I usually always fly Delta or Virgin America due to the many positive experiences I've had. This Holiday I chose to fly directly into my hometown of Albany, NY instead of my usual affair of flying in and out of New York City. United turned out to be the best choice economically. The reasons why were unfortunately made very apparent. The following is a recap of my experience.
I was due to fly out the night of Saturday the 26th. First Class, nice and cozy. While sitting at the airport bar passengers were informed that the flight would be delayed by a couple hours. I was going to miss my connecting flight. There was a single representative working the booth, so I stood for about two hours before finally being able to get some assistance. By this time the flight had been completely cancelled as it had been rerouted due to mechanical issues. The rep rebooked me on a Delta flight the following morning at 6:15 and said he was able to maintain my First Class. Early, but I wanted to get back. Headed home and got a few hours of sleep.
The following morning my poor exhausted parents hauled me back to the airport. Upon arrival at the Delta counter I was informed that the United rep didn't properly book the flight, and on top of that it was for Economy, not first like he had said. The gentleman at the Delta booth went over to the United counter TWICE to inquire, and both times they sent him back saying it was fixed. It wasn't and by this time I missed the flight, AGAIN thanks to United.
Back to the United counter! The representative was rude and inattentive. Her co-worker kept giving her suggestions for flights that would have landed me back fairly early, but she insisted on doing her own thing, which took about an hour. She actually booked me on a flight for the next day by mistake, and by the time she was done messing around I had missed many other opportunities. My ONLY option at this point was now flights zig-zagging over 4 states across the country with two separate airlines for a total of 16 hours of travel time. After my second flight, I would actually be closer to my origin and further from my destination than I was after my first. Throughout the process the Delta rep John actually came over numerous times to check on me. It was the only positive part of my morning (+1 Delta).
I promptly called to complain and was directed to two different websites: One to request a refund and another to request "compensation". The compensation request site didn't work (of course) so I E-Mailed my complaint to United. I received an E-Mail back from Mary at United offering me condolences and a $200 credit for United. As if I'd ever even think about flying with the airline again? That simply would not do. The only thing making this right was a refund of my ticket costs. Another E-mail back saying that was unfortunately not going to happen.
OK, so let's put this into perspective:
United is offering me $200 to make amends for this issue. Setting aside the immense amount of stress the airline caused my family and I, the extreme discomfort, etc. We'll also subtract $25 from that due to the fact that I had to pay another airline to check my bag, which I would not have had to do because I was supposed to be flying first class. So $175 is really what they are giving me. Considering time alone (not the emotional distress), I arrived in LA 19 hours after I was originally supposed to. That basically says that United thinks my time is worth ($175/19 hours) $9.21/hour.
Delta (whom United booked me through), on the last leg of my trip, was offering people an $800 credit to delay to the next morning, a 14.5 hour delay. You can then equate that to ($800/14.5 hours) $55.17/hour (+2 Delta). Basically, what United Airlines is telling me is that other airlines value their customers 6x more than they do? Makes perfect sense, and I easily believe that at this point.
My latest E-mail from Mary states that the $200 is not "compensation" (yet ANOTHER discrepancy by United employees) but an effort to give me the opportunity to experience United in a better light. Doing what, flying from LA to San Diego? Where is $200 supposed to get me?! I asked for the case to be escalated and according to Mary this case is already considered escalated, aka she refuses to let me talk to someone else.
I continue to deal with United in hopes that someone can make this right, but the moral is: don't ever fly with United Airlines. After all this I will never, EVER, be straying from my usual airline choices. Delta proved to me again that they are great, even when I'm flying with them through another airline. United, you should be ashamed. Your lackluster employees, mistakes, and awful customer service are so atrocious that I don't know how you remain in business.