Gayle and I recently flew Business Class from Sydney to LAX. We enjoy their Polaris service of which our flight was no exception. Our issue was at United Check-In, where the Economy line opened a full half hour before ours did. It wasn't because we were in any sort of a hurry, but when you buy a premium product, I guess I expect service to match. Once we made it to the front desk, our friendly United agent couldn't quite figure out how to check our bags all the way to Reno on 2 separate tickets (long story). It's been done before, but not this time. The real work was at the LAX side where we picked up our bags at International and then took the long walk to Terminal 7 to check in again. I know - 1st World Issues. read more

Normally we have stellar service... However, my friend tried to board last night to Australia... Bag was 2 lbs over... They charged her $300.. Very annoying, see are United Polaris Customers... We were waiting for her in the lounge... read more

United Airlines - Exorbitant charges!! WTF?? - Airlines Near Me - Sydney, NSW

Every year for the last 5 years, I have traveled internationally to a new country. While I have thought about visiting Australia previously, it seemed a bit of a pipe dream considering the cost of flights and accommodations there. Typically, flights from Seattle to Australia are well over $1,000 USD. But then I read on a travel deals site about an United Airlines sale on flights to Australia. After doing some searching on flights online, I found an absolute bargain. A round trip flight from Seattle to Sydney for about $450 USD! While the itinerary had a couple 8 hour layovers in LA, I knew that I had to book this trip given the unheard of price. It was a now or never scenario. I have taken some mediocre flights previously on United, so I wasn't sure how the flight experience was going to be. I was expecting the worse since the flight to Sydney from LA is over 14 hours. I did take a trip to Chicago one month before my Australia trip on United which was encouraging. The trip started off well as the check-in process at Sea-Tac Airport was simple. My luggage was checked all the way to Sydney, so there was no need to retrieve it in LA to re-check. Note that the checked bag allowance is more generous on flights to Australia as it is 2 bags compared to 1 bag to Europe on United. My flight from Seattle to LAX was delayed, so I was glad that I had the long layover. I didn't want to miss the flight to Sydney which is the bulk of the flight travel. Several months ago, United upgraded their flights to Sydney to use the Boeing 787 (Dreamliner). Of the five airlines (American/Delta/Qantas/United/Virgin Australia) on this route, United is the only one that uses this plane currently. I have taken this plane before on my flights on ANA and my flight experience has been mixed. It could have been the planes that ANA had though as they seemed to be overly warm. On my flights to and from Sydney on United, I found the Boeing 787 to be a good plane though. The cabin pressurization of the flight was great as it didn't make my nasal passages dry like on other planes. While I didn't sleep on the plane, I did get some shut eye as the flight arrives into Sydney in the early morning. Upon arriving into Sydney, I didn't feel tired and I was actually able to get a full day of sightseeing done as a result. To make your flight more comfortable, I would store any carry-on bags in the overhead bins so you have additional space to stretch underneath your seat. You can take it out when the plane is close to landing. The in-flight experience was actually pretty good. The entertainment system has a nice selection of new release Hollywood and foreign movies. I did find the music selection to be lacking as it was a radio mix and not full albums like ANA offers. There were two meals on both trips. There was also a snack service on the return trip to LAX. The food was decent, though not on the level that I find on Asian carriers. On both flights I had a chicken meal accompanied by a salad with gelato/ice cream as a dessert. The second meal consisted of breakfast food. Beer and wine are complimentary in economy. Though the offerings are limited for beer. They only had Heineken, Budweiser and Miller Lite, so no craft beers. As for the service on the flights, I thought the flight attendants were great and very experienced at what they do. The ground crew was fine as well and I had no issues with baggage claim as I retrieved my luggage in Sydney, in LA (to re-check) and back in Seattle without incident. Overall, I thought my flights on United to and from Sydney were decent. Though I would be cautious about allowing for enough connection time at LAX. My return trip to LAX from Sydney was delayed over a hour. Given the long time to clear customs and re-check bags at LAX, 2 hours doesn't seem to be enough time to connect there. There is also the concern about flights to and from Australia being cancelled. I was lucky to avoid this as the previous day's flight back to LAX was cancelled. The flight on my return trip was as a result full because of this. I would recommend visiting Sydney (and Australia in general) as it is a great place, though you should be careful in how you plan out your itinerary if you are traveling on United through LAX. read more

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Our incident in Sydney was the first of two disastrous experiences we've had with United Airlines in the one trip. The first being a cancelled flight from SYD to JFK. The second, ORD to SFO. Both were due to mechanical issues by the airline. My friends and I were due to fly from SYD to JFK. Check in was pretty quick. At first the staff told us that our flight was delayed 2 1/2 hours due to mechanical issues. 3 hours later they told us it was cancelled for the following day. No explanation, no apologies, nothing. The following day trying to check-in was like waiting in line at The Louvre. What we suspected was the airline probably wanted to save themselves a trip, and therefore we got put on the plane the following day to "fill in" the seats. It doesn't end there though, United had difficulty putting us on a flight that scheduled us to lose only one day. The stopover in San Francisco would ultimately screw things over for us. We would either have to wait half a day in SFO, or fly to three cities just to get to New York. We had enough and emphasized that their options were not an OPTION, and ultimately they put us on an American Airlines connecting flight to get us there as scheduled the following day. I thought this airline opted to put their funds towards the maintenance of their planes at the expense of having older style interiors and lack of in-flight entertainment? To have not one - but two of our four flights cancelled because of "mechanical issues" makes you doubt where your money is actually going towards! Due to the stress United Airlines has caused, we lost a day in New York, which resulted in missing out on watching our Broadway shows. If you don't want to risk being in the same situation, I strongly suggest paying the extra money and fly with a different airlines. No amount of money can compensate for time lost... especially if you're on a strict timeline. Furthermore, the long and painful process of getting their official flight cancellation letters for insurance purposes could take up to five weeks to receive. God almighty. read more

NO STARS!!! Worst flight of my life! We specifically requested vegan food, and were not provided with a mid flight sandwich due to them not having a vegan option or a prepared one for us. Can't imagine being celiac! For our main meal we were given salad dressing that contained milk!! WHAT THE??? I haven't been on an international flight that didn't have individual screens in ten years until this trip. They didn't even have soy milk for coffee. The flight kept being delayed due to mysterious baggage issues?? Oh and because the flight would arrive before Sydney opened so we had to leave later??? They couldn't foresee that obvious conundrum??? So it took off an hour and a half after scheduled time. I WILL NEVER FLY UNITED AGAIN. read more

I flew United to LAX from Sydney. The plane took off on time, landed on time and I had no real issues with the service at all. For such a cheap flight really, I had no cause to complain. Flight home was exactly the same. Thank you United for making a cheapie alternative for those of us who don't mind bringing our own entertainment on board to keep occupied and don't expect TV's in the backs of every chair! Apart from that devil spawn that was sitting behind me that kept kicking my chair. Even after I politely asked it's mother to please make it stop a few times. 13 hours with no sleep was taxing. read more

This is the review I posted to the United facebook page. I am so angry that I felt the need to post it elsewhere as well, so here you go: The following is a conversation I had with one of your employees on Thanksgiving at the baggage claim in San Francisco Airport. I will preface this by saying that my flight from Orlando had been delayed meaning we missed our connecting flight to Vegas and were forced to spend the night in San Francisco. My sister and I had just spent half an hour dealing with your staff at the information desk, because they were being extremely unhelpful and difficult towards us. We were then sent to the baggage claim to get our bags. When we arrived there we were told that it would take 1-2 hours to get our luggage that had been at the baggage claim just 15 minutes prior. Then the following happened: Myself: This situation is so god damn ridiculous. Tiffany L: Madam, do not swear at us. It isn't our fault you are in this situation and we are trying to help you. Myself: You work for the company, and it is their fault. Tiffany L: We had absolutely nothing to do with this, we are just trying to help you. (At this point I tried to read her name tag.) Tiffany L: Yes here is my name tag. Go ahead and read it. Report me, It will do nothing! 1. Everything that Tiffany L said was YELLED at me. I admit at this point I was extremely and understandably frustrated, but she had NO RIGHT to speak to me in this manner. 2. Last time I checked, 'god damn ridiculous' is not construed as swearing where I come from. 3. We were then left to sit in the baggage claim for an hour waiting for our luggage. It was only when the staff at the desk changed over (and my sister went and asked) that we were told our bags were locked up for the night. They also then informed (us for the first time) that if we wanted to get the shuttle to our hotel we would have to run because the last shuttle left at 12 am. It was 12:05 am at that point. So the claim Tiffany L made that she was 'helping us' was completely untrue. She and her partner knew all too well that we would not get our luggage and left two young girls to sit in a deserted airport late at night. I have never been treated so disgustedly in my entire life. Your company prides itself on giving 'good customer service'. Well here is a newsflash: You don't at all!!! We had to demand to be helped every step of the way from Orlando to Vegas. You should be embarrassed and ashamed that your employees act in such a manner towards your customers! I strongly encourage anyone reading this NEVER EVER fly with United. It was the biggest mistake we made while travelling within America!! read more

My fav airlines. No, not perfect. But compared to some of the yahoo airlines, United gets the done done. Always got my butt where it needed to be. read more

United Airlines is the worst airline ever! Four days ago I had a flight from LA to San Francisco and then to Sydney, however when I was already on the plane (to go to San Francisco) someone told me there was a 1:40 (one hour and fourth mins) delayed so I was not going to make it to San Francisco and then to Sydney. Then they gave me two options: 1. Stay in LA for two days and wait for another flight with the same route but they won't pay anything, Hotel, Food or transportation (which is ridiculous since they have to do it) or 2. take the next flight straight to Melbourne and there take another flight (with and Australian company, Quantas) to Sydney. Since they didn't offer to pay my stay in LA I didn't have any other alternative that take the second option. When I made it to Sydney I went to Meinzies Aviation to report that my luggage didn't come in our flight so they told us they were going to get some information about it and let us know when we could go and pick it up, this was four days ago. Since then I have been calling to United Airlines to see what's going on but they only answer I have gotten from them is that they are not responsible for my luggage and that the only information I can get from them is that my luggage is still in San Francisco. So my question is: How come United Airlines can wash their hands like that when their flight was delayed and when they changed the route of my trip!! They should be the only responsible about it even more when my luggage is still in United States, in San Francisco. This is so ridiculous and frustrating. I would never ever again flight with this company and I would never recommend it to anybody! The worst costumer service and they don't give any answer to anything, they don't try to help me at all. Also I would report them in Ripoff report and would let everybody know how this company plays with their costumers. read more