Note: the following came to me via email. Read with standard “hey, email forward” glasses on. I checked snopes to see if they had anything on this, they didn’t.
“REALITY” TRAVEL OPTIONS by UNITED (Not yet trademarked, but soon to show true colors!)
This is a reference to my Portland (PDX) to Buenos Aires (EZE) trip, beginning Thursday, December 4, 2008, and ending Wednesday, December 10, 2008. Recloc: WL5WQU Carrier: United Airlines Class of Service: United Business Frequent Flyer Status: Premier Executive
UA 847 left Washington DC on December 4, 2008 more than two hours late (or thereabouts), with passengers stranded on the aircraft for approximately a total of 2 hours 45 minutes, due to the boarding process commencing 45 minutes before departure (international standards).
United failed to disclose a delay was in effect until well past the scheduled departure time.
Once the captain announced the delay and quoted around 30 minutes, I decided to use the lavatory facility, unfortunately missing out on beverage service. I politely asked flight attendants chatting in the business class galley (apparently not to be disturbed) for a glass of water, and I was informed I had just missed the beverage service and there was nothing she could do about it.
I returned to my seat and remained parched, hot (cabin temp), and ignored until the flight finally pushed off the gate an hour later.
Oh wait, I wasn’t ignored entirely. The flight attendant working first class (not purser) came back to my seat in United Business to scold me for wearing jeans. I was wearing a collare d shirt and dress shoes, and don’t recall getting the memo from www.united.com that I had to be dressed in a suit, even in a premium cabin. There was a first class passenger who witnessed this event (name withheld at this time).
To top it off, not one representative of United Airlines, customer service agents, flight attendants, or pilots (and certainly no management to be found anywhere) even apologized for the lengthy delay, or for being imprisoned onboard their aircraft for a long time with nothing to drink. I wasn’t courageous enough to try the blue water in the toilet, or do I believe the sink water in the lavatory is sanitary for drinking. Who knows? Someone probably tried it.
UA flight 846, from Buenos Aires (EZE) to Washington DC (IAD), on December 9, 2008. This is where the travel experience becomes out of control!
The morning of my departure, I accessed my flight reservation (www.united.com) to inquire about a seat change. I noticed the seating capacity for my flight leaving EZE had changed from 26 seats to 32 seats in United Business. This was a clear indication that the old business class seat B767-300 was being substituted, despite United’s advertisement on their website outlining this route was the new United Business class seating configuration (http://suitedreams.united.com/, Retrieved November 26, 2008). ; The new business class seating on this route was the primary reason I opted to try United’s “NEW” international travel experience they’ve been boasting.
Additionally, I noticed when trying to change my seat online the morning of departure in EZE, that my connection from Washington DC (IAD) to Denver (DEN), flight 301, had changed from a 3-cabin seating configuration on a B767-300, to a 2-cabin seating configuration on a B757-200. This was easily recognizable on United’s website when 26 seats in a 2-aisle business class section of a widebody (B767-300) was showing a single-aisle (narrow body) first class section with 24 seats (B757-200). United claims that business class on a 3-cabin aircraft and first class on a 2-cabin aircraft are “equal” or “equivalent.”
Here’s the math that disproves their theory. Even United’s old business class seat (not lie-flat) is reported to have 55″ of pitch on a B767-300 (http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,50976,00.html, Retrieved February 12, 2009). On flight 301, from IAD to DEN, I was changed to a B757-200 (2-cabin) to “first class.” The pitch on this aircraft is reported to have 38″ (http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,1090,00.html, Retrieved February 12, 2009). I was downsized by 17″ of legroom. United makes a big deal out of regular economy seating versus economy plus seating where up to FIVE extra inches exist! United even upsells the economy plus seats by charging extra money! So, if I lost 17″ (or more, since I was supposed to be on the newly configured 3-cabin 767-300), I experienced 3+ times the LOSS of space than a customer would GAIN by paying extra money for a seat from economy to economy plus (4-5″, depending on aircraft type).
Although United publishes “…United cannot guarantee the new cabin configuration on a particular flight until all aircraft have been converted” (http://suitedreams.united.com/, Retrieved November 26, 2008), since 16/21 (76%) of United’s 3-cabin B767-300s are configured with the new business class seats (http://suitedreams.united.com/, Retrieved November 26, 2008), it’s a fairly high statistical probability I’d be riding in a seat I booked. Besides, for the exact itinerary I flew back in December 2008, United reports charging $6,793.20 (www.united.com, Retrieved February 12, 2009) for transporting passengers in these accommodations.
United is marketing international destinations with these “new” accommodations of a United Business seat and can’t deliver it, truly. “The seats now being installed in United’s new international first and business class cabins, on the other hand, lie truly, horizontally, 180° flat. These new premium cabins also offer personal 15″ widescreen video monitors, on-demand programming and, on select flights, Apple iPod® connectivity” (http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,52285,00.html?navSource=SidebarPromo&linkTitle=United%3Fs+new+International+Business+Class&pos=1&date=2009/02/12&time=24, Retrieved February 12, 2009). YEAH RIGHT! What United does not publish is that they will do whatever they want, and don’t actually care about the “specific” accommodations you booked. After all, they transported you, right? Even if they put you in the cargo compartment, you still arrived parched, starved, and LATE!!! Right?
I checked in with a customer service agent (agent ID: 156922-EZECS), believed to be a “service director” (according to her name tag) in the United Business/Premier Executive line in EZE. First, I waited to see if she would disclose there had been an equipment change/substitution leaving EZE, from the [planned] new business class seats/configuration to the old ones. Rule number 10 of United’s published “Our Customer Commitment” says, “Disclose up-to-date travel itinerary, cancellation policies, frequent flyer rules and aircraft configurations to our customers” (http://www.united.com/page/article/1,,1505,00.html?navSource=Dropdown07&linkTitle=ourcustomer, Retrieved February 12, 2009). This obviously wasn’t the case, as this was never disclosed until I inquired about the change of aircraft configuration. United’ s customer commitment has been in effect for a significant amount of time prior to me taking this trip.
Next, I asked if I would still have the same seat from IAD to DEN since I was losing my business class seat and getting a first class seat (a downgrade, as previously mentioned) on a 2-cabin B757-200. After copious attempts at explaining to the agent there was an equipment change, she (agent ID: 156922) insisted I was still on a B767-300 in business class from IAD to DEN. On United’s website, a message to their customers is as follows: “In the air and on the ground, online and on the telephone, our customers have the right to expect — to demand — respect, courtesy, fairness and honesty from the airline they have selected for travel” (http://www.united.com/page/article/1,,1505,00.html?navSource=Dropdown07&linkTitle=ourcustomer, Retrieved February 12, 2009). I hardly call this experience one rife with honesty, fairness, or respect.
I boarded UA 846 bound for IAD. I knew I’d be in old business class accommodations and dreading the fact that I’d be trapped in a flying tube for over 10 hours on a red-eye flight, unable to sleep. Had I known it was going to be the old and crappy seats, I would have spent an extra 40,000 miles from my frequent flyer account for 3-cabin United First. We all know that frequent flyer miles are nearly rendered useless20anyway, so who cares?
United restructured the Mileage Plus program, changing several rules, award amounts, and the availability of awards in October 2007. Just over a year later, January 2009, United has changed it again. United earns 1% commission from Chase for every dollar charged by cardholders. What a scam! Is United aiming to rip off as much money as they can, then turn around and never give an award to the customer? I’d like to see how much United’s liability has grown in the Mileage Plus program. A couple years ago, it was estimated at $1.339 billion (according to UA’s 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission).
So, even with 846 leaving EZE an hour late (or thereabouts), I tried to relax. This became more and more difficult as the flight went on, for a variety of reasons. First, the only thing that worked in my seat was the recline. Flight attendants acknowledged that the reading/overhead light, audio, call button (which is forbidden by [UA] flight attendants…maybe United should remove them?) and video systems (basically anything electrical) was inoperable in my seat. This was fun during dinner when all the main lights in the plane suddenly went off, trying to make passengers go “night-night.” This equates to “break time” for the flight attendants for several hours. Since I was in the middle of dinner, I had to request a flight attendant to turn at least some lights back on. It was pitch black a t my seat and I couldn’t see a thing!
Flight attendants always announce that passengers are required to use lavatories in their ticketed cabin only. I always do my best to comply with this policy/request. However, when I have to pee for over an hour because ECONOMY passengers are lined up to use the BUSINESS CLASS toilets, this rule becomes nonsense. I couldn’t hold it anymore, so I politely asked a business class flight attendant if I could quickly and discreetly use the first class lavatory. Our flight was nearly over by this point (only 45 minutes left, approximately), and the curtains separating business and first class were no longer drawn.
I was given permission to use the first class lavatory, from the business class flight attendant. After exiting the first class toilet, the first class flight attendant (NOT the purser) ran up on me like a mad person! She rudely began scolding me like Hitler on a power trip. When I explained I had been given permission, she stated, “I know, but YOU need to be aware you’re not allowed to use the first class lav, and I talked to the business class flight attendant who told you this was ok and cleared it all up.” This is rather odd because if she (first class flight attendant, non-purser) knew I had already obtained permission, why would she storm me like Napoleon? The issue should have then been between her and the business class flight attendant. Where was Napoleon and CSI spy (herself ) when the business class lavatories needed watched?
By this point, the flight accommodations and service had been so deficient and outrageously unsatisfactory, I asked the (actual) purser, not the other first class flight attendant on a power trip, to call ahead and request an Inflight and CS Supervisor meet the aircraft.
The door of the plane on UA 846 in IAD opened, where I found two supervisors by the names of Jacqueline Martin (IADSW) and Anahita Vahedi (IADCS) standing on the passenger loading bridge. Since I had both customer service and inflight issues, I felt it was appropriate to have a supervisor from each department.
Jacqueline listened to me and seemed a bit apologetic. However, I was outraged when she had the business class flight attendant apologize to me. The business class flight attendant was trying to be helpful and understanding due to unique circumstances. The (non-purser) first class flight attendant had a major attitude and the grave inability to deal professionally with passengers. She was extremely rude and condescending in her tone, and treated me like some piece of trash. THIS is the flight attendant who should have been made to apologize. Regardless of United’s policy on lavatory use, she had no right to treat me that way.
This brings me to Rule number 12 in United’s Customer Commitment, “Respond quickly, appropriately and courteously to customer questions and complaints” (http://www.united.com/page/article/1,,1505,00.html?navSource=Dropdown07&linkTitle=ourcustomer, Retrieved February 12, 2009). Neither one of these supervisors actually did anything. Jacqueline told me she would follow up on this event. It has been over two months now, and I have not heard a word from either Jacqueline Martin or Anahita Vahedi. In fact, Anahita tried to pass this entire issue off on Jacqueline and walked away from me when I was still talking on the jet bridge. How professional!
I have emailed both Jacqueline and Anahita, and made several attempts to call them, and without any success whatsoever. I have even left voice messages for them and yet still no response. Why hand me your business cards and when I make contact, you don’t respond? This is explained very easily: Neither one of these management officials planned to do anything. Handing me their business cards was an instant way to gain trust that something would resolve, thus attempting to placate the customer. Apparently, it is one of United’s new Travel Options: LIE!
And just for the record, flight 301 from IAD to DEN did change to a 2-cabin B757-200. I hope someone told the CSR in EZE this occurred. Yep, once again, one of United’s (loyal) customers knows more about their operations than an employee of more than 13 years. How pathetic!
And by the way, 5 of the 6 flights in this reservation were LATE! Check your records. United should have reimbursed me or compensated me somehow for this horrific travel experience. What a waste of 80,000 miles. At a minimum, a systemwide upgrade (customer intent to repurchase ring a bell?) or a partial mileage credit should have been given under these ridiculous circumstances.
United’s answers for dealing with this: LIE, IGNORE, LIE AGAIN, MISTREAT, ABUSE, PROMISE SOMETHING THEY CANNOT AND DO NOT DELIVER!
I will never stop circulating this email, to media sources all over the world, until someone at United takes responsibility for this and resolves matters in a fashion that is professional, reasonable, and in favor of a loyal premium passenger they outrageously disserviced.
Sincerely,
01154573301 (I’m just a number to you anyway)
