As a not-so-frequent-flier, I had a hard time deciding who to fly with on a recent trip out west to Las Vegas. I finally decided to go with United since they had the best price. I have to say that I was very impressed with United overall! I had a connecting flight and not only were they on time each flight (4 in all), but we were actually early for 2 flights. The staff quality varied by plane. The best staff was on the first flight out to Denver. They were attentive and friendly and put this knuckler at ease!

The planes were new and nice with plenty of leg room and nice seats. The only negative I had was on one flight, my headphone plug-in didn't work. The movie showed was pretty new (The Soloist ) and I was pleasantly surprised by the shows they had running: Parks & Recreation and History Channel's Cities of the Underworld! We ran into a little turbulence ( which made me more pious than St. Peter praying in the fetal position) but it was short and the captain reassured us that he would do his best to get us out of the rough air quickly. All things considered, I would absolutely fly with them again.

This is the worst airline ever! The ticket agent sent my bag to Hawaii (when I was not traveling there) because she couldn't read my identification properly, and then the refunds department promised me a baggage refund and then pretended that I never called in the first place! Worst customer service ever--3 weeks later and my problems are still not resolved!

Horrible- but I've had worse (errrr.... easyjet anyone??).

terrible customer service. they wouldn't honour a deal 30 mins after it expired--even though i told them their website was having problems and wouldn't let me purchase it. i've flown 10+ times with them, and every time I have a problem, they act like it's my fault. If you are looking for good customer service stay away! I guess you get what you pay for.

This is my first time using United and the experience wasn't good. My flight was on a Friday evening to Las Vegas.

First of all I couldn't check in online because the system didn't let me do it, although my friend, flying in the same flight could (I don't know why).

I got in the airport 1 hour before the flight takes off, so i didn't have much time to check in. I tried to check in on one the Automatic Tellers but it didn't work. Then I went to ask one of the assistants at the United line and she said that i had to wait in line. (Ok I understand that if I am late is not their fault, but it's not my fault that the automatic teller doesn't work). I told the "nice" woman that my flight was in 45 minutes and the line was at least one hour long, but she didn't care at all. I was going to miss my flight.

Then I started cutting the line one person at the time, previously I asked everybody. Finally I am the first in the line and I get my board pass exactly 31 minutes before the flight take off time.

So we made it on time, we sat at the gate to find out that the flight was delayed no one, nor two but 3 hours. So instead of being in Vegas drunk at 10pm I was going to be in Vegas sleepy at 2am.

My friend and I hanged out at the airport for 3 hours doing nothing. Well we had some beers, but that is not the point.

Nothing to report in our flight back home. Nothing that I can remember

I like United, they are better than any other US airline that I have experienced. The on-line reservation/check in system is great. There planes are comfortable. Food selection is not bad (or great). First Class is excellent. I choose to fly United whenever I can. Only one bad experience ever & it was a check-in experience at Santa Barbara, CA where the check-in agent was extremely rude.

I would truly give it a zero star if I could. Have never, ever once had a flight with them that was enjoyable or problem free. For example, when I flew from Arcata, CA to San Francisco, CA I paid to check a bag. Other passengers checking in did not report their bag which needed to be checked in. They went to the gate and their bags were set aside as they boarded the plane with no fee paid!! I called the problem resolution line and they would not give me a refund because the baggage fee is their policy. However, the policy seemed only to be applied to honest passengers. I have been on hold for customer service for yet another problem. It's been 58 minutes so far. I'd love to see them fold!

As someone who is a million mile flyer on United and about a million miles on a combination of other airlines, I can attest that United's treatment of its customers is the absolute worst in the industry. Unfortunately I lived in the San Francisco area for a long period of time and, as you know, when you live near a hub city you get locked into the major provider.

I have found all aspects of United's operation to be completely incompetent. Generally, you are better off trying to make a reservation yourself online than working with a United agent. When you get to the airport, you're shocked at how repeatedly the passengers in the premium check-in line have the longest waits to check-in. At the gate the lack of any type of order or courtesy is completely missing when boarding. United frequently changes plane configurations at the last minute - causing havoc - in recent years downgrading to TED flights with no first class - even on cross country flights. On the plane you receive the worst service in the industry from flight attendants who would clearly rather be elsewhere doing something else. And, if you have a customer service issue - like United causing you to miss an important event or business meeting - forget it - the best they can do is offer you a small travel voucher that you will never use.

I have all the scars to prove it after some 20 years of flying - stay away from United.

  Does anyone remember the United commercial from the 80's where 'deb' the blonde friendly flight attendant greets everyone as they board and takes thier coats and welcomes them to thier seats?

Sadly, Deb does not exist anymore she has been laid off more than once and forced through many rounds of concessions until she has grown very bitter and all she can mutter upon your stepping on the plane now is 'go sit down'

United was good for a US carrier back in the day and it still is a step upov Delta and US airways,but a small step indeed.

Not amazing, but it gets the job done.  Especially since I live in the middle of nowhere, and United happens to have convenient flights.  It also has a good route network in Asia.  The seats are adequate (I am quite short), and the service hasn't been a problem.  Also, rather roomy economy plus seats for elite customers.  Good first/business class offerings.

United is the worst Airline I've EVER flown! I would NEVER fly them again. They cancelled our flight at the last minute and it cost us over $1000 to go with another airline and they wouldn't reimburse us for that flight. NEVER fly with this airline unless you want to lose your luggage or a ton of money. They are a cheap, crappy, don't stand behind their product, garbage airline! I just don't want anyone else to have to go through what I went through with them. Must get the word out!

Not a great airline, but if you're traveling domestically they tend to be cheaper than Delta or Continental, and they serve a lot of airports, so if you need to get somewhere in the U.S., United can probably get you there. Cramped seating just like everyone else, but with United, you'll get there, eventually.

When you absolutely positively have to be two hours late for that meeting in Chicago. . .

They changed my flight without confirming with me and when I called to complain, they put me on hold for over half an hour. When they finally did address my problem, I was told there was nothing that they could do about it. Absolutely worthless airline!

I actually like United Airlines.

The flight attendants are rude, we always have to wait three hours for baggage even though we are priority, and you have to call India for everything.   DON'T FLY THEM.  We have flown them hundreds of times and they are consistently bad.   We are going to change our milage program.

I fly about 60.000 miles a yr on UA. I agree with the reviewer below that they arent fantastic but they also arent the worst in the industry. Ive had a few good and a few bad experiences like with most businesses. Given the poor behaviour that many of us (as customers) display I have a certain amount of understanding for the airline employees. I have experienced more rudeness by passengers than by flight attendants.

My honest opinion...United has got to be the worst airline in the history of flight!! Worst costomer service, no planes ever on time, employee screw-ups..the whole nine yards. My whole family, including my girlfriend has tried this airline. All of us had the worst experience flying with them the first time. Our family will never use them again. My parents were delayed two days in Denver, with a 1 yr old grandson. United would do nothing for them, not even an apology. I flew them once, was delayed over an hour to get on board. When flying back mt flight was cancelled with no notification as I had asked for, causing me to also miss a connecting flight back home. My girlfriend was trying to see me for Thanksgiving. The plane showed up 2 hours late, then had maintenance issues. She will not get here until 1 day later. They are the worst, PERIOD!

the worst experience ever. AND it really wasn't the two delays, poor flight updates, the cancellation, the overnight at O'Hare, or even the mistake by their agent when trying to rebook my flight, when she booked me two days past the makeup flight they created just for our cancellation. it was that after all this, when they wouldn't give me my luggage back after stranding me for two days, they wouldn't even give me a toiltetries pack, a coupon for food nothing. they screwed up, and couldn't even pony up for some toothpaste or a toothbrush - not even a sorry folks - hands down the worst customer service on the planet.

This is the worst airline in my opinion. Every time I have flown it they have been late. My husband was just flying from O'Hare, he got their early and during that time 3 of their flights were cancelled leaving a bunch of customers upset and stranded. They ended up switching his gate and he missed his flight....he never had his name called. My other friend ended up getting stuck in Atlanta due to a cancelled flight. Not to mention when I flew to Vegas the plane felt rickety. I will not fly United ever.

I suppose if the plane makes it to its destination some people will be happy. But if youre trying to find out if that plane is on time dont count on United. First you get the same information on-line and with the automated operator system. But, if that information looks questionable and you think Ill try getting connected to an Agent forget it. First of all the Agent (in India) has no Idea where the cities in the U S are or at least no idea of their relationship timewise. Another fine example of outsourcing.

Have flown with many airliners both within Europe and the United States. United was one of the best airlines I have travelled with - Better seats and leg room, very friendly cabin crew and excellent customer service.

I truly cannot fly this airline anymore after my last mishap with this airline. They completely botched my last reservation and changed it without our consent. So I ended up holding tickets where my infant daughter flew by herself and parents flew on another flight! I bet you would say that is not believable, but believe it. And the supervisor of the UA said it would cost me $100 ticket to change the reservation even though it was there inept reservation specialist who made the mistake. His attitude was take it or leave it. Now I have decided to leave it for good with this company. They can go bankrupt I do not care. And they will be in bankruptcy with this type of customer service.

I haven't had to fly very often, but the times I did this is the airlines I used. No problem.

Worst baggage claim service ever!

Their customer service agents must be trained to lie.
Their "help desk" is in the Middle East...good luck in understanding their english!

I've never had a problem w/United. Overall, I think they're solid. I don't even mind flying their puddle-jumpers.....Honestly, they should have another star deducted for that god-awful trailmix they serve. Pretty good though

I flew out from O'Hare to Washington DC, and I will say that flying with United was a very comfortable and convenient trip. The seats are comfortable, the flight attendants are caring and helpful, they serve fine Starbucks coffee onboard, and the ride is gentle and safe. Baggage was handled promptly and nothing was damaged. This is a good airline, even though some may have had bad experiences.

It's not enough that they have O'Hare, a notoriously delay-plagued airport, as a hub, but United has horrible customer support. I would say non-existant because it's really not helpful but it's actually annoying and frustrating to deal with them. Why does anyone fly United? Well, I started because I was flying with a co-worker and he picked the flights. Within four months I had flown 40,000 miles with this airline in hopes of one day, if I'm good, getting a free ticket somewhere. But that's not what my complaint is about, that's just why I kept flying this non-distinct airline. My annoyance started with contacting customer support to get travel awarded to my account. E-mail customer support is useless - you get a scripted answer that really doesn't say anything. They should really do away with this since it's not really adding any value. Phone customer support is equally useless and you get attitude. If the delays and bad catering weren't enough to keep me away from United, this certainly is. In a last attempt to feel better about this company and get the feeling that they really do care about their customers, I called customer relations. Huge step up from any other support personnel because they listen to you and are actually nice. However, that too ended with a promise to escalate the issue to management which I appreciated at the time, but I don't appreciate so much anymore since I've gotten no reply back on a resolution. So, after putting myself through great pains to try to convince myself to stay with United (to get 50,000 miles for a trip to Europe) and failing miserably, I've conceeded and booked my next trip on Continental...

Well, for those of us in the Bay Area, it's often United or bust. Seems like they suffer the most from the big-airline woes (delays, mistakes, uncaring employees, etc.) The DEN and ORD hubs break down easily...even a little bad weather means everything gets seriously delayed. Pluses: they treat their frequent-flyers quite well, have a very extensive route network (especially int'l) and have pretty good inflight entertainment.

I've flown them a few times and they are like American--I think the two airlines are totally interchangeable. No real bad experiences, no amazing experiences either. But these airlines need to STOP using Chicago O'Hare as a hub. Sounds like the FAA is working on that----good news!

I would actually like to give them a big fat ZERO or actually more like a negative infinity. In 2001 my grandmother had a cruise planned. They were supposed to go in the spring of 2002 and in October 2001 she found out she had breast cancer. She got all her money back for her cruise but the things she had to go through with United are unbelievable. Everytime she contacted them to see what she should do they gave her a different story. Basically they first told her, All you need to do is get something from a doctor saying that you will not be able to travel and then we can reimburse you. So she gets the note saying she will absolutely not be able to travel. At the same time all this was happening, my grandma's friend found out she also had cancer and was going through all the same things because she was supposed to go on the cruise also. My grandma had paid for the tickets and her friend paid her back. Well of course the airlines said that they could not reimburse her friend because my grandma had paid for the ticket but then they said they couldn't reimburse my grandma either because the ticket was in her friend's name! WTF??? Anyways, I'm getting off track here. They both sent their notes in from their doctor's and all of a sudden the story changed and it didn't matter what was wrong with them or if they had proof that they were sick and couldn't travel, United would not refund their money. So they tell my grandma she can change her ticket to go somewhere else and she wanted to go visit my aunt in California but then they tell her they will have to charge her $100 to switch the ticket and she only had a certain amount of time to use the ticket. HELLO!!! She has cancer and has no idea when she will be able to travel or if she will even make it through this to travel again. Well, luckily she did make it and has been free of cancer since 2001. She has also made other plans for cruises and trips to California in the past few years and for the near future and you can be sure no one in our family will EVER fly United!!!

Maybe financial troubles are chewing employees up. Sometime is going on - because in Denver (home base) UA treated a whole flt of pax to locking up luggage and leaving the bldg. Absolutely the rudest and dumbest trick since the Electras fell out of the sky. I would avoid UA for the next 5 years. And avoid Denver airport - an absolute disaster.

I have to say this was a true experience flying with this airline. It wasn't the worst, yet I wouldn't fly with them again. Getting there was extremely squished at best, and the plane landed so hard on the runway in clear weather, that I had thought we damaged a landing gear or something. We left at least 30 minutes late (except for the return flight, which was 2 hours late)and did some funky loading thing where we used the middle hatch above the wings to load the front to the back...which would cause you to never leave on time because of the pandamonium of brawling in the hallways to find a seat. They managed to serve dinner without any drinks, because they served drinks for the middle, then the front, then the back...so by the time anyone got a drink, they were done. They pick the cheasiest straight to video movies as entertainment, making channel 9 (pilots chatter channel) seem extremely entertaining. When exiting the airline, they show their appreciation of the money they have stolen from you by ignoring you and chatting among themselves. The discount airlines I have flown with like Southwest and Frontier were way better than this airline....

I have flown a lot with United, and overall, have had no problems. They did manage to mess up once, big-time, with a connecting flight which caused an absolutely abysmal overnight stay in New York, but I'd still say given the number of times I have flown with them, the overall experience has been positive.

United will probably always be my favorite out of the group. Not only are the ticket agents really down to earth and polite, but I almost always have great experiences with the flight attendants. Very helpful, and are always sincere when it comes to safety...which is a huge plus. I am always offered at least 2 beverages during a 4 hour flight, where alot of other airlines barely give you half a can of soda during a long flight ! I have always left and arrived on time every time I have used United. They are a little expensive, but totally worth it. The best American airline available ! Superb !

I've been flying on United Airlines since the 1960's and I still have excellent experiences with United! They are doing a great job in very trying times!

Got time to spare? Fly USAir...

The “Friendly Sky’s Airline” gets a mercy boost to 2 stars only, because, they still have a core of professional and caring employees in their organization. Otherwise, they take lateness to new heights of frustration and the mentally challenged (retarded) must run their baggage operations!

I wish there was the option to give NO stars on this thing! When I was younger, my parents flew us on United so I didn't have a choice. Now, however, I will NEVER fly on them again! I had bad experiences every single time with them! They totally jerked my family around. On top of this, they're ALWAYS late, RUDE, and not careful with people's belongings. The food SUCKS, too! You definitely don't get what you pay for!

Got me to San Francisco 6 hours late. That was a week ago. My suitcase still hasn't made it :-(

Why does anybody fly United??? They've got the worst on-time performance record in the U.S. airline industry (just over 50% on-time last year), they lose more baggage than any other airline, and they have some of the highest average fares in the industry. Throw in a few nasty strikes, some terrible hub airports, and you've got the makings of a horrible performing airline. THUMBS DOWN!

The worst! Too many horrible experiences. I had to be kept in the airport for 38 hours! Plus I lost money because I was two days late.

United airlines offers tickets at reasonable prices. The only problem is the service which could be improved. Also, I think it should offer more connections between the western parts of the U.S. and South America.

Lots of choice, with a lot of mileage plus partners. I like doing the whole reservation, ticket purchase, and boarding pass online. I bitch about some stuff, but whenever I take another airline I end up appreciating United.

Despite the fact that a lot of people complain about United, I have had for the most part a good experience with them. I have taken several trips to Asia on United and had no problems. The domestic service is more problematic, especially the SFO-LAX connection. United Express is always overcrowded, often off the scheduale. Part of the problem has to do with the airport, but overbooking exacerbates the problem.

The food on United is lousy, even in international business class. But the new seats in business class are awesome, almost fully reclining with your own video screen. The airline has become more prompt over the last few years and seems to be on time these days. The mileage plus program is good. Agents are friendly, but sometimes they don't seem to speak good english. It is hard to communicate if you want to change reservations, etc.

Delays, delays, delays!! But what the heck, they get you there! Six weeks planning and the fairs are as low as anywhere in the U.S.

More generous with their frequent flier miles, but they are more difficult to use. The space between the seats are the worst of any airline. Never drop anything because it is impossible to pick up. On the plus side, United has a direct flight from S.F. to Paris.

United is too often delayed or cancelled. They also lost my luggage once. But overall, safety is my first concern and United seems to have a pretty good safety record.