We'll never fly United Airlines again

[longterm]

We're headed to Italy on Saturday for a Rick Steves Best of Tuscany tour; I booked flights months ago. 

Our return was from Florence to Frankfurt, from Frankfurt to Dallas; I had confirmation codes, was set to go, but hadn't been able to get seat assignments for the 1st leg, from Florence to Frankfurt, which was with Air Dolomiti, but booked by United.

I called this morning, after trying last week, and was told that we had reservations on the flight, but didn't any longer. They told me to call United, which I did; after wasting an hour on hold with a rep, I was told that although the flight was now full, she was going to "email Air Dolomiti and ask to have our reservation reinstated," and that she would be calling me tomorrow. She also said that we might just have to fly home the next day. I'm sure hotel and food compensation would have been forthcoming (NOT).

This is the worst sort of service; we will do everything we can to never fly this awful airline ever again. While I do understand that accidents happen, I should have gotten resolution this morning, and if they really cared about their customers, offered some sort of compensation for this unacceptable situation.

[CCWineLover]

8 minutes ago, longterm said:

We're headed to Italy on Saturday for a Rick Steves Best of Tuscany tour; I booked flights months ago. 

Our return was from Florence to Frankfurt, from Frankfurt to Dallas; I had confirmation codes, was set to go, but hadn't been able to get seat assignments for the 1st leg, from Florence to Frankfurt, which was with Air Dolomiti, but booked by United.

I called this morning, after trying last week, and was told that we had reservations on the flight, but didn't any longer. They told me to call United, which I did; after wasting an hour on hold with a rep, I was told that although the flight was now full, she was going to "email Air Dolomiti and ask to have our reservation reinstated," and that she would be calling me tomorrow. She also said that we might just have to fly home the next day. I'm sure hotel and food compensation would have been forthcoming (NOT).

This is the worst sort of service; we will do everything we can to never fly this awful airline ever again. While I do understand that accidents happen, I should have gotten resolution this morning, and if they really cared about their customers, offered some sort of compensation for this unacceptable situation.

gosh, longterm.  I feel your pain!

Had similar issues on American Airlines and Delta.

Seems like there are no good airlines anymore!

[WanderingBrit]

Let me know if you're able to find an airline that never botches reservations, never cancels flights, answers the phone promptly and resolves issues quickly. I'm not convinced any exist.

[duquephart]

8 minutes ago, longterm said:

We're headed to Italy on Saturday for a Rick Steves Best of Tuscany tour; I booked flights months ago. 

Our return was from Florence to Frankfurt, from Frankfurt to Dallas; I had confirmation codes, was set to go, but hadn't been able to get seat assignments for the 1st leg, from Florence to Frankfurt, which was with Air Dolomiti, but booked by United.

I called this morning, after trying last week, and was told that we had reservations on the flight, but didn't any longer. They told me to call United, which I did; after wasting an hour on hold with a rep, I was told that although the flight was now full, she was going to "email Air Dolomiti and ask to have our reservation reinstated," and that she would be calling me tomorrow. She also said that we might just have to fly home the next day. I'm sure hotel and food compensation would have been forthcoming (NOT).

This is the worst sort of service; we will do everything we can to never fly this awful airline ever again. While I do understand that accidents happen, I should have gotten resolution this morning, and if they really cared about their customers, offered some sort of compensation for this unacceptable situation.

 

If this is your criteria you are going to run out of airlines.

[goldwingers]

14 minutes ago, longterm said:

We're headed to Italy on Saturday for a Rick Steves Best of Tuscany tour; I booked flights months ago. 

Our return was from Florence to Frankfurt, from Frankfurt to Dallas; I had confirmation codes, was set to go, but hadn't been able to get seat assignments for the 1st leg, from Florence to Frankfurt, which was with Air Dolomiti, but booked by United.

I called this morning, after trying last week, and was told that we had reservations on the flight, but didn't any longer. They told me to call United, which I did; after wasting an hour on hold with a rep, I was told that although the flight was now full, she was going to "email Air Dolomiti and ask to have our reservation reinstated," and that she would be calling me tomorrow. She also said that we might just have to fly home the next day. I'm sure hotel and food compensation would have been forthcoming (NOT).

This is the worst sort of service; we will do everything we can to never fly this awful airline ever again. While I do understand that accidents happen, I should have gotten resolution this morning, and if they really cared about their customers, offered some sort of compensation for this unacceptable situation.

Gosh, I hope you are able to get that resolved!  We had problems last year with Delta - partnering with ITA.  Funnily enough when we went on a Rick Steves Sicily tour.  Not able to select a seat even though we had paid for premium economy - not able to check in online or get boarding passes.  Delta said talk to ITA who said Delta was responsible, etc....  Nearly missed our 6 AM flight from Catania to Rome as the airport didn't open till 5 and the whole country must have been in line ahead of us...

 

BTW, we have also done the Rick Steves Villages of Italy and it was marvelous as was Sicily, hope you have a wonderful time even with the airlines making life miserable.

[longterm]

13 minutes ago, WanderingBrit said:

Let me know if you're able to find an airline that never botches reservations, never cancels flights, answers the phone promptly and resolves issues quickly. I'm not convinced any exist.

Our favorite is Southwest; while I'm sure we'll eventually have a snafu with them, we've not experienced it yet.

 

This is the first time I've ever had a reservation on a flight, and then it just simply disappeared. I even had the confirmation numbers, and the Air Dolomiti (the airline that United booked us on) rep told me that he could see our reservation, but that we were no longer on the flight. 

 

Not sure who to blame for this, but since United is who we booked with, and since they are the only ones who can resolve this, I place the blame squarely on them.

 

At the very least they should give us a seat upgrade, but I don't see that happening.

[longterm]

1 minute ago, goldwingers said:

Gosh, I hope you are able to get that resolved!  We had problems last year with Delta - partnering with ITA.  Funnily enough when we went on a Rick Steves Sicily tour.  Not able to select a seat even though we had paid for premium economy - not able to check in online or get boarding passes.  Delta said talk to ITA who said Delta was responsible, etc....  Nearly missed our 6 AM flight from Catania to Rome as the airport didn't open till 5 and the whole country must have been in line ahead of us...

 

BTW, we have also done the Rick Steves Villages of Italy and it was marvelous as was Sicily, hope you have a wonderful time even with the airlines making life miserable.

Fortunately, our flight over seems to be intact, and if we do end up having to fly home a day later, we'll just make the best of it and enjoy Florence for an extra day. Doesn't seem so bad when I think about it... 🙂

 

But not liking United before this incident, I've now resolved never to fly with them if I can help it. Of course, on our upcoming Viking river cruise in October, I have no doubt that we'll be put on... United.

[duquephart]

9 minutes ago, longterm said:

Our favorite is Southwest; while I'm sure we'll eventually have a snafu with them, we've not experienced it yet.

 

This is the first time I've ever had a reservation on a flight, and then it just simply disappeared. I even had the confirmation numbers, and the Air Dolomiti (the airline that United booked us on) rep told me that he could see our reservation, but that we were no longer on the flight. 

 

Not sure who to blame for this, but since United is who we booked with, and since they are the only ones who can resolve this, I place the blame squarely on them.

 

At the very least they should give us a seat upgrade, but I don't see that happening.

 

Southwest will do fine ----- until they strand you somewhere.

[oskidunker]

Outdated computer system. 

[CruiserBruce]

Just an FYI, UA doesn't fly internationally from Dallas. So you could just book direct with Lufthansa....think that is who you are actually are flying. LH never screws anything up.

[6rugrats]

I guess you did not fly Southwest last winter.

 

So you booked this yourself flight directly with United, and because UA does not fly from FLR, that leg was with Air Dolomiti?  Sounds like a problem with that airline, not UA.  Are you sure any of your legs are actually with UA and not LH?

And no, you are not getting a seat upgrade because of this.

 

And if you want to control your flights, you can book them directly yourself, not use Viking.

Edited May 22, 2023 by 6rugrats

[longterm]

5 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Just an FYI, UA doesn't fly internationally from Dallas. So you could just book direct with Lufthansa....think that is who you are actually are flying. LH never screws anything up.

That's good to know; we actually have a couple of legs on Lufthansa--going out to Brussels, then on the way back from Frankfurt to Dallas. I like to use Travelocity because I find some good deals there, but when I selected these flights, it actually gave the airline as United, but because they're part of the One Way consortium, that includes all sorts of airlines--including, for this trip, Lufthansa, Brussels Airlines, and Air Dolomiti (who I suspect is the culprit in this situation).

[6rugrats]

3 minutes ago, longterm said:

That's good to know; we actually have a couple of legs on Lufthansa--going out to Brussels, then on the way back from Frankfurt to Dallas. I like to use Travelocity because I find some good deals there, but when I selected these flights, it actually gave the airline as United, but because they're part of the One Way consortium, that includes all sorts of airlines--including, for this trip, Lufthansa, Brussels Airlines, and Air Dolomiti (who I suspect is the culprit in this situation).

UA and LH are Star Alliance.  Air Dolomiti is owned by LH.  When you choose your flights, it clearly shows who the operating carrier is.  Did you book these flights through Travelocity?  If so, they are the ones responsible for fixing this, not the airlines.

Edited May 22, 2023 by 6rugrats

[longterm]

3 hours ago, WanderingBrit said:

Let me know if you're able to find an airline that never botches reservations, never cancels flights, answers the phone promptly and resolves issues quickly. I'm not convinced any exist.

Good point! Speaking clear English would be a bonus; I'm very forgiving when people speak English with strong accents, but when I had to ask 3 times what the guy was saying, it led to a less-than-satisfying interaction. 

 

I'll say this though: when I've called AT&T or T-Mobile (who we just switched to), I've always gotten someone on the line fairly quickly. Same with Southwest, although it's rare that I've ever had to call them. 

[longterm]

Just now, 6rugrats said:

UA and LH are Star Alliance.  Did you book these flights through Travelocity?  If so, they are the ones responsible for fixing this, not the airlines.

Actually, not true, even though I did go through Travelocity. The flights were all booked, I had confirmation numbers for everything; in the past, when I've needed to adjust flights, I've always been able to go directly to the airlines.

 

The problem came to light when I saw that I still didn't have seat assignments for the Air Dolomiti flight from Florence to Frankfurt, and in one particular view, the flight wasn't even listed--although in another screen on United's site, it *was* listed.

So I called Air Dolomiti this morning early, and that's when I was told that yes, they had us on that flight, but now they didn't. I asked why, and he didn't really have an answer, except for me to contact United. Which I did, and now they're *supposed* to call me tomorrow morning. I'll be waiting with bated breath.

[CruiserBruce]

8 minutes ago, longterm said:

That's good to know; we actually have a couple of legs on Lufthansa--going out to Brussels, then on the way back from Frankfurt to Dallas. I like to use Travelocity because I find some good deals there, but when I selected these flights, it actually gave the airline as United, but because they're part of the One Way consortium, that includes all sorts of airlines--including, for this trip, Lufthansa, Brussels Airlines, and Air Dolomiti (who I suspect is the culprit in this situation).

I have never heard of One Way. If you booked through them or Travelocity (keeping in mind we aren't supposed to name or discuss travel agents or agencies), me thinks you have an issue with them, not necessarily United.

[6rugrats]

I'm not going to argue about who is responsible for correcting this.  Best of luck.

[longterm]

Just now, CruiserBruce said:

I have never heard of One Way. If you booked through them or Travelocity (keeping in mind we aren't supposed to name or discuss travelagents or agencies), me thinks you have an issue with them, n9t necessarily United.

I forgot the name; I think it's Star Alliance (whatever that huge conglomerate is that United's part of). In the past, I've always gone back to United to change things, and got some things modified.

[6rugrats]

2 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

I have never heard of One Way. If you booked through them or Travelocity (keeping in mind we aren't supposed to name or discuss travel agents or agencies), me thinks you have an issue with them, not necessarily United.

Believe OP is saying One Way is an airline alliance?  

[CruiserBruce]

27 minutes ago, 6rugrats said:

Believe OP is saying One Way is an airline alliance?  

Not involving United.

[CruiserBruce]

29 minutes ago, longterm said:

I forgot the name; I think it's Star Alliance (whatever that huge conglomerate is that United's part of). In the past, I've always gone back to United to change things, and got some things modified.

It's not a conglomerate. The members are individually owned (yes, I know LH owns Air Dolomiti,  but United doesn't own any of the other members,  etc). It's an airline alliance.

[GeezerCouple]

4 hours ago, longterm said:

But not liking United before this incident, I've now resolved never to fly with them if I can help it. Of course, on our upcoming Viking river cruise in October, I have no doubt that we'll be put on... United.

 If you do not want to be "put on... United", the make your own reservations.

 

Then you can arrange the airline, the flights, the times, the seats, etc., as you prefer them.  And you can make any changes, should you want/need to do so, directly with the airline yourself.

 

GC

[-Lew-]

For the past couple of years, for anything that I cannot do on my own in the airline's app or on its website, I contact then via a DM on Twitter.  No waiting on hold, no transferring of calls...I just send a message identifying myself and explaining the issue I need resolved.

 

Someone usually gets involved within an hour and my issue is resolved within two.  I have the entire conversation in writing along with the name of the person who assisted me.

 

If you go that route, be sure to include the following in your initial message...it will speed up the process:

 

Record Locator Number
Full names of all travellers in your group 
Everyone's date of birth
Everyone's frequent flyer number
Everyone's email address

 

I've had excellent success DMing over the past two years with United, Delta, American, JetBlue, and Hawaiian.

[Wishing on a star]

I have seen similar issues as this as well.

Going back many years.

You might want to double check that connection flight.

There might be hope.

 

Just a heads up for anyone else reading here.

When one of your flights is with another cooperating airline, this just sets this kind of thing up.

We had the jumper flight to Kauai booked, and then the cooperation on these flights fell thru and we were just left hanging.  For some reason Delta decided that they were not 'offering' and coop with that jumper flight.  When we called them and said,  UMMM, you just can leave us hanging like this.  They put is on a jumper 3 and a half hours later.   A simple 35 minute puddle jumper!

Sitting at the Honolulu airport for half of the day, and then reaching Kauai after dark was NOT in our plans.

 

If I remember right, we went direct to the Hawaii airline, saw that our original flight was STILL there, with seats available.  I think we cancelled out with the full trip with Delta, rebooked just to Honolulu, and then booked our own flight on that original jumper flight to get us to Kauai early afternnon, as planned.

 

 

[Selion]

31 minutes ago, -Lew- said:

I've had excellent success DMing over the past two years with United, Delta, American, JetBlue, and Hawaiian.

Threat of public shaming works wonders!

 

One thing that works wonders with Air Dolomite: Go to LH's website and manage your reservation there.  If your ticket is on UA ticket stock (ticket number starting with 016), you can find LH's record locator on UA's website.