With that Plews terminated our conversation. In all fairness, a summer of bad weather nationwide has compounded every major airline's customer-relations problems. If customer relations are United's first concern, as Plews emphasized before cutting me off, his company's record doesn't appear to support that approach. To save you the math, that's 1.2 percent, or slightly better than one reply for every 100 complaints received. Readers are invited to submit their worst UAL stories.
First prize is a free trip on another airline.
For the second year running, Airlines Quarterly ranks United lowest in customer satisfaction. Research reveals that because many of United's computer systems do not communicate with one another, its front-line employees are often unaware that a flight has been delayed. All this leaves passengers wondering whether it's preferable to be lied to by a ticketing agent in the know or to be told the truth by one who hasn't a clue. Throw in attitude, indifference, petulance and rudeness, and you have a combustible recipe for a company apparently about to crash and burn. But Hunter, for one, knows that even though United has canceled more than 4,800 flights in recent months and has found new and inventive ways to alienate its most valued commodity, you and me, it also excels in damage repair.