United Airlines

Work would start at 330am although the counters were open to the public at 4am. There was half hour to clean work areas, bring out working tools, test computers and set up stanchions in the lobby in a most efficient way to control the crowd. In summer, during peak season, it was not unusual to find passengers spending the night at the airport for their early morning flight. The flights were at 6am to San Francisco, 610am, to Chicago, 630am, to Houston, 7am to Denver, and 810am to Chicago again, and they were operated on either wide-bodied A320s airplanes or  narrow-bodied 737s. Flights were usually booked full or oversold.  The morning crew would be composed of a ticketing agent, 4 check-in agents and 4 lobby agents, who would be challenged to process more than 1,000 passengers in the first hour to meet on time performance, including documents check for a hassle free travel. There was no time for error, if  error was introduced by a passenger, the ticket agent resolved it, but the show must go on. Oversold flights would be addressed through coordination and cooperation between check in agents and gate agents. After the first hour, 2 check in agents and 2 lobby agents leave to be gate agents. That's the most fun, when you see us running around like headless chicken to make sure all passengers who checked- in make it to their flight, including those who got stuck in the U.S. immigration and at the same time, we must meet on time departure for all the flights. I learned to always equip myself with more than enough knowledge to be my own manager. I did not like to waste time looking for answers when problems presented themselves, I wanted to be always ahead and I was always ready with solutions, including technical problems, when the computers went down, I knew what numbers to call to bring them up in a snap.  I would always share my abundant knowledge with the agent beside me and with all agents who found it easier to approach me for answers than searching answers in the computer. There was no hardest part of the job, in my opinion, if there were, they were when the company was short-changed or the  passengers were unnecessarily inconvenienced because of customer (did)service.  By and large, it was very fulfilling working at United Airlines, with the people I worked with.

I work in the early morning shift starting at 3:45 am we get all the computers started up and the printers ready to go. There is usually a long line up, so we have to make sure everyone in line has their bag(s) tagged before they get into the line to drop off their luggage. We also help those checking in at the kiosk to get their check-in complete or one of us is at the first class station to ensure that our VIPs get the service they paid for. After a couple of hours, some of us are assigned to do the Gate and we leave and go and get the boarding process started. One person will go down to Operations to get the paper works that we need to give to the captain and the paper works for the crew and other paperwork that we need to fill out once the plane has left. The other individual in the meantime gets the computer set up and the printers set up, put up the signs for the passengers to line up in classes one to four. Get all the boarding passes fixed and make the boarding announcement when the time comes. When the other individual arrives from Operations, they board the crew and the captain and take them down to the plane so they can get the plane ready and wait for the captain to settle in then let him out so he can do his walk around the plane to ensure the everything is in good working order for the flight. Ater with the boarding will begin and both Customer Service rep takes a position and boards, everyone, aboard. Once boarding is complete we go down and hand the paperwork to the captain ask if it is okay to close the plane door, then hand the paper works to the crew make sure once again to ask if its okay to close the door. Once the door is closed we pull the bridge back and the flight is complete.

There is a lot to learn and we learn new things every day.

Management is good and very supportive.

I love the culture it is different every day because you are dealing with different people every day. The staff is great we, get along well most of the times. I enjoy every bit of my job.

Working with United Airlines now is merging with Continental Airlines is completely different then before. Now the company is going bigger and more new policy needed to be follow.
If you are working at the airport you have to be fast pace, time managing and fast thinking. You never know what will happen to you round the corner; for example you think all passengers on board the plane and you think flight will leave on time. All the sudden before you close the door, the captain tell you flight cancel due to mechanical problem or weather issue etc. Sometimes you do not even have time to take your meal or to go washroom. You might think these only happen ones in a blue moon....no; it might happen every single day for a whole month especially during winter time.
The most enjoyable part of the job is when passengers appreciated your help.
There are different area need to cover at the airport such as check in counter, ticketing desk, baggage desk, departure area, arrival hall, baggage claim, boarding gate, apron, expected running around the whole airport everyday.

When I started with United, I was mostly a runner also known as the last passenger. It was my responsibility to make sure that all the passengers for a particular flight is accounted for. Towards the last half of my time with United, I was responsible to locate missing luggage, to make claims and delivery schedules. Most of my co workers were very friendly and supportive. The hardest part of the job were the start times for each shift, 4am or 9pm. It was really hard to survive working so little hours. I would have to say the most enjoyable part of the job would be the interaction with the passengers.

A typical day at work would consist of either working at the counters, gates or baggage claim. Over the course of one year working at the airport so far, I learned that there is much more to it rather than just checking in a passenger at the counters. The management is great and improving and my coworkers are amazing people to work with. The hardest part of the job is to deal with delayed or cancellations of flights. With so much stress on us, it is quite tough at times; however the most enjoyable part of this job is the airport environment, the people I meet and my coworkers make everything much more better.

It was my favorite job. Always different everyday, always on the go which I love, meeting new people everyday. All my co-workers were awseome people.The only thing that was wrong was management was not the best, also the pay was not good, and the hours where all over the place. This job you habe to be a fast working person be able to multi task, alway being on time. The mhardest part of this job was learning the computer system. This was a greta job I loved boarding the aircrafts doing the annoncements and always putting the customer first thats the main priority.

An early start addressing concerns and ticketing issues, rebooking flight arrangements, boarding passengers onto aircraft and being a part of an amazing team of people. The most enjoyable aspect of this job is assisting the customer and making their visit to the airport a relaxing and stress free experience.
Each day is different and there are never any two days which are the same. This daily change has given me a broader understanding and patience for the needs of people under stress. Which a visit to the airport can be.

I absolutely loved this job!!!! Unfortunetly, all of Canada got outsourced.
I wore many hats at United.
I was a customer service director, counter agent, gate agent, OPS, station trainer, fuel trainer, ground security coordinator and part of the emergency response team.
So depending on the day, my duties varied.
Normally I would be the customer service director.  I would plan the manpower for the entire operation and make sure everything goes smoothly.  As well as deal with customer complaints when a supervisor was needed.  
We had a great team in Toronto.  
I enjoyed every second of it!

Ambitieuse, très active, ajouter le plus c`est toujours un objectif, parfaite communicatrice avec toute personne. Leadership efficace c`est un atout. Prendre les étapes de planification stratégique en business et marketing c`est primordial. La motivation c`est la clé du succès dans ma carrière.


Ambitious, active, add more is always a goal, perfect communicator with anyone. It is an effective leadership asset. Take steps to strategic business planning and marketing It`s paramount. Motivation It`s the key to success in my career.

Busy since the moment you step in, challenging whenever there is any type of irregular operations; but fun to do and great feeling of satisfaction whenever you turn unhappy into happy customers; it is fun to work with my colleagues; but for the last year management has become the worst part. The most enjoyable part of the job is the atmosphere and the interaction with employees from other companies and the fact that everyday is a totally different experience.

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