Please Hug me; I have been victimized by United Airlines
The Irate Traveler
In Seat 10B UA 6188 on 7-29-10
Kansas City, KS USA
United Airlines Customer Service
Dear Sir or Madame:
On Monday July 26, 2010 I was headed from Los Angeles, California to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for work. My first leg of my trip went well. Flew United from LAX no problem, other than it took 1 hour to check in at LAX. I got to Denver and my flight UA 6188 was listed as on time, or so the board stated. I had two hours to kill so I shopped and ate in the terminal. I got to my gate, which was gate 85; and there are too many people congregating at the gate. I was able to ascertain that half of the people were waiting on the plane parked at the gate was headed to Salt Lake City was having mechanical problems. There was a gate change for UA 6188. We end up boarding 1 hour later. Before we boarded we were told that the plane was warm. The flight crew was waiting for it to cool down before boarding. We finally boarded, and there was no air-conditioning; absolutely no air was coming from the nozzles above our seats. It was like stepping into a car parked in the sun all day long. They told us that the emergency power system was not working but when we got on the run way, and the plane was moving it would get cooler. We waited about 20 minutes to pull out from the gate, meanwhile we were all burning up, fanning ourselves, each other, the lady in the last seat with twin infants; all while drinking as much water as the flight attendant could pass around. It was an absolute mess, everyone was sweating profusely. Forty - five minutes later, we were still on the ground, fourth in line to take off. By this time we are all feeling like trapped animals left in a car on hot day. The flight attendant announced that due to mechanical difficulties we were going back to the gate. You think? What the hell was the pilot smoking? Goodness it must have been 90 degrees in the plane. The gentleman across the aisle from me shook his head and stated that the pilot should have known better, it was 100 degrees in Denver that day. After finding out what the temperature was in Denver that day, I became furious, flames were coming out of my butt and nostrils, "If it was 100 degrees the pilot made an unacceptable error; you would never leave an animal or small child in a car with the windows rolled up on a 100 degree day; common sense and the law tells you so." It was so hot that United Airlines was very lucky that they did not have a stampede during the deplaning.
People were too exasperated to make a scene and we barely had our wits about us to place one foot in front of the other and not fall down the steep stairs from the plane. We grab our stuff and stuff for the woman with the twin infants and de plane. As we de plane the flight attendant was shoving customer complaint cards in to our hands. We then have to grab our carry-on luggage off of the three tiered luggage cart. The plane was too small to accommodate any carry- on luggage larger than a lap top. The baggage people just stood there scratching their balls and grinning at us, meanwhile the lady with the twins, handed off the baby she was holding to a fellow passenger so she could get her twin stroller off of the top shelf of the baggage cart and set it up. We headed back to the terminal. After walking about five blocks and up two flights of stairs, we got to the gate and no United Airlines personnel knows anything. They huddle together, maybe for fear of verbal abuse? We enter the terminal through one of those smorgasbord gates; the kind that lists fifteen different departures because all of the planes are boarded on the run way with steep steps and the warning to stand in front of the propeller, or in this case the engine. We stand around for 45 minutes with no information. We are told by a United Airlines staff person that if we book on standby we will have to pay a fee? Because there is no problem listed for the flight that we had been booked on. Huh? What the hell was happening? In this day and age of PDA's cell phones and computers, how long can it take to get the words MECHANICAL PROBLEM in to the system, thereby waiving any fees associated with trying to fly standby on the next flight. Finally they said. "Stay close to the gate, we found a new aircraft and just need to refuel." Another 30 minutes went by. They were still waiting for a fuel truck. Another 30 minutes later we walk five blocks, descend down two flights, and walk out to the runway dragging our carry-on luggage to our replacement air craft. We throw our bags on the baggage cart and climb up the steep stairs. Everyone is on board and we wait about 20 minutes during which time, there is barely AC but this time, at least the hot air is circulating. I did mention to the flight attendant, "That in my house, when the AC is under performing like this I call a repair person." She nodded and said put it in your complaint, I have no control over the temperature in the cabin." The pilot soon made an announcement” Sorry about the delay, it will be a few more minutes; we just realized we are not hooked up to a tow." I thought Oh my goodness are we on an episode of Airplane? The plane finally takes off. The air plane was infested with flies; we were constantly swatting them away. The guy across the aisle from me, went to the rest room, and came back with an expression on his face like he was going to vomit. He sat down, took a deep breath and turned to me and said, “Don't go in the bathroom there is a swarm of black flies in there, at least 12 of them." Forty minutes later the cabin phone rang, the flight attendant answered. Immediately, she starts gesturing with her hands; like she was coming undone. I watched her face and I can read her lips as she says, "I am not telling them." She hangs up the phone and looked a bit deranged now as she was leaning against the wall. I then said to the guy across the aisle, "Something is happening, I don't think we are going to Cedar Rapids." Shortly thereafter, the pilot turns on the PA system and says, "Folks this is not a joke, unfortunately, the Cedar Rapids airport is closed due to the runway lights being out." The New Yorker in me wanted to stand up and yell "Hey Ass holes if you had put us on a working aircraft the first time, we would not have needed runway lights. So why don't you just land the damn plane in Des Moines?" The plane was so noisy that very few of the alert passengers could hear her. The other half were drooling and comatose, with heat exhaustion. The pilot continued with, "We are going back to Denver." Silence, no one who heard her said a word. After about 5 minutes passengers were asking the stewardess, "Why can't you land in Des Moines or Omaha?" The flight attendant announced that it was a corporate decision to return to Denver. I would not have believed it if I had not seen it, at 20,000 feet people were pulling out their cell phones and Blackberries to reach out and touch someone; someone that cared, because United freaking Airlines obviously did not care about us. We pulled into the smorgasbord gate area; once again descending down the steep stairs, as the stewardess made sure that if you had not taken a complaint card the first time, you would take it this time. At the base of the stairs we collected our belongings off of the luggage cart. The woman with the twin infants, who started her day in Seattle, was down to one diaper. As we got into the terminal the gate agent there looked at me and said "Cedar Rapids?" I guess it was the sweat on my brow and the sweat rings under my breast and arm pits that told him which flight I had just been on. He told me to go to customer service at gate 87. We had to trek at least two blocks and go down an escalator and walk another block. When I got to customer service there was a line that was too long for anyone headed east to get onto any flight leaving that evening because it was almost 10 PM.I was mentally and physically exhausted. I really wanted to scream, but held it together, for fear that then TSA would drag me off some place and I might never be seen again. I made alternative plans, because I was going to miss my meeting in Cedar Rapids scheduled for 8 AM the next day. I did not have the strength to stand on the line for however long it took to speak to someone who could help me with my travel dilemma. How the hell were they going to help me get to my meeting. They turned the freaking airplane around. So I got in an airport shuttle to a Holiday Inn and went to bed. I made a reservation on another airline to get me home to Kansas City the next day. This was the absolute worst experience I have had with all of my years flying on United - 25 years.
Sincerely,
The passenger in seat 10 B UA6188 7/26/10
PS
I sent this journal entry/ letter to United Airlines as well as to the FAA, so that they are aware of potential health issues on both flights; first flight 6188 with the sweltering temperatures and the second flight 6188 with the fly infestation. The only person that should be commended is our flight attendant, Karla, who was professional and courteous during the entire ordeal. When I got home on Tuesday there was an email from United Airlines offering me $150 coupon, or $20% off my next United flight. Yeah right, like I will fly United again anytime soon?
Labels: United Airlines
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