Travels for work and pleasure have taken me around world during which I've accumulated between 150-200 flights. Having flown several foreign and most major US carriers, I can soundly attest that United provides a very "meh" service; below average even according to US standards. Sadly, their recent notoriety does not come as a shock, though they're not always at fault. In contrast, my recent experiences aboard UAL were a pleasant surprise. Shortly after boarding their A319 from SBA to DEN, I was shocked to see the airplane lacked modern 'infotainment' features. Apparently, the company rolled out in-flight streaming service over the past couple years enabling passengers to utilize their own device for entertainment. This was my first time using this feature (via the United app) which turned out to work well. Both their app and website could use a professional makeover, however they're "good enough" for the stated purpose. Even the on-board internet was reasonably priced and was sufficient to send texts and photos. Though I prefer to fly American Airlines, I have to give credit to United for providing a comfortable travel experience. Flight attendants even abstained from ramming passengers with the beverage cart (which I've witnessed in the past), providing a friendly and efficient snack service. And kudos to the pilots for delivering us over 20 minutes early on way leg up to DEN! Over the long haul, the airline takes 3/5 stars. Now to mention United specifically in their SBA station: They deserve an easy 5-stars! Right in line with my overall SBA experience: staff was friendly, personable; check-in was quick and easy; boarding was a breeze; the facilities are well-kept; and I've never claimed my bags faster (less than 10 minutes). There is nothing really to critique here, it's just flying the way it should be:) read more

Flight: UA 4715 (SBA to SFO) Date: August 5 Scheduled / Actual Departure: 9:59 AM / 11:22 AM (Delayed over an hour) United Express has shown a noticeable drop in service quality and operational reliability, and this flight was a prime example. What should have been a quick, routine hop from Santa Barbara to San Francisco turned into a drawn-out, poorly communicated delay. Pushing back departure by over an hour for a flight that only takes 1 hour and 16 minutes in the air completely destroys any downstream travel plans or connections. When delays occur, basic communication and proactive assistance shouldn't be too much to ask. Instead, the response from representatives was indifferent, leaving travelers stranded in limbo with little accountability. If you rely on timely departures or expect standard professional customer care, look for alternative carriers or routes. United Express continues to fail to deliver on basic service standards. read more

I had a really great experience with United Airlines in Santa Barbara, Ca. I had a difficult travel day getting to Santa Barbara and then another passenger left with my suitcase. A mystery because my suitcase does not look like any other suitcase! My point is that Nia, who is a baggage representative with United sorted out what happened very quickly, called the other passenger and had my bag back at the terminal within about 20 minutes. Nia just makes United look so good. read more

BOOOOO so unhelpful. desk ladies didn't even try, very rude. i was told something was impossible, then when I called customer service they had multiple solutions. By that time it was too late and flight was missed. read more

Baggage check agents sent us out of our spot in line for a customer waiting in another line who was surprised to be called to another station which was very odd, then 5 minutes later told us we were too late to check our bags because we were past a 45 minute deadline which we would have made had they not sent us out of line. Very unapologetic staff, claiming it was "written everywhere" when the sign referenced did not state this rule, nor did our boarding ticket information. Ended up missing flight while they never apologized for the strange insistance on having taken someone from another line before us, and were generally quite rude. Very poor customer service. read more

My flight to NYC was delayed 8 hours. This is after sitting on the runway for hours as they tried to figure out why water was going into cockpit. The next plane looked like it was out of a 1970s movie. No movies or blankets or pillows and the crew was cold. The flight back we had a really nice, awesome crew but the Wifi wasn't working and the flight was delayed 3 hours and a bunch of us missed our connecting flight back to Santa Barbara. We had to take a bus back because the next flight wasn't until 24 hours later. If the wifi had been working, we could have made other arrangements to get home. The good part of it is, United gave us food vouchers and money towards a new flight. For the flight back, they put us up in a hotel, gave us food vouchers and paid for our bus trip back a day later. Flights cost so much nowadays that I'd think the planes would be in better condition, blankets would be available for overnight flights and wifi would working. Where is all the money they're making going? read more

Service was horrible. My wife missed her connection flight to Santa Barbara and had to stay over night in San Francisco They would not provide a hotel overnight and blamed the late arrival to weather which there was none and said " you are on your own". My wife ended up sleeping over night inside the airport. Very..very disappointed with United read more

This review is about United Ground Express, the folks who manage terminal operations at Santa Barbara Municipal Airport. My wife and I have recently encountered mobility issues and require some assistance when travelling. The United Ground Express team at SBA are simply outstanding. From the crew chief, Wes, to his entire team, we were shown amazing customer service and concern for our needs. For a crew who serves hundreds of customers daily, they have retained their ability to connect on a human level. It is quite obvious their caring is a reflection of their character. Kudos to UGE for putting together such a great team and shame on them for not providing a format to send comments or reviews about their great team. read more

Customer service is excellent, they changed my ticket no problem as The freeway was closed due to an Accident, however, the rescheduled plane was 4 hrs late on SFO-Sea Tac and on the flight back, on the SFO-SBA the worse ride ever with no air conditioning during the flight and at landing we were made to wait inside the plane in 80 degrees weather, full flight and no air conditioning! Lame read more

Terrible greedy awful airline. After over 10 years of flying with them I'm done. Taking advantage of this pandemic to keep customers money and make using credit impossible, disgusting. read more

Bad experience! Our flight from Santa Barbara to Eugene, Oregon with a connecting flight in San Francisco left Santa Barbara airport an hour and a half late due to the ineptitude of the United Airlines employees. There was no agent at the gate to let customers on the waiting plane at the scheduled time for boarding. We were told that United Airlines did not have enough agents to man the gates for all departing flights because all available agents were on another gate. Consequently the boarding of our flight was delayed one and one-half hours and as a result we missed our connecting flight to Eugene and had to stay overnight at a hotel near the San Francisco Airport. Very disappointed. read more

Looks like they're at it again, during the flu pandemic they are flying fully loaded planes, they kill dogs in overhead bins, beat the crap out of their customers and now exposing ALL their travelers to potential flu. Obviously they ONLY want your money. Damn United, sell your fleet of planes to a company that cares about the passengers and their safety. You guys continue to suck!!!! read more

After all of the bad press, I was amazed at my pleasant experience this year. I must say that in the past flying with United had been less pleasant, but never to a point where I would have had to complain to the news media. I ordered a drink and a cheese plate on the plane. The attendant did not have her device with her to take my credit card, and when she came back later, told me that she had taken care of it for me, as in NO CHARGE. Well, that was very, very nice. I also like that they now give you a ticket for the carry on luggage so that I no longer have to struggle to get my bag into the over head compartment. The luggage comes to the door of the plane and it only takes a short wait to retrieve it. Not sure if my treatment by the TSA is due to my age, or if they have just lightened up a bit. Going through the check in area was a breeze this year, both in Santa Barbara and in Denver. To me the airport experience has always been the down side of traveling by air. This year, I am happy to say, changed my mind. All in all, this was a very pleasant trip. read more

Absolutely the worst airline flying, zero concept of customer service or being on time! As many times that I have flown since November and only one flight did I make my connection! United Airlines if you can't get it right and treat your customers with respect you should go out of business!!!! read more

Going to spend time with my son for Christmas and flight cancelled. Then 35 hours later I get to my destination only to find out they lost my luggage and going on 3rd day still haven't found it. Worst flying experience I've ever had. Never have trouble with delta. read more

Not at all happy with the terrible service received on Monday July 1 on the 4:35 arrival from LAX. Wife and I had CARRY ON luggage, and received our claim tickets to grab our bags as we disembark. Reason being it was an Embraer EMB 120, so the overhead was too small. No problem. Wrong. BIG PROBLEM. We land on time, we get off and are standing on the tarmac for our CARRY ON bags. The gruff lady at the storage door tell us all that carry on luggage will now be picked up at baggage claim. Crap. OK, so I'll meet them there and be on my way. WRONG again. It took 40 minutes before the baggage made it to the claim area. That was longer than the danged flight was! Who does that and doesn't care about the customer? Really! A travel mate tried to complain to the male ticket agent. He remained as stoic as an NFL ref getting dirt kicked on him. No interest in the complainant or the complaint. A robotic response of "Would you like a manager to meet you at the baggage claim area?" Well H yes we would. Better yet, I'd rather meet my dang luggage there! Bottom line, the manager never showed, I grabbed my stuff and hauled out of that poorly run operation. read more

Ashley at the desk was extremely polite, patient and helpful. She worked with my ticketing issues and we had everything sorted in the end with out getting stressed. Happy happy! read more

If you book with United out of SBA be prepared to have flight canceled or delayed. If you are ok with flexible plans or don't mind getting put on a bus then go ahead. They will also tell you that the bus is the same as flying without a slightest hint of irony. New slogan for United is "fly with us, or take the bus it's all the same anyway." read more

Delayed due to mechanical issue. Faulty planes and incompetent maintenance crew. Pray for us while we're in the air.

We went to a wedding. Our bags did not arrive. They contained our clothes for the wedding. I called the listed bagged service number. The woman told me that there were lots of bags to deliver and this would take 4-6 hours. I knew this was not true, as it was a tiny airport. I asked her to call the airport. She said no one answered the telephone. We took a taxi to get the bags. 3 hours later, we received a text that said United "was looking very hard for our bags." We had the bags. This was a total lie. I assume it is an auto-text, but now that I know they are not really looking for your bags, I am shocked that someone would approve this false text to go out and re-assure people. United needs to shut that off. Really not fair to lie that you are looking for the bags when you are not. We spent an extra $50 on taxis and barely made it to the wedding without even a shower. I think United should provide a credit or something to make up for the extra expense and emotional distress. read more

Officious and bureaucratic . Do not call United Airlines before 5 am. You will be connected to the most officious, rude, bureaucratic people United could possibly find to hire in India and the Philippines. They will give you completely different information than you will get from a US based agent. read more

Horrible service here. One employee named COURTNEY was extremely rude to me, I as shocked. Never has anyone, especially a business professional, spoken down to me as this woman has. Shame on her and shame on United Airlines for allowing it. read more

Natasha at the check in at the airport was great. So helpful to us and then when we saw her assiting a handicap woman and being so courteous we could olny hope the rest of our traveling experience could go so well. read more

The new Santa Barbara Airport is beautiful but, I have flown to and from SBA twice in the last three weeks and both times had our flights cancelled and had to take the airbus last minute to either get to LAX or to get home from LAX. Neither time involved weather and people in line were being told it would take 1 to 2 days to get to their destinations. What is happening with this airline? The agents on the ground are nice and helpful but, the customer service in India is not very good at all. read more