USA TODAY’s Post

As an industry veteran with over 19 years in IT and customer operations, I’ve seen the power of transparency across various sectors, from tech giants to airlines. United Airlines' approach to ‘oversharing’ on flight delays is a commendable step forward in customer relations. Transparency builds trust and fosters loyalty, which are cornerstones of any successful customer relationship. By providing detailed explanations and visual aids like weather maps, United is demystifying the often frustrating experience of flight delays. This aligns closely with our goals in tech: clear communication and setting realistic expectations for users. From my experience, particularly in cloud and DevOps domains, I’ve learned that users appreciate knowing the reasons behind service interruptions, even if those reasons are technical and complex. It's about humanizing the experience and bridging the gap between service providers and customers. (Read more in the next comment…)

For me it really depends on those details. “We want you to know your flight is departing late because we needed to finish cleaning your plane,” sounds more like an excuse for poor planning. You clean thousands of planes a day, so shouldn't you know how long that takes? If it's really something out of their control, I suppose that would be helpful to know, but when the delay is being caused by something that should reasonably have been anticipated, I'll probably feel like that they're dropping the ball on something I've paid them to manage.

All airlines should start to do this so they are on the side of consumer (who pays them)-was flying out of LaGuardia years ago-took a van(rideshare) to airport from Westchester, NY-when arriving at the Airport the airline said flight was canceled without any notice to me(weather related somewhere else)-1st time with weather perfectly clear in NYC area but....not nice somewhere else-most Airlines are pretty crappy I have found(travel more now)-really try to fly only Delta and Southwest-they treat "customers" well

A recent experience with American which led to 3 days to get from Cabo San Lucas to Palm Beach, FL taught us a lot about transparency, or lack of it. Delays being blamed for weather, which we were easily able check online, also look at the website for the airport with inbound/outbound delays, which showed no issues. While waiting in Dallas for our rebooked flight from the night before, causing an overnighter in less than desirable hotel, started with delays an hour before the flight was to board. A total of 5 delays with boarding 6 hours late was less frustrating than sitting with the technician who overheard our grips about the "weather delays" and correcting us, saying that is not right, I am working on that planes landing gear. The new law by Pete B that cancelled flights will make 4x the cost of ticket refunds has led to massive "delays" with bogus reasons.

(Continued from the previous comment…) However, there's a balance to be struck. Just as too many alerts can overwhelm users in IT systems, excessive updates can cause anxiety or frustration for passengers. United's challenge will be to ensure that their communication remains relevant and concise without becoming overwhelming. Moreover, leveraging technology, like AI, to craft these updates is a brilliant move. It allows for scalability and personalization, ensuring that communications are timely and tailored to individual passengers' needs. In conclusion, United’s push for transparency is a positive evolution. It shows a deep understanding of customer needs and the complexities of operational challenges. As a seasoned professional, I see this as a model for other industries to follow—transparency, when managed well, can significantly enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Transparency: what a great - and unfortunately unique - corporate strategy.

I was headed to the airport on time & decided to not top off my rental because i was tracking on time. Getting to the airport & arriving to my gate to find it was changed. Then arrive to the new gate swing an on time departure on the screen has actually passed by 15 min & they were still boarding the plane! Long story short if they say the truth up front i’d have topped off the tank saving $15-20 taking my time vs being mad at the gate realizing i’m on time & they ( United ) says they are on time but actually delayed 30 min

My parents were on a flight from BDL to ORD yesterday, they sat on the tarmac for 2:15 after pulling away from the gate early. Initially they were told all the planes had to use the same runway and they were first in line. About 1:30 into the wait, the pilot told them he was sorry, he was being stonewalled and he had nothing he could tell them. 200 people missed their connections. My parents were picking up a connection to Vancouver so they could take their dream vacation- An Alaskan Cruise. My dad is handicapped and they saved to afford first class tickets so they could be as comfortable as possible. When they finally took off, they were rebooked for a morning flight to Vancouver in economy 15 rows apart from each other. When I talked to United Airlines, I was told they’d been delayed because they were waiting for a customer with a tight connection. Obviously, this was false. Today they flew to Vancouver and they are feeling grateful that they didn’t miss the cruise, but this really damaged their trip. This is likely the last trip they will take, it’s the bucket list trip. They made the boat, but my dad is in terrible pain from the seating, they spent 5 hours unable to talk with each other, they were given no real reason.

Geez they have the internet on their phones and can look see on many websites or apps. Ok let’s hold the hands of and help out the second graders!!