When my flight got rerouted due to the United Airlines computer problem at O'Haire Airport on July 2, 2009. I was told my checked bag would arrive the next day from Newark, NJ to Honolulu, HI. When I got to Honolulu, I immediately filed a delayed baggage claim and was told the bag would be delivered to my residence somewhere between 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

This is where the serious problems start. The customer service rep screwed up and keyed my telephone number incorrectly into the system as the number on the internet baggage status report did not match the number written on my claim form. To make matters worse, the reps on the 1-800 service line had no clue as to where by bags were and failed to rectify the situation as they continuously provided me with false updated status reports by guaranteeing the bag would arrive within specified times. I had to contact these ineffectual service reps four times to explain to them the number posted on their system was incorrect and did not match the number written on my claim form.

To make matters worse, United in Honolulu uses an unspecified third party delivery service. Initially, the delivery service, lacking any form of common sense, contacted me at the incorrectly posted number and after there was no answer (according to them), did not even bother to stop by my residence, which is within ten minutes of the airport, and abruptly concluded no one was home at the time. After waiting five hours and well past the delivery time frame, I drove back to the airport to speak to the delayed baggage reps in person since they do not have any direct contact information via telephone or internet. They informed me the bags would not be sent out again until 6:30 p.m.

Finally, after waiting nearly 8 hours, the bags arrived at 8:00 p.m. The delivery woman was extremely unprofessional and had the most difficult time in following simple instructions. First of all, she decided to park her vehicle on the road, outside the fully accessible lane to my residence. When I met her at the entrance to the driveway, she had the bags out and decided to have me wheel the bags 200 ft from that road to my door. I instructed her to put the bags back into the van and drive them to my door. Without any regard to the condition of the bags, she damaged the retractable handle on my suitcase as she threw the bag back into the van without pushing the handle back in to its resting position. The bag handle is now permanently stuck in the upright position and does not work thanks to delivery woman.

For a second time on the same day, I had to drive to the airport and promptly filed a complaint at the United baggage handling counter. The customer service manager, who initially offered an unacceptable method of reimbursement, only agreed to other forms of compensation after a half an hour of debate.

The only fortunate aspect of this farce is I had access to convenient transportation to and from the airport in via my personal auto. For those of you who decide to visit Hawaii, be wary about using United Airlines as they have incompetent and uncooperative employees at their national information line as well as at the Honolulu International Airport. Furthermore, United contracts a delivery service in Honolulu, run by local yokels, who lack any intelligence whatsoever, to handle your delayed bags while destroying them in the process. Welcome to paradise folks, enjoy your visit after a ridiculous price to pay.

We booked flights to send two employees from Toronto to Salt Lake City on United Airlines. The flight from Toronto to connection point Chicago was late leaving. The explanation was that the flight's crew had been late getting in the night before, and could not take the 8:00am flight out until 9:15am. The flight in fact didn't leave until 10:00am.

As a result, our employees could not catch their connecting flight in Chicago. They were promised a flight to Salt Lake City leaving at 7:45pm that night. They wasted a day puttering around near the Chicago airport, and returned to the airport in plenty of time for their promised flight. At 10:00pm, two hours and fifteen minutes after they should have taken off for Salt Lake City, they were advised that their flight was canceled. They could not get a first officer to fly the plane! They were told it was because of bad weather, and as a result the airline refused to pay for accommodation. Our employees spent the night in the airport. The following morning, our employees found that all flights to Salt Lake City were booked until a 7:45pm flight that night. Since they would at that point have lost two days (and $6, 000 in billing) they decided they should return home, and they flew back to Toronto. We have been advised by our travel agent that the best we can hope for from United is a refund of the cost of the unused flight from Chicago to Salt Lake City. Several attempts to call United directly have resulted in a message indicating that they are "too busy" to take our call, we should call back later.

I was booked on a flight out of Cheyenne, Wy to Rochester, Ny fri. 19, 2009. flight was scheduled to depart at 7:07 a.m. cost $325.00
The plane would not not pass inspection several times. We did not leave cheyenne until 11:30 a.m.
I missed all my connecting flights due to this . When I finally reached Chicago the weather cancelled all flights. I wasn't schedled to leave Chicago until 10:00 p.m. the next day!
I rented a car which cost me an additional $500.00.
I am a business man and my time is valuable.
I did not fly from chicago, Ill to Rochester, ny. and i would like a refund for that portion of the flight.

Flew from Vancouver, Canada to Los Angeles, then connect to Sydney Australia. I have a 6 month old infant traveling with me. Upon booking my ticket, I called United airlines and asked them to book me with a bassenet seat on the flight from LAX to SYD. They said this was on my reservation and to request this at check in. At check in, they said they have given us the seat with that will allow the bassenet.
Like other airlines, they board their passengers by a seating group however the other airline allow passengers with infants, elders and people with disability to board first as they may take longer to board. This already had me steamed but I was not going to allow this to ruin my vacation.
While boarding the plane in LAX, I went in the plane and had notice it was not a bassenet seat. (Seats with the wall in the front to attach the bassenet) I went back out to the ticket agent a the gate and they told me that the bassenet seat is not guaranteed. WTF??? I had checked and double checked as they had told me and I was told I would get a bassenet seat. Now I have to hold my child for a 15 hour flight. This really got me fired up. As I was returning back into the plane, a parapoligic person was escorted using a wheel chair that fits in the aisles of the plane, Of course they don't have the courtesy to let him board first so everyone had to wait in the aisle until they put him into his seat. Now since they have the wheel chair in the aisle that is blocked with passengers, they had no where to go but to ask the passengers to get out of the way. Ok so I thought it was the airport. Was I ever wrong...
Leaving Sydney Australia, upon check in, again I asked for the bassenet seat. Again they said they have given us the bassenet seat. Again we did not get the bassenet seat. To make things worse, they could not find the reservation of my child. After waiting 20 minutes in line for the Check-In counter, they asked us to go to the Ticket counter. After waiting in line for another 10 minutes, they asked us to go back to the ticket counter again to get our boarding pass. Again waited in line for another 20 minutes. Check-in should not take an hours. This is when I finally realize it is the airline and their procedures around the world. I went home and completed their survey. All they replied to me was "Thank you for flying United Airlines, Please come back again soon" Never again will I fly this airline. I just spnt 30 minutes writing my experience on this blog and I hope this will be worth my time to warn others before select United Airlines as your fligh carrier.

I was told by a United customer service person that I could change my flights to a different date, she even gave me a reservation number and all of the flight details. On the basis of this I booking I made reservations for a number of other flights in Australia and from Australia to LA. After driving 150 miles to the nearest airport to get the tickets reissued they siad that the ticket rules did not allow the change and they would not honor the reservation. I had to cancel all of my other flights at a cost of $450 USD and in all of my calls to United they said they will not claim any responsibility for giving me false information and it was my fault for not knowing the ticket rules. Do yourself a favor pay a little extra if you have to and go with other airlines, if anything goes wrong you will pay many times the savings you might make on a ticket with United over another carrier.