Fook United Airlines

[Martinjmpr]

My last United story is a lot less dramatic but I'm still reluctant to book them for any kind of flights. Back in 2000 when I was still in the National Guard I did an Annual Training with a unit out of California. Flew commercial to LA and then met the unit, from there we went over to Korea for 3 weeks and then came back. Our return flight was booked on United, flying back on a Saturday as I had to be back at school and work on Monday. Well, we got to LAX around 8:00 am Saturday, only to find that our flight had been cancelled for some reason.

I asked if we were automatically rebooked on another flight and was told that no, we had to re-book ourselves. So they offered to rebook us on another flight that didn't leave until something like 7:00 that night. I said that was unacceptable, we needed to get back to Denver, and they said they could book us through Phoenix on a flight that would leave mid-afternoon. So we hung around the airport for another 4 or 5 hours, only to find that the Phoenix flight had also been cancelled and now it was impossible to get us on the 7:00 Denver flight. We ended up leaving for Phoenix around 6:00 pm, only to get to Phoenix and find that our flight there was also delayed.

When all was said and done, I think we got back into Denver around 1:00 AM on Sunday and I calculated that if we had simply cancelled our flights, rented a car and drove the ~18 hours or so it took us for this ordeal, we would have been back in Denver about the same time.

[clodhopper]

My last United story is a lot less dramatic but I'm still reluctant to book them for any kind of flights. Back in 2000 when I was still in the National Guard I did an Annual Training with a unit out of California. Flew commercial to LA and then met the unit, from there we went over to Korea for 3 weeks and then came back. Our return flight was booked on United, flying back on a Saturday as I had to be back at school and work on Monday. Well, we got to LAX around 8:00 am Saturday, only to find that our flight had been cancelled for some reason.

I asked if we were automatically rebooked on another flight and was told that no, we had to re-book ourselves. So they offered to rebook us on another flight that didn't leave until something like 7:00 that night. I said that was unacceptable, we needed to get back to Denver, and they said they could book us through Phoenix on a flight that would leave mid-afternoon. So we hung around the airport for another 4 or 5 hours, only to find that the Phoenix flight had also been cancelled and now it was impossible to get us on the 7:00 Denver flight. We ended up leaving for Phoenix around 6:00 pm, only to get to Phoenix and find that our flight there was also delayed.

When all was said and done, I think we got back into Denver around 1:00 AM on Sunday and I calculated that if we had simply cancelled our flights, rented a car and drove the ~18 hours or so it took us for this ordeal, we would have been back in Denver about the same time.

That aint so bad. Been through much worse. In my experience, most cancelled flights are not due to the airline. Sure, some are, like a flight that is nearly empty will be cancelled. But from what I have experienced, and I research each flight that is cancelled on me (why not, I am stuck in an airport with little to do anyway) and usually it is due to the local tower, the destination tower or national air control. Yep, you don't usually hear about it, so it is natural to blame the carrier.