She and a cameraman boarded one United flight from Dallas to Chicago and, after a 1.5-hour delay, found more chaos, as passengers transferred from a canceled flight straggled aboard. One of the stragglers, Mark Harris, was disgusted at the misinformation being spread by airline workers. People are not giving us accurate, true information and they're almost lying to us. His flight landed more than three hours late. Harris doubted he'd continue flying the friendly skies.
Analysts blame both the pilots and the airline.
Calif. He said the airline industry this summer is facing record highs for the percentage of seats occupied. In the early 1980s the industry handled 250 million passengers a year. It's a combination of all sorts of really unfortunate things, and I don't think it's going to be fixed easily. Chicago-based United, the world's largest airline, could take a substantial hit in the third quarter as travelers switch to other carriers in reaction to delays and canceled flights tied to labor troubles, said PaineWebber analyst Sam Buttrick. Pilots began refusing overtime as early as May to protest limited progress after a year and a half of contract talks.