United Airlines Deserving of the Attention Below

Actually all the airlines (probably the exception is Southwest) deserve all the negative publicity they get so my hat goes off to Dave Carroll and his outstanding band for calling them out on the Internet. It sure levels the playing field.

Any respect or loyalty I had for United (I was once in their million mile club) went out the window when they filed for bankruptcy, took a bail out and then screwed their employees with losing all or most of their retirement. I have a good friend in Montana who flew for them for thirty years, a Nam fighter pilot, and when they went down he went with them, yet our laws allow them to remain in business after screwing the people.

I hadnt see him for a few months and when I did he was all tanned but not looking all the happy about life. When I asked if he was in the sun and in retirement he told me he was driving a dozer because he got cut and lost his retirement. The airlines problems are self-inflicted. Our government had no business bailing them out. The free market will take care of all of that. There are so many airlines today that none of them make money, unless of course they nickle and dime us to death like they'r doing today. No service, just a bus with wings.

When I was living in Houston a few years back I spent a lot of time flying Continental Airlines, at the time a pretty good outfit. My wife and I were at the airport one evening picking up our son and while waiting on bags I noticed a foreign couple, turned out to be from Holland. She was crying and he was taking two bicycles off the carousel and one was smashed into a V.

I went over and talked with them. They were changing planes and heading to Mexico where they were going to bike across Mexico for six weeks. I asked what they were going to do now. he told me he had talked with claims and they said, no way, bicycles are moved at your own risk. Well, that's BS!

He said he would just spend the night and have to buy another one. I explained to him that the airport was not near anything but he just said he'd ride, he had biked across South America the year before so I am sure he could have done it. My wife and I convinced them to come home with us. For me it was a matter of 'Welcome to America' folks. It was just wrong to strand them and deny an obvious claim.

We went down to a serious bike shop the next morning and he bought a $1500 bike and this was in the late 90's. We had a great day with them, went to Papasito's and when I told the Manager about them the lunch was free. They discounted the bike, all good stuff. So I decided that Continental needed to pony up.

At first I was stonewalled. The plan was that we would meet the couple on their way home to Holland as they changed planes in Mexico. Continental was professional but giving a response like in the video below. Then I thought about our neighborhood on the northwest side, somebody must work for Continental headquartered in Houston.

Sure enough after about three weeks of searching we located a nice lady nearby who was one of the heads of claims for Continental. We met and talked at her home and i supplied the documentation on the new bike and voila' - they eventually cut a check in time for me to deliver it to Carlos at the airport, his wife was in tears.

But its a shame you have to go through all theat to make them do right.

Check out the video below it is outstanding - and its payback.