How would you like to fly from Hawaii to Chicago in an airplane full of cigarette butts, candy, used tissues, pretzel bags, maxi-pad wrappers, crumbs, dirt, pens, balls of "goo", and god knows what else just because United Airlines didn't have "time" to clean the plane? We wouldn't like it very much at all, and neither did Chris and his wife when they flew from Hawaii to Chicago last weekend.

When Chris and his wife were about to board the plane they were warned that it hadn't been cleaned, but were assured that they would disembark the plane during a stopover in Kona, HI (KOA) while a cleaning crew cleaned up the airplane. That, of course, did not happen. From Chris's letter to United Airlines:

After we arrived in Kona, HI, we were told there was not enough time for us to disembark the aircraft, and we would have to remain on while it was cleaned and the crew was switched. The boarding of the crew and cleaning staff prompted the following comments from United Airlines:

Lead Flight Attendant: "I've worked in this industry for 15 years and I've never seen a plane this dirty."

Lead of the Cleanup Crew: "This is so bad I'm almost embarrassed."

During the so called "cleaning" we were also told by the cleaning staff that they were told to "only clean empty seats", which meant my wife and I (along with the 348 other passengers) had to deal with dirty seat pockets and cluttered leg room. They did not come through with a vacuum or another other devices to clean and/or sanitize the plane.

See the full gallery of carnage inside.

Here are Chris's photos, with captions, along with the letter he wrote to United Airlines:

March 20, 2007

United Airlines

P.O. Box 66100

Chicago, IL 60666

Attention: Graham Atkinson

Dear Mr. Atkinson:

This past weekend (March 18-19, 2007) my wife and I were returning from our wedding anniversary trip to Maui, Hawaii. Unfortunately, this trip was probably the worst travel experience we've ever had. As

frequent vacation travelers (at least 4 times a year, many international), we have a fair understanding of how a flight should go, and this was not how a flight should go. Let me start at the beginning:

We boarded United Airlines flight 3 from Kahului, Maui (OGG) at approximately 2:30 pm Hawaiian Standard Time. We were warned that due to the plane's late arrival from Chicago it would not have time to be cleaned before we boarded. We were instructed by the gate attendantsthat we would disembark the aircraft during our stopover in Kona, HI (KOA) while a cleaning crew cleaned up the airplane. Even that announcement did not prepare us for what we were about to see. Below are a few photos which I took using my camera phone prior to departure

from the gate (The quality is a bit poor due to being taken with a phone, so I will explain each picture with a caption below it):

This is the floor next to the window.

There are pieces of candy, popcorn and other mysterious items



This is the row in front of me.

There is a life preserver, a chip or pretzel bag and used tissues/napkins.



This is a different angle of the row in front of me.

There is an empty bottle, a pillow and some used tissues/napkins



This is the aisle to my left.

There is a Hawaiian Agriculture import form, candy wrappers and plastic wrap.



This is the aisle to my left again, but further down.

There is coloring book pages, a plastic cup, a ball of goo, a chip or

pretzel bag, a candy wrapper and a pen.



This is my wife's seat pocket.

There is a sticker book, candy/food wrappers and used napkins/tissues.



This is the aisle to my left, looking back.

There is a used tissue/napkin and plastic wrap.



This is the row to the front-left of me.

There is forms, paper, plastic wrap, popcorn and a smoked cigarette

butt (circled in red).



This is my seat pocket.

There is a pillow cover, some sort of bag with something in it, candy

wrappers, and used napkins/tissues.



This is underneath the seat in front of me.

There is a used napkin, a used tissue (which was on my seat) and what

looks to be a used feminine hygiene sticker back.

Chris continues:

After we arrived in Kona, HI, we were told there was not enough time

for us to disembark the aircraft, and we would have to remain on while

it was cleaned and the crew was switched. The boarding of the crew

and cleaning staff prompted the following comments from United

Airlines:

Lead Flight Attendant: "I've worked in this industry for 15 years and

I've never seen a plane this dirty."

Lead of the Cleanup Crew: "This is so bad I'm almost embarrassed."

During the so called "cleaning" we were also told by the cleaning

staff that they were told to "only clean empty seats", which meant my

wife and I (along with the 348 other passengers) had to deal with

dirty seat pockets and cluttered leg room. They did not come through

with a vacuum or another other devices to clean and/or sanitize the

plane. The only sanitization that took place was the changing of the

pillow covers. To add insult to injury, the lead flight attendant had

a conversation with another passenger that went like this:

Passenger: "The plane is so dirty I thought I was on an American

Airlines plane."

Flight Attendant: "American has very clean planes, perhaps the

cleanest of all airlines."

This is not good customer service and this is not how United should be

treating their customers. The planes should be cleaned and inspected

before we are able to board, even if it means a slightly late

departure. It so happens that the flight from Kahululi to Kona was

delayed anyway due to a mechanical malfunction. Why wasn't the plane

cleaned then? Why are your employees saying that other airlines have

cleaner planes? Shouldn't they believe that United is the best across

the board? Bottom line is, as your customer, we should have never

seen the plane in the condition it was.

But wait, there's more...

Eventually, we ended up in Chicago O'Hare (ORD) at 6:30 am CDT, about

40 minutes later than our scheduled arrival time. As a result we

missed our connecting flight to Newark Liberty (EWR) on United

Airlines flight 634 departing at 6:35 am CDT. We went to the United

Customer Service counter located in Concourse A of Terminal 1. Once

we arrived at the counter we realized there was a total of 1 agent

working on a line of about 50 customers. When there was about 10

customers left a second agent finally came out. Our in-line time was

well over an hour. At the counter we were told that all direct

flights to Newark were already booked and oversold, the best we could

do was get on standby for those flights. The agent then proceeded to

book us on a flight from O'Hare to Washington Dulles (IAD) then to

Newark. Our final arrival time in Newark would have been 10:30 pm

EDT, a total of 25.5 hours later than our departure time from Kahului

and a total of 13 hours later than our originally scheduled arrival

time in Newark. This was unacceptable to us, as we knew from talking

to other passengers on the plane and in the line that many of those

passengers were traveling to Newark. We then asked the agent if would

could be put on standby for the upcoming Newark flights as well as the

other area airports, JFK and LaGuardia. The agent told us we could

only be on standby for one destination at a time. The information was

something we were prepared to hear, as we had heard it from the other

customers in line ahead of us. What we were not prepared for was this

agent's attitude. She was rude and confrontational. She suggested

that next time we shouldn't book a connecting flight so close in time

(there was 45 minutes between flights, mind you). We told her that we

booked the flight through United directly and they didn't have an

issue with it, and neither did we as we had both made connecting

flights in other cities with less time. She then proceeded to tell us

that United would never book a flight at O'Hare with so little time in

between and that we must have told the booking agent to do so against

their will. Finally, I asked the agent if she could let us into the

Red Carpet Club lounge since we were going to be waiting in O'Hare for

much of the day. I figured this was an acceptable compromise

considering we were late arriving to Chicago due to United's own

doing. She denied us saying that United does not give out day passes

to the lounges.

Why was United Airlines content with leaving all of those passengers

stranded in Chicago? Was it because you already had our money and

wanted to collect the standby fares knowing there were probably plenty

of people waiting for that flight? Why can't we be on more than one

standby list at a time? Do you really not give out day passes to your

lounges?

Finally, through my wife's own persistence and running between gates

going to Newark and LaGuardia, she was able to get us tickets on

United Airlines flight 676. These tickets were obtained solely at the

expense of my wife and through no help whatsoever by United Airlines.

In conclusion, my wife and I are two very unhappy and very unsatisfied

United Airlines customers. To recount our experiences:

— We were allowed to board a disgustingly dirty airplane that had

just arrived from a 7.5 hour flight.

— Two employees of United Airlines stated they "had never seen an

airplane so dirty" and "were embarrassed" by the conditional of the

aircraft.

— We had to deal with a rude and confrontational United Airlines

customer service agent in Terminal 1, Concourse A of O'Hare

International Airport.

— United did not provide any comfort in the airport (via the Red

Carpet Club lounge) or assistance in getting home when we were late

arriving in Chicago due to a problem with the aircraft (which is in no

way our fault, or problem).

I trust you and/or United Airlines will take the proper action to

correct these issues and repay my wife and I for our experiences with

whatever means you and/or United Airlines feel necessary.

Feel free to write or call with any questions you may have regarding

this matter.

Sincerely,

Chris

All we can say is "YUCK!" —MEGHANN MARCO

UPDATE:

Chris writes:

Hey Gang,

About an hour after my story was posted on Consumerist I got a call

from the "Executive Office Phone Team" @ United. The lady said they

make all the calls in response to items sent to the Executive Team.

Since I did email (and snail mail) my letter to Graham Atkinson, I

suppose that is why they called back vs. some other customer service

people.

Anyhow, here's what we're walking away with:

1) An official apology from United for the condition of the plane.

2) Two $300 travel vouchers for use on future domestic or international travel.

The lady I spoke with also said she was going to personally contact

the head of maintenance at both United proper and at the airports

involved.

My wife and I are both extremely happy with the outcome of this, and

are grateful to Consumerist (and Mark Ashley) as well as the

Consumerist community for all your comments and support.

Thanks again,

Chris