Very rarely do I get frustrated about air travel in general. There are often variables that can't be controlled and generally I've had great success with getting to places around the world (case and point last November when we went around the world with no cancellations/delays). This weekend, though, was an exception.
I was due to fly home for a family get together, picking up my grandparents along the way since they can't drive. We had planned this trip for some time and with holiday flight costs being high I carefully planned to take advantage of the time.
The NJ transit train to Newark went quickly and so did check-in via Pre Check. I was just about ready to do the bus transfer to Terminal A when Tripit showed that my flight to Milwaukee was cancelled. Just like that. No bad weather at the time. Beautiful sun on the horizon.
I hopped off and went back into Terminal C and the customer service desk which honestly was a terrible idea. There were only 5 of us in line and four agents. Except the four agents became three and 45 minutes later I was still in the same spot in line with about 100 people having joined. I decided United phone support was probably going to be faster and made the call. 20 minutes later a nice agent answered but I found out quickly she was not at all informed. Example (in paraphrase):
Her: Hm, yes, so, let me see what I can do to get you to Milwaukee. Right now I'm not seeing anything until July 3rd.
Me: O'hare or Cleveland would be options but I looked already and didn't see any airlines showing to Milwaukee.
Her: Hm, ok, sir. Well. Would Austin work for you on the 2nd?
Me: Austin? As in Texas?
Her: Yes.
Me: I don't think that's a possibility. How do I get to Milwaukee from there?
Her: Oh. Ok. Well, let me look. Hm. Well, sir, how about LAX, is that close for you?
Me: LAX? Los Angeles? No, that is not a close option. I would have to fly across the country and back.
Her: Oh, ok, sir. Let me see...
Needless to say this was quite a poor experience. And I don't blame United for the plane issue since this is a holiday weekend with many people traveling, though I'm perplexed to know why they would cancel three out of five flights to Milwaukee. They can do better. I'm really bummed that my grandparents and I couldn't get up north after all this planning. Hopefully I can find a time in the coming weeks to go back.
I was due to fly home for a family get together, picking up my grandparents along the way since they can't drive. We had planned this trip for some time and with holiday flight costs being high I carefully planned to take advantage of the time.
The NJ transit train to Newark went quickly and so did check-in via Pre Check. I was just about ready to do the bus transfer to Terminal A when Tripit showed that my flight to Milwaukee was cancelled. Just like that. No bad weather at the time. Beautiful sun on the horizon.
I hopped off and went back into Terminal C and the customer service desk which honestly was a terrible idea. There were only 5 of us in line and four agents. Except the four agents became three and 45 minutes later I was still in the same spot in line with about 100 people having joined. I decided United phone support was probably going to be faster and made the call. 20 minutes later a nice agent answered but I found out quickly she was not at all informed. Example (in paraphrase):
Her: Hm, yes, so, let me see what I can do to get you to Milwaukee. Right now I'm not seeing anything until July 3rd.
Me: O'hare or Cleveland would be options but I looked already and didn't see any airlines showing to Milwaukee.
Her: Hm, ok, sir. Well. Would Austin work for you on the 2nd?
Me: Austin? As in Texas?
Her: Yes.
Me: I don't think that's a possibility. How do I get to Milwaukee from there?
Her: Oh. Ok. Well, let me look. Hm. Well, sir, how about LAX, is that close for you?
Me: LAX? Los Angeles? No, that is not a close option. I would have to fly across the country and back.
Her: Oh, ok, sir. Let me see...
Needless to say this was quite a poor experience. And I don't blame United for the plane issue since this is a holiday weekend with many people traveling, though I'm perplexed to know why they would cancel three out of five flights to Milwaukee. They can do better. I'm really bummed that my grandparents and I couldn't get up north after all this planning. Hopefully I can find a time in the coming weeks to go back.
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