United Airlines makes it very hard to file a complaint

Date: 3 August 2013
Airline: United Airlines
Location: Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)
Flight: 3740

I would like to be compensated for the cost of a car rental. The airline cancelled our flight due to crew issues & I was re-routed 2-hours away from my desired destination (home). I was told to go on line to get a form to file out by the airline--United. This is the only form I was able to access on-line. Please advise if there is another form that I should fill out. - Richard

Note from AirSafe.com
We checked out the United site to find their passenger complaint resources, and after an extensive search we did not find anything that looked like either an online or downloadable complaint form. We did, however, easily find a number of resources that described United's rules like the airline's 46-page contract of carriage by using the site's internal search engine.

Using Google's search engine, the closes things we found to a passenger complaint form was a property claim form for lost or delayed baggage, and a a generic form for customer feedback, but nothing that looked remotely like a comprehensive customer complaint form.

What's going on here
Our guess is that United wants to make it hard for customers to complain. If you have a complaint about United's service, we suggest that you take matters into your own hands by writing up your complaint and sending it to any United office that would accept your email or mailed in form. We also suggest forwarding your complaint to the US Department of Transportation, and to any other place that you think is appropriate.

We suggest that you visit AirSafe.com's complaint resources page at complain.airsafe.com for suggestions on how to file a complaint. You may also want to download the AirSafe.com Complaint Guide, which provides airline passengers with insights on how to effectively complain to their airline.

Request for hot water leads to a cold shoulder

Date: 13 July 2013
Airline: United Airlines
Location: San Francisco, CA
Flight: UA1268 (San Francisco, CA to Houston, TX)

The worst in flight service 2 women (1 African older lady & 1 American older lady that work in the Economy class). The flight UA1268 Departed July 13, 2013 @ 10:41am going to Houston, TX , I'm sitting in the Economy class during the flight.

I went in the back to ask if I could have some hot water for my Cup Noodles, she turn around and gave me a face that look like don't bother me and didn't like to give me my hot water. I was so surprised, so I walk back to my seat. I try to see if I could see her name tag but she didn't have a name tag, she only had her badge but the badge was facing inward, so I couldn't see her name. So I told my family what had happen, so my brother went up with his cup noodles and ask if he could have some hot water to the African lady she also gave him a face like she didn't like giving us hot water. We all feel very sad that these two ladies didn't like their job and the services they both gave us were BAD and they both don't even smile. I hope they will improve their services in the future.

Poor coordination between United Airlines and Amtrack

Date: 24 June 2013
Location: Philadelphia, PA (train station)
Airline: United
Flight: UA6661/UA675

My wife and myself,[names redacted], had a pathetic experience traveling from Philadelphia to Seattle on June 24, 2013 on United Airlines. Ref confirmation code [redacted]. It was Flt # UA6661 from ZFW to EWR (train service) and then Flt # 675 from EWR to SEA. We booked through Expedia (Itinerary #[redacted]) and the reason we chose this option was that we were traveling with bags and it seemed very convenient to check in at Philadelphia train station.

With a Flt no. for the train service and indicating franchise operated subsidiary, this expectation seemed very much in line with norms of reason. It turned out at the time of travel that there was no United check in or flight no. at the Philadephia Amtrak train station. We had to carry our luggage (three check in bags) through train stations all the was to Terminal 3 at EWR.

Because of the check in bags we hired a porter service at Philadelphia train station and it turned out to be a saving grace because nowhere on the Amtrak flight system was UA 6661 displayed, which train service we were looking for, and it was because of the porter that we got to the right train. At the time of booking the way the whole thing was presented is tantamount to giving wrong information to the customer.

Had it been mentioned that our flight was from EWR to SEA and we had an Amtrak train connection from Philadelphia Amtrak station to EWR, we would not have opted for this United option and selected a suitable flight option from Philadelphia to Seattle on any airline.

United not honoring Continental refunds

Date: 4 February 2012
Airline: Continental, flight 839
Location: United Customer Service

I spoke with my case manager Lida [redacted] who had authorised my refund from LA to Melbourne Australia for flight 839 on the 4th of February 2012, eticket [redacted] Confirmation Number [redacted] plus a further 30,000 points as a gesture of goodwill onto my Mileage Plus card.

Final confirmation was early April 2012 and I was advised all had been approved and the follow up for the refund would now be passed onto a different dept and that if I had any problems I could get back to Lida at her email address.

I had not heard anything further about my refund and attempted to email Lida but the email came back as this email address no longer accepts inbound messages due to technical changes to Continental Airlines changeover. I have tried to contact Lida on numerous emails address but all come back undeliverable.

I have filled in refund forms online numerous times but still no one contacts me. I have filed complaints on United website and I have yet to have any reply back. I filled out the status form online to check the status of my refund and it advised me to ring 1-800-WECARE2 and I wait on hold from Australia and when I finally get through the representative can't assist me or puts me on hold and I wait again and often times the calls drops out.

I am at my wits end trying to get a response from a United refund representative as this has been going on for months but just can't get through to anyone who can assist me. That is why I am now putting in a complaint with your organisation hoping you may be able to advise me where do I go from here or who i should be contacting.

- Marita

United and US Airways Ruins Wedding trip to Puerto Rico

Part 1 - Outbound Flights

Date: 29 December 2011
Airline: US Airways, flight 706
Location: San Francisco, CA to San, Juan, PR

Written on 2/1/2012 to the airline: On December 29th, my fiance and I were en route to our wedding in Puerto Rico via United Airlines, where he is a longstanding Premiere member. He surprised me with first class tickets and we were so excited to depart. After hours on the tarmac, they finally offloaded and cancelled the flight to to a computer glitch/ mechanical issues.

The stewards were really nice but had no information; the booking agent at the counter was very rude and pushy - she refused to walk me through multiple booking options and instead, tried to force us to take a red eye to Puerto Rico, leaving SF late at night. Finally, we were able to rebook with an agent on the phone who was helpful.

We were routed through Philadelphia, where we had to spend the night. We were given a very dingy room ar Four Points and two lame $10 meal vouchers that weren't even worth appetizers. This was not how we envisioned the beginning of our wedding trip. On top of this frustrating experience, we missed our first night in Puerto Rico at the Sheraton in Old San Juan, where we had booked with saved points for the occasion that have yet to be refunded. Overall, and despite nicely voicing our frustrations, the United agents we encountered failed to understand the unique circumstances of our trip-- which we had been planning and saving for since 2010.

We are disappointed with our United experience and hope that your customer relations personnel are able to address and respond to our concerns. As always, it is important to give both people and companies second chances, as long as we communicate our frustrations. However, this traveling experience was intolerable and without the appropriate response, I will hesitate to fly United again.

Part 2 - Return Flights

Date: 9 January 2012
Flight: US Airways, operated by United flights 700 and 975
Location: San, Juan, PR to San Francisco, CA

On January 9th, 2012, my husband and I returned from our wedding in Puerto Rico via US Airways, where he surprised me with First Class tickets. Our flight to Washington, DC was just fine, but after four hours of delays for our flight from DC to San Francisco (including hours in the terminal and on the plane and de-icing), our flight was cancelled due to mechanical issues.

A Premiere representative was able to help us re-book for a later flight the same day to San Francisco; however, the flights were not first class. She took our email addresses and old boarding passes and promised to arrange for first class vouchers for future flights. We have not heard from her since. We have tried calling and emailing through your online system. After two weeks, we still have heard no response and are feeling very frustrated. How do we resolve this issue and receive either monetary compensation or vouchers for our downgrade to the main cabin?

Our flight home was a miserable experience. After hours of traveling and exhaustion, our stewardess was horrible. She refused to give me a bottle of water, and I was at the onset of a panic attack. Luckily, an Air Force paramedic sitting next to me was able to help and my husband was able to get my medicine, but I spent a good portion of the flight in tears. The stewardess was very rude, until she realized what was going on- still, she didn't need to behave that way to begin with.

Upon arrival in SF, all of our luggage was lost. We were told it would arrive the following day on the next flight to San Francisco from DC. It did not. We got three out of four bags two days later and the fourth bag arrived 5 days later. The process for contacting US Airways about our bags was arduous, to say the least and extremely frustrating. It required hours of follow-up on our part. Overall, our experience on the second leg of our trip was horrible. We are looking forward to hearing your response to this situation.

I hope that US Airways Customer Service is able to appropriately address these multiple issues. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Bag with wedding clothes arrives after epic journey

Date: 3 May 2012
Airline: United, flight 6179H
Location: Chicago, IL; Albany, NY; and Wilkes-Barre, PA

Although traveling with United in the past has generally been a reasonably smooth experience, I would like to report that my most recent travel experience was borderline disastrous due to a number of incidents demonstrating incompetence, rudeness, and total disregard for customer satisfaction.

The Four-hour Delay
My wife and I were scheduled to fly from Chicago (ORD) landing in Wilkes-Barre (AVP) on May 3, 7:16 PM, flight UA 6179H. The weather was causing some delays on various planes that night, with many of them being cancelled. Although delays are understandable, the manner in which this was handled was unacceptable. At one point, a frustrated gate attendant began audibly cursing and slamming his phone around, clearly causing an uncomfortable atmosphere to people already on edge from constant 15 minute delays totaling over 4 hours. Despite many flights being cancelled due to plane damage, ours was thankfully not, and nearly 5 hours later we boarded our plane.

After sitting on the plane for about 30 minutes, our pilot informed us that the flight was canceled, because the flight would mean him working over 16 hours. We then waited almost 40 minutes to get off the plane, since there was no gate available for us to return to. This is completely unacceptable, because a very basic calculation would have prevented us from wasting several hours of our time boarding a plane that could have never possibly taken off—United should have been able to calculate hours before that the flight could not occur due to the pilot being unable to work longer.

We were then shuffled off to a customer service area where an airline employee was rudely yelling and acting impatient with understandably outraged customers, as if she was annoyed that she had to perform her duties. Eventually we were seen by a representative.

A Key Checked Bag Gets Lost
Now, my wife and I were traveling to Wilkes-Barre where we would spend the night with my family and drive to Schenectady NY together the next morning. The next flight to Wilkes-Barre was too late the next day such that our family would not be there to pick us up, as there was a very important wedding rehearsal dinner occurring at 6:00 PM in Schenectady. In order for us to attend this dinner, we needed to change our flight destination to Albany, NY. After some debate with a United representative who was saying we’d have to pay for the new flight despite our original one being cancelled (which he comically denied ever happened, even though the room was full of people from the same cancelled flight!), we were finally transferred to a new flight to Albany, flight UA5905, departing March 4th at 7:49 AM.

Before leaving the airport to try to get a little sleep, we were told that our luggage (one bag) was not automatically transferred for us and that we’d need to go to United baggage services to ensure that it was transferred. The lady there looked at our boarding passes and said that they were already transferred, which is of course impossible considering what we had just been told. We asked her to make sure, and she did something on her computer and then assured us that it was done.

More Delays the Next Day
After returning to the airport the next morning and reaching our gate, we once again were informed that our plane to Albany was delayed. Except this time, the delay was handled with extreme unprofessionalism. We were moved to a number of different gates over and over. At one point, we were told to go to another gate because our plane was there waiting for us. It was not waiting for us, meaning we were blatantly lied to by a United representative.

At another time, we were told it was ‘on its way from the hanger’, and then told an hour later that it was still sitting at the hanger. We received completely different stories depending on who we asked. Eventually, we learned that the reason our plane hadn’t arrived at the gate, almost four hours later, is because there was no personnel to taxi the plane from the hanger to the gate. Our pilot had been sitting at the gate for over an hour at this point, and he was then summoned to be driven over to the hanger so he could taxi the plane himself. Note that if communication wasn’t so terrible, this could have been done at least an hour before.

Moments before boarding the plane, I spoke directly with the person loading the bags onto the plane. Skeptical that my bag was properly transferred, I had him take a look at my baggage claim ticket, asking him if he could please verify that my luggage was loaded onto the plane. After consulting with another man, inputting some numbers, and then scanning my baggage claim ticket, he assured us that the bag was on the plane.

United Unsure of Bag Location
We arrived in Albany shortly after, but our baggage did not. It was now 2:45 PM, meaning we’d have to go to a rehearsal dinner without the clothing in our baggage. A man at United baggage services in Albany filed a report (Reference [redacted]), and was unable to locate where our bag actually was, although he suspected it was still in Chicago since it wasn’t in Albany and wasn’t in Wilkes-Barre. Luckily there was another flight to Albany that evening, since we had a wedding the next day at 4PM, and desperately needed our clothing (suits, dresses, toiletries, medication, etc.).

I spent a great deal of that afternoon and evening speaking with various representatives from the provided hotline, 1-800-355-2247, making sure that the bags would indeed be sent on the next flight to Albany, where we could pick it up that evening as to be prepared for the wedding the next day. Some of these representatives were confused about the current location of the bag, insisting that it was in Albany since it was scanned onto the Albany flight (I suspect this is because the aforementioned bag loader scanned my claim ticket). After insisting that no, the bag was not in Albany, I received yet more reassurance that the bag would be sent out on the next flight to Albany.

The Bag Shows Up in the Wrong City
That evening, I called the hotline again to check on the status of the bag, since by about that time it should have been en route to Albany, and would have been scanned. The representative said that yes, it had been scanned, but to Wilkes-Barre! So, after spending hours on the phone with baggage services, it’s as if everything I had requested had been completely ignored. At this point, my wife and I were very worried that we’re not going to receive our baggage in time for the wedding. Although there was a flight from Wilkes-Barre to Albany the next morning, my confidence in the ability of United to properly execute any request has been demolished. Regardless, I asked them to do this, which of course they assured me would be done.

United Customer Service Continues to Fall Short
Note that the calls themselves also demonstrated extreme unprofessionalism on the part of United. On at least one occasion I was told I would be called back by a supervisor, only to never be called. On others, I was put on hold for 20 minutes while a representative tried to answer a very simple question. Asking for a supervisor was a huge ordeal, as the representative I spoke to completely ignored my request and tried to solve my problem herself, despite the fact that several had failed before her. At no point was there any respect for the urgency of the situation, nor were there ever any options for me to escalate the problem to someone with more power or knowledge.

Another Company Saves the Day
The morning of the wedding, I received a call—not from United, but from ‘Best Value Passenger Services’ at the Wilkes-Barre airport (AVP). So, United failed to act on my request yet again, and my bag was a three-hour drive away with no more flights available before the wedding. However, I was relieved, because finally my bag was in the hands of somebody that wasn’t United Airlines. And thanks to them, we were able to receive our bag about an hour before the wedding, because an employee of theirs delivered our bag directly to us, a 3 hour drive away.

Overall, my wife and I are extremely disappointed in the quality of service we received from United. Our trip was certainly marred and came very close to being completely ruined. At no point during the entire support process were we ever offered any compensation. We do believe we should be compensated for the flight and baggage charges and look forward to hearing what United can offer us.

-Eric

United could not coordinate between their own flights

Date: 17 March 2012
Airline: United, flight 727
Location: San Francisco

At San Francisco airport our flight did not board until 1:10 pm (our scheduled departure time was 12:47 pm). We were told in advance that there was some issues with the landing strip and we would be delayed. After boarding late, the plane did not take off for at least another hour.

During the duration of our flight many of us passengers were concerned about our connecting flights. We were told countless times that our flights would be notified of the delay because it was not our fault. When we landed which was no earlier then 9:46 pm we still had to leave the plane and travel across the airport to our next gate, by 9:55 pm.

The flight attendants told all passengers with connecting flights to see the woman at the desk and she would explain to us what we needed to do. When we got to the counter, the woman had no information to our flight to HPX (Fort Campbell, KY), instead she proceeded to help all other customers before looking up in the computer.

Once we had the gate and ran as fast as we could to it, the flight had already left. We got in line to speak with United representatives who were very unhelpful. All they could tell us was that there were no hotels in the area for us, and if we could find one United was NOT going to pay for the cost of it. We were also told that if we wanted food we had to go to another section of the airport, come to find out ALL of the food places are closed.

Not only have I been on an airplane for the majority of the day, but now I will be in an airport for the night. This delay is causing everyone in my party to miss work, a huge inconvenience. We have no where to eat, no where to sleep. No customer service rep will be of help to us. Not one person that is associated to United Airlines has any concern for us 7 passengers that missed our flight to HPX and the rest of the passengers from our flight, who missed their other flights have not been helped either.

I want to make it clear that I will not stop making complaints until I have been taken care of accordingly.

-Emily

Offshore telephone customer service agent can't understand a customer

Date: 27 March 2012
Flight: United, flight UA1010
Location: Newark

Original Message
To whom it may concern,

I have been using Continental Airlines for most of my adult life (living in NJ near your Newark Hub), and never have I encountered such problems as last night!

It began when my company asked me to book a flight to Florida for an emergency client meeting schedule in 2 days. My wife booked the tickets as she normally does, but this trip we would also be celebrating our 42nd wedding anniversary, so she would accompany me. As per normal, we checked in 24 hours before flight time to try and upgrade our economy seats to first class…special trip.

When I tried to do that, the "system" said I wasn't yet ticketed, so 1st class options weren't available to me (6 seats were available).
Frustrated by that I tried to refresh the screen repeatedly figuring the system has my money, the bank verified the $929.20 plus a $1.00 charge had been withdrawn so it must need to "catch up".

After several attempts, still no ticket, although the "system" allowed me to change my seats from row 40 to row 22, it still said I wasn't ticketed…strange.

I tried the "chat" but that didn't address this problem and kept trying to direct me elsewhere…automated mischief. Ironically, I work the "Chat line" for our ClipTraining company, real people chatting with clients imagine that, no automated mischief!

After wasting precious "upgrade opportunity" (now only 3 seats available in 1st class) I decided to "go live" what a mistake that was. The auto attendant told me my wait would be 30 minutes, 2 hours later a totally inept person who must not have ever booked a ticket herself tried to help me, but after repeatedly having to "speak with a supervisor" she failed miserably to resolve the issue.

In total frustration I requested she just let me speak with the "Supervisor" myself and cut out the "middle man" (woman).

"Marian" (really?) was equally inept and then as she is actually re-assuring me my debit card would not be "charged a 2nd time" despite my suspicions, it happens! My wife was on the banking site trying to prove the money had been taken out of our account and she sees another $929.20 taken! Now the Airline is "holding $1858.40" of my money and still I have not been ticketed!

I'm not prejudiced, but I really don't think the Pilipino Call center works very well I really think it would be worth it to allow problem calls to be escalated to an American call center where there is a shot these people have actually booked a ticket on a major airline and have some clue as to dealing with customers.

At this point, I don't know if I am flying out to Florida today to make my Business meeting tomorrow, but suffice it to say I'm not a fan of the merger with United if this is a sample of the new and "improved company.

I hope my experience proves helpful in rectifying some of these problems for your future customers, of which I may not be…

Regards,

John xxx

United Responds

Dear Mr. xxx;

Thank you for writing us. I'm sorry that you received poor service from our Reservations Department.  It shouldn't matter where your call is handled; the service should still be the same.  I regret it was difficult for you to understand our agent which led to your frustrating experience.

Our offshore representatives receive thorough testing for both proficiency and understanding of the English language.  After passing the proficiency test they are given the same training as our U.S. based agents.  Our calls are monitored for quality assurance and agents receive regular training and coaching to ensure that the best service is offered.

I have forwarded your comments regarding the issues you also had getting your reservation ticketed. Since our completed merger in early March, we are working to get all glitches addressed and working correctly. Your comments will tell us where we still need to improve. We appreciate your business.

Regards,

Jackie xxx
Customer Care

The Customer Responds to the Response

Dear Jackie,

We actually did have a ticket, although your system didn't acknowledge it until it was too late for me to upgrade. I did make my meeting, thank you for your concern ... but,

You seem to misunderstand, on so many levels…you have a serious problem here ... are you based in the Philippines' also?

The point is…it does matter where the call is handled, if it's not handled properly and you can trace that to a location… especially when the perception is the service is never the same as in the US.

The other misunderstanding you have is, it wasn't hard for me to understand your Philippines based agent (I have a number of Philippine friends) it was impossible for them to understand me, that's why I suspect you are also in the Philippines', their misunderstanding and ineptitude was so much so that they didn't even know they were charging my credit card a 2nd time, while I was watching it happen.

This is not a new problem and I more than most understand the economics behind the company decision to "off shore" these issues. I just think you drop the ball here in not recognizing the need to have a better escalation plan, when your agents are having a problem send it back to the States with an apology and try to fix the problem with someone who really understands.

Another part of their ignorance was clearly shown when they attempted to blame someone else for charging my account the 2nd time…they have the sheer idiocy to say, "maybe it was someone else charging my card" for the exact amount and "they" somehow convinced my bank to list it as United Airlines again!

You have these sessions recorded "for training purposes" you should "go back to the tapes" and let some American call center people advise you of the failures here, because you apparently still don't get it!

As I was at the airport explaining my dilemma to the American woman at the counter, Jennifer was very helpful at straightening things out and getting us our tickets. She did mention her concern as did others we spoke with that the merger has caused many similar difficulties and there have been many problems not getting worked out properly…I would advise you,

Let the Continental Staff work it out…it seems the United Staff are not up to the job!

Not happy with your lack of concern for the demise of a once great airline like Continental.

- John





Follow us @ Facebook | Twitter | YouTube


From: Customerrelations@united.com [mailto:customerrelations@united.com]
Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2012 1:46 PM
To: John xxx
Subject: United Airlines Case ID xxx


Dear Mr. Duggan;

Thank you for writing us. I'm sorry that you received poor service from our Reservations Department.  It shouldn't matter where your call is handled; the service should still be the same.  I regret it was difficult for you to understand our agent which led to your frustrating experience.

Our offshore representatives receive thorough testing for both proficiency and understanding of the English language.  After passing the proficiency test they are given the same training as our U.S. based agents.  Our calls are monitored for quality assurance and agents receive regular training and coaching to ensure that the best service is offered.

I have forwarded your comments regarding the issues you also had getting your reservation ticketed. Since our completed merger in early March, we are working to get all glitches addressed and working correctly. Your comments will tell us where we still need to improve. We appreciate your business.

Regards,

Jackie Monroe
Customer Care

Another customer service failure from merger of United and Continental

Letter sent to United CEO Jeff Smisek

Flight scheduled for 5 July 2012

I want to register a complaint about recent arrangements on United for a trip to Maui on July 5, 2012. I have been a loyal United customer for many years, flying domestic and international routes many times. Over the years I have been frustrated by frequent schedule and seating changes. Once again this has raised its ugly head!

You will see that I have flights scheduled through September of this year. I have Multiple Sclerosis and the wife has had recent knee replacement surgery. We always book a bulkhead for our comfort, in Economy Plus. We used to fly Business Class, but the cost is now completely ridiculous.
At any rate, we booked six tickets to Maui. All Economy Plus seats. I held Elite Status at the time I booked this flight. I am not sure what level my status is now as I have not received a new Mileage Plus care since January 2010.

(passenger describes how the current booking arrangement separates family members, including a child)

I spent hours on the phone, mostly waiting to talk to a live person, but to no avail. I was finally transferred to an offshore facility in the Philippines. I talked to two nice ladies, one a supervisor neither who could resolve this issue. I was told by the first CSR named Leri, that customer relations could not call me back. Does the phone only work one way? The supervisor I spoke with said she (Mejia V02873) would have Customer Relations call me on Monday, April 16. Never got the call.

I booked Economy Plus seats, sitting together with my wife daughter and her family. What are you going to do about this? I understand the complexity of merging two airlines. Perhaps this is a result of putting a Continental Airframe on this flight. I had a contract with you and you have not honored it. I pray your organization does not screw up my travel arrangements in September.

United Delays Ruin Family Holiday

Letter Sent to United Airlines

Dear Senior Management,

It saddens me greatly to have to write in this manner, however it is absolutely necessary to express our families horrific firsthand experience of using United Airlines Services, converse from the United Airlines ‘Customer Commitment’ boasted online. Normally all our long haul flights are through British Airways and the experience has always been close to perfect as possible. Under the reviews we read on the website we decided this year to try United Airlines, how wrong we were.

Namely our complaint is pertaining to the failed departure of flight UA935Y, which was scheduled to depart on 31st March 2012 from London Heathrow Terminal 1 at 10.25am GMT, and to say an inconvenience was suffered is a mass understatement.

After much careful financial budgeting and planning over the course of 2011, we finally booked our holiday in September 2011, to fly us out in March 2012 to Hawaii from England. The United Airlines role was absolutely simple yet fundamental to the fulfilment of our holiday, to get us to Los Angeles where we would get our transfer to Honolulu, Hawaii to commence our much anticipated holiday.

The holiday was to celebrate a much eagerly awaited 30th birthday along with a work promotion. Both of us had to overcome difficulties at work in order to synchronise the Easter Holiday 2012 period off, with multiple employers, including schools.

To give you a bit of background and how the events unfolded on 31st March 2012:

We all put our pets into care, in readiness for the holidays the day before, (cost of £350). We set off at 5.25am, arrived promptly at Heathrow Airport via Taxi’s at 7.25am at a cost of £160 single journey, (£320 return taxi fare). We all checked in our luggage and had breakfast in the departures lounge (at a cost of £40).

At 10.25am an announcement was made that our flight had been cancelled due to blade damage and to report to the boarding gate. The attendant gave us a sheet with a telephone number to ring for further information, we did and were put on hold for 45 minutes. The earliest we could fly out now was 3rd April 2012.

Following this phone call, we were told we would now be taken to a hotel to stay overnight, and flown out at 2.30pm on 1st April 2012. However as a result of United Airlines failure to depart, we would miss our transfer from Los Angeles to Honolulu, Hawaii.

The next transfer offered to us was on 3rd April from Los Angeles.
If we even considered this extenuated option, we would effectively lose a third of our holiday time not to mention the further stress and stay in hotel at Los Angeles for a night. We had paid £2349 for our holiday. After ringing our hotel in Hawaii we where told if we did not check in on the 31st March 2012 as initially booked, we would lose our money we paid for our accommodation and have to re-pay $129 per night, due to us booking at the non flexible rate.

This was far too late and simply not practical and we didn’t have consent from work for any extension of holidays, which we had booked nearly 6 months in advance in order to synchronise.

We asked for routing to Washington or San Francisco however this was declined by United Airlines. What was even more frustrating was there was so many aircraft idle at the airport from Star Alliance we were not seen as priority for these.

Subsequently, we were forced to cancel our holiday, going on holiday is meant to be a time of enjoyment and throughout our many years of travelling we have never experienced such a stressful time. We are incredulous and still in a state of shock of what happened to our planned celebrations and can only find United Airlines at fault.

I am unable to regain the lost holiday allowance from work, I have no more allowance as a result left available for 2012 and any time off would have to be unpaid by my employer.

The cost of re-booking a similar holiday, would be effectively £800 more expensive in the summer of 2012, even if my work granted unpaid leave.

As a group we purchased 1,250 USD, this to sell back to currency bureau would now be at a much lower rate, so effectively we would now lose further money transferring it back to pounds.

This wasn’t just a normal holiday, this was much more meaning to us and now that has been ruined. Due to this horrific ordeal, we will not be using any Star Alliance member company for any of our future holidays.

I eagerly await your response to this complaint and how satisfactorily you can bring this dispute to an end.