The statistics provided here were compiled from the US Department of Transportation's Air Travel Consumer Report. Please note that apart from the first category (General Complaints), the numbers on this page have not been updated since the report for calendar year 2004.

General Complaints
Capping their steady decline, United tied US Airways in calendar year 2006 for the highest number of complaints per passengers flown (1.36 per 100,000 system-wide enplanements).

year	rank
2006	10
2005	8
2004	8
2003	5
2002	10
2001	9

Discrimination
While the total number of such complaints is fairly small, United has some problems with discrimination. The airline held the bottom spot in this category for 2004, took 8th position in 2003 (Northwest and American took 9th and 10th, respectively) and 9th in 2002 (America West took 10th).

year	rank
2006	?
2005	?
2004	10
2003	8
2002	9

Flight Delays
Although United holds the 9th place in this category for the DOT database to date (September 1987 - December 2004), reduction in service resulted in significant improvements in recent years. In 2004, the airline scored the 2nd best rating in this category, behind only Southwest in terms of on-time arrival, meaning that the flight arrived within 15 minutes of the scheduled time as shown in the carrier's computerized reservation system. (Untied.com makes no apologies for being critical, but we do remain fair.)

Mishandled baggage
Similarly, despite a formerly unimpressive record in this category, United held 4th place for 2004, with 3.93 reports of mishandled baggage per 1000 passengers. At the bottom of the pack, American Eagle had twice as many incidents per passenger.

Customer Service and Flight Problems
In the category of customer service problems, which the DOT defines as "rude or unhelpful employees, inadequate meals or cabin service, treatment of delayed passengers", United holds the distinction of being the worst among the top-10 US carriers for 2004, 9th place in 2003 (Continental took 10th), tied America West for 9th place in 2002 (American took 10th), and took bottom place again in 2001.

In terms of flight problems, defined as "cancellations, delays, or any other deviations from schedule, whether planned or unplanned," the reduction in service has resulted in significant improvements since 2002, when the airline was in 9th place (America West was 10th). For 2004, United was squarely in the middle of the pack, and in 2003, only Southwest had a better record.

Refund Problems

For calendar year 2004, United was in 6th place with respect to refund problems, related to unused or lost tickets, fare adjustments, or bankruptcies.