Tag Archives: united express

No glamour in this flight attendant’s job

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United Express 1410

A plane better suited to transporting toddlers, not adults.

When Tank was a wee girl, she wanted to be a stewardess. That’s what they called flight attendants back in the day. It promised glamour and travel to exotic destinations. Later on in life, Tank opted for another supposedly glamourous job in journalism. Both were illusions.

Since leaving journalism, I travel on a fairly regular basis. Recently, I witnessed what I think are the worst possible working conditions for a flight attendant, or in this case, two flight attendants.

It was aboard Skywest Airlines, doing business as United Express. Denver, Colorado to Vancouver. A Canadair Regional Jet. Think of it as a toothpaste tube with wings. A toothpaste tube being squeezed for three hours.

I was lucky. I’d upgraded to a slightly more comfortable seat in business class. It was from this vantage point I witnessed the flight attendants in the cramped galley.

What hell it must of been for them. The least comfortable workplace in aviation history.

The worst workplace in aviation history?

The worst workplace in aviation history?

Room enough for only one flight attendant to stand and one to sit.

The seated person forced to move if a pilot or passenger asked to use the toilet.

Yet, they were pleasant and jumped to attention every time a passenger hit the call button.

There was nothing remotely glamourous about the job, and still they did it well.

I wish this pair a future of spacious galleys with ample seating on bigger airplanes.

I hope their employer appreciates them.

 

Denver’s #airport terminal from #hell

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Cramped, noisy, ugly basement terminal for United Express flights in Denver.

Cramped, noisy, ugly basement terminal for United Express flights in Denver.

A story about one of the most awful places on earth. At least when you’re travelling, really tired, awaiting a connection and have swollen ankles.

Welcome to Hell. AKA the United Express terminal in Denver, Colorado.

Narrow hallways, cramped seating, noisy, ugly artwork, retina-burning florescent lighting and crowded. All the charm of an industrial warehouse.

No one here looked happy. I was in a foul mood following an exceptionally long hike from the ‘real’, modern terminal, then down some stairs into this dungeon, where I discovered the few seats at the gate had all been taken. The gate agent seemed haggard. Left to handle all of us Vancouver-bound passengers on her own. That meant checking ALL passports and fighting over the size of carry on luggage. Plus, deal with people demanding seat changes.

This was a dreaded commuter flight. Not a proper United Airlines flight. Skywest doing business as United Express, under contract.

No frills, no comforts. More like cattle being herded.

Nothing against Skywest. The in-flight service turned out to be fine-ish. (The plane was better suited to transporting toddlers, not fully grown adults.)

Denver Airport. You need to renovate this pit or demolish it and rebuild. Pronto.

 

 

What up @United Airlines? More good experiences

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United appears to be cleaning up its act. At least where I'm concerned.

United appears to be cleaning up its act. At least where I’m concerned.

In a recent Facebook post to me, a friend – who’d been screwed by US Airways/American a few days earlier – wrote that any flight that isn’t lost at sea, shot down or lands you on CNN in connection with an in-flight brawl over seat reclining should be regarded as “the best flight ever.”

I’d like to add one more: any flight on United Airlines that doesn’t end in tears.

Tank’s Travels readers will know about my horrible experience with United in San Francisco in 2012. United is the only airline that has made me cry. At the airport. When I had a dehydration headache, swollen ankles and nowhere to stay overnight in a city with NO rooms available at any of the airport hotels.

Tank versus United Airlines

Three days into my relentless social media campaign against the airline, the aforementioned friend suggesting I kick it up a notch and take my grievance to the top. I was irritating enough to merit a $300 voucher for a future flight.

Smart move. While I waited a year to reluctantly use the voucher, I’ve since travelled five times on United, based on the positive experiences I had on the voucher flight and since then. I wouldn’t have gotten back on United if the voucher hadn’t been offered.

Things haven’t been perfect, but rather perfect-ish. Some planes have left the gate a wee bit late. On the flip side, the flight crews have been happy, helpful and friendly. My luggage has arrived at the correct destination, as have I.

Last week, I flew to Puerto Vallarta with a connection in San Francisco. Went without a hitch, notwithstanding a 30 minute delay due to some weirdness with air traffic control in Vancouver.

My flight home through Denver also went well, although the United Express terminal is a rung of Hell that Dante (of “Inferno” fame) would appreciate. (I’ll blog about this at a later date).

Keep up the good work United Airlines. I’ve got two more trips booked with you in the next six months.

For now, I’m buying into United’s ‘friendly skies’ slogan. For now.