United airlines - flying with a puppy - rip off central
219 plus fees = 235 for a 16 pound puppy. Yes he will be on the same flight as me. They have to stand up and turn around in a 9 inch high crate to bring on board - so don't even consider it - ain't gonna happy with an 8 week old OES pup. More like an 8 week old Scottie. I used to fly with my adult extra large OES for 80 bucks BOTH ways in cargo. Yes a few years ago, but my how things have changed. It's 250 round trip to take them in-cabin. So it would've been 125 if he would fit (I picked him up out of state so only needed 1 way trip for him). But not a possibility. Think before you plan...My big mistake. Anyway since pups are commonly flown with people now to be picked up from a breeder - figured I'd save others the hassle of finding this stuff out the hard way. If you needed round trip it'd be $470 - why not buy them a seat. shock aside, they do temp and pressure control and seems they have upped the bar for safety with pets. So I'll take a deep breath and hope for the best. Calling customer service is a nightmare - on hold for 60 minutes - twice - she forgot to quote me a price first time (how convenient, guess they think money grows on trees). Not kidding. No info for specifics on the website and can't make reservations online. |
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| Anyone else remember when United Airlines called themselves "the friendly sky's?" In my experience, there is nothing friendly about United Airlines. |
| The cargo may be heated, but dog could sit on tarmac, in summer heat. Our airlines here won't fly animals in summer, just too hot. |
I flew Duke from Washington state to New Hampshire and it was the most frightening thing... for me, he seemed fine. Haha. I didn't even know he was on board until we were about to take off. Thankfully a flight attendant brought me a little slip telling me he was safe on board. It was very expensive and to top it off, the day of my flight home I called the airline to find out where to bring him and was told that I couldn't take a dog on that flight. My ticket even said on it that I had a dog riding in cargo, they were informed it was an XL crate. They ended up finally finding me a flight the next morning thankfully. I hope to never have to do that again. He seemed perfectly fine like any normal day. And they let me walk him in the airport so he got some attention which is his drug of choice.  |
| Well it got worse. Ok, things have changed - there is temp and pressure control in summer in the cargo area. That may be why prices were raised? But it was nerve wracking with all the heat waves where I was landing for layover (Denver). So this is how it went - he was unloaded in Denver and I watched from the window - he came down a ramp with no side rails - he was at the mercy of the belt controller guy that stopped it from rolling (with a 3 ft. dead drop at the end) at the right second. They really treat the crate like luggage - looked very nonchalant handling it. Then - in 84 degrees - he sat 40 minutes on the hot cement with many segments of time with NO supervision whatsoever. I complained to an employee at the front desk - she kept saying he would be taken right away to air conditioning. BS. So I waited and videotaped the 40 min. of sitting in the heat with no one giving him food or water and no one watching him. The crate wasn't that big being that he's a pup - and anyone of those speeding cargo trucks could easily hit him. Anything goes out there with NO customers around watching (except my nosey self). Finally after 40 min - she went outside in person. He was finally picked up to be held in an air conditioned office. The irony - another customer was talking to me while I was waiting for my next flight about pets flying in general. Another employee heard us chatting and was went on and on about how great and safe their new expensive service for pets is. Honestly ? It's the same service they offered 15 years ago for 80 dollars round trip, but now it is 480 round trip. I only paid one way - so it was 242. They also upped the price when I did drop off. You cannot rely on what they tell you on the phone. Not only that - after asking 3 other employees where my dog would be on pick up - 1 didn't know, 2 told me large baggage - no one knew he'd be at the ticket counter (tiny airport). So he waited way longer than he should have had to - I was looking and waiting about a half hour thinking he'd be in big baggage like everyone told me. I had food taped to his crate - I wrote clearly (they ask on the paperwork) that he was to be fed/watered by NOON. Not a kibble was given. I got him at 4pm, his journey began at 6am. Unbelievable to say the least. A suitcase is treated better. They will be getting a letter. Never again. Buy a darn seat ticket if you have to fly your dog. |
| But he made it safe & sound - complaining aside, it all turned out ok. |
| http://www.untied.com/ Kind of funny - went to submit complaint and accidentally got this site. I guess I'm not alone! |
| I thought Continental Airlines was the only airline that shipped puppies during the heat of summer. Robin |
| I'd call teh customer service about the 40 minute thing...that just isn't right...if you actually have footage you could take advantage of it. The dude who sang about his guitar getting broken by the airline got like free flights and stuff like that...just a thought? Sucks you went through that but sounds like the pup is still ok which is the most important thing! |
| Plenty of airlines are now offering flights all year round because of temp control. It's a nice idea, but the transitioning from drop off or on layovers really has to be worked out. |
| Complaint submitted. Gosh how this reminds me of another major customer service nightmare in my life. If all else fails, there is YOU TUBE to put the truth out there. |
| Continental Petsafe program uses minivans and the kennels are transported straight out of the plane to the air conditioned cargo area. They have won many awards for their Petsafe program. Sorry you and the baby had to experience such horrible service. Hope you can resolve this.Happy the baby made it safely Robin |
| I so wish that were true Gumbo. I was told EXACTLY THE SAME THING from United. "special vans" to pick up the pets ASAP - Unfortunately they still wait forever in the hot sun w/o water/food for that "special van" to arrive. That is a fact I learned by watching. They will tell you anything to get your payment and promote their "new" service. Perhaps there is just not enough employees to be that prompt. Our flight was not early or delayed either - right on time. He's doing GREAT, thanks for asking. |
| Also at the current round trip rates, you seriously could buy a seat vs. doing cargo. Not sure about Continental's rates. I'm sure they are similar for same distance. It seems to be a new area of interest for customers and they are marketing the service to death, but they are really f*ing up royally. I think they can only take 2 pets max on any flight too (in cabin and in cargo combined). You'd think handling 1 pet (there was only 1 on my plane for both flights) would be easy, but not so. |
| United Airlines, plain and simple, just sucks. Fear not, United treats two legged persons no differently then they treat four legged animals. In my opinion, the senior most people at United Airlines are animals. I had the displeasure of "flying the friendly skys" after a significant leg injury. We notified United Airlines several days in advance of our flight that I was deemed fit to fly, but that I had some mobility limitations. The two-legged animal in a United Airlines costume at the gate completely dismissed me when I asked about pre-boarding. Apparently my big white cast and crutches were not sufficiently telling. Then, the response that I received to my request for an aisle seat was a cold-blooded "too bad." For the remainder of my life I will tell anyone who listens about the horrific, cold-blooded employees of United Airlines. Why am I not surprised by the way that your dog was treated? With Continental Airlines and United Airlines now having been folded together, it's hard to tell what redeeming qualities of the predocessor airline can weather the storm of the cancerous qualities of the other airline. It's quite possible that the cancer of one airline will lower the bar of the once strength of the other airline. I'd not trust a corpse to United Airlines. Passenger Beware. To the contrary, our dog had a very positive experience on Alaska Airlines, and the service that we humans received on the ground and in the air from Alaska Airlines personnel set Alaska at the top of the customer service pyramid. PS: A letter to United Airlines is like asking the inmates in an asylum what they think of the Warden. Instead, I'd consider writing letters to the Director of City/County Animal Control in Denver, the leader of the ASPCA in Colorado, the local PETA Chapter in Denver, and the media outlets of your choice in Denver (e.g. Denver Post, the local NBC, ABC, and CBS Affiliates in Denver). Oh, and I'd be sure to file a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration. gallatea wrote: Well it got worse. Ok, things have changed - there is temp and pressure control in summer in the cargo area. That may be why prices were raised? But it was nerve wracking with all the heat waves where I was landing for layover (Denver). So this is how it went - he was unloaded in Denver and I watched from the window - he came down a ramp with no side rails - he was at the mercy of the belt controller guy that stopped it from rolling (with a 3 ft. dead drop at the end) at the right second. They really treat the crate like luggage - looked very nonchalant handling it. Then - in 84 degrees - he sat 40 minutes on the hot cement with many segments of time with NO supervision whatsoever. I complained to an employee at the front desk - she kept saying he would be taken right away to air conditioning. BS. So I waited and videotaped the 40 min. of sitting in the heat with no one giving him food or water and no one watching him. The crate wasn't that big being that he's a pup - and anyone of those speeding cargo trucks could easily hit him. Anything goes out there with NO customers around watching (except my nosey self). Finally after 40 min - she went outside in person. He was finally picked up to be held in an air conditioned office. The irony - another customer was talking to me while I was waiting for my next flight about pets flying in general. Another employee heard us chatting and was went on and on about how great and safe their new expensive service for pets is. Honestly ? It's the same service they offered 15 years ago for 80 dollars round trip, but now it is 480 round trip. I only paid one way - so it was 242. They also upped the price when I did drop off. You cannot rely on what they tell you on the phone. Not only that - after asking 3 other employees where my dog would be on pick up - 1 didn't know, 2 told me large baggage - no one knew he'd be at the ticket counter (tiny airport). So he waited way longer than he should have had to - I was looking and waiting about a half hour thinking he'd be in big baggage like everyone told me. I had food taped to his crate - I wrote clearly (they ask on the paperwork) that he was to be fed/watered by NOON. Not a kibble was given. I got him at 4pm, his journey began at 6am. Unbelievable to say the least. A suitcase is treated better. They will be getting a letter. Never again. Buy a darn seat ticket if you have to fly your dog. |
| PETA news about United Airlines: http://www.peta.org/features/united-air ... ggage.aspx |
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