For no particular reason other than the fact that United has changed my itinerary previously, I checked back in early September only to learn that United has discontinued its early afternoon direct flight from San Francisco to Kona. Our itinerary now showed us flying to San Francisco, waiting for two hours and then flying from San Francisco to Los Angeles where after another wait we'd board a flight to Kona that would arrive after 8:00 p.m.
United never called me or emailed me about this change. Had I not checked online, I would not have known about it until the morning of our flight. I called United's Customer Service and after searching for better connections finally was able to rebook our flights through Chicago to Kahului, Maui and then onto Kona. Luckily we would still arrive late afternoon.
Unfortunately the desired seat selections we had with the original booking were not available. We now are left with seats in that dreaded middle section of the plane.
The Customer Service representative assured me that my itinerary would be changed online. I checked back after about an hour and sure enough, the new itinerary appeared. I noticed, however, that all of the flights now indicated that no food service was available!
Less than a year ago, United made sure to send me an email announcing that they would still be serving food on all cross-country flights and all flights to Hawaii. They sent no similar email announcing the elimination of food service. Checking further I discovered that we would be able to purchase snack boxes for $5 each on the flights. These snack boxes, however, are nothing more than junk food. Take a look. They also have other offering available for purchase called a Fresh Food Menu. The bottom line is that we're now booked on an 11 hour flight with no hot dinner service even at cost.
Of course, I wrote to United Airlines expressing my displeasure with these changes. Assured on a prompt reply, I have heard nothing.
Our tips, therefore, if you're flying on United Airlines are:
- Check your itinerary online often. United will make changes to your itinerary and not advise you. If this happens call United and insist on an itinerary which suits your needs.
- Be prepared to pack your own food or else be prepared to settle for expensive snack foods onboard your flight.
As a side note, I still receive frequent emails from United about their Ameniti Luxury Travel Club that is a real rip-off. We wrote about that over a year ago and still receive email from folks thanking us for pointing out the small print in this offer, Take a look at our article Ameniti Luxury Travel Club - No Thanks.
Now United is offering me the opportunity to purchase United Plus Access where, for a mere $299 a year, I can buy a non-guaranteed chance to upgrade any booking to Economy Plus and get 5 more inches of legroom - if space is available.
