Worst July 4th flight on United
On UA 918 to London for a Wimbledon work event, and this has been one of the worst travel experiences I’ve had.
I left Sacramento at 4am on July 4th, already knowing holiday travel is risky, but I didn’t have a choice. Had a tight 1.5-hour layover at IAD and expected a normal long-haul flight.
Instead, it turned into a domino effect of nonsense:
• 1.5-hour delay to start.
• During that delay, they let passengers deplane… then couldn’t get everyone back on time, adding another ~30 minutes.
• Then a weather reroute before we even left.
• Once we finally took off, the pilot announces they chose not to restock spoiled food—so no hot meals in first class.
• Mid-flight, a crew member gets sick, and now we’re turning back to DC.
So after all that:
• Missed July 4th with family and friends.
• Missed my Wimbledon work event.
• Probably missing the F1 race at Silverstone.
• What started as a 4am departure is now turning into a ~36-hour travel nightmare.
I paid around $3k cash + 30 points plus upgrade for a first-class ticket (first class tickets were $8k), and this is the experience.
At what point does this go beyond “travel delays happen” and into “this deserves serious compensation”?
For those who’ve dealt with United—what would you push for here?