Tag Archives for united airlines.
A viral video showed a Colorado Rockies coach sitting in a United cockpit midflight. The pilots were fired, the FAA investigated, and the captain now argues she was retaliated against for reporting the incident, but the security breach happened on her watch.
United’s “Agent on Demand” is supposed to replace the airport customer service desk when travel goes sideways. But after a canceled flight in Atlanta, one passenger says the remote agent offered “nothing,” sent her to the 800 number, and could be heard talking about her while the call was still live.
Reclining is allowed. Repeatedly body-slamming your seatback for two hours because the guy behind you is tall is not. That is what passengers say happened on a United flight from Denver to Chicago, while the 6’7″ man behind him somehow stayed completely unbothered while a flight attendant allowed it to continue.
United flight attendants have finally ratified a new contract after 5.5 years without a raise, with 82% voting yes. The deal brings major wage increases, a $740 million lump-sum payout, boarding pay, and top hourly rates scheduled to exceed $100 — but Delta may still set the real compensation benchmark if profits keep flowing.
Miles are usually about getting more value for yourself. But United miles can also do something far more urgent: help someone get on a plane in time to say goodbye to a dying loved one.
United CEO Scott Kirby has tried to beat American Airlines, mocked its Chicago operation, and even floated buying the airline. So naturally, there he was in first class on American — flying home to Dallas on the rival that once fired him.
A United Airlines Boeing 767 landed safely at Newark after striking a light pole on approach — but video and news reports suggest the incident was worse than first disclosed. The aircraft also appears to have hit a bakery truck on the New Jersey Turnpike, with its wheel smashing into the driver’s window and leaving the driver cut by broken glass.
A passenger on United Airlines flight 1837 from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic to Newark “attacked a flight attendant” on Saturday, according to the captain, and “tried to open the forward main cabin door, trying to gain access to the flight deck.”
United CEO Scott Kirby keeps insisting airfares should rise, and that airlines are too timid to charge what passengers will pay. But after years of predictions that have not panned out, the flaw in his theory is simple: airlines hate empty seats, and supply and demand still set fares no matter how badly CEOs want prices higher.
A United passenger tried to move ahead during deplaning, got blocked, and then posted her own profanity-filled argument as if it would prove she was right. Instead, the video turned into a deplaning etiquette referendum: wait your turn, move only when there is a clean opening, and do not make your case by screaming around kids.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
