United Airlines Review

I recently had to take my first trip out of town with the children by myself.  Without many choices available to us (it was due to a death in the family and short notice flights) I booked my flights through Priceline.com and ended up with a flight on United Airlines. 

Arriving at 4:30 am at a Houston airport with the children in tow, double stroller, one suitcase and two car seats, the agent at the ticket counter was very nice and helped me quickly get through the ticketing process.  She even followed me to catch me, when the second "infant/lap seat ticket" was delayed in printing and I had walked off without it. 

The Outbound Flight Houston to Chicago on United Airlines  

Getting through security and then the usual wait for boarding was uneventful.  United apparently no longer does priority boarding for special needs or children.  Apparently you only get to board first if you have a first class ticket.  But that's ok, with me, with the girls I personally prefer to board last so that no one runs me over as I take time to fold up and gate check the stroller.  I also appreciate not having to sit in the seats with the girls trying to force them to wear the seat-belt any longer than I have to. 

The outbound flight attendant was very understanding of these circumstances.  She assisted me with my backpack of goodies and toys for the children and didn't insist that I immediately take my seat and buckle up.  She allowed me as much time as possible to keep them entertained before having to follow seating rules.  I was impressed with the leg room on the United flights (I am 5ft 7 in), although the seats are just as small as every other airline.  Don't bother asking for pillows or blankets, I think they may be army issue. I would prefer to bring my own anyway.

My layover in Chicago was uneventful, however, look for my next review on Chicago O'Hare Airport. That is a whole 'nother story, as they say.

The next leg of the journey from Chicago to Dayton, Ohio was uneventful. The attendant again allowed me plenty of time to get the children settled and they actually fell asleep.

The Return Flight from Dayton Ohio to Houston Texas

This is where the fun begins.  After being one of the last people to board I now have a flight attendant who did not help me bring everything on board and who insisted that the girls immediately were seated and belted, without toys or snacks because "we are preparing for take off."  Now I have no idea what possible damage my sippy cups and fruit snacks could do, I was more than willing to put them away in the event the plane actually started down the runway. My 3 year old kept taking her seat belt off, and as we were STILL sitting at the gate, I permitted her too. The attendant kept walking up and down the aisle and insisting I put it back on her as we were leaving the gate, the same gate we sat at for about 25 minutes, not moving.  Difficult to keep two small children belted and entertained with nothing more than my vocals to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" during this entire time.  I also did not appreciate the flight attendant continuing to pull the seat belt on my 3 yr old tighter, causing her to cry, squirm and wiggle and declare, "I don't like her Mommy." 

We roll away from the gate and then get into position for take off. We sit and sit and sit.  Eventually the Captain announces a ground stop in Chicago due to storms.  We have no idea how long the flight will be delayed, however we are not returning to the gate.  So here we are, stopped on the ground, my daughter locked into a seat, and I am without anything to entertain them.  I attempted to pull out some other toys and all them to play to be told that it was not permitted.  They had to keep their seat belts on. They could not move.

Three hours later we are landing, in Fort Bend, IN.  We had to refuel.  The 55 minute flight from Dayton to Chicago was out of fuel after sitting on the tarmac and also two attempts to land.  We again are at a ground stop.  No the children are not allowed to do anything.  45 minutes later we take off again to arrive in Chicago. We were offered glasses of water, but I was not permitted to use sippy cups, making the idea of water not a really good one for two girls 3 and under. This flight, Captain did great, communicating and landing,  rating a 4 out of 5 stars. Flight attendants, 2 out of 5.

Whoo hoo, hurray!  Off of the airplane.  Looking at the board I realize I have 20 minutes to make it from F terminal to C terminal.  Those who have been to ORD know what that means.  And wait for the review.

Arriving hot and breathless at the gate, the flight from Chicago to Houston kept getting delayed. Five minutes here, 10 minutes there. This continued for almost an hour, without explanation. I couldn't leave to go to the bathroom, nor could I take Colleen, because boarding may start at any time.

Finally, we are boarding.  As we step onto the plane (again without assistance in that narrow pathway of the airplane) I am hit by hot, stale air.  As I seat our party, and get settled the Captain announces he is sorry about the heat, which is overwhelming and now I am dripping wet and the girls hair is sticking to their head and necks, but we don't have air conditioning on the flight.  NO AIR?  How on earth am I to keep two small girls comfortable. We are informed that once we are in the air the situation will get better.   I stop the flight attendant and explain my daughter needs to use the restroom, do we have time before take off to use the lavatory.  "Sure, you do, but it's broken."  "Broken I repeat?"  Yes, believe it or not folks, no AC and no Lav on an almost 3 hour flight. 

Our flight is once again delayed and we sit at the gate. Fortunately for me, the attendant is too busy with all the other unhappy passengers to pay any attention to my daughters.  One kind soul helped me fan the babies until actual take off. By that time the one on my lap was miserable from body heat, over 90 degree weather, hungry and thirsty.

Take off at long last!  First class passengers are served their "snacks boxes" and drinks.  I think,  "Great finally something for the girls to eat".  Nope, not so for us in coach.   evnet after delays and storms. Apparently keeping people waiting in no AC and no way to go to the bathroom doesn't rate a snack box.  I couldn't even get one for the girls.  Dinner was fruit snacks, raisins, and peanut butter crackers.  I didn't even care by then that some of the fruit snacks got ground into the floor.  Nor did I care if their were cracker crumbs in the seats. 

As we arrive we are told that the flight crew has a "quick turnaround" and could the passengers please clean up the areas around them?  Throw away all the trash, clean things up, and anything else we can do to make the turnaround faster."  This is now my job?  Was it the passengers fault for all the delays? Or that there was no lav service, which also meant I had to change pull ups (thank God she was wearing them) and diapers in my seat? Sure I took the appropriate measures, purex, diaper baggies etc) but now I am supposed to organize magazines and clean up the trash around me?  Ok, I am a good little traveler, I admit I did clean what I could easily reach. The rest was left for the flight crew.

My Viewpoint: I admit, normally I would never consider writing a review of this length.  What is sad is that I almost  gave them an average (3) star rating.  Unfortunately that is the state of affairs with airlines.  With poor or no customer service, no air conditioning, no snacks on a 6 p.m. flight, United still almost rated an average, as in average for the industry.  It is rare that I find an airlines that actually performs above average service.  There were high points, but I attribute those to the people who work for United, not to United Airlines. Thank you to the ticket agents at IAH, you were helpful and courteous.  To the flight crew from IAH to ORD, thank you again for making a difficult journey that much easier.  It was a relief to get on the plane and be on my way.

Flight attendants, if you are reading this, please do not touch our children without asking.  Please do not pull seat belts tighter, but instruct parents and caregivers to do so.  If you see families with children traveling (and you do, face it there are more families traveling by air everyday) allow parents the "space" to get settled and to handle their children themselves.  Offer assistance, but be understanding. Children are not adults, they do not follow instructions easily and quickly, and believe it when I say as a parent my children's safety is paramount and I will tighten the seat belt, I will do all that is needed, but you have to give me some space and time.  Offer extra snacks if you can, I know those first class passengers didn't eat all their snacks, and the children on the flight really could have used them.  And to those flight attendants who have provided these services to me during my many travels, a great Big THANK YOU, regardless of your airline.