Source: Global Travel Industry News
Author: Nelson Alcantara

Now that it is public information that United has been busted for sending out a generic apology letter to a customer by mistake, I wonder if the airline is getting inundated with a lot of complaint letters of late. As a 1K member of United’s frequent flyer program, I travel with United more frequently than I do any other airline. This being the case, I can irrevocably claim that I have been given a few good reasons to write a complaint letter myself. In three out of the five most recent United flights I have been on, some kind of trouble has been involved.

On March 30, 2014, United had mistakenly put my luggage in an earlier flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles. That flight, however, ended up returning to Honolulu International Airport (HNL) because the aircraft triggered some kind of anomaly after it took off. That flight ended up arriving much later than the flight I took, so my luggage was declared officially “lost” at the time of my arrival at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The communication I had with United’s LAX luggage employees can best be described as almost comical. “So, you are trying to tell me that you put my bag in an earlier flight, but it is going to arrive much later than the flight I just took?” Yes, they said. “How does that make sense?” A shrug was the answer I got.

Unbeknownst to United’s LAX luggage crew, I knew what happened to that earlier flight. My colleague was on that flight, so I knew about the "UA1221 from Honolulu: Scare in the sky" (http://www.eturbonews.com/44201/united-1221-honolulu-scare-sky) and even have a video to prove it.

I, of course, did not anticipate for my luggage to be on any flight except the one that I was on, let alone the aforementioned flight. But, it happened. Consequently, it got me thinking about United’s performance based on my most recent trips. The luggage incident is the third time in a row that something had gone wrong with a flight I took on United.

Prior to the March30, 2014 flight, I had traveled from Los Angeles to Honolulu via United on two occasions. Both of which were supposed to be a nonstop flight, but they did not actually meet the single criterion for what is considered a nonstop flight - it had to stop at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to “refuel.”

The first time that I was on a United flight from LAX to HNL that stopped at SFO to “refuel” occurred on February 26, 2014. It made no sense that the flight, which I had been on so many other times before, needed to stop at SFO to “refuel.” The flight crew of UA1228 was just as unprepared for the unusual stop as I was, as they did not seem to have been given a specific course of action on how to handle the situation. The incident seemed unprecedented based on how the flight crew acted during the SFO stop. They were not sure how long the “refueling” process was going to take - no specific time of departure, no idea how long the flight is going to be delayed for much longer and no idea how late the arrival in HNL was going to be.

As a result of the lack of information and action from the flight crew, I took to Twitter to contact United during the long ordeal at SFO. My tweet on February 26, 2014 reads: “Is @LAX_Official running out of fuel, @united? Why in @flySFO for "fuel" for a flight going to @HNLAirport?” The captain of that flight shortly thereafter spoke on the intercom and said something to the effect of “due to FAA [United States Federal Aviation Administration] regulations, we are required to stop in San Francisco because of the aircraft size, flight load and the wind.” He left it at that. Equally bewildering is the unpreparedness of the flight crew. They were, for lack of a better analogy, just as clueless. And it showed.

For the “inconvenience” of the delayed flight, one of the flight attendant announced that customers will be offered complimentary in-flight entertainment via DirecTV after takeoff from SFO. “Please go to United’s website to claim your reimbursement.” But, another unexpected thing happened - unfortunately the flight crew couldn’t get the DirecTV feature to work once the flight finally took off. When it did, the flight was about an hour away from the already very late arrival, making the so-called customer compensation null and void.

On top of all that had already gone on, flight attendants during the stop at SFO had another curve ball thrown at them. They had to the “demonstrate the safety features” of the aircraft the old-fashioned way – live in person instead of the usual video instructions introduced by United CEO Jeff Smisek. That safety video worked at LAX, but it had some sort of “system malfunction” at SFO. As to why it was necessary to demonstrate the safety features again, the crew said it is “required by the FAA.” We arrived in Honolulu shortly after midnight, which was about four hours later than the scheduled arrival. For some, the hassles did not end there. Some missed flight connections, while others had to wake people to get picked up.

On March 30, 2014 via UA1223, United was “FAA-mandated” again to stop to refuel at SFO for a "nonstop" flight from LAX to HNL. Unfortunately, I was on that flight as well. To go through the same “inconvenience” twice in a row is unfathomable. Clearly, there was something amiss logistically. There was a noticeable difference between the two flights, however. The flight crew acted more professional, assertive and direct the second time around. More importantly, some key information were provided, such as the estimated time for the SFO stop and the estimated time of the delayed arrival in Honolulu. And, the second SFO “refuel” stop was a lot shorter than the first - it only clocked in about an hour and 19 minutes for the entire process.

So, was that to be expected for every United “nonstop” flight from LAX to HNL from then on? I was beginning to dread so. I got my answer on April 8, 2014, when I was once again on the same flight path - bound for Honolulu on a nonstop flight from LAX via UA1226. This time around, the flight did not stop at SFO to “refuel.” I was relieved, but puzzled as well. The flight was full and used a similar aircraft to the ones used previously on the two FAA-mandated flights to “refuel” in San Francisco. All factors considered and based on the information from United, I am left to deduce that the wind is to blame primarily for the “refueling” episodes. Blaming the wind would bode well if there were any major weather disruptions involved, but there were none reported on February 26, 2014 and March 30, 2014. Well and good, but this leaves my last two flights prior a mystery.

Ultimately, I’m faced with having to question what the real deal is with United Airlines? Is trouble brewing for the airline? Is filing for yet another Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection looming over the Jeff Smisek-led company? These questions spell uncertainty. While I do not mind raking up mileage as compensation for these so-called inconveniences (part of the perks of being a 1K member), United remains my preferred airline. But, loyalty program is not unique to United and loyalty must be given to those that deserve it. Getting busted for sending out a generic apology letter should have been the least of my worries. However, factoring in my recent experiences with United leads me no choice but to be worried. And, looking to take my business elsewhere.

I was recently put on mandatory flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles via Delta Air Lines in order to make my connection for a trip to China. I have not found Delta to be outstanding in the past, so I wasn’t particularly keen on flying with them. Yet, I couldn’t help but compare my previous flights with United to the one with Delta being that it was the same route. Delta won me over because it provided an overall better flight experience than United did. There were no mishaps, no technical or system malfunctions to report and it had a far better in-flight entertainment system. Based on prior trips, it is clear that Delta has upped its game. Perhaps, this has to do with the airline’s recent partnership with a certain mogul named Richard Branson. Maybe. Maybe not. What’s not up for contention is this: Branson can count on his employees to never accidentally send out any letter by mistake. The rabid travel peeps from Flyertown.com are always hungry for a subject to talk about and being under their scrutiny is enough to start a digital wildfire. Right, United?