United cancelled evening before trip

[Mountaineer]

I have flown out of JFK when SAA was using it. I had no issues with JFK with the exception I don’t like two armed security guards by my side ever second after I told the agent at the ticket counter we had firearms. No one cared when I was just walking around the airport with a gun case.

 

[CJW]

I have flown out of JFK when SAA was using it. I had no issues with JFK with the exception I don’t like two armed security guards by my side ever second after I told the agent at the ticket counter we had firearms. No one cared when I was just walking around the airport with a gun case.

Sounds like a good opportunity for small talk. What's your favorite color? What's your wifes name? Is she hot? Do you have a lawnmower? How many HP does it have? Ever been to a gay bar? You like mexican food? Does meat get stuck in your teeth too? Have a favorite hemorrhoid cream? How do you apply it? Wanna be my friend? So on and so forth. Make special use of your new best buddies.

 

[Areaonereal]

Surprise, surprise, surprise. Just received an e mail from Qatar….three guesses.
my August 30 flight from Doha to Ord. cancelled. Later flight same day confirmed…another 8 Hour layover in Doha…i kept checking seating on the cancelled flight and it was apparent not filling as expected…so again the airline extrapolates passenger reservations and combines with another flight. Oh yes, my ticketing has increased 150 per cent since my booking. Looks as though this is to become SOP for the airlines.

 

[mdwest]

Surprise, surprise, surprise. Just received an e mail from Qatar….three guesses.
my August 30 flight from Doha to Ord. cancelled. Later flight same day confirmed…another 8 Hour layover in Doha…i kept checking seating on the cancelled flight and it was apparent not filling as expected…so again the airline extrapolates passenger reservations and combines with another flight. Oh yes, my ticketing has increased 150 per cent since my booking. Looks as though this is to become SOP for the airlines.

Wow.. that sucks...

Ive been getting an "update" from Qatar about once every 3-5 weeks for the last 3 months telling me about "changes" to my July flights.. but they have been pretty minor changes.. They have basically altered my departure time from DFW to Doha a couple of times and moved it anywhere from 5-20 minutes in either direction.. and have altered my departure time from Doha to Joberg a couple of times the same way...

I actually just got another update yesterday from them.. Im now leaving DFW 15 minutes later than the last change.. which actually puts me back exactly on schedule with the originally purchased tickets lol..

 

[CJW]

Surprise, surprise, surprise. Just received an e mail from Qatar….three guesses.
my August 30 flight from Doha to Ord. cancelled. Later flight same day confirmed…another 8 Hour layover in Doha…i kept checking seating on the cancelled flight and it was apparent not filling as expected…so again the airline extrapolates passenger reservations and combines with another flight. Oh yes, my ticketing has increased 150 per cent since my booking. Looks as though this is to become SOP for the airlines.

What happened with your chosen seating?

 

[Rare Breed]

I am not made of money and I too dislike long flights in smaller seats I have found not chasing the cheapest flights and traveling longer with a Qatar in coach seems at least reliable. Doing this I will pay anywhere between $1600 to $2200 round trip starting in Atlanta. Yes 33 hours versus Delta 15 but I can rely on Qatar. Bummer and not pleasant I know but quickly forgotten once I am in Africa

 

[Areaonereal]

What happened with your chosen seating?

As of now my selected seats in cattle class are confirmed, but very interesting on manage my booking there is no longer a icon for seat change, so how do you upgrade or change seats?…I called the Chicago number, went to Qatar…..CSR, impossible to understand, 2nd try, cut off, third try. Connection garbled…I threw up my hands…they win.

 

[Hogpatrol]

I flew QATAR cheap seats, exit row and it was tolerable with plenty of legroom but with it being the window seat, the door protruded somewhat in to the interior.

 

[rookhawk]

Got word last night at 7:50 pm that United cancelled my flight from Austin to Newark for today leaving at 11:00. They then cancelled my Newark to Joburg flight automatically and moved us to Wednesday. Lost my Premium Plus seats and only option is cattle class for my family. My assessment is United played a bait and switch on us and resold my $2000 seat booked in January for $5000+ to someone else. Reservations at Afton gone, transfer gone, hunting days lost, etc.
I've flown Delta on 10 trips to Africa and SAA in the old days. This was my first trip overseas on United and obviously will be my last. I have absolutely no recourse according to my travel agent. I'm glad I went to Africa when I did because this will be my last, if I go at all.

I'm sorry to hear that, @Hombre

After ten safaris I've become very risk averse as a traveller. I try not to rely on any US connections at all and try to pick a global carrier that is directly into Africa. The US-to-US hops and the Africa-to-Africa hops are where all the risk and delays come into play. They also introduce overnights.

While its little consolation now, look into Emirates, Qatari, and Ethiopian Airlines for your next trip over. The service is good and usually the flight takes you from your US major airport to the middle east, then connects you to final destination.

 

[Tbitty]

Unfortunately, this seems to be the new normal. And airlines will continue to do it as long as they can keep getting away with it. ... Early March of this year I was traveling to Argentina. Had a flight from DFW to Houston, then Houston to Buenos Aires booked with United. I originally planned to fly direct with American from DFW to EZE, but my Brother had some vouchers with United and (he coming from Denver) all of their flights that fit our schedule left from Houston. It cost me a couple hundred more, but I was willing to spend it to fly with my bro and let him use up vouchers instead of spending more cash.

The day of flight, my leg from DFW to Houston was delayed minutes, then an hour, then hours, then altogether cancelled. United automatically re-booked me with American (on the direct flight I first wanted to use), but this meant I could not meet/fly with my brother, and my upgrade seats were voided. American had no obligation to help me, but found me an effectively matching seat and (with a little sweet talking) gave it to me at no charge.

Coming back, with United again, my flight from Houston to DFW was delayed more hours, then I sat on the runway on board for an extra hour with no explanation by crew whatsoever. I'd have been faster and more convenient to myself by driving from Dallas to Houston and back than going with United. Pretty ridiculous actually.

I've had bad experiences with all the major US companies, but this was easily the most frustrating due to issues both coming and going. United's customer service made no attempt to apologize or offer to make it right. At least they got me there and back.

 

[BRICKBURN]

At least they got me there and back.

This is the standard. Hope your purchase actually gets you a seat and then they actually bring you back.

 

[Hogpatrol]

This is the standard. Hope your purchase actually gets you a seat and then they actually bring you back.

That's what the fine print says and about all that's guaranteed.

 

[James Sexton]

United canceled our Newark to Johannesburg leg the day of travel. We flew Knoxville TN to Chicago when we got to Chicago got the notice that Newark to Johannesburg was canceled. We were told we could not do anything til we got to Newark. We had premium economy seats booked. We were rerouted thru London then to Johannesburg. Was rebooked in regular economy and no refund. Then on the way home our luggage was 2 days late. I have never flown on United that it was not a circus. I have flown my last time with United. Our flight was on April 24 2022.

 

[Philip Glass]

Well? On UA188 right now Polaris seat. All I will say is it not even close to Qatar!
I will go back to Qatar after this trip (if not sooner for return!) Newark was a cluster mess on departure. Has me worried how return will be.

Thanks for the intel!

 

[Philip Glass]

My route will be a bit longer then that on Emirates but I think its the best route. I'm 2 hours from JFK but being advised not to fly out of there with firearm's. I will need to fly to Atlanta or Detroit then back to JFK then to Dubai then Harare. its a big jump around but not a terrible run.

I’d love to fly Emirates. The Emirates routes I’ve looked at have long layovers. DFW-HRE was 20+ hour layover on Emirates versus 3 hours on Qatar. I mention this because in general I am seeing good connections most everywhere with Qatar. Now I am wishing for a long layover to explore the DOH airport and all the fantastic lounges there!
Philip

 

[revturbo9967]

I’d love to fly Emirates. The Emirates routes I’ve looked at have long layovers. DFW-HRE was 20+ hour layover on Emirates versus 3 hours on Qatar. I mention this because in general I am seeing good connections most everywhere with Qatar. Now I am wishing for a long layover to explore the DOH airport and all the fantastic lounges there!
Philip

The one I'm looking at has a 1.5 hour layover in Dubai which seems a little quick but should be ok. All of the Qatar flights that I see go to Joburg from Doha. is that the same path you're taking?

 

[Philip Glass]

The one I'm looking at has a 1.5 hour layover in Dubai which seems a little quick but should be ok. All of the Qatar flights that I see go to Joburg from Doha. is that the same path you're taking?

For SA next week we will fly DFW-DOH-JNB on Qatar. Business class. Can’t wait!
For Zim it’s DFW-DOH-HRE.

 

[MMAL]

I am on the United flight tonight from joberg to Newark. They seem to be running more consistent now that South Africa avgas all figured out.

 

[Mike B.]

For SA next week we will fly DFW-DOH-JNB on Qatar. Business class. Can’t wait!
For Zim it’s DFW-DOH-HRE.

That's what I flew last year and I did enjoy the airport there in Doha. The mint lime juice they have on the plane is enough for me to fly Qatar again the food on the plane was as good as 95% of any restaurant you will go to. The one layover we had was around 9 hours and that was miserable but the lounge was good so that helped a lot.

I know people need to save money and look at alternatives or they are tied into a brand like I am with Delta with all my sky miles and sky mile status/upgrades but if you aren't really tied to any airline, it's worth looking at Qatar for better reliability that the flight will happen and the quality of service that they provide.

 

[Buck51]

It gets worse. I am currently sitting in a hotel room in Bangor Maine after my Bangor to Newark flight was delayed and oversold. The gave us boarding passes written in ink. We boarded and guess what! Our seats belonged to someone else. So we deboarded got luggage and guns off plane. Then our connector got cancelled due to staffing. Rebooked on flights for Sunday. Then, while I was on the phone(nearly 2 hours) with United rep arguing about refunds….one of our flights for Sunday got cancelled due to WEATHER. So I cancelled all my United flights and rebooked on American to the same airport within 2 hours of same arrival time. I guess American Airline planes do better in 15percent chance of light rain and 6 MPH winds than United. Unbelieveable

However we did get a couple pretty good Black Bear.