United Airlines passengers were promised they could celebrate New Year's twice and it went poorly
Airline promotes flight promising New Year's celebrations in 2 time zones, then bungles plans
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United Airlines is taking heat from some frustrated travelers after promoting a flight promising passengers the ability to ring in the new year twice, then bungling the plans with a major flight delay.
A few days before New Year's Eve, United touted a flight scheduled to depart Guam at 7:35 a.m. on Jan. 1 and land in Honolulu at 6:50 p.m. local time on Dec. 31, which would have allowed revelers to toast at midnight in two separate time zones. The airline wrote on X, "You only live once, but you can celebrate New Year's Eve twice!"
However, a flight delay ruined the plans, causing passengers to vent their frustrations with the airline that the new arrival was pushed into New Year's Day and meant they would miss the second celebration.
"We're booked on the flight," one apparent passenger responded to the post, tagging the airline. "Planned our entire vacation aroun[d] it for a year. Just got notification that it's delayed and won't land until 1:10 a.m."
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"Great idea, too bad it got delayed! I was supposed to be on this flight," one customer replied to the post, along with a screenshot of the delay notice. "Double new year isn’t happening anymore," the customer wrote, adding an emoji with a tear streaming down its face. "Maybe next year?"
"I booked this flight specifically so I could do this," another person wrote. "I got a delay notification and we aren't scheduled to get in until 1/1. This Tweet is aging poorly now and I'm dissatisfied with how this was promoted but not being delivered."
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A United Airlines jetliner parked on the airport tarmac at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco on June 7, 2023. The airline came under fire on social media after a flight meant to allow passengers to celebrate New Year's Eve twice wa (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images / Getty Images)
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAL | UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC. | 95.24 | +0.84 | +0.89% |
United Airlines Holdings, Inc.
United replied with apologies to the customers and asked multiple passengers to send their flight confirmation numbers via direct message.
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The airline did not immediately respond to FOX Business' request for comment on the flight delay and whether impacted customers were compensated.