a transit bus than fly United. read more

United in Dulles is pretty low on the bar when it comes to quality of airports. Whenever you say you're flying to or from Dulles or IAD, nobody ever knows what you're talking about. I don't think that'll ever change. The thing I hate the most about this airport is the trams. Myself along with a bunch of other people missed their flights home during Christmas break because the tram took so gosh darn long. What's worse is that when we finally arrived at the correct gate, the plane was still there but since the workers weren't aware that people's flights from elsewhere were late, they didn't wait for people to arrive just a bit late (literally 5 minutes). They just closed the gates and were completely oblivious to the situation. Yikes. One thing that saves this airport from being a compete wreck of an airport is the United Club. It's a nice place to relax if you have a long layover. There is comfortable seating, endless coffee, and a variety of food. read more

I came to pick up my nephew,at Dulles Airport ,who was flying unaccompanied. My brother was told they could bring him to the main terminal, but that was not the case. I waited in line to get gate pass for 40 mins and an additional 35 minutes in security. It is ridiculous not to have a better system to meet children especially for $150. Will never use this service with this airline again. read more

Cluster F@&$ am I allowed to say that, really don't think there is any better way to describe the unorganized, poor layout and unhelpful/noncustomer friendly staff at the Dulles ticket counter. read more

Always delays. Never timely updates. Frustrated beyond belief each and every flight. Hard seats and uncomfortable flights. I could live with being uncomfortable if just once a plane left within 2 hours of scheduled departure. Not happening tonight and I can only hope my flight home does not get cancelled like last time. I have to say United makes me never want to fly again! If only there were another non stop option to my final destination! read more

I remember a time, back in the 1980s and 1990s, when I actually looked forward to being able to fly on United instead of Northwest when travelling between Asia and North America. United back then was the "classy" airline in my mind, and their flights cost a bit more in reflection of that fact. But those days are now long gone. The experience of flying has of course changed dramatically since those heady days, and now the airlines are all vying to see who can cram the most people into the least amount of space while providing them with barely enough service to keep them from actively revolting. A recent experience trying to fly from Dulles to LaGuardia is a case in point. There was a threat of thunderstorms in the DC area, so we were braced for a delay. But when, two hours after we should have boarded, they instead cancelled the flight (along with many others, presumably) they only put a total of six agents on duty at the customer service desk where ALL those passengers had to go to reschedule their flights. We thought we would be smarter than that and phone the customer service number, but they not only misled us about our new flight (telling us that we had been rebooked on a 9:50pm flight, but not mentioning that that flight was leaving TWO DAYS LATER!!), they also gave us bogus advice about what we needed to do to get our bags back so we could instead drive the four hours to NYC instead of waiting five hours for that flight (of course, we did not realise we'd actually be waiting 53 hours...) They told us we needed to wait in that customer service line to get those bags back, which took us three hours, when in fact that was not at all necessary and in fact the agent told us we were stupid to have done so. There are so many better, smaller, options for domestic flights in the US, I don't see how United manages to stay in business with such terrible service. I will certainly do my best to avoid them in the future! read more

United Airlines - I have had the worst customer experience on 4 of the last 4 flights. We had 6 of our first class seats downgraded. We had a delayed flight that led us to miss the connection. The worst part was we were told the plane was being held, so my pregnant wife and I ran across the airport only to find out the plane wasn't held...in fact they departed early. And throughout it all, the employees treated is poorly, were unapologetic and overall failed to satisfy the high level of service I demand. You lost a family of customers this week. read more

Helped by Connie Durrett. Possibly the rudest counter representative I've ever dealt with.

I am writing to express my extreme displeasure with the service and quality of our most recent trip on United, flying from Los Angeles to Washington DC. To start, I had booked three seats together so that my pregnant wife and I could fly together with our 21 month old son. We booked our trip on united.com 5 months in advance, and booked three adjoining seats. Without any email notification, United switched our seats the day before our flight, splitting us up into two different rows. While I understand plane changes happen, to not send notification of our itinerary change and leaving t to us to find out when checking in (a day early at that) is unacceptable. When we got to the airport, when we set out to ask about getting adjoining seats, we were sent back and forth multiple times between the customer service desk and gate. At each instance the representative told us we had no recourse but to ask passengers on flight to switch seats or go to united.com to file a complaint. When we got onboard, as I was already separated from my pregnant wife and child, I wanted to pay for inflight entertainment. I tried three different credit cards but was unable to activate in flight entertainment. When I asked a flight attended if they would be able to help, they said if it doesn't work there's no option. I tried to access internet via wifi, but that didn't work either. For a customer who is WILLING TO PAY for service to be denied that service with no remorse or recourse makes no sense to me. I paid for a ticket for my 21 month old, and booked our seats together well in advance to avoid any hassles and have a smooth trip, at an additional $360 expense. I was unable to use the seat for my son because in order to sit with my family I had to keep my son in my lap and abandon our seat. And if I did try sitting with my son, I would be leaving my pregnant wife alone. For a customer to pay for extra convenience well in advance of travel, and to have that convenience taken away without warning or recourse is unacceptable service. I was formerly a United silver member, but I let my membership lapse and have actively avoided United travel because of four consecutive poor experiences. The least United can do is refund my extra ticket, which was basically rendered useless through no fault of our own. To top it all off, the only way to even file this complaint is online, as no representative either on the phone, at the airport, or on the plane is even remotely interested in providing assistance. For a company trying to improve its customer service model post-merger, this seems like the opposite of what you would want for your customers. In addition, if this had only happened once, I can understand random inconvenience happening by bad luck. However, the last FOUR trips I have taken on United, spaced over two years, have involved the same degree of indifference coupled with sever inconveniences, while as a willingfully paying customer I have no power or recourse to improve my situation. Again, I feel that a full refund of my 21 month old's tickets is the least United can do to compensate my family for was had been a completely miserable flying experience. read more

My first time taking United Airlines. This was a flight from D.C to Bombay. I have not seen a plane as old a model as was. The inside of the plane was so loud, we couldn't hear the t.v. the person sitting next to us. In addition, since the majority of the passengers were of Indian origin and the stewards and air hostess of caucasian it was sad to watch them treat us with absolute disdain. The servers were up in age and tired/grouchy. I thought it was just me, till us passengers got together to talk, and realized we all the same experience! The food was awful and just thrown at us. Never fly to Asian countries...I think United Airlines have an obvious racist outlook on life...send their worst plane and staff and food that way. Thinking we are people that will have to put up with it! Will continue to write about it to get the word out. Will post pics of the food and plane soon read more

This has been the worst flying experience of my life. On my red eye last night the co-pilot didn't show. Flight canceled. After an hour wait we're re-booked to this morning at 6 am. After 2 hours of sleep we all get boarded on the new flight and the cockpit crew no-shows again and we're delayed another three hours. United clearly has no idea what they're doing. read more

It was great while it lasted. I was a loyal United Plus member, but they now require you to fly a minimum number of miles AND spend a minimum number of dollars to maintain a premium membership. Once I use up all my miles, I will chose another program read more

In the "you get what pay for" spirit ; expectations were met. This flight from IAD to DFW was $350 compared to American at almost $1k. The difference? I had to walk outside in below freezing weather and slip and slide on ICE to put my carry on onto an ice laden luggage cart. The CRJ 700 is more like a 3/4 scale jet. Too small to dock a jet bridge. Too small for overhead bin luggage and too small for average size humans. I am only 5'1 and was super cramped. Mesa Airlines operates this flight. I should have paid th extra $500 for a real plane ride. Where is the Drink Me vial Alice so I can fit on this carnival ride? read more

United does not care about their customers. Definitely not military. It's all about making $$$. Will be the last Airlines I choose in the future! read more

I wish I could give zero stars. Coming back from an international trip, United cancelled the second flight of the trip and did not email me or call me. Furthermore, they did not re-book me on a new flight. Stranded in a foreign country, my parents in America had to call United to get a new flight for me - the next day. Now, my flight going to the international country never appeared in my United account for points. They said they only way to get points/miles from the first flight is to show them my boarding pass - why would I have my boarding pass from 2 months ago still on hand? They told me the other option was to call the foreign airline they partner with to see if they could give me a copy of the boarding pass - so yes, i should spend all day on the phone with a foreign airline instead of doing my work, because United can't talk to their business partner or look me up in their system. It makes sense that I only get points/miles for a return flight and that I must be lying about flying to the country in the first place, right United? read more

It was a bad day today, united sent our luggage to los angeles but we are in washington DC.it is not fun but at least we got some vouchers for a room and dinner,but we had to ask for it.hopefully tomorrow we will forget about the ordeal if they send the luggage home.I was treated really poorly at the customer service when I asked for help to find my lost luggage. read more

United safely and efficiently got me from San Francisco to DC on an early morning flight. It was a direct or non-stop flight and they had the usual free soft drinks and snacks that you can buy during the flight. The luggage was checked in and was starting to come out by the time I got to baggage claim. read more

Not only did we discover at check in that my husband and I were inexplicably reassigned separate seats, but after my husband complained and walked away, the ticketing agent looked at another agent and they laughed at my husband! When she finally noticed me, she stopped and looked sheepish. How amazingly disrespectful!! Also, when my husband asked her who to discuss the seat swap with, she said "United"!! Duh! read more

We where waiting for a connection in Washington and the layover was six hours. The air conditioning was set to the max and it was freezing . I noticed a bunch of blankets by the customer service counter, so I kindly asked for two since I have seven years old twins. The person in charge refused to give my the blankets claiming they where for over nighters. I asked to talk to a supervisor but the answer was the same. After a heated discussion I was able to get only one blanket. The supervisor refused to give me her name and I was threatened to be called 911 on me if I would not leave the counter. I can't believe that Lufthansa who has an excellent customer service partner with this people. read more

What a miserable airline, the have delayed a flight to add 30 bags......an hour late again. UAL strikes again.......