Personally, I would be more worried about the mechanical condition of the plane, if the visual stuff is so poorly maintained, what about the plane's systems behind all the covers?

This country's slide into third world status continues...

I agree the plane should be cleaned, but who are these people who are leaving the plane in this shape?

Was this plane transporting livestock or something? What kind of filthy passengers were onboard previously?

Cigarette butts? Is this letter from 2007 or 1987? Pretty gross though.

Wow! All I can say is welcome to the new post-bankruptcy United Airlines. Unfortunately, the name is the same as the pre-bankruptcy airline but most everything else is different, missing, etc. (but in almost all cases not better). I can remember United years ago setting the bar for customer service etc. Nowadays, it is so far under the bar that United looking upward to see the bar makes it seem like a grate overhead.

I live in the Denver area where United is a dominant carrier, but, despite a plethora of frequent flyer miles and having been a elite member as well, I click my mouse over to Frontier Arlines and enjoy flying with them instead.

I think when the airlines, especially United, realize that it's not all about the money. It's often about the little things or the intangible ones - things like clean planes, seats that aren't broken, nice customer service people, snacks, etc. Given a choice between low airfare with United and lowfare with another airline - I go with the latter and, in my case, that's usually Frontier. But I've also had a few flights on American - and indeed their planes are clean.

@Seacub:

I am Chris, the author of this letter.

This flight had previously arrived from Chicago. I'm not sure whether it was full of kids or livestock, however.

I am all for raising airline ticket costs and forcing these pigs back to geryhound.

i am too young to have already lost faith in humanity...

@ToddMeister: The funny thing is, there WAS mechanical problems with the plane. In fact, we were delayed for an hour due to some mechanical problem. The result was, however "The mechanical problem is not threatening and will be left as is until we arrive in Chicago", as said by the Capitan.

Exiting a Paris to NYC flight this past January from the back of the plane I was completely flabbergasted at what a damn wreck the passengers had left the place. I mean, it was just devastated and most of the carnage seemed to involve kids' stuff. So certainly the plane should be cleaned, but, Christ, people, just because someone is coming in to clean up after you doesn't mean that you ought to hurl Cheerios everywhere and stick lollipops to the carpet. Be polite.

When I first started flying (in the '70's--OMG I sound like an old man), people dressed up to fly. Tickets were expensive and flying was a special occasion. This was before deregulation. How I miss those days. UA is partly to blame for not cleaning the plane, but what is wrong with people like the previous passengers who think they can behave like animals?

I used to fly United between Connecticut and Seattle. The stopover was generally in O'Hare and United never had trouble booking the flights nearly back-to-back.

Oddly enough, United once sent me to Dulles instead of O'Hare, with only a 20 minute layover. It took me 40 minutes to get from one gate to another.

Doesn't SkyMall sell the Roomba?

I think these days people are more interested in a cheap ticket than a clean airplane. United Airlines is probably learning this. Look at how Wal-Mart is raking in the money, even though it's a nasty, unpleasant shopping experience. The idyllic days of the 1950s and 1960s, where class and style were selling points, are over. It's a race to the bottom now.

I used to work for American Eagle at a relatively small LAX feeder station. We mostly dealt with 30 min. flights to and from LAX. Shortly after I started working there, we took on the ground handling for flights to and from Seattle operated by Alaska and then flights from Dallas operated by American Eagle. The Dallas flight was about an hour longer than the Seattle flight, but the planes would arrive from DFW in infinitely worse shape; they were simply overflowing with garbage, often times left in the aisles. I suspect that the AE flight attendants were more than partly to blame for the abhorrent conditions (often times they wouldn't once go around to collect trash), but I also wonder about what kind of people took that flight. Some highlights of items that were found on incoming planes from DFW: used diapers stuffed in seatback pockets, hardboiled eggs ground into the carpet, used syringes in seatback pockets, nasty ass kleenex everywhere you can possibly imagine, and my personal favorite, condoms. And every night, myself and a few brave comrades had to clean that shit up with only gloves for protection. So cry me a river about candy wrappers and newspapers.

@timmus: @esqdork:
I started flying in the 90s (I'm a youngin'). I have to fly to see any family, and often fly international for work. After seeing the way other people dress and act, I decided to do my part in bringing back the romanticized good ol days. I always dress up, and always try to get First Class. I take extra care to treat everyone with respect. I go into my own little world and ignore the slobs around me.

The last time I flew, there were no first class seats left on the flight back from Mexico City. I had to sit next to an older Christian missionary who was the rudest person I had ever met. But, hey, he was "saving" savages. Listening to him (he would not be quiet), I would just look longingly at first class and say "never again. never again".

I detest United, every flying experience is problematic with them. I've had one flight where the single toilet was not working. The best part was, the plane was delayed so they offered us free beer/wine/drinks. Well gee thanks, can I whiz in the sink then.....

I suppose it could've been worse: at least there wasn't a used condom on the floor.

Ugh. You can't expect anything good when it comes to airlines anymore. You get airlines like US Air who won't clean their feeder jets (flights between Raleigh and Charlotte, for example) at all during the day), and then you get airlines like United who will forgo cleaning a plane if there's any delay, even if it means making passengers travel in a sty.

I remember one flight I had (I think it was Delta, but I can't remember now), was delayed, and so the plane wasn't cleaned. It turns out the plane had previously been used as a charter flight for an NFL team, and it was nasty - a lot like the pictures. I wish I had known about this site then.

But the previous passengers are also to blame. People who believe that they can just throw their garbage anywhere disgust me. --They're probably the same people who leave their garbage in movie theaters and anywhere else, especially when there are garbage cans 10 feet away.

The people that trashed the plane are the same ones that toss garbage out of their cars, stick gum on the underside of tables and talk on mobile phones in movie theatres. They're the same ones who switch lanes on the freeway without signaling, bring infants to restaurants instead of hiring a sitter and take up two seats on public transportation and roll their eyes when you ask to sit down. In short, they are grown-up babies, all ego and entitlement.

@WindowSeat:

So what you're saying is... the average American?

Pretty much...sigh

I have never understood the whole, "We used to dress up for flights blah blah blah" stuff people say. Yes I wear flip-flops on flights (I don't have to take them off at security) and normally wear jeans and a t-shirt. I also don't bother people next to me, don't make a msss, don't smell (normally), and am polite to all flight attendents. I have seen more assholes in suits on flights than I can even remeber. Maybe it is the attitude of the average person that people don't like. If you want it like the good ole days fly first class.

I'm writing this as a United 1K flyer (100,000 + miles in a year) who is at the end of a 24-hour stellar customer and flight experience on United: That is not only disgusting, it's unsanitary and a significant health risk.

@cabinaero: I've never had a problem with United either, until this (unless you count the fact that you have to buy your food).

In fact, the flight going TO Hawaii from Chicago was fine, if not good.

@ikes: Oh please, like disgusting behavior only belongs to a certain tax-bracket. Anyone who's ever worked in an expensive restaurant or hotel can tell you that rich people are filthy animals just like everybody else -- worse, perhaps, because they've always been able to pay people to clean up their messes.

@FastFords: people are slobs when they aren't expected to clean up after themselves.

This is just another example of why United is the worst airline out there. They always have incredibly rude ticketing agents. One time, I stood with a friend in line for FOUR HOURS for ticketing and baggage check-in for his international flight, and even though we got to the airport plenty early (4 hours before the flight, because of Supershuttle), and surprise, surprise, he couldn't make the flight because of their incompetent slowness in moving the line. So, to try to get back to Narita that day, he had to get a ticket on a different airline (United only flew one flight a day there). However, the ticket agent was confrontational, rude, and delayed almost to the point where he couldn't get another flight. She even at one point threatened "Don't try to rush me, or I won't give you the transfer. You just have to wait, so I suggest you like it." Wow, United, way to go.

Needless to say, I haven't flown United ever since, and I will gladly pay any other airline more just to make sure United never gets a dollar from me. And for international flights, I always go with a non-U.S. carrier -- the service is usually fantastic.

Greetings from Hong Kong, consumeristas -

@chrismar: Ouch I forgot that ORD-HNL is buy-on-board (BOB) in coach. I don't agree with that policy at all - catering in coach should be based on flight time. (There are international flights with full catering that are shorter than US flights to Hawaii.)

The BOB boxes wraps, etc. aren't terrible and, frankly, are going to be better than what you'd get for an equivalent increase in ticket price. They should, however, let you redeem a token amount of miles for onboard meals.

@cabinaero: 1K fliers get treated better, so I'm not sure I can take your experience as the norm. I know because I went from 1K as an overworked employee to a no-K with United. The degradation in service accompanied the degradation in elite flying status levels.

My most recent United flight was a delayed one due to mechanical issues. Not that big of a deal, because I'm glad they caught it on the ground, ya know? But the rebooked flight I took had me in Economy Minus, the very last row of a 757.

My first thought as I sat down in the loose row of seats and the smell of urine wafted about me: United is becoming no better than Greyhound.

It's not time to fly. It's time to paint, re-upholster, tighten the f*cking screws on these old gray birds. I didn't pay for a bus ride.

Boo to United for boarding paying customers on a plane in that condition, and double, no, triple-dog boo to the slobs from the previous flight(s) who were too lazy to clean up after themselves.

Ew. The Greyhound bus I took halfway across the country two years ago (don't ask) was much cleaner than this plane -- and that's not necessarily a good reflection on Greyhound's cleanlines but rather a measure of how sloppy United was in this case.

@zl9600: Of course 1Ks get treated better. But we don't get food in coach because of our status and we don't get cleaner aircraft because of our status.

The condition of that aircraft when boarded was simply unacceptable regardless if you're 1K or just some random, no status pax on a holiday to Maui.

@cabinaero wrote "The condition of that aircraft when boarded was simply unacceptable regardless if you're 1K or just some random, no status pax on a holiday to Maui."

Which is exactly what I am. Perfectly stated.

You would think the people working on the plane would have asked the last passengers to clean up...... And I'm not even going to ask how the cigarette butt and feminine hygiene sticker back got there.

@darkblast93: The people working on the plane weren't the same people that were stuck with the mess. The new flight crew was stuck in the same situation as the passengers, and they took a majority of the "blame" for it as well.

The fault is 100% the disgusting passengers'. With all the "LATE FLIGHT, MISSED THAR CONNECTION" whining, I'm surprised so many people think that 100+ passengers would rather be hours late just because some other slobs never learned to pick up after themselves. These are, after all, the same commenters who (a majority) had NO PROBLEM sitting next to a corpse. But a piece of plastic?! Gah-ross.

And, no, the attitude of all the crew wasn't the best, but they were cutting their losses.

And @ToddMeister, I'm sure you don't actually think that just because Cletus The Slackjawed Yokel can't clean up his goo, that mechanical failure can be attributed to anything other than routine malfunction. I'm also sure you realize there's a difference between being in danger and being wary of some trash.

Hey, I'd have been grossed out, too, but there are health concerns on any plane. Just ask the 6-year-olds I glare at who spend 6 hours coughing into my hair.

But I digress.

@LaurenKitsune: If you read the whole letter you'd have read that not only was the plane dirty, but it was ALSO delayed due to a mechanical malfunction and many of us DID miss our connecting flights.

If they were busy fixing the plane (and causing a delay anyway), why couldn't they clean the plane at the same time?

@sp3nc3:

I agree.

BTW, the floor of the plane looks like a movie theater after a double kiddy matinee on a Saturday.

This is exactly why I never fly anymore. Wherever I go, I ride with John Madden in his big RV. And yes...before you even ask...it *can* drive from California to Hawaii. Don't ask me how...it just does it.

Delays, I can deal with. Filthy airplanes, I wouldn't be so happy about but at least there was transport involved. But United seems to excel at hiring people who are just downright nasty and make the whole experience as inconvenient and unpleasant as possible, and ORD seems to be where the worst of the worst are stationed. Yes, I am certain that not every customer-facing employee is a jerk, but they do get drowned out by the idiots.

Ewww!

BTW:

That complaint sounds EXACTLY like my writing style.

Scary.

@chrismar: I actually did read the whole letter, and as you see if you read my whole comment, I mentioned the mechanical failure.

You said you missed your connection by coming in 40 minutes later than expected. I fly just about every month, and I know that boarding takes at least 30 mintues, what with passengers milling about, going to gift shops/McDonald's, then clogging up the aisles as they try to get re-situated. So that's at least 30 minutes WITHOUT a thorough cleaning while the mechanical failure is being taken care of.

If the mechanical failure had set you back a few hours, I would humbly rescind my comment, because if you've all already definitely missed your connections anyway, why not clean the plane, right?

I don't doubt you had a sucky experience. I just think that if more people put themselves in the place of the crew, you'll see they did what they THOUGHT was going to be the best and fastest way home. They mentioned how disgusting it was. And, hey, they want to get back home/get back to the hotel/not miss their connecting flights if they have another leg just as much as you do.

Haha, PS -- I am NOT an airline employee. (IANAAE?) As I read this over, I really sound like one.
I just used to work in food service, and I've since had an amazing ability to empathize with people being blamed for unfortunate situations.

@MattM: Hmmm. That is scary. I had to have my wife proofvread to make sure it didn't sound like that ball of poo on the floor.

@LaurenKitsune: Point taken.

@chrismar: Whoops. That should read "proof read" and "ball of goo".

This is what happens when its almost time for bed.

I saw your site and would like to post a letter I sent to Northwest this past summer that involved an incident that I also thought was rather ridiculous:

Northwest Airlines
Customer Care
P.O. Box 1908
Minot, ND 58702

To whom it may concern:
After many years of flying with your airline, I am highly considering another carrier for my travels after the incident(s) on my last trip.
As we arrived in Memphis, we checked in for our flight to Anchorage for a once in a lifetime Alaskan cruise. A new (I can only hope) employee named Freddy handled our check-in after the kiosk machine would not work for our reservations. The employee seemed timid and unsure, and even after looking at our itinerary, still did not know where or how we were getting to and from our destination. He unfortunately did not take the three extra minutes to ask anyone of the other 10 employees working considering NO OTHER customer was at the counter. He did not completely check the luggage to Anchorage and you can imagine what happened from there already.
During the flight up to Minneapolis (July 05), I encountered a stewardess that told me I could not have a digital camera on before takeoff. Why is that? By her logic, I guess I should have ditched my watch and anything else digital on my body. Please train your employees not to be over bearing on equipment that has no proven harm to the airplane's communication system and realize a DIGITAL camera is not going to interfere with the plane's navigation system. I enjoy taking pictures from the air just like many other passengers do.
When we arrived in Minneapolis, we had to re-check in for the flight to Anchorage. This seemed odd at first since this is something we have rarely had to do. My dad walked up to the counter and asked the Northwest employee (I have no name, but it was at gate C16 and the flight left on July 05 at ~3:00pm CST) about our luggage and she assured him the luggage would be in Anchorage upon our arrival.
After realizing our luggage was not in Anchorage, we went to the NWA luggage area and met one of the rudest and most coarse NWA personnel I have ever dealt within your organization. Her name is OLiza (spelling may be incorrect). We explained our situation and she promptly told us it was our fault that we did not check the airport code in Memphis to verify our luggage would go to Anchorage. First, if I go over the counter to check my luggage, I will be arrested and black-listed on American carriers. Second, it is not my job to check behind YOUR employees. I do not know airport codes or how to read your luggage tags, so how can I, as a CUSTOMER, know what is going on? She then told us that we should take responsibility at some point in life for what occurred. Now I am a pharmacist and by her asinine logic, if I give someone the wrong pills and they die, it would actually be THEIR fault since they did not check them, correct? If so, that means accountability has been completely diminished from anyone in any profession. Thank god I do not have to worry about malpractice in my career with this new found revelation. Also, since she thinks a person should take responsibility for something out of their control, I think, NWA should allow me to fly back to Anchorage and tell her she is fired so that this does not occur to some other family. Instead of being any kind of help to us, this rude employee basically tried to rush us off and get rid of us. We literally had to beg just to get an overnight bag since we had nothing but the clothes on our back. She told us nothing about any compensation program and we only found that out once we arrived back home in Memphis.
I spent close to $800 dollars on the round trip tickets to Anchorage. Please explain to me the part about charging customers $5 for a sandwich after spending close to $1000 for a ticket. Or, how about a $1 for trail mix? Give me a break. Airline companies complain they are losing business and must pass the buck to the consumer with rising gas prices and other taxes the federal government requires, but charging for snacks is just ridiculous. I remember years ago getting snacks and meals on flights, but I guess those days are gone. Along with charging customers for stupid stuff, charging for certain seats is another great way to make people mad. Customers are treated like cattle when flying already, but unfortunately it is the quickest way to travel great distances. Making them more miserable by charging for stuff that should be included anyway is just dumb business sense. I am sure the accountants are doing their best to get the company out of bankruptcy, but it will not matter if your customer base is not there once you succeed.
I hope you take this letter to heart and realize you are alienating your customer base by making asinine decisions for NWA. I used to enjoy flying and with your airline (the direct flights are nice), but the flying experience is getting worse and I would rather drive to Little Rock and get better service from another carrier with cheaper fares and friendlier service.

Thank you for reading the letter and hopefully I should be able to anticipate some type of response.

I would never litter on the street, and I don't leave behind trash on flights even though I travel with a two year old. But I resent the comment about this being the same as leaving trash in a movie theater. I always leave my trash on the floor in a movie theater. When I pay $20 for a couple cokes and some popcorn, I figure management has built in the cost of picking up the trash.

Over the last year I have flown a total of at least 80 segments totaling over 150,000 on United and have never experienced a dirty plane. Granted, an occasional pretzel packet in a seat pocket, but even after a flight from Chicago to Hong Kong which is over 7700 miles the plane was quite clean. I would have to guess that this was a poor crew plus a dirty crowd. Cut United some slack. I fly them transatlantic and transpacific and domestically quite often, and from my sampling 95% of the flight crews have been great. My last comment is I have only flown first class twice on two domestic flights and every other flight of mine has been in coach.

I'm not saying its ok to act like a pig on the plane, but have you ever been in a small seat for 8 hours plus probably 1 hour for getting on and off the plane. After long enough, even civilized people start to have a disregaurd for mannors. 4 hours into a flight that has 5 more in it, you start to get that mob mentality of "well, i paid $400 for this plane ticket, someone else can pick up my garbage."