United Airlines Customer Service

This United Airlines helpline is set up to handle a wide range of customer inquiries. When I called, I was greeted by a voice prompt asking me to state the reason for my call. Although there is no automated menu, the system’s voice prompt offers a number of potential issues it can assist customers with, including help checking into a flight, assistance with booking a flight, and changing a reservation.

I wanted to check the status of a flight going from Dallas to Los Angeles. The system handled my request using verbal commands, which can be a bit tedious when you have to go through multiple options. 

For instance, when I was inquiring about the status of the flight I was interested in, I had to say the names of both cities multiple times and specify which airport in each city I needed information about. Each time, the system prompts you to say “yes” if it has heard you correctly. But if you say “yes” too quickly (or not quickly enough), it can easily misunderstand your response and send you back to the beginning of the process.

After a couple of tries, I got the system to understand that I wanted to check on a flight from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport. Unfortunately, the information it provided was incorrect. I was informed that there were no flights on the day of my call on United Airlines that originated in Dallas and landed in Los Angeles (in actuality, there were 10+ flights that fit this criteria).

I was confused enough by the information provided by the automated system that I chose to wait on the line to talk to a customer service representative. Using the voice command “agent,” I was connected with a live representative after a relatively short wait time.

The United Airlines rep I spoke with was friendly and helpful. He gave me the details about that day’s flights from Dallas to Los Angeles. I did ask why the automated system had been unable to provide me with that information, but he wasn’t sure of the answer to the question.

I wasn't happy with my experience trying to use the voice system to get information. It took multiple tries to get the system to understand me, and it seemed to take longer than it typically takes to work through an automated menu. It didn’t help that the system couldn't provide me with the information I was after.

That said, once I was connected to an agent, the experience was pleasant. I wouldn’t hesitate to call this number again for customer assistance, but I would immediately opt to speak with an agent rather than trying to navigate the voice system. My experience might also have been smoother if I'd been more prepared to provide additional information, such as a flight number.