June 27, 2006

United Airlines Sucks (redux) - updated

DES MOINES, Iowa--I can't believe it happened again.

I get to the airport here, albeit a little late, but I got there and the only line at the ticket counter was at the United counter.

Continental? Nope. Northwest? Nope. Delta? Nope. United...yup!

So, I find out that my flight is delayed for whatever reason, which will delay my flight to Chicago and cause a missed connection to Columbia. Fine, that's cool. Those things happen sometimes. Anyone can deal with that. Luckily again, my mom is in Chicago visiting and could've picked me up at O'Hare. But I wasn't about to make her fight rush hour traffic only to have to deliver me back during morning rush hour. Not cool.

So, I decided to stay another night and get the first flight out Tuesday morning. Makes sense, no? Call the sister: "Can you pick me up?" Flight booked and all good (or so I thought).

Early flight means wake-up at four ay-em, and at the airport at five ay-em! So, to speed things up, just before midnight, I go down to the computer (read: slow-ass PC) with the printer to check into my flight and print my boarding cards. Smart, right? I thought so, too.

Not so fast, says United Airlines. Trying to bring up the easy check-in screen tells me that I'm booked on a flight in the afternoon due to a cancellation or something. Well, that's odd, I think. A call to the customer service number on the screen finds out for me that my rebooked flight was cancelled.

No phone call. No e-mail. No anything to let me know that my shit was cancelled!

If I hadn't tried to check in tonight, I'd have been at the airport with my shit wondering where the hell the plane was and why no one contacted me. The resolution is a flight that leaves here at 1 p.m. and arrives in Columbia--well, scheduled to arrive--just after 7 p.m.

My personal resolution? I'm never, ever, flying United Airlines again. Unless I absolutely have to and/or have no other alternative or it makes absolutely no sense to fly any other airline, I'm never spending another red dime on that amazingly screwed up airline, and I urge you--whoever you are--to do the same.

Addendum:

CHICAGO--The plane would be boarding from game C3 here at O'Hare in about 12 minutes. But, true to form for United Airlines, my flight is delayed for the second time in as many days. So, here I sit until about 6 p.m. to board my flight.

Crew delays, they say, is what stopped things up this time. The crew is coming in on another flight and it's delayed about two hours. How lovely.

For your own sake, and the sake of your schedule, heed my advice three paragraphs ago. Don't fly United Airlines. Ever.

- Rich