Filth on a United Airlines flight

[RDU-JFK]

Saw this article on a.net. The cabin was a mess during this flight. Includes pictures and a letter written to United. Interesting, to say the least.

http://consumerist.com/consumer/united- ... 246359.php

[Matt Molnar]

That's pretty friggin gross.

[PhilDernerJr]

That is pretty bad.

At first I thought maybe it was during a big snowstorma nd they couyldn't get a cleaning crew on and just wanted to get the peopel to where they needed to go....but then I saw that the flight was in Hawaii. haha

"Feminine Hygiene Wrapper" is pretty vague. I don't understand.

[hiss srq]

That is disgusting! United is really making a trun for the worst lately in all areas. Competence of workers is a big issue there. They cannot even reissue tickets properly it seems. How can a carrier allow such a disgraceful image of themselves on routes that are high yeild for them? That is a sure fire way to allow American to have their way.

[stuart schechter]

Jeez, That's UA for ya. Although, their codeshare's seem preety good to me. LH was great on one of their new A330's.

[USAF Pilot 07]

United really has gone downhill in the past year and a half. Being in Colorado Springs (an hour South of Denver) I fly United a lot. Their customer service has gone downhill recently, as has the "competence" there (as someone mentioned).

For example, you can't get anything done at check-in, because there is usually only one or two United Reps working over 30 check-in kiosks. Everyone working behind the kiosks is "outsourced" and can only put tags on bags and throw them on the belt.

If you don't select your seat online while booking travel, you can usually forget about selecting it at the gate, unless you want to pay the extra money to sit in economy plus. I forgot to select my seat online while booking my latest flight (you can't go back after booking and select it like you can on other airlines), and when I went to check-in yesterday, the seat-map showed no more empty seats in economy, and then wanted me to pay $44 extra to sit in Economy Plus. Not to mention that when you do check-in and select the "View Seat Map" option, it shows you the economy plus seat option first, making it seem like this is the only option, with a tiny box at the bottom that says "No Thanks, continue to regular seating" (or something to that effect).

The employees there don't seem happy. When I flew about a year ago, I asked the agent working the gate (empty line) if there was an exit row seat available. I kindly told the guy working there that I was originally scheduled to take a later (more full) flight with a seat in Economy PLUS, and that I was standby (with a seat assignment) for the earlier, empty flight. I told him that a UAL agent helping me with the standby request told me that loads were low and since my assigned seat was towards the end of the plane, if I could be moved up to the exit row, especially since I gave up a seat in Economy PLUS on the later flight. He pretty much came back with a sarcastic reply in a sarcastic tone like:
"Oh, so the flight is WIDE open, so you think you can just be moved up towards the front of the plane? And having a seat in Economy PLUS means nothing. I don't care that you had a seat in EP on the later flight, you're not a platinum member (or whatever the requirement is), so if you want the exit row, you're going to have to pay $44."

I understand that UAL won't move you up to EP unless they have to, but since I had EP on the earlier flight, and since this flight was wide open, I didn't see the need for him to come back with a smart-ass tone when answering me. He could have just explained the policy in a professional manner.

I came back and said "No that's fine, I will just move up once the door to the aircraft is closed", and he gave me a snotty look...

Not all experiences on UAL have been bad, in fact I have had some pleasant ones, but recently they have been fewer and farer in between.

[Mellyrose]

Wow, that's gross. Phil and I were on a very delayed jetBlue flight back in December and from the looks of things, they didn't have time to clean the plane for our flight (seat backs were full of wrappers, etc), but NOTHING compared to this.

"Feminine Hygiene Wrapper" is pretty vague. I don't understand.

I think they were referring to the adhesive lining of a maxi-pad....that's what was written, anyway. Did you really want to know that? :?

[T-Bird76]

I just got off four United flights and each plane was very clean. Their service was very good, much better then AA and US. I've been on alot of major airlines and have seen some pretty dirty planes. All someone did here was take some pics and put them on the web. Its not an exuse at all but this could have been AA, US, WN, B6, or CO.

[USAF Pilot 07]

I agree Tommy, this could have been on just about any airline, but their whole gripe isn't just about the dirty plane, it's about how they were treated by United, especially when they missed their connection in ORD, after it being UAL's fault.

While such treatment is likely to be found at any airline - due to the sole fact that people are people - it's kind of an attestment to how UAL's customer service is, and how it has declined recently.

I'm sure there are many examples of great customer service on UAL, most of which go undocumented. And, honestly who knows if UAL's customer service is really much worse than any other airline's? I have encountered some very friendly F/A's on UAL. But, based on my observations, having flown UAL fairly consistently over the past 4 years, along with other carriers such as F9 and DL, UAL's CS seems to have dramatically decreased, especially on the ground. (granted, I only fly about 1 or 2 RTs a month) It's almost like the employees there don't enjoy going to work, or don't agree with UAL's policies, and are forced to repeat the same things a hundred times a day to a hundred different customers who ask the same questions, and get tired of it after a while.

On another more positive note though, from my observations, just about every F9 employee I've come across, whether it be locally in Denver or at the airport, has been very pleasant and for the most part was thrilled about working for F9. I'm not sure if it's partially because F9's workforce seems to be younger and maybe has less "experience" than some of the "legacy" carriers, and knows no better, or what.

In any case, more of the stories like the one posted above can only really be expected in the future, even though it's not right. As long as all people care about are getting the lowest fares, airlines will be forced to implement policies trying to save a buck that ultimately end up pissing off its employees, who in turn pass that attitude along to the customers. It's not right, but it's going to happen.

[hiss srq]

United is having a great deal of internal problems. I have the unfortuneate pleasure of dealing with them and their clients on a daily basis and I see first hand the decline in Uniteds ability to serve competently. About the only thing I actually think UA does right is Channel 9 on their flights. Otherwise they need to seriously re think alot of things. I have more headaches from their incompetence in a day than anything.

[USAF Pilot 07]

Yea! Channel 9 is sweet! I wish more airlines would implement it!