Date:
2014
Airline:
United Airlines (United)–Domestic (1 flight) from DEN to IAD.
Plane:
Pre-flight Interactions:
My university paid for and arranged the flight tickets, so I have no idea how that process went down. We just got the e-ticket confirmation and got ready to go. I will say that when I got to the airport, I had’t had time to check my baggage weight. Since I was there all night, the attendants at the Check-In counter allowed me to weigh my bags on their scales while no one was in line. They also looked up our flight information during off hours because we were concerned about when we had to check our luggage.
Baggage Allowance:
First/Business Class: 70lbs and 62 linear inches per bag
Economy: 50lbs and 62 linear inches per bag
You can find all the rules here, but generally you get a personal item (I always make it a backpack because it counts as a purse but is bigger), a carry-on, and 0-1 checked bags. United pretty much screwed us on this one though.
There were three problems with how they handled everything. First of all, everyone was charged $100 per bag for all second bags. However, their website states that the same flight should charge $25 for the first bag and $35 for the second. It should only cost $100 for “oversized bags.” We did not have oversized bags (remember, I weighed them on their scales). This means they cheated each person out of $40. NOT OKAY.
Second, The deal is usually that if you are flying internationally (and we were), all airlines honor the baggage requirements/allowance of the airline with the longest flight (if tickets are all bought together–not separately). For contracted airlines, this is often a rule. For unconnected airlines, it is typically a courtesy. We were flying Air China, which allows 2 checked suitcases for our international flight. United refused to abide by the traditional courtesy even after we explained that we were all moving to China and needed the expected courtesy extended. They were very uncooperative.
Third, United attendants in Denver agreed that United would pay for our carry on suitcases clear through to our final destination. However, when we reached the transfer point in DC, they suddenly didn’t want to stand by that promise and we were looking at additional charges from Air China because United had backed out. It was only after we spoke with Air China, that the Air China attendants called up a manager who worked it out and got the carry-ons checked clear through—another area where Air China pulled through when United failed. Read on for the rest of that debacle.
Deceptively Blonde 