UA Flight Status info vs Flight Aware - FlyerTalk Forums (2024)

buckeyefanflyer

Join Date: Jan 2010

Location: CLE

Programs: UA,WN,AA,DL, B6

Posts: 4,179

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Dec 26, 2020 at 3:25 pmReason: More descriptive title

ContinentalFan

Join Date: Apr 2006

Location: Los Angeles, California

Programs: United, American, Delta, Hyatt, Hilton, Hertz, Marriott

Posts: 14,932

My guess is that it’s related to how United elects to post information on the app. There are a number of times that I’ve checked flights and discovered that the aircraft scheduled to perform the flight shows an arrival time at the gate after the posted departure time for the next flight. The information is clearly inaccurate or at least it’s not current; however, there’s usually an equipment swap, which saves the day and gets things back on schedule. Next time I see it happen, I’ll check Flightaware too to see what it says on that site.

eng3

Join Date: Aug 2008

Location: PHL

Programs: UA 1K 1MM, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum, Raddison Platinum, Avis Presidents Club

Posts: 5,397

LarryJ

Join Date: Feb 2002

Location: BNA

Programs: HH Gold. (Former) UA PP, DL PM, PC Plat

Posts: 8,284

There is no separate data kept just for the customers. What you see in the app is from the data used internally by all the employees who are working to service and operate the flight.

When you see things that are obviously wrong, it is because they haven't yet decided what they are going to do to fix it.

The default is for the departure time to auto-update based on the status of the inbound aircraft. When that is changing frequently, such as an inbound aircraft that is stuck on the ground elsewhere with an ATC or Mx delay, the automated system will see the excessive number of updates and will recommend to the controller in station or network operations control to turn off the auto-updating. When that happens, it's up to SOC/NOC controllers to keep it updated.

The FAA flight plan data is separate. The flight plan is filed with an estimated departure time set as the scheduled departure time. If a delay is internal that time is good from 30 minutes before until two-hours after the filed time without being updated. If there are ATC delays, it's up to the flow control system to update though the larger airlines can swap their slots around between flights in order to minimize the impact of the delays.

zombietooth

Join Date: Oct 2009

Programs: UA 1K, Hilton ♦ , Hyatt Carbonado, Wyndham ♦, Marriott PE, "Stinking Bum" elsewhere.

Posts: 5,074

My experience, as someone who looks at both for every flight (104 segments so far this year), is that Flight Aware is not only more accurate, but that sometimes their departure estimates are hours apart, leaving those relying on UA's system in the lurch for trying to catch alternate flights by relying on unrealistic estimates. On one recent flight, UA's system said we would be delayed 2 hours but Flight Aware showed a 5 hour delay. Not trusting UA's estimate, I called the 1K line to see if I could find out what the situation was. They told me that they would have to bring over a replacement aircraft from the International Terminal at ORD (I was at my gate in Concourse C) and that this operation would take around 1.5 hours and, hopefully, result in a 2 hour delay. I decided that I didn't like the odds on that fix and had them re-book me. I ended-up routed through another hub but, in the end, arrived only around 30 minutes late to my destination and was on time for my business meeting. Out of curiosity, later that night I checked when the original flight departed and found that it ended-up leaving ORD over 6 hours late.

YMMV

Last edited by zombietooth; Dec 27, 2020 at 11:01 am

lsquare

Join Date: Mar 2010

Programs: DL, OZ, AC, AS, AA, BA, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG

Posts: 19,939

SPN Lifer

Join Date: Mar 2002

Location: Saipan, MP 96950 USA (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands = the CNMI)

Programs: UA Silver, Hilton Silver. Life: UA .57 MM, United & Admirals Clubs (spousal), Marriott Platinum

Posts: 15,499

It looks like one can sign up at no charge.

https://flightaware.com/account/login

physioprof

Join Date: Apr 2015

Programs: United Global Services, Amtrak Select Executive

Posts: 4,146

I'm not the only one who (altho it's completely irrational) in such circ*mstances feels better the worse off the flight I switched away from ends up faring, right?

DELee

Join Date: Jun 2010

Location: TOA

Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott LTPP/Platinum Premier, Hyatt Lame-ist, UA !K

Posts: 20,061

UA doesn't mind.

David

buckeyefanflyer

Join Date: Jan 2010

Location: CLE

Programs: UA,WN,AA,DL, B6

Posts: 4,179

there is no charge for most service.

lincolnjkc

Join Date: Feb 2005

Location: CLE, DCA, and 30k feet

Programs: Honors LT Diamond; United 1K; Hertz PC

Posts: 4,266

Guilty here.

A few years ago there was that freak April blizzard in Chicago. My inbound from Montreal was on time but ORD-CLE kept sliding back -- not due to weather but because the aircraft due to operate that leg had a mechanical leaving wherever it was coming from (want to say DEN or MSP but that part is a foggy memory at this point) and its ETD would change 15-30 minutes, sit for a while then move another 15-30. Of course with all of the cancelations there was no way UA had another 739 sitting in ORD that they could just swap to do the quick ORD-CLE-ORD turn, right?

Once a delay hits 4 hours I become extremely pessimistic about the odds of the flight actually operating and start to flip myself into full contingency mode. The UA club agents offered to put me on an American Eagle flight to Toledo (the only flight heading in the right general direction still operating with seats available) -- but RJ+Blizzard seemed risky. Wound up reserving a car with Hertz, going over to the CRAC and driving from Chicago to Cleveland.

My original flight didn't cancel but even with the 5 hour drive I still beat it in to Cleveland by nearly 3 hours.

That was a decision reaffirming experience

zombietooth

Join Date: Oct 2009

Programs: UA 1K, Hilton ♦ , Hyatt Carbonado, Wyndham ♦, Marriott PE, "Stinking Bum" elsewhere.

Posts: 5,074

It's not that I feel better about the original flight being delayed, it's that I made the correct decision given the information that I had access to. I always critique my decisions after the fact, in business and personal matters, and alter my behavior based on any errors I've made in judgement.

I've also made decisions like this where it didn't pay off, usually because the flight that I switched to got delayed too. Urgency of the situation will also affect my decision; if I have to be at a client meeting at a time certain, I will be very proactive in trying to reschedule if I sense that a delay will cause me problems. If I am returning home after a meeting/job, a delay, while unpleasant, isn't a serious problem and I will probably ride it out.

PTahCha

Join Date: May 1998

Location: CT/NY

Programs: UA 1K/1MM, AA EXP, Marriott LT Titanium, Hyatt Globalist, IHG Plat Amb

Posts: 6,098

I think the information on the app is significantly better nowadays. At one point right after the merger, they would post flight information that would be impossible to achieve - for example, having a departure time before the inbound plane's arrival, or only 15 minutes for the flight turn. Nowadays, with the gate agent writing out these lengthy novels describing the circ*mstance around the delay, there's more information on the app than before. The major discrepancies between flightaware and UA app come about when there's an aircraft swap, and Flightaware is usually right. I would then confirm the change with a UC agent (assuming I am waiting in one) to get the true story.

This is pre-iPhone and apps, but on a delay out of RNO to SFO, I remembered chatting with the FAs in the rear galley, and in comes a text from UA with a revised departure time in 20 minutes. After I showed the text to the FAs and telling them we are leaving, the captain announced on the intercom that we are going.

It's one of the few times I felt like an Oracle.

AndyPatterson

Join Date: Jul 2003

Location: Washington DC

Posts: 1,371

When I was a toddler, my dad was flying SEA-GEG (Spokane), on Northwest Orient. There was a major blizzard, and all flights were delayed and potentially cancelled. The rich guy who lived down the block from us was waiting for the same flight with his fellow biz partner, and they saw Dad, asked him if he wanted to drive with them to Spokane in a rental car (280 miles). Rich guy turned out to be a bad driver, driving too fast in the snow, but somehow they made it to the Spokane airport, and just as they arrived, they saw the NW Orient plane landing from Seattle... My mom and the other two wives sitting at the airport gate were surprised to see these three men approach them from behind, instead of getting off the plane. (this was long before any security checks, so Dad and the other guys could walk right up to the gate in Spokane) Needless to say, Dad never accepted another ride from that rich guy.

supine

Join Date: May 2018

Location: FRA

Programs: LH SEN

Posts: 1,621

On the flip side, ignorance can be bliss some times.

I was due to fly LCY - FRA on LH in the evening and was tracking the assigned aircraft to see if it was running behind throughout the day.

Saw on FR24 that on the flight XXX - FRA, which would position it ready for FRA - LCY, the aircraft had instead diverted to MUC.

Of course I was straight on the phone to LH seeing if I could get rebooked onto an LHR - FRA flight around the same time as I was originally scheduled.

Agent was ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ as "your flight is neither cancelled nor delayed" which I argued was hard to believe given the diversion and lack of spare E190/E195s.

Did a HUCA but similar result. Pushed them enough this time that a supervisor was consulted and was advised "an aircraft will reposition to operate your flight". ... but whatever...

I headed to LCY and could see on FR24 the aircraft leave MUC and head straight to LCY. They flew it empty so it turned like a champ and we left with only a small delay.

And that was the day I learned that being an ignorant traveller rather than an avgeek can sometimes save you some stress... 🙈