United Airlines is one of the oldest airlines in the United States, with some of its predecessors going back to the late 1920s. Originally, United Airlines was known as "The Boeing Company," and, in some ways, they still are the Boeing Company since this is the primary plane found in their fleet. United has nine airline hubs throughout the world. Its largest hub is in Houston and handles 16.6 million passengers every year, with 45,413 people getting on United flights every day. Chicago O'Hare is the company's largest hub in terms of departures. United flies Boeing 747s, 767s, 777s, and 787s. They also fly narrowbody Airbus 319s, 320s, Boeing 737s, and Boeing 757s, as well as various Embraer and Bombardier jets for its regional carriers. For its regional flights, United usually uses third-party carriers (such as ExpressJet) to get customers to and from smaller airports when traversing between mainline destinations. United Airlines is also a pretty safe airline. In the past twenty years, there have been 3 fatal flights, including two flights that crashed on 9/11, and one minor incident where some passengers and crewmembers were hurt on takeoff (though there was no structural damage to the aircraft).

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The Good

Ticket prices
Boarding
Check-in
Destinations
In-flight services
Time in business

United Airlines has a low price guarantee on their tickets. They have some of the lowest ticket prices for both domestic and international flights. Their prices were often the exact same being offered by other large airlines (such as American Airlines or Delta). Because they are such a large airline, they have the ability to offer many different options for ticket times and connections. With their low prices and flexibility, many customers would be able to choose the flight that best suits them while using United. United also offers different discounts and promotions on their website and for reward club members. Customers can become a part of the MilagePlus program and earn different discounts with their miles. Customers can also have United email them specific discounts or promotions that are being offered. United Airlines has a similar boarding process to many other airlines. Seats are chosen when purchasing tickets and can be changed or upgraded at the check-in time depending on availability. Boarding times vary depending on the flight locations and specific airports being used. United offers a few different methods of check-in including: • Mobile check-in • Online check-in • Airport kiosks • Airport check-in counters Using the United mobile app, passengers can check-in for their flight 24 hours before departure and receive a mobile boarding pass. This speeds up the time at the airport and eliminates the need to keep track of a paper boarding pass. Passengers can also check-in 24 hours before departure on the online check-in and can also ask to receive a mobile boarding pass. If a passenger chooses to check-in at the airport, they have the choice of self-service kiosks (which are always open for use) or check-in counters which have specific hours of operation depending upon the airport. United Airlines serves 374 different destinations, both domestic and international. This is a large number of destinations for an airline and makes United one of the larger airlines available. Some of their top destinations include: • Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo • Ft. Lauderdale from New York/Newark • In and around California • New York • Chicago • Las Vegas United flies to Asia, the Americas, Europe, Oceania, and Africa. With all of their destinations, United would be able to serve many passengers on their flights. They would be able to provide a number of different options and because they offer more destinations than many other airlines, they would have more flight choices for passengers to choose from. United Airlines partners with a number of different airlines so that they are able to provide as many destinations as possible. They also continue to grow and their destinations are constantly changing and expanding. United Airlines offers many of the customary in-flight services that are expected from passengers. Some of the details include: • Dining: For economy flights, United offers a snack shop as well as an onboard bistro for their domestic flights. For international flights, they offer a complimentary meal. Often this is a three-course meal with a light snack and beverage options. They provide an option of beer, wine, and water. United also gives passengers the opportunity to order a special meal in advance for any dietary restrictions. • Entertainment: There are a number of different options for entertainment on United Flights. Some of their planes offer personal devices. The passengers can use a personal device provided that it is already uploaded with a number of games, movies, and TV shows. Other planes offer screens on the back of the seats for passengers to view the entertainment options. And some of the United fleet has main screen entertainment. There is a screen at the front of the cabin for passengers to view the entertainment. The type of entertainment viewing option available for each flight can be found on the United website. They also offer magazines and packages of different DirecTV programs for purchase. • Shopping: On international flights, United offers tax-free shopping for different items such as fragrances, cosmetics, and jewelry similar to many other airline shopping offers. • Wi-Fi: United is in the process of making all of their planes have the option of Wi-Fi. Currently, 700 of their aircraft's do offer in-flight Wi-Fi for purchase. The prices vary depending on the specific flight and are not posted to view without specific flight information. Wi-Fi is also not permitted to be used to make any video calls on flights. United Airlines has been in business for 89 years. They have become one of the oldest airlines, opening their company on April 6, 1926. Since they opened they have been committed to becoming the airline that customers want to fly with. They are currently offering the following to become that airline: • Most extensive network: United flies 150 customers every year on close to 5,800 flights • Most flat-bed seats: United offers the most flat-bed seats of any airline • More overhead space: Passengers enjoy 66% more room • More leg room in economy: Economy seating on United enjoys extra leg room for their seat United Airlines also recently received their 5th consecutive perfect score on leading LGBT Equality Index for the Best Places to Work.

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The Bad

Baggage
Flight statistics

United Airlines does not allow any checked baggage to be free for most of their flights. In comparison, a number of airlines do allow at least one piece of free checked baggage. A few international flights are free for one checked bag but generally the first checked bag costs $25, the second $35 or $100 for trans-Atlantic, and the third costs $150. Any additional baggage will cost $200 a piece. Additional baggage is also only accepted if the aircraft has room. While the cost is relatively low, it is still a cost while other airlines offer it for free. The maximum exterior dimension (length + width + height) of standard checked baggage is 62 inches (158 cm), including handles and wheels. Having excess baggage weight or size will come at a fee to be determined by the specific weights and size of the baggage. However, there are restrictions including any baggage weighing over 100lbs will not be accepted (with the exception of assistive devices and musical instruments). Any baggage whose total outside dimensions are larger than 115 inches will not be accepted. United Airlines flies close to 5,800 flights a year. When examining the daily flights that United flies to the most frequently, they did not have as high of performances when compared to other top airlines. Other airlines close to their size (such as Southwest and Delta) have slightly better statistics of daily flights than United does (as per Flightstats.com). Overall, United had roughly an 82% on time rate, a 7% late, 2% very late, 5% excessive and 1% of canceled flights according to Flightstats.com. Many other airlines have 0% canceled flights, unlike United. When looking at their most active routes, they received ratings lower than average for top airlines. Their top three routes include: • Washington to San Francisco (3.5 stars, 91% on time) • Los Angeles to Chicago (3.5 stars, 90% on time) • Los Angeles to Houston (3.4 stars, 89% on time) When compared to other airlines that have many high four-star ratings and some five-star ratings, United's 3.5 stars are low. United's most active routes are all domestic routes so it is hard to say how they compare with other airlines on international flights. Their lowest rated flight was the route of Houston to Newark with only 1.9 stars and 78% on-time according to Flightstats.com.

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The Bottom Line

We recommend United Airlines as a top airline company. They offer very low prices and tons of flights that consistently leave and arrive on-time. They also are improving their in-flight service to ultimately enhance the overall user experience.

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User Reviews

Star Rating

3.1

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516 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

22%

4 grade

27%

3 grade

15%

2 grade

12%

1 grade

24%

Sentiment Criteria

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KimDugan Kailua, HI

Well, I have traveled quite a bit for work and United Airlines has probably overbooked/erroneously booked me/changed my booking without my consent more than any other airline. I'm a pretty easygoing traveler and I can roll with a lot of punches, but the way that UA runs its booking, boarding procedures and extra charges for seats? It falls short of all of the other companies. I don't think I know a single person who has said that they prefer a middle seat to an aisle or window seat, yet they charge a minimum of $7 just to reserve it - even if it is the only one left on the flight. During COVID-19 when airlines were not supposed to be booking separate parties/passengers side-by-side, I was booked between two people in a middle seat, when I had booked an aisle seat. When I asked about it, they told me that the booking had changed and that there was nothing I could do. This airline skimps on a lot of the niceties - even the small ones - that you might expect of an airline. They are fairly reliable, but fairly doesn't necessarily save the day when you are traveling on government orders and you end up being late because of them. They typically have the widest availability for flights, but I generally try to avoid them when possible.

5 years ago

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Jayne Moore New York, NY

United are a fascinating bunch. I have often joked that they train their staff in rudeness, as never have I met so much of it, and it's served up with such thorough attitude it's actually comical. Having said that, I then had two fantastic flights with United where I stood corrected, so decided to put them back in the running. Then I had to fly during Covid. Oh, dear Lord. The plane was STUFFED. Like literally crammed in in every seat available. You stand 6 feet apart outside the plane to go and sit 12" apart on board. They were even asking if anybody was willing to take a later flight, and when I enquired if that later one was an empty flight, they admitted that no, it was also pretty much full. I can't believe this is even allowed, but it's lobbying at it's finest. The highlight was when they served drinks and beverages, to all passengers, at the same time. I watched in horror as people removed their masks to chow down on their pretzels. Just not worth the saving.

5 years ago

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Jeff D Scottsdale, AZ

What can I say... I’ve been a loyal customer for 20+ years. With over 3m flown miles, I qualify for most of the perks which makes UA a whole lot easier to tolerate. I’m very happy the Smisek era is behind them, they have improved notably since. I do a lot of long haul and moved all of my international flights on other star alliance carriers. It’s so nice to have nearly all the flight crew come by to say hi and thanks for flying. Food and service is generally a notch or two better than even the new Polaris class. A lot has to do with staff remembering who is the customer and there are a ton of choices out there. What I done much care for is the nickel and dime strategy they’ve deployed with seats, bags, changes to flights, etc. at least coke and pretzels are free once again. What I tell younger road warriors, you need to pick your alliance and stick with it. Domestically you may be largely trapped, but international, the choices are very good and prices often cheaper. If I can’t fly UA domestically, I’ll fly a regional carrier like Alaskan or Jet Blue where you get much better treatment on the ground and in the air. I was in Phoenix in Jan, trying to make a connection in SFO to a flight to Singapore. Bad weather in SFO canceled my original flight and was seriously delaying the earlier one I’d managed to get on. When the gate agent asked if anyone had an ongoing international flight, I raised my hand. I was told that since I booked the over water flight with SQ, it didn’t count and I should have booked the flight code share via United. To that, my reply was to tell the gate agent it was precisely due to that attitude I book over water with another alliance partner. He didn’t get it. I called SQ, they got me onto another flight to SFO, changed my over water booking and I ended up arriving to HK 6 hours earlier, at no extra expense. And the gate agent didn’t get it... yeah, right. UA has gotten better the past couple years, so I’ll likely stick with them. But no one is kidding anyone by saying it’s world class service.

7 years ago

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Sean Clemens San Ramon, CA

I have been flying United for over 20 years. I am a Million Miler on United. I have had great experiences on my flight and not so great of experience on flights. For the most part, I alway feel taken care of by United. I am concerned with the recent change in the MileagePlus program. It seems that United would rather reward Chase card holders rather than customers who fly them on a regular basis. Being at Gold status allows me to have early boarding, (Group 2), but it is moot since everyone else who applied for a Chase credit card is in that line also. Also, I was highly disappointed with the points I gained under the new Mileage program on my last flight to Hong Kong. Normally I would gain around 20k miles. Under the new program I received 7350 miles. It is pretty crazy and better to just use my Chase credit card to gain point quicker. I am hoping the new program does weed some frequent flyers so that we can get some future upgrades.

11 years ago

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Flora Canal Winchester, OH

Overall great airline company however it has been so many cancellations that I am disappointed with this company. They don’t disclose upfront what’s going on. You wait wait ask around until you are able to find out ether a change of gate or flight cancellations . They are making progress with adding details on the APP. Customer service needs improvements.

4 years ago

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Alex Golod San Francisco, CA

Typical United ORD-SFO flight on 777. Very narrow seats, as comfortable as city bus ride. At least it was on time. 1K United customer, but almost impossible to get upgraded on this route. Exit row helps, as usual, but it is not something most of the people, including me, look forward to.... spending 4.5 hours on the plane under these conditions.

9 years ago

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Soumen RoyBardhan Germantown, MD

I would like to mention my ordeal at Narita International Airport on the 11th of December last year. Although I booked the ticket thru United I had just 45 minutes time between my Thai flight from Bangkok and my United flight from Tokyo to Washington D.C. I rushed to catch the flight but plane had already started moving at around 4.25 p.m. although it was scheduled to leave at 4.35 p.m. I had to take another flight via Chicago to my destination and was delayed by 4 hours. I would suggest that United should keep more time between flights and a flight should not leave before time.

11 years ago

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Tina Scott Jeffrey Astoria, OR

As a larger woman, I find the seats reasonably generous. On 2 occasions, I've had very large people seated next to me. They've both appeared to be very regular flyers (as the FAs called them by name and chatted)and neither could fit into their seats. On both occasions the FA has had the arm rest lifted so they could slop over into my seat. This made me VERY angry but nothing was done about it. On one occasion they offered me a $50 credit on my next flight. Big whoop.

11 years ago

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Tricia Dernison

Things went well. I took my scooter and they picked it up at the door to the plane. Again - things went very well - we travel with a dog and cat and that was also no problem. The flight was not full so we has plenty of room - plus we bought the United Coach Plus -- really worth it on long hauls. The food was typickally awful airline food. I almost would prefer none to the crap they give up. Otherwise all went well

11 years ago

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Anthony Olathe, KS

my issue being on time. United is about 60-70% on my account on time - once it took 32 hours to get from Fresno to Newark, NJ. As far as customer service, didnt have a problem. Continental had so much better flight experience and once united merged, all went to crap. Someone said they are equal to other airlines. Equally bad. Compared to European or Far Easter airlines, American airlines really lack. And since when in the US was equal good enough?

11 years ago

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hassan alam

I am a 1K and get upgraded frequently. Service for me has been generally courteous and the food decent in the forward cabin. In the economy cabin I generally can get exit row seats. I bring my own food and eat at the lounges. UA treats its very frequent flyers well. I suspect the regular travelers who may have to sit in cramped seats and pay for luggage do not share my experience.

11 years ago

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Al Herr Miami, FL

I had 3 flights. RNO-SFO, SFO-IAH, IAH-<MIA. All flights were on time and left on time. The gate attendants were very helpful and provided assistance when necessary. The flight attendants were professional and helpful. A very long flight, but made easier by United personnel. I fly United about half the time, and have never been treated rudely, or with distain. Sometime you get what you give.

11 years ago

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Sarah Ava Salt Lake City, UT

We recently flew on United to the Hawaiian islands. The pros: great price, comfortable flights for the most part and friendly service from both gate agents & flight attendants. The cons: no in flight entertainment unless you downloaded AND signed into their app before your flight. If you weren’t aware of that or you had an older tablet that didn’t support the app (both were the case with us) you just went without. The plane we flew on from California to Hawaii was six seats across (3 and 3) and the seats were so uncomfortably close to each other, it felt extremely claustrophobic & miserable being a 5 hour flight. Our other flights were either on smaller planes or a larger one, and each of those was a comfortable experience. We would fly with them again because of their prices.

8 years ago Edited September 14, 2021

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Kaleb Herbert Gilbert, AZ

I flew United from Phoenix to Reno. I love being able to save my seat for 24 hours in case I changed my mind. It was not the best price, doable. Service was good, plane was clean. My luggage arrived undamaged and with the plane.

8 years ago

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Katelyn Empey Logan, UT

They have fairly decent prices but there was a lot of rescheduling of my flights. It was a little bit of unreliability so I was a little frustrated with that. One flight I think about 10 changes to one flight. About every 2 minutes I got a notification that the flight had changed, etc.

8 years ago

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Quen Wilson Ogden, UT

I try to avoid United as much as possible, due to their constant mistakes in the media. The last time I flew United our flight was delayed an hour and then the flight attendants weren't very nice. I have flown with them in the past and it was an okay experience.

9 years ago

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Mark Hazelbaker Madison, WI

We flew United recently from Tokyo to Chicago. It was acceptable. The plane was clean, and the food was good. The video system and selection was up to par. The boarding experience was chaotic, but that's true of all airlines today.

11 years ago

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Jacquie Boyer Montrose, CO

We flew from Denver to New Orleans on United Airlines this month, and were very pleased.There were NO delays nor were there any problems there nor on the return flight. The fares were very compatible. We will fly them again.

11 years ago

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Dee Farquharson Washington, DC

Flights aren't bad. Carry luggage eligibility is based on how much you paid for your flight! the more the flight cost, then you can bring a carry on the flight. The checked in luggage costs change based on the flight you take. I prefer to know what the costs are beforehand and you can't. Planes are nice. Only been on a couple, but the aircrafts were always clean.

7 years ago

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Katie Howard Pleasant Grove, UT

Everyone has a story about how an airline messed up their vacation, so there's no reason to go into details, other than to say that United once canceled our flight without even notifying us, which is reprehensible. I know flights get canceled. A text or email would be nice. Luckily we double checked before we left for the airport and saved ourselves the cab fare. The flight we did finally get on was cramped, and the flight attendants seemed less than happy. I generally only choose United if everything else is full or too expensive. They're okay but not my first choice.

7 years ago

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Rischelle Mikkelson American Fork, UT

I have had mediocre experience with United. I chose them because they had a great deal where I needed to go. Unfortunately, everything went down hill from there. The flights were late, then rescheduled, then cancelled. The gate agent was not helpful and seemed irritated that I would want help with a hotel for the night. This was one experienc. Other times I have flown, it has been ok. About what I expected. Small seats, nice enough flight attendants.

7 years ago

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Amy Boren American Fork, UT

I have never has any problem but nothing special with this airline. They are average with their customer service and I really didn't receive any perks. They were on time but not great leg room.

7 years ago

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Jay H Jack Greenbrae, CA

Love you guys, but.... gave up my seat so a family could sit together ....got nothing for the effort ....mechanical problems....delayed.....can't even go on....still love United just tired and frustrated

11 years ago

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Stephanie Love Herriman, UT

I used united airlines a few times, but I feel like they are pretty over priced. I can usually find a lot better deals from other airlines. I don’t feel like they offer anything more than the other airlines to pay the more expensive rate. They aren’t usually my first choice.

6 years ago

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Bailey Wilson Lubbock, TX

Great flights horrible customer service. My sister had bought a ticket to fly home with her bunny then they changed the rules 3 days before she was supposed to fly home. they made no changes to their website just told her she could not bring her bunny in the cabin anymore.

6 years ago

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Reckholdt Magna, UT

Unfortunately, our experiences the last few times with United Airlines have been sub par. Flights were overbooked, late, having to reroute because of low fuel, left stranded in another city, etc. We booked United because of cheaper fares, but you get what you pay for.

6 years ago

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Zac Cannon Biloxi, MS

I have flown on United Airlines several times. Never had major issues other than the fact that flights can be too pricey and the seats are a bit uncomfortable and tight. I wouldn't ever not fly with United and I wouldn't not recommend them. I think overall it is a decent airline company.

6 years ago

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Jon Posey Riverton, UT

Haven't been on a ton of flights with United but the one that stands out was when we had an issue with our plane, we had to get off, but United did a great job getting us on a different flights and actually got us to our destination faster so that was great.

6 years ago

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ave Pleasant Grove, UT

I'm not crazy about United jumping on the band wagon of charging for their seat selection and for baggage, like every other airline is not doing. They aren't that great of an airline, with their older planes and outdated seats and interior.

7 years ago

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Tim Berrett American Fork, UT

Similar to Delta, United is a large airline that makes you feel like you are just another #. They struggle to personalize the experience for me and do little to help me feel like a valuable customer. At the same time, they do well with their processes, airplane comfort, features, etc. Its good, but could be so much better.

7 years ago

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anonymous Pleasant Grove, UT

We have experienced some delayed flights and missing connecting flights a few times. The wi-fi on the plane didn't work some times. The customer service at the airport and the one over the phone gave me different suggestions as far as getting on the next flight when I missed a connecting flight, and it was confusing.

7 years ago

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Madi Thompson Ogden, UT

I've had decent experiences with flying on United Airlines. I do, however, wish that there was more room for economy seats. I took a flight to Canada from Utah and I didn't have as much room as I would've liked for that long of a flight. Also, the food they serve is mediocre.

8 years ago

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CoasterRider Show Low, AZ

I have flown United Airlines and have been happy with their check in and boarding procedures. The leg room is acceptable as I taller that is important.

5 years ago Edited September 14, 2021

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Jespy

Recent experience with group travel did not go well. Not well organized awith our departure being at risk due to lack of coverage to handle size of group.

7 years ago

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Brian Ching

I like that they fly everywhere from Houston. I like their mileage program and credit card. They can reduce their change fee and stop charging for every little thing

7 years ago

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Logan Hudson Norcross, GA

My flight to Pensacola left and landed early which was a good experience. However, the leg room and extra space was not as great compared to other airlines. The on board customer service was great.

6 years ago

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Mhorne182 Eagle Mountain, UT

I don’t fly United too often but my last experience wasn’t great. The flight crew seemed indifferent and processes seemed inefficient. Would try again but don’t love it.

6 years ago

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Seth Managua, MN

It was a decent flights in comparison but the reason I gave it 3 stars was because of the customer service. The flight attendants weren’t very friendly and seemed like they didn’t want to be there.

6 years ago

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Clarissa Crawford Managua, MN

United not the best airline. Every flight I have been on has a lot of complications which causes a very stressful vacation. The only good thing is that their flights are cheap.

6 years ago

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BJ Tenney Woods Cross, UT

I like the United airplanes, but I can't stand their baggage policy. Their fares are the same as other airlines, but for some reason they don't let you bring on a normal size carry on. It's ridiculous!!

6 years ago

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Jon Scoresby Saratoga Springs, UT

United is good. I don't remember ever having a problem with the airline. One thing they did do once for me was get me home when Delta made me miss my connection. The transferred the ticket and put me on the next plane.

7 years ago

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Abbey Gilbert, AZ

United has good service. Have loved flying with them! They have great employees, that are very kind! The only problem was on one of there flights my fathers carry on was lost when they had to check it underneath the plane

7 years ago

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NT Pleasant Grove, UT

seating is too narrow, not comfortable for people with long legs. feels like someone is sitting on your lap. other than that easy to book flight, sometimes i can find good deals.

8 years ago

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Shaylee Provo, UT

A very good company but their prices tend to be a lot higher. Still happy with the service I just don't use them as much.

7 years ago

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jerry

be more attentive to the customer. When ones wants a dibbled seat the awnser is NOT there are non-available. Some gate staff ignore ADA.

7 years ago

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Tamara

The aircraft maintenance has been an issue in leaving on time and connections missed. The fleet is older than it is new, aircraft-wise.

8 years ago

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William South Jordan, UT

Probably my least favorite airline. Every time I fly United try lose my bag. I will say they usually get it to me the next day though.

8 years ago Edited September 14, 2021

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Garry Parrett Walton, KY

The premium Economy seats should offer free drinks like Virgin Atlantic. However, overall I felt I got good service from United.

11 years ago

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Nichole Hiatt Eagle Mountain, UT

We flew with United last October. The plane was nice with tv screens and plugs to charge electronics. Our flight was always on time. Overall it was a good experience.

6 years ago

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Martha Gourley Pleasant Grove, UT

United offers a good variety of flight times and locations. When I have used them I have found them to be reliable and offering good customer service.

6 years ago