I Fly United So You Don't Have To. . .

Even if I continue to fly the not-so-friendly skies, I figure I can report on it here so at least someone can get some good schadenfreude out of it.

As you may recall, whence we last left our story, United had managed to lose my luggage even though they never managed to fly me anywhere from Dulles because they didn't have a crew to fly the plane.

It took United only two days to find luggage for a flight that never left and return it to me. In this process, I did get the opportunity to have many conversations with completely inflexible and unhelpful people in various parts of India. And I suppose I should be grateful that my luggage got to visit Austin even if I never left D.C.

I'm still waiting for the United vouchers that I've been given in "compensation" to arrive. Of course, they can only be used under certain cirucumstances for reasons one suspects have to do with being sure that as few of these coupons are used as possible.

More recently, I tried to use my three-jillion United miles to upgrade a flight on Lufthansa--United's main partner in the Star Alliance. The flight was a United codeshare (i.e. the seat had been sold as a United flight but the flight will be operated by Lufthansa). Apparently, it is not even possible to try for an upgrade. While they can request upgrades using United miles on Lufthansa, it is not possible to do for seats on the same flight sold as United seats. As usual with the airlines, it is not best to think to much about why.

The airlines have added new fun baggage restrictions. Ordinary mortals (i.e. non-elite passaengers) are limited to one checked bag of 50 pounds or less. Fees are now imposed for a second bag ($25 on United) which probably means that more people will try to carry on a bag which means an even fiercer scrum for the space in the overhead compartment. It is being done to decrease fuel consumption, according to the airlines.

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Losing it at the Airport

U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) has been accused of assaulting a United employee at Dulles Airport. According to the account in the Post, Filner didn't exactly punch anyone's lights:

Filner, who represents the San Diego area, "attempted to enter an area authorized for airline employees only" while in the United Airlines baggage claim office and "pushed aside the employee's outstretched arm and refused to leave the area when asked by an airline employee," according to a Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police statement.

Filner didn't show good judgment in entering an employee-only area. After all, disobeying the most minor airport functionary might lead to a full body cavity search in today's security climate.

However, having recently flown Untied across the country, I bet I can guess why Filner may have entered the sacred space behind the counter and beyond the door. On my return from Portland, the bags from my flight still had not been unloaded nearly an hour after my flight landed. When I went to inquire, the baggage claim employee disappeared for awhile before coming back with a response. It doesn't help that they tend to be abrupt and just declare it will be another 10-15 minutes, including to the even less fortunate passengers who had already waited 90 minutes for their bags (and were still waiting when I left).

Of course, waiting for bags in the airport doesn't even compare to being trapped on the tarmac waiting to takeoff. I had that pleasure on the flight going to Portland. They rushed to load the plane and then promptly told us that the "federal government" was preventing us from taking off due to weather. Of course, the "federal government" hadn't forced United to load the full flight. We took off 2.5 hours late--I really treasured the extra time in that middle seat during the cross country flight. Meal service is no longer free (and nothing was served during the delay which took place during the dinner hours) so I was glad I had brought a sandwich with me.

Delayed flights are increasingly common around the country. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Washington's airports are among the worst in the nation. While 30% of flights fail to arrive on schedule at National, 29% don't get there on time at Dulles, and 23% aren't on time at BWI. At all three airports, this is an even worse record than in 2000--the full year of air travel before the 9/11 attacks. Your chances of a delay get progressively worse later in the day--dipping well below 50% at some point.

And no, not all airport problems are due to weather or even the "federal government". The United international check-in counter at Dulles is a daily scheduled disaster. It is overcrowded with incredibly long waits virtually every day. I've waited 45 minutes in the premier/business class line to check in for an international flight though that's nothing compared to the folks in the economy line. Unfortunately, checking in online is often impossible for an international flight. This happens every day so it isn't like United doesn't know this is going to happen.

Not all airport experiences are completely bad. When United managed to lose my bags coming home on a transatlantic flight, I found the baggage claim employees in customs and after customs both helpful and polite. Flight attendants usually seem to be trying to do their best under relatively trying circumstances.

Still, I'll be curious to see if Rep. Filner and his colleagues take more useful action about air travel when the proposed Passenger's Bill of Rights comes up for discussion. After all, unlike most of us, Rep. Filner actually has the power to do something about it.

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