United Air
June I booked and paid for my trip to South Africa through a travel agent in California. The following was my itinerary:
6 Sep 08 Saturday
United Airlines Flt: 6608
Lv Salt Lake City 735am Ar Denver 9.00am
United Airlines Flt: 902
Lv Denver 10.46am Ar Washington Dulles 3.56pm
South African Airways
Lv Washinton Dulles 5.40pm
7 Sep 08 Sunday
Ar Johannesburg 3.35pm
(Return information not detailed as it is not relevant at this point in time)
I left home 4am Saturday morning (Sept. 6th) to be at the SLC airport at 5am with ample time to clear the normal crowds at airports. I got to Denver 9am and my connecting flight was at 10.46am. When it was time to board, we were informed that the flight crew (pilots) was an hour late. The flight attendants were there so an hour later they allowed us to board. The flight crew was on their way so we sat on the plane waiting for them. They arrived eventually 1 hr 20 min late. I was extremely anxious about the possibility of missing my connecting flight in Washington Dulles, VA.
When we were ready to leave and they pushed us back to go on the runway, the plane stopped and we were told one headset was not picking up communication and had to be repaired. The maintenance crew came to fix it. We were then told that the papers had to be signed, faxed, and approved before the plane could leave. All of that (including repair time) took about an hour.
A flight attendant was aware that I was anxious and stressing over the possibility of missing my flight. She tried to console me by telling me that a storm (which moved in over Norfolk, VA) had reached Washington and that flights were delayed and that there was a possibility that my flight may also have been delayed. This possibility was completely wiped out by the following event!
Eventually we were ready to leave. Again as we were being pushed back to go onto the runway, the plane stopped and we were told that the hydraulic fluid (for the wheels) was leaking and the plane had to be repaired. That took almost 2 hours. We were given the option to remain on the plane or disembark. However we were informed that once we disembarked we could not come back on board again until the plane was ready; and we would need to go thru the re-boarding procedure again. Because of the uncertainty of what was going on, most of us opted to remain on the plane to avoid further mishaps. We were given an Oatmeal and Honey snack bar with the option of water or orange juice.
Finally the hydraulic fluid situation was sorted out and we were ready to leave. Again they pushed us back only to stop once more and tell us that now multiple headsets (or communication devices I am not familiar with the technical terminologies) were not working.By then the flight attendants' shift had come to an end and they had to leave the plane and new attendants came on.
Another 1 hr went by (we had now been on the plane for over 4 hours!) when we were told that finally we are ready to go. It was approaching 4pm. The pilot announced over the speakers that those sitting on the left side of the plane, if they looked out their windows, they would see the plane next to us being pushed back for departure; that we are next and that 5 minutes are allowed between each plane, which meant that in 5 minutes time, we would be on our way! Five minutes turned into 20 minutes. The next announcement that came over was to tell us that the flight crew (pilots) - that their shift had come to an end and that we had to gather all our belongings and leave the plane and wait in the boarding area for an announcement which would be made in 1.15 hrs time (approx. 5.15pm). By now my anxiety had turned into shock how can we be 5 minutes away from departing and then be told to leave the plane with no further instructions. Customer Services told me (after I had been at Denver airport for the entire day) that, since I had missed my SA flight in Washington, that once I got to Washington there would be another delay as no plane was scheduled to leave until the following night. I was also told that there was no guarantee that I would get a seat on SAA and that possibly I would be redirected via Europe with further delays at European airports.
By this time I was in a state, exhausted, dehydrated, shaking and feeling sick. I had heart palpitations and was battling to breath and experienced pain in my chest my stress had resulted in anxiety attacks. The woman at Customer Service (and the man next to her) was aware of my condition as I was experiencing these symptoms while talking to them. I could not continue with the stressful situation created by United Air. Since they could see the state I was in, the man told the woman attending to me, that he would give her a claim number so my ticket could be refunded to me in full. The woman managed to get me a seat on the last plane to SLC and I literally had 5 minutes to get from terminal B34 to Terminal B93. I am 58 years old and not exactly a youngster.in my already stressed condition I had to run the entire distance to get to the plane on time.By the time I reached SLC I was exhausted and ill with burning pains in my chest.
It took me 2 days to partly recover from this ordeal and 2 weeks to fully recover as I tried to get over the physical shock of the sudden turn of events and tried to ground myself into the realization that what happened actually took place. It sounds like a thumb-sucked story that a plane can be delayed five times in one takeoff. No pilots; then a headset not working; then hydraulic fluid leaking; then multiple headsets not working; and finally pilots leaving the plane because their shift came to an end. But that is exactly what happened. I felt like I was caught in a nightmare. The entire situation was extremely fearful. Crew members being late is one thing but three mechanical faults with an aircraft that can cause us to sit on it for over 4 hours is fearful because a person can't help but stress over what else can go wrong while the craft is airborne!
I have no idea what finally happened with flight 902 there wasn't another flight crew to take over was the plane even flight worthy? What happened to all those passenger? I only know that after so many hours I could no long be part of that awful ordeal and I had to remove myself from that chaotic environment. My physical condition (caused by the stressful events) could not stand up to the strain caused by United Air. I had been in transit for over 12 hours and I could not continue with matters the way they were i.E. Still facing hours of delay ahead as the next plane due to leave Washington was the following evening! My physical health could not take the 24 hours delay ahead I would have been a medical incident and came extremely close to being one! (Both my suitcases were lost. One was returned 2 weeks later and the other one returned 3 weeks later.)
The man at Customer Service gave the woman attending to me, a claim number for a full refund of my ticket. I arrived back home late Saturday night.
Monday I phoned United Air and the man I spoke with confirmed that I had been issued a claim number for a full refund. He insisted I phone SAA which I did and they confirmed that I had been issued a claim number for a full refund but since I dealt with a travel agent, it had to go through to the agent. The agent informed me that paper procedure would take 3 months. I waited patiently and then started following up with the agent again in December. I was told to wait a little longer.
Approximately 2 weeks later I received an email from the travel agent in CA informing me that I was only going to get my taxes refunded. He explained that South African Airways discovered that United Airlines did not send me back to Salt Lake City free of charge, and they used the return portion of my ticket. Because SAA was not responsible for the delay they will refund the taxes which amount to about $400.00 of the total value of the ticket. SAA suggested that I contact United Air customer service and claim the balance from them.
I contacted United Air who insisted I had to contact SAA as United Air would take no further action on the matter. United Air kept on referring to the voucher which they sent me for $250 as apology for inconvenience caused. I told them they could have the voucher back as I never asked for it in the first place and that a $250 voucher did not compensate for the $1688.10 paid nor would a tax refund of $449.10 compensate for the balance of $1239.00 lost (or the stress and anxiety suffered). I told United Air that the buck stopped with them. I honored my agreement as I was at the airport. They failed to honor their agreement to get me to my flights on time. UA put the phone down on me.
Because of my medical condition, they OFFERED a full refund and then reneged on their agreement. I would like to take legal action against United Air. Please advise me where and how; and whom to contact
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