United!!!

As all of you who have been visiting this site know I recently sent a letter to United Airlines asking some questions about their boarding policies.


Matthew,

Thank you for you response to my inquiry of 3/26/2007 and please feel free to call me Stephen, Mr. TheDog is a little bit too formal for my taste. I would like to keep this friendly.

I am a little confused I received you response on April 13 and then got the response below about 40 min later. Is it the practice of United Airlines to send multiple messages or were you just being through? I definitely appreciate the multiple follow ups but am a little concerned. It took about 3 week to get a response from your company. I bet if you went to a single follow up system you could cut that time in half. Although I appreciate the attention I would rather get a single response in half as much time than two responses in twice a much time.

I am sure United Airlines receives quit a few letters. What is you average turn around time on a letter? I am had pretty much given up on you guys. I am sure you have been busy with the awful weather we have been having lately and I am sure a lot of time has been spent thinking up Jet Blue jokes. Should I assume that every time I write United, I should expect a 3 week turn around time. I am a dog, I don’t have a job or a car so time to write letters .

I appreciate you taking the time to fill me in on your boarding procedures. They seem well thought out and logical. I think I disagree with how gate 36C is being handled in Denver but I will just arrive early next time. It seems like 36C is a rogue gate. I am sure with all the gates United has sometimes you end up with a rogue. Remember the movie Jaws. I am sure glad rogue gates don’t eat people like rogue sharks.


Would it be possible to schedule a brief meeting with one of your customer service agents to discuss boarding procedures with me next time I fly. I appreciate the invitation to speak with any of them in your letter but I feel scheduling a time for me to speak with one might be more efficient. I know how busy the gate area gets during departure time.

Out of curiosity what do you guys thing of the open seating policy South West employs. Your boarding policy makes sense theirs well they don’t really have a policy. Is South West just lazy? Do you think some person sat in a meeting and said I have a great idea let’s let the people pick their own seats. Or were they thinking if people pick their own seats we won’t have to assign them seats. Do you think it was a bet. I wonder if the guy in charge of boarding procedure at South West was a fall down drunk and never did anything until the day before the procedures were due. To me watching a South West plane board is like waiting kids chase after a fowl ball, or watching a flock of ducks chase after bread, It is just absolute madness.


Well Matt Thanks for your time and I hope to hear from you soon. Would you like to come to the SB^3 it is going to be a good time


Stephen





Dear Mr. TheDog,Thank you for contacting us again. We are currently experiencing a high volume of emails, and I offer my apology for the delayed response to your message.Mr. TheDog, I see I have responded on April 13. In case you did not receive this reply, I have copied it for you.Thank you for choosing United.Regards,Matthew KasturiaUnited Airlines Customer RelationsThis message is intended only for the use of the Addressee and may contain information that is PRIVATE and CONFIDENTIAL. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please erase all copies of the message and its attachments and notify the sender immediately. Thank you.Dear Mr. TheDog,Thank you for contacting us. We are currently experiencing a high volume of emails, and I offer my apology for the delayed response to your message.Mr. TheDog, I apologize for inconvenience. Here is the information you request. United's goal is to meet your and other customers' expectations to depart and arrive in a safe and timely manner. To accomplish our on-time goal united staff follows specific procedures.Thirty minutes before a flight's scheduled departure time (45 minutes for international): Release any unclaimed pre-assigned seats. Confirm seats for customers without seat assignment.All reservations of passengers not checked in and in the boarding area are released.Stand-by customers are accommodated. Consider the flight in its final boarding process five minutes before the scheduled departure time. Customer service staff completes the final closeout procedures.Separate baggage check-in times apply so always plan sufficient time to clear the departures lobby and get to your gate. We suggest 60 minutes for domestic and 90 minutes for international flights. Your cooperation and understanding are appreciated.Our boarding process assigns a seating area to each customer that allows for the most efficient boarding times. The standard boarding sequence is as follows: those passengers needing special assistance, United First, United Business, and then followed by passengers in Seating Area 1 - premium members of Mileage Plus and Star Alliance. Boarding continues for those in Seating Area 2 - window seats; Seating Area 3 - middle; and then Seating Area 4 - those with aisle seats. When you next travel, if you have any questions about the process, please see a customer service agent who will be glad to assist you. Your feedback is important to us. We will include it in a report to our operation groups who will make any necessary changes that impact your travel experience.Mr. TheDog, we have airport terminal map on our web site. We do have a web site customer support staff you may contact for assistance. For issues concerning your password, please call 1-866-209-3323 (within the U.S. only) between 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. CT, 7 days a week. If you are outside of the U.S. or in Canada, they may be reached at 1-605-348-0011.We appreciate this opportunity to be of assistance and look forward to serving your travel needs.Regards,Matthew KasturiaUnited Airlines Customer Relations