Customer Service

The Disaster That Was My Recent United Airlines Award Redemption Experience

July 10, 2019By Edward Pizzarello18 Comments

What should you do when 150,000 miles disappear from your United Airlines account? How about when an agent promises to return 65,000, only to have another 20,000 disappear? My solution was to spend 9 hours on the phone. None of it worked. Find out what did. Buckle in, this is a long one.

Another Video Of United Airlines Treating Customers Poorly

February 28, 2018By Edward Pizzarello8 Comments

How many videos of airline customer service employees acting poorly do we need before real service improvements? It seems we still haven’t hit that number.

Hotel Review: Park Hyatt Vienna, Part 2. Restaurants & Amenities

August 11, 2017By Edward Pizzarello1 Comment

Park Hyatt Vienna

Part 2 of my review of our stay at the Park Hyatt Vienna. Restaurants, bars, spa, pool and fitness center. Just an awesome property.

United Employee Cancels A Customer’s Airline Ticket Because He Videotaped Their Argument

May 9, 2017By Edward Pizzarello18 Comments

We’re past the point of shock when we see bad customer service by an airline employee, right? This is a unique story of a high-stress situation where the employee fails to perform. Who’s at fault?

My Wish List For The New United Airlines CEO

September 9, 2015By Edward Pizzarello12 Comments

Now that United has removed their CEO, it’s time for the airline to focus on improvements. But, where should they start?

Should The Airlines Be Regulated (Again)?

May 15, 2015By Edward Pizzarello3 Comments

Is it high-time to regulate the airline industry again? That’s what one voice is saying. Here’s why I think that’s wrong.

Did Boeing Promise Southwest Millions Of Dollars If 737 MAX Pilots Needed A Simulator?

A small nugget in a recent story about the Boeing 737 MAX has me wondering if Boeing made significant financial promises to airlines in regards to the training requirements on the MAX.

Cathay Pacific CEO Resigns, Presumably Because China Is Mad At The Airline

Cathay Pacific CEO resigns amid Hong Kong protests. He was most likely forced out as a sacrifical lamb for angered Chinese officials.

Marriott Rolling Out Changes That Are Likely To Hurt Many Members

With these new changes, Marriott becomes Lucy holding the football while their customers become Charlie Brown, charging down the road to a vacation they may not be able to afford.

Hong Kong Airport Shuts Down Amid Protests As Cathay Pacific Kowtows To China

Two stories about Hong Kong this morning captured my attention. First, one of the largest airports in the world was shut down due to a massive peaceful protest. Maybe even more surprisingly, China pressured Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s flagship airline, to feed information to the Chinese about employees protesting, as well as barring them from flights to or above China.

Monthly Airplane Wi-Fi Reliability Report Card: July 2019

United performs above average in July but still below every other airline I’ve flown. Is this the start of a positive trend?

I Flew Frontier, Saved $400 And Didn’t Die. My Frontier Airlines Review

Those low-cost carriers always have very appetizing fare sales. Who wouldn’t want to pay $20 to fly somewhere? But, what does $20 really buy you? I found out exactly what Frontier does (and doesn’t) offer customers on my first flight with them recently.

How To Use New Metro Silver Line To Get Between Dulles and Reagan National Airports

People talk about how bad the traffic is in places like Los Angeles with plenty of adjectives. And, it is quite bad. But, the traffic in DC is what I refer to as “stealthy bad”. It doesn’t get the same press that LA traffic does, but a trip that normally takes an hour can easily turn into a 3-hour ordeal. With visiting dignitaries, protests and construction as variables, weather can also wreak havoc on a system that consistently backs up during rush hour. For those of us that live in […]

A Summary Of United Airlines Global Services Benefits

As travel has gotten more stressful the benefits of elite status are even more valuable. In some cases, what used to be free for everyone is now only free for those customers that fly most frequently. I value my American Airlines Executive Platinum status more highly than any status I’ve earned, including 1K service with United Airlines. However, Global Services is another matter. For those not aware, Global Services is an invitation-only status level that United bestows on their best customers. What defines a best customer? Well, United doesn’t list […]

Update: American Airlines Variable Choice Plus Pricing A Feature, Not A Bug

I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with the original announcement that American Airlines was creating bundled pricing that included change fees at a lower apparent cost. Things got a little better when American also announced they were expanding the timeframe you could request a same day change to your flight. And, then things started to get a bit screwy. It started with just one flight I couldn’t get to price right with Choice Plus as an add-on. But, then I did a bit more digging and found out […]

Is Foursquare Dead?

Venture Beat doesn’t think so, and I’m not 100% sure they’re wrong. But, before I discuss the article, a little background on why someone allergic to social media like me became a Foursquare nut. A few years ago, a company called TopGuest came up with this concept where you could earn airline miles and hotel points for checking in at various places on Foursquare. I can’t say I thought it was a terribly good business model, but they convinced a bunch of hotel chains to hand out miles for this. […]