I recently needed to be in Springfield, OR for a class but wanted to continue on to California afterwards. United offered the best flight times and cost of all the airlines I checked. The flight to Oregon originated in Indianapolis and arrived in Portland where I transferred for a short hop to Eugene. Every step of the way was smooth with no gate changes or delays. No one asked for me to switch seat assignments (which has happened on other airlines) or ignored my presence when passing out drinks. United was professional, on time, and delivered as promised on all that I paid for.

UA126 8/13/2016 IAD to DUB

Myself, spouse, daughter, son-in-law, and three-year-old grandson were flying to my older daughter's wedding in Ireland. We had booked the trip several months and advance and chose this flight so that we could help take care of my grandson.

I made my first international flight 46 years ago and have made many since then. Until this trip, I had never been charged for a second piece of luggage. We did not discover the charge until the time that we checked in. The charge was substantial: $100 for one suitcase. To add insult to injury, our three-year-old grandson did not have any checked luggage so, had we been aware of the charge, would've checked the second bag on his ticket as we did on the return flight.

The check-in procedure at Dulles was efficient. Getting to the aircraft and boarding were unremarkable. The aircraft crew did their jobs efficiently.

One oddity: we boarded the aircraft 2225. A meal of some sort was served about two hours later and a snack was served prior to arrival in Dublin. Had I had a choice, I would've preferred a snack or nothing after boarding and a larger breakfast in the morning.

UA127 8/20/2016 DUB to IAD

We got into the line to check our baggage at 0900 for a flight that was scheduled to depart at 1225. Shortly after getting into line, a United employee took our information (and apologized for the long lines) and told us to wait in line was about 20 minutes. As it turned out, the wait in line was over an hour. Part of the problem was there were only three positions that were accepting economy class baggage and for a good part of the time, one of those positions was closed, despite the long lines.

After turning in our luggage, we were told that US Customs would be completed while we were at Dublin Airport. We were given customs forms and told to fill them out, which we did. We then went to US customs preclearance and again got in a long line. Once through the line, we were instructed to enter the same data we had put on the forms into an electronic kiosk. Once that was completed we proceeded to the next line where for the third time we were asked to provide the data that we had originally provided on the customs form.

By the time we could finish this entire process, we got to our boarding gate later than the time the aircraft was scheduled to begin boarding. Fortunately for us, United was a half hour late and boarding the aircraft.

Given the extraordinarily long check in process and bizarre customs processes, it would've been nice had United notified us that we needed to get to the airport earlier than would be normal for an international flight.

Since my wife and I are both vegetarians, prior to the flight we had ordered vegetarian meals. She had ordered Asian vegetarian and I had ordered the vegan meal. When her meal was delivered, she could not figure out what it was by looking at it. She ate the meal and still couldn't figure out what it was. My meal consisted of pasta that was crunchy on the ends covered with over-cooked spinach.

The bright spot in this leg of the trip was the economy class flight attendants. I had contact with several of them and they were all pleasant, courteous, and seemed genuinely interested in making the best possible experience. They are good at what they do and I would be happy to have any of them in the future.

Overall, I would have to say on both legs of this trip, this was not United's finest hour.

You do not get what you pay for on United. Unless you are willing to pay more, you will be treated like the dregs in the coffe pot at the end of the day . Pay for a checked bag - if you are travelling for more than a quickie business trip. No meals or decent snacks on a 5 hour flight. If you don't pay extra for leg room, for boarding priority, and are in group 5, they will tell you that there is no overhead space for your legal carry on (on a flight that is not full) and you have to check your carry on which fits in the test holder. I took everything out - my lap top, my small purse and jacket and they checked an empty bag which I would have been happy to put under seat, but they would not let me. One beverage run in 5 hours. I have travelled twice on Southwest since then and the difference is night and day. Don't blame the union employees because Southwest is 80% union.

as I enter the airport on 8-7-16 my flight was cancelled due to aircraft maintenance so I go up to the united desk they cant find me a flight til the next day at 9 pm. they wont get me a rental car so I have to rent another car for 200 dollars didn't offer me a hotel. they didn't give me a flight voucher. I flew first class had to fly back economy never got a refund. I would never fly united if you paid me. I have filed a complaint its been over a week and still no phone call. I call united and get the run around save your money fly delta