JEDIYoda
Lifer
- Jul 13, 2005
- 33,986
- 3,321
- 126
rh71
No Lifer
- Aug 28, 2001
- 52,844
- 1,049
- 126
I'm just glad I don't have to fly that often - only take 1 vacation a year that is flying. The rest is usually within driving distance (helps that we don't live in the boonies). Some of you mentioning hundreds of flights... that simply blows. The whole airport process is bad enough... then you have to deal with other people, airplane seating, delays, etc.
If you do it enough there are certain things that can make it much more tolerable. TSA-Precheck often means less security hassle, Lounge access improves the airport experience, airline status can lead to better seats (or just experience with knowing what seats\airplanes to chose) and good noise cancelling headphones lessen the effects of other people. International business or first class can be down right enjoyable
- Feb 14, 2004
- 50,721
- 6,756
- 136
- Feb 14, 2004
- 50,721
- 6,756
- 136
TallBill
Lifer
- Apr 29, 2001
- 46,017
- 62
- 91
MrDudeMan
Lifer
- Jan 15, 2001
- 15,069
- 94
- 91
My average flight experience has been the same across all major airlines over several thousand flights, many of which were on United. Some are late, most are on time, and sometimes shit happens. Most (probably all) of the alleged horror stories in this thread and every other thread could very easily apply to ______ instead of United. I especially like the one about landing at the departure airport due to bad landing gear because that definitely sounds like the whole story. Not. The number one priority for all airlines is to land every plane at the destination on or ahead of schedule. There is no way a plane would turn around for that kind of stupidity and if you truly believe that's the whole story then I have some beachfront property in Kansas you may want to buy.
This is just like politics; if you think your side is the best, you're just as stupid as everyone else. All airlines make mistakes and none of them give a shit about you, which I don't mind one bit. They're in business to make money just like I am and I, just like everyone else, absolutely make every optimization I can as my business matures. Airline seats used to feel like the back seat of a Cadillac, which was nice, but incredibly wasteful. Of course I'd rather have more leg room, but I'm not going to drive for 20 hours because my legs aren't able to fully extend. You are perfectly welcome to feel differently and vote with your money, but most people obviously disagree. It's like Walmart crushing the little guy - "Down with Walmart!" yell the townspeople in defense of local stores as they stuff Walmart bags in the trunks of their cars. If it truly gets bad enough, people will stop flying. Until then, airlines are going to do what every other business does - squeeze every penny out of you that they possibly can. You are not entitled to fly in airplanes for the amount you deem reasonable and if you choose to stop flying on an airline because someone else punched an asshole in the face, they will not feel that loss at all. I bought 30 tickets on United in the last two months because they were the least expensive and/or had the most convenient schedules. When I chit-chat with other business travelers, I hear the exact same opinion.
This is just like politics; if you think your side is the best, you're just as stupid as everyone else. All airlines make mistakes and none of them give a shit about you, which I don't mind one bit. They're in business to make money just like I am and I, just like everyone else, absolutely make every optimization I can as my business matures. Airline seats used to feel like the back seat of a Cadillac, which was nice, but incredibly wasteful. Of course I'd rather have more leg room, but I'm not going to drive for 20 hours because my legs aren't able to fully extend. You are perfectly welcome to feel differently and vote with your money, but most people obviously disagree. It's like Walmart crushing the little guy - "Down with Walmart!" yell the townspeople in defense of local stores as they stuff Walmart bags in the trunks of their cars. If it truly gets bad enough, people will stop flying. Until then, airlines are going to do what every other business does - squeeze every penny out of you that they possibly can. You are not entitled to fly in airplanes for the amount you deem reasonable and if you choose to stop flying on an airline because someone else punched an asshole in the face, they will not feel that loss at all. I bought 30 tickets on United in the last two months because they were the least expensive and/or had the most convenient schedules. When I chit-chat with other business travelers, I hear the exact same opinion.
Geekbabe
Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
dullard
Elite Member
- May 21, 2001
- 25,913
- 4,500
- 126
If United wanted passengers to know the whole story, they had an extra couple of hours to tell that story. United choose not to. The only link that I could find at first:
https://twitter.com/NikPhillips666/status/866058401113137152
Edit: another link (probably not a permanent link):
https://www.google.com/search?q=ua4...UTF-8#safe=active&q=ua4020+flight+may+20+2017
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dud
Diamond Member
- Feb 18, 2001
- 7,635
- 73
- 91
Dude, are you a pilot, flight attendant or do you just live on a plane? How many is "several thousand"? I've done my travel bit for work. Luckily it has really slacked off ... as in about one trip per year.
MrDudeMan
Lifer
- Jan 15, 2001
- 15,069
- 94
- 91
That's nice... and irrelevant. No one said the plane didn't have a problem or that it didn't land at the departure airport. The contentious part of your comment was about why it turned around. Apparently, everyone involved with that flight had inferior intellect compared to you because none of them realized they could just as easily land with bad landing gear at another airport. My point was that people often (almost always) oversimplify things because they can't even process mildly complex information, which is what makes them believe the people in charge of the plane were really as stupid as you suggested. There's no way anything else important could have had an impact on the decision about where to land. Nope. No chance.
Your condemnation of United is also mostly misplaced. Airports can refuse unscheduled, non-emergency landings for almost any reason. You have no idea what really happened, so using it against United is shortsighted and kinda stupid, actually. They don't owe you an explanation.
There may not be much of a maintenance facility at Omaha. I totally understand sending it back to Chicago.
dullard
Elite Member
- May 21, 2001
- 25,913
- 4,500
- 126
You can't (1) claim that I have a lack of information and thus it is my problem and (2) say that United doesn't owe me the explanation. That is the beef. United clearly left passengers with incomplete and probably inaccurate information. It was United's decision to do so. So it is United's problem and United deserves the entire world's condemnation for doing so repeatedly. I gave just one minor example, United has a long history of flight problems and leaving the passengers in the dark.
TallBill
Lifer
- Apr 29, 2001
- 46,017
- 62
- 91
Good to see some users who can still process information logically around here. It's a rare commodity.
TallBill
Lifer
- Apr 29, 2001
- 46,017
- 62
- 91
And... we're back to nonsense. Max, can you give me the race of the 3 people who got off the United plane as their random number was called? Not that there would be statistical significance anyways.
MaxDepth
Diamond Member
- Jun 12, 2001
- 8,757
- 43
- 91
Oops, you're right. I forgot to add, "Are you a white male not wearing a t-shirt that says 'beer bellies make better lovers'?"
/me poking da bear with a stick
/me poking da bear with a stick
MrDudeMan
Lifer
- Jan 15, 2001
- 15,069
- 94
- 91
I didn't say it was your problem. I said you don't have any information and they don't owe you any information, so speculating makes no sense especially when the conclusion you concoct is basically "they turned around because they don't know how to fly their own airplane."
MrDudeMan
Lifer
- Jan 15, 2001
- 15,069
- 94
- 91
Who said you need to like United? All I see is you being told to stop being such a drama queen, but I see that didn't sink in.
I'm assuming you left out out of Boston since thats the only flight today with that # arriving in ORD today. So that means you probably noticed the pretty decent storm that hit the area. Looking at flights around the same scheduled take off time of the 125 flights scheduled around then a grand total of 30 took off on time so less than 25% of flights were not delayed. (Total numbers are slightly inflated due to code share reporting and ATC usually prioritizes International or long haul flights - neither of which ORD qualifies for). AA and Delta both had flights delayed over 2 hours from Boston (Some AA flights were delayed almost 4 hours like AA 2149) and AA even cancelled a few flights.
At least you didn't take JetBlue to Chicago around the same time. That one was delayed 235 minutes
Not sure blaming United for weather issues that hit every airline in BOS makes any sense at all
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feralkid
Lifer
- Jan 28, 2002
- 16,831
- 4,934
- 136
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