aggravatedMr. Peter D. McDonald
Executive Vice President - Operations
United Airlines
Post Office Box 66100
Chicago, IL 60666
Dear Mr. McDonald:
I am writing to request a refund of the fare in the amount of $***.** for my recently completed United Airlines itinerary due to the outrageous and unacceptable behavior of United Airlines staff. The flight was a round trip from Ontario, California to Reno, Nevada, departing on November 26, 2003 and returning on November 30, 2003. The PNR for the itinerary is NQ4QG8. A copy of my original routing is provided on the attached page for your reference.
The first incident occurred on the outbound portion of the trip. My itinerary took me from San Francisco to Reno on flight number 798. The flight was overbooked, and the gate agents had unsuccessfully attempted to find volunteers to give up their seats on the flight. I had checked in using Easy Check-In online, and upon giving my printed boarding pass to the gate agent, I was told they wanted to reprint it on the standard ticket paperstock. They reprinted it by my seat number, and I boarded the plane. Several minutes later, a young man told me that I was sitting in his seat. As it turned out, through a computer error, my seat had been reassigned to another passenger, so when the gate agent reprinted it only by seat number, she didn't realize that I was not the correct passenger. The gate agent had boarded the plane, and she told me to come up to the front of the plane so that they could reassign me to a new seat. I complied with her request. At the front of the plane, the agent told me that United would be giving me a hotel room and a flight the next morning rather than reassigning me to a different seat. This is the definition of involuntarily denied boarding, yet I was not offered a copy of the denied boarding compensation policy, nor was I offered the appropriate monetary compensation as FAA regulations and United policy require. I refused to accept her statement about what compensation I would receive, and as the door to the plane was closing, the flight attendants were able to convince another volunteer to give up his seat. I ended up with a middle seat for the flight, though I had reserved a window seat months in advance and had arrived at the gate much earlier than the 20 minutes required by United policy.
There are two major issues that I have with this incident. First, I was allowed to board the plane as another passenger, which makes me uncomfortable with United's security procedures. Second, I was not offered appropriate compensation for the attempted involuntary bumping. Both of these constitute major violations of United's policies and of my expectations as a customer.
As bad as the outbound portion of my trip was, the return was even worse. My flight from Reno to San Francisco was delayed due to weather in San Francisco. I recognize that United has no control over the weather, and this alone did not upset me. However, I was told that the plane had already touched down in Reno, though the plane did not arrive at the gate for another 45 minutes. Furthermore, as the gate agent made the announcement about the arrival time of the flight, her radio said that the plane was still fifteen minutes out, suggesting that the agent lied to the people in the waiting area. When I arrived late at the San Francisco airport, I inquired as to whether I should go stand-by on the next flight to Los Angeles. I was told that my booked flight had been delayed to about 8:45 p.m., so I should not have a problem making my connection in Los Angeles. The flight did not actually push back from the gate until 9:53 p.m., and I missed my connection in Los Angeles. Upon arrival in Los Angeles, a gate agent boarded the plane and announced over the airplane's public address system that passengers who missed their connection to Ontario should talk to the agent at the gate. I stood in line at the gate for about 25 minutes, and eventually got to the front of the line. I was given a copy of my rebooked itinerary (as I'd arranged in San Francisco as a back-up plan) and a phone number that I could call so that United could make a hotel reservation for me (that I would pay for). I asked if United could provide a voucher for a ground shuttle to Ontario as they've done on prior occasions for similar circumstances, and the gate agent said that he didn't know about that and that I'd have to ask at the Customer Service Center. I asked if it was possible to obtain my baggage, as I would either be spending the night in Los Angeles or traveling on my own to Ontario. Again, I was told to ask at the Customer Service Center.
I walked down the concourse to the Customer Service Center where I found another line. For the first fifteen minutes I was there, the line did not move with the exception of several people who gave up and left the line in frustration. Approximately 45 minutes later, I got to the front of the line, and I asked about the shuttle. The agent brusquely told me that United would be unable to provide a shuttle. I asked if it would be possible to get my baggage, and he told me that I would have to ask at the baggage claim downstairs and that he couldn't help me.
Upon arriving at the baggage claim, I went to the customer service desk near carousel one. The first woman who I spoke with (who it turned out was the supervisor) snapped her fingers at me and told me she "couldn't deal" with me right now and that I'd "just have to wait." This was before I had said a single word. One of her subordinates came over and asked me what I wanted. I said that I was attempting to get to Ontario on my own and I wanted my bag back so that I could go. She told me that the ramp that the bag was on was shut down for the night, so it wasn't possible to get my bag. At that point, the supervisor rudely told me that she couldn't do anything for me and I should leave. I left the baggage claim for a minute to regain my composure because I was shocked at the rude way I was dismissed by United's representatives. I returned to the baggage claim service center and asked to speak with a supervisor, as I had not been informed that the woman I talked to was a supervisor. It was at that point that the same woman identified herself as the supervisor, and I attempted to explain my situation to her. She interrupted me four times during the 90 second conversation to answer the phone, discuss an issue with her coworker, and assist another customer, so it seemed as though she wasn't listening and didn't care. I told her that if it wasn't possible to get my bags tonight, then I wanted United to deliver them to me at my home. She told me no without explanation. Another passenger standing next in line asked the supervisor to please "just call your supervisor to get authorization so he can get his baggage delivered." She nastily told him that it was "none of his business," that he was a "bastard," and that he should "shut up." At that point, I asked for two pieces of information from this supervisor: her name and the phone number for Ontario baggage information so that I could determine when my bag arrived. She was unable to provide me with a phone number (though one of her subordinates later gave me the 800 number for baggage information). She told me that her name was "Tonya," but her nametag said "Renee." I politely asked her about the discrepancy, and she told me, "This isn't a game, sweetheart. Don't you dare argue with me." I asked her again for her name, and she told me, "I told you my name is Tonya and that's all you're getting from me, you bastard. Now leave this area before I have to call security." It is important to note that I had not raised my voice nor had I said anything at all offensive to her. In fact, the passenger who asked her to speak with her supervisor later told me that I behaved more politely than any other person he'd seen at the counter. As I pointed out, I do not know the name of the supervisor with certainty, but it is likely either Renee or Tonya, and she was working at the customer service counter near baggage claim one at Los Angeles International at about 11:45 p.m. on Sunday evening, November 30.
I arranged for my own ground transportation to Ontario via a shuttle which I paid for myself. The Los Angeles to Ontario portion of my itinerary went unused, and I was told that there was nothing I could do about that. Upon finally arriving home, I called United baggage at the 800 number given to me in Los Angeles. I spoke to a United representative, gave her my baggage claim check number, and waited on hold for two minutes. She told me that there was no information on my bag, she wasn't sure where it was, but it was possible it was either in Los Angeles or in Ontario. She told me that I could try calling again in the morning. I tried calling again at about 9:45 a.m. on Monday morning and after going through the computerized voice menu, it told me that all customer service representatives were busy, so I should try calling back later. I did try calling back later, and received the same computerized message. Eventually, I drove to the Ontario airport without knowing if my bags were there. Fortunately they were, and I retrieved them.
There are three major issues with this portion of my journey. First, United's representatives misinformed me and lied to me both in Reno and in San Francisco. They should not give me false information about the status of flights, nor should they attempt to dissuade me from going stand-by based on false information. Second, United's agents were unable to tell me where to go to get the information I needed. I needlessly stood in line for 45 minutes at the Customer Service Center because the gate agent did not know what to do, only to find out that the Customer Service Representative didn't know either. My time is valuable, and United's representatives wasted it by failing to understand their duties. The third issue, and the issue that upsets me the most, is the behavior of the supervisor in the baggage claim area. She was hostile, demeaning, and rude to me. She refused to make any effort to accommodate me, and yelled at me and called me names without reason. I recognize that the evening was frustrating for everyone, but I expect United's personnel, and in particular United's supervisors, to act more professionally.
There are two responses I expect from United. First, I expect a refund of my airfare for this trip (a total of $***.**). The situations I described violate United's own policies as well as FAA regulations. Second, I would like an explanation as to what is being done to correct each of the "major issues" I described above. I have never been treated so poorly by any airline, though I've flown hundreds of thousands of miles during my lifetime, including 25,000 on United during the last year. After the positive experiences I'd had with United in the past, I was extremely disappointed by the rude and unprofessional behavior of United staff during my Thanksgiving journey.