Apparently the merger with Continental is causing United and its once-loyal customers no end of headaches. I have not had a smooth trip all year. Not even one. Most problems were annoyances:
- lost bags on a one hop trip
- trouble with check-in agents who ignored frequent flyers
- broken equipment
- gates that were way off the beaten path
- equipment delays (mostly for paperwork)
Really none of those things are so terrible, nor are they show stoppers. But not one trip without a problem all year? The numbers are stacking up. Death by 1000 cuts.
What was a surprise to me this weekend was experiencing the worst flight to Europe I have had in the last 8 years. I am too spoiled (and very likely too old) to fly 8.5 hours in economy to Europe. I fly so much that upgrades have up until recently been taken for granted. After all, I’ve flown over 1,000,000 miles on United and have a number of so-called “system wide” upgrade blips. But guess what…those blips sometimes fail even for someone who flies way too much. FAIL.
Here is the uncomfortable chair that I was supposed to sleep in.
19B on a 767 is no place to be stuck for 8.5 hours overnight!
I am no longer a happy United customer. Now I am a disgruntled United customer. United, you suck! I wish there were an alternative to IAD-based people like me.