Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

All of the gizmo's in the forward cabins of United's aircraft can't make up for their service performance. I sat down to a meal the other day with a friend who had just returned to Chicago from Asia. He was to have flown from Chicago on United to San Francisco and to then connect on another [code sharing] airline to fly on to Thailand, before going on to Japan a few days later. I've never heard such a travel horror story - and I've heard a few. Four hours before his United flight was to depart from O'Hare he received a text message advising him that his flight would be significantly delayed {this was not a weather related delay}. Since that delay would result in his missing his flight out of SFO to Thailand, he sought an earlier flight from ORD to LAX and from LAX on up to SFO. Naturally, his flight to LAX was delayed, as was his flight from LAX on up to SFO. When he got to SFO he'd missed his flight to Thailand and - naturally, his luggage {having been checked thru} whet on ahead without him to Thailand. United's staff - both in Chicago and in San Francisco, were thoroughly unhelpful {and - it would appear, rude}. He regailed me of one person who excused herself from the counter at which they'd been discussing his logistics and - when she hadn't returned after twenty minutes, he'd inquired of her whereabouts with another of United's employees only to be informed that she'd gone on break. In disgust, he booked himself into a hotel near the airport and arranged with the code-sharing carrier to fly diretly to Japan the next day {blowing of his couple of days in Thailand for R&R}. Since his luggage had gone to Thailand - he arrived in Tokyo without so much as a change of clothing. Mind you, United not only left him standing at the counter, but, they neither offered him meal and/or hotel vouchers. So, there he was in an aiport hotel - without luggage, and having been totally insulted by United. This is how they treat their international business class passangers! All of the gizmos in the world can't make up for that kind of treatment. Bear in mind that this person is a partner in a Chicago based accounting firm and, accordingly, he has a say in which airlines members of his firm travel on. He now has a lot to 'say'about United. Obviously, United has just alientated a person who they give lip service to courting business from [the frequent, front of the aircraft business traveler]. However, when the chips are down, don't count on United to get you where your're supposed to go, to facilitate any solution to the problems - of their making, and/or to be anything but rude about the whole thing. This was all relayed to me by a person who is not prone to complain and who hasn't unrealistic expectations. He did, however, expect to be flown to the destination{s} he'd paid to be flown to - both in a timely manner and with his luggage; and he got neither!
Gizmos can't fix those kinds of problems.