United Airlines customer service

Mike Smith said:
Your scenario doesn't work, it would be like this. You go to the club, pay to get in. The club is now full, but the club owner decides he wants to let in one of his buddies so they kick you out. That is more accurate.
Click to expand...

Lol, I like it. Either way, the end result is the cops come and remove you if you don't willingly depart on your own.
 
Mike Smith said:
Your scenario doesn't work, it would be like this. You go to the club, pay to get in. The club is now full, but the club owner decides he wants to let in one of his buddies so they kick you out. That is more accurate.
Click to expand...
SoonerAviator said:
Lol, I like it. Either way, the end result is the cops come and remove you if you don't willingly depart on your own.
Click to expand...
No, not the cops, these guys:
33e263_060611hanson001.jpg
 
Yes, and things are much clearer in hindsite. How come the 'other 3' aren't in the news?? Maybe now they wish they were?

Not just UAL(Republic) but all the airlines are using this as an example of what NOT to do. Once the Cops get there, they do what Cops do. They usually don't allow people to choose not to comply. If necessary, more Cops will be called.
 
orange said:
That doesn't work either. A yet better scenario would be that the place was filled to capacity and they needed to fix the DJ booth, so 4 repair guys had to come in but the club is literally at the max number allowed by law. So 4 people have to leave in order for the repair guys to be able to enter the building.
Click to expand...

Also doesn't work. The 4 repair guys isn't working at this club, they are working at another club behind it. But they have to walk around the block to get there - it's easier to just walk through your club, but the club is filled to capacity. So they kick out 4 people from the club so that they don't have to walk around the block.
 
This thread is like a holding pattern. After about 2-3 pages, it circles around the United/Cop's at fault intersection, the Dr. Is at fault GPS point interspersed with legs of there're equally at fault and Airline travel sucks.

I'm declaring a fuel emergency and heading out of this interminable holding pattern.

Cheers
 
Captain said:
. Ya'll want guaranteed seats? It will be paid for one way or the other.
Click to expand...
The airline industry has no value to me from a business perspective if I cannot count on it to get me to a commitment on time.

Weather delays I can somewhat manage by selecting airlines and hubs to get around major weather systems on non-direct flights. Dallas vs. Chicago vs. Denver, whatever.

Random crap like this I can't account for. This was a 24 hour delay, not wait for the next flight. Getting involuntarily bumped because a low level airline employee isn't empowered to friggin' pay enough to find a volunteer to get off the plane?

Bah. This was soo easily solvable. Pay market rate for a seat at the time of bumpage and you will ALWAYS have volunteers. By definition.
 
orange said:
True, they could have resolved it without any particular person being chosen. But once they selected a person, that particular passenger had to leave the plane. Lets say they asked him nicely and he refused. Now what? Move on to the next person? Do you think ANYBODY else would leave if they saw that all you had to do is refuse to leave.
Click to expand...
Asking nicely would include determining the purpose for the travel and whether or not a delay would be acceptable. People get along much better when they are treated well. Start ordering folks around and not honoring the terms required in the contract of carriage will result in a disaster as demonstrated by United.
 
X3 Skier said:
This thread is like a holding pattern. After about 2-3 pages, it circles around the United/Cop's at fault intersection, the Dr. Is at fault GPS point interspersed with legs of there're equally at fault and Airline travel sucks.

I'm declaring a fuel emergency and heading out of this interminable holding pattern.

Cheers
Click to expand...
Is this a published SID? Standard insipid departure?
 
ElPaso Pilot said:
Bah. This was soo easily solvable. Pay market rate for a seat at the time of bumpage and you will ALWAYS have volunteers. By definition.
Click to expand...

Very easy and quick way to establish that - have every passenger write on a (secret) little note a dollar amount that would be worth it for them to get off the plane. And then pick the 4 cheapest bids. Heck, you can even gather that by Text message or Email these days.
 
deonb said:
Very easy and quick way to establish that - have every passenger write on a (secret) little note a dollar amount that would be worth it for them to get off the plane. And then pick the 4 cheapest bids. Heck, you can even gather that by Text message or Email these days.
Click to expand...

Similar to what Delta does.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/how-delta-masters-the-game-of-overbooking-flights/

Sidenote: Interesting was the number of involuntary bumps:
United 11/100k
American 5/100k
Delta 3/100k
 
dmspilot said:
Similar to what Delta does.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/how-delta-masters-the-game-of-overbooking-flights/

Sidenote: Interesting was the number of involuntary bumps:
United 11/100k
American 5/100k
Delta 3/100k
Click to expand...

Nice.

That system is actually pretty nice, except that they seem to be able to bump volunteers from a reserved isle/window seat to a middle seat that way without compensation if they end up not needing the seat. But that seems like a solvable problem.
 
I have a question for you 121 folks that may explain some of why dude was on the plane, etc.
Way back in the old days, you had a paper ticket, and then got a BP at the airport. So they knew you were physically there. With all the 24hr electronic Check in and such now, do the gate agents know you arrived at airport, ie can they see your BP was scanned by TSA?
Lately when on plane that were "overbooked" I have volunteered when my plans allow, maybe 10 times in last 2 years. Not once have they actually needed me. On SW they tell you to board and if they need you they will come get you.

What Im getting at is, if the gate agents knew for sure there werent enough seats, they could have stopped people getting on the plane and not had this issue. Thats maybe what they need to figure out how to do?
 
TSA does not scan boarding passes. They just check to see if you have one.

655 posts on this and most of them are pure speculation. There is only one side of the story being presented. And true to form, the internet experts are filling in the blanks. Most of it will de proven to be wrong.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
And true to form, the internet experts are filling in the blanks. Most of it will de proven to be wrong.
Click to expand...

No way. Internet experts are infallible. Just ask the internet experts.
 
SoonerAviator said:
...They'll just deplane entirely, then re-board the passengers again while denying the randomly-chosen few out in the terminal.
Click to expand...
If all the passengers refused to get off, what then?
 
Greg Bockelman said:
. . . 655 posts on this and most of them are pure speculation. There is only one side of the story being presented. And true to form, the internet experts are filling in the blanks. Most of it will de proven to be wrong.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the internet. You new here?! :D
 
JOhnH said:
I'm curious if anyone has changed their minds during the course of this discussion.
Click to expand...
I don't know if this counts as changing my mind, but I do think that if the policy continues to be that already being on board does not protect you from being involuntarily bumped, then that needs to be clarified in the contract of carriage. That's obvious from the amount of disagreement about it.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
TSA does not scan boarding passes. They just check to see if you have one.

655 posts on this and most of them are pure speculation. There is only one side of the story being presented. And true to form, the internet experts are filling in the blanks. Most of it will de proven to be wrong.
Click to expand...
Your boss already took full responsibility for his company screwing up royally.
 
Palmpilot said:
I don't know if this counts as changing my mind, but I do think that if the policy continues to be that already being on board does not protect you from being involuntarily bumped, then that needs to be clarified in the contract of carriage. That's obvious from the amount of disagreement about it.
Click to expand...

I have probably moved from, I don't care one way or the other, to, I think United and all the other carriers need to revamp that system. I think it has reached a point where anytime someone is forceably removed from an airplane it will be news. Time for a new model.
 
JOhnH said:
That's true. He did change his mind. Or at least his public position.

But I was referring to anyone on the board changing their mind due to reading this thread. I didn't make that clear.
Click to expand...
I didn't. ual got exactly what they deserve.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
orange said:
True, they could have resolved it without any particular person being chosen. But once they selected a person, that particular passenger had to leave the plane. Lets say they asked him nicely and he refused. Now what? Move on to the next person? Do you think ANYBODY else would leave if they saw that all you had to do is refuse to leave.
Click to expand...
What s your solution? Beat the crap out? That clearly doesnt work...

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
JOhnH said:
The problem isn't the number of bumps; the problem is how they handle it.
Click to expand...
If you don't think the information is relevant, just ignore it.
 
JOhnH said:
I'm curious if anyone has changed their minds during the course of this discussion.
Click to expand...
This is the internet. We stomp our feet and dig our heels in. The only thing we don't need online are boxing gloves.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
TSA does not scan boarding passes. They just check to see if you have one.
Click to expand...

Minor nit, Greg: TSA DOES scan boarding passes, at least at most airports. The scan is used to determine whether the passenger has PreCheck and as a quick-check to determine whether the boarding pass is fake. It looks at certain fields in the bar code for that information.

Otherwise, agree with you. In the end, this will be sorted out in court and/or a legal settlement.

Also noted that the UA pilot union came out today with a statement.
 
Is there a link to the union statement? Google doesn't seem to be turning it up right now.
 
UAL MEC Statement Regarding United Express Flight 3411

As the story of United Express Flight 3411, operated by Republic Airline, continues to virally circulate in the news and on social media, your United Master Executive Council (MEC) has intentionally withheld judgment because of the rapid pace at which information, both accurate and inaccurate, has been released and manipulated.

The safety and well-being of our passengers is the highest priority for United pilots, and this should not have escalated into a violent encounter. United pilots are infuriated by this event. This occurred on one of our contracted Express carriers, separately owned and operated by Republic Airline, and was ultimately caused by the grossly inappropriate response by the Chicago Department of Aviation.

It is important to review these baseline facts:

1. This violent incident should never have happened and was a result of gross excessive force by Chicago Department of Aviation personnel.

2. No United employees were involved in the physical altercation.

3. Social media ire should properly be directed at the Chicago Aviation Department.

4. This occurred on an Express flight operated by Republic Airline, as such, the flight crew and cabin crew of Flight 3411 are employees of Republic Airline, not United Airlines.

5. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz has apologized for United Airlines, the actions of the Chicago Department of Aviation, and the actions of our Express partner, Republic Airline.

On April 9, 2017, United Express Flight 3411, operated by Republic, was preparing to depart Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Louisville (SDF). Republic Airline made the decision to assign four of their crewmembers to deadhead on Flight 3411 within minutes of the scheduled departure. Although four passengers would have to be removed from this flight to accommodate the Republic crew, the goal was to get the other 70 passengers on their way to SDF and ensure a flight crew needed the next day would also be in place. By all reports, the Republic flight crew was courteous and calm throughout the event, and three passengers left the flight voluntarily for compensation. After repeatedly asking the fourth passenger to give up his seat to no avail, the gate agent requested the assistance of law enforcement.

For reasons unknown to us, instead of trained Chicago Police Department officers being dispatched to the scene, Chicago Department of Aviation personnel responded. At this point, without direction and outside the control of United Airlines or the Republic crew, the Chicago Department of Aviation forcibly removed the passenger.

Members of local airport law enforcement are normally important security partners who assist aircrews in ensuring the safety of everyone on the airplane. This event was an anomaly and is not how United or the police are expected to treat passengers when there is no security threat.

United pilots have always been the true leaders of this company, and our fellow employees count on us to continue to do what we do best—deliver a world class product and safely transport our passengers around the world. We cannot let this huge distraction affect our ability to do our jobs. We have successfully flown through more turbulent times, and we will weather this storm as well.

Ultimately, United must be measured by more than this one incident on a single United Express flight; this airline is comprised of more than 82,000 employees, including over 12,500 pilots, working every day to safely fly around the globe. For 91 years, United has earned the trust of millions of passengers, and we will continue earning their trust, despite the incident on this United Express flight. The United Airlines MEC is confident that the steps we are taking as a company will ensure this type of inexcusable event never happens again.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
UAL MEC Statement Regarding United Express Flight 3411

As the story of United Express Flight 3411, operated by Republic Airline, continues to virally circulate in the news and on social media, your United Master Executive Council (MEC) has intentionally withheld judgment because of the rapid pace at which information, both accurate and inaccurate, has been released and manipulated.

The safety and well-being of our passengers is the highest priority for United pilots, and this should not have escalated into a violent encounter. United pilots are infuriated by this event. This occurred on one of our contracted Express carriers, separately owned and operated by Republic Airline, and was ultimately caused by the grossly inappropriate response by the Chicago Department of Aviation.

It is important to review these baseline facts:

1. This violent incident should never have happened and was a result of gross excessive force by Chicago Department of Aviation personnel.

2. No United employees were involved in the physical altercation.

3. Social media ire should properly be directed at the Chicago Aviation Department.

4. This occurred on an Express flight operated by Republic Airline, as such, the flight crew and cabin crew of Flight 3411 are employees of Republic Airline, not United Airlines.

5. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz has apologized for United Airlines, the actions of the Chicago Department of Aviation, and the actions of our Express partner, Republic Airline.

On April 9, 2017, United Express Flight 3411, operated by Republic, was preparing to depart Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Louisville (SDF). Republic Airline made the decision to assign four of their crewmembers to deadhead on Flight 3411 within minutes of the scheduled departure. Although four passengers would have to be removed from this flight to accommodate the Republic crew, the goal was to get the other 70 passengers on their way to SDF and ensure a flight crew needed the next day would also be in place. By all reports, the Republic flight crew was courteous and calm throughout the event, and three passengers left the flight voluntarily for compensation. After repeatedly asking the fourth passenger to give up his seat to no avail, the gate agent requested the assistance of law enforcement.

For reasons unknown to us, instead of trained Chicago Police Department officers being dispatched to the scene, Chicago Department of Aviation personnel responded. At this point, without direction and outside the control of United Airlines or the Republic crew, the Chicago Department of Aviation forcibly removed the passenger.

Members of local airport law enforcement are normally important security partners who assist aircrews in ensuring the safety of everyone on the airplane. This event was an anomaly and is not how United or the police are expected to treat passengers when there is no security threat.

United pilots have always been the true leaders of this company, and our fellow employees count on us to continue to do what we do best—deliver a world class product and safely transport our passengers around the world. We cannot let this huge distraction affect our ability to do our jobs. We have successfully flown through more turbulent times, and we will weather this storm as well.

Ultimately, United must be measured by more than this one incident on a single United Express flight; this airline is comprised of more than 82,000 employees, including over 12,500 pilots, working every day to safely fly around the globe. For 91 years, United has earned the trust of millions of passengers, and we will continue earning their trust, despite the incident on this United Express flight. The United Airlines MEC is confident that the steps we are taking as a company will ensure this type of inexcusable event never happens again.
Click to expand...
The level of spin and propaganda is interesting to note.

And what the heck is a master executive council? Is there a submissive executive council? Maybe it's just a bit of pomposity? Couldn't the executive council members just wear 20 stripes on their shoulders or something?
 
JOhnH said:
I'm curious if anyone has changed their minds during the course of this discussion.
Click to expand...

I've certainly changed my mind about airline pilots. I didn't realise that so many of them are little dictators who think they're above the law, plenty of them on this thread. It's a shame, it reflects badly on the no doubt very many decent ones.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top