Canthook

Just in time for the 4th of July weekend, a computer problem has grounded all United Air Lines at O'Hare today. Chicago is a major hub for United, so it is causing many problems system-wide.

O'Hare is known as ORD, because before being renamed for WWII pilot Butch O'Hare, who won the Congressional Medal of Honor for "one of the most daring, if not the most daring, single action in the history of combat aviation", the airport was called "Orchard Field".

Terminal Swamped

According to WGN, it's backed up so bad that there's a crowd of about 2000 people standing outside the United terminal.

On their website, United is saying:

For travel at Chicago O’Hare: We are currently experiencing some delays and cancellations due to an airport check-in system issue. We advise customers to check-in on united.com, confirm the latest information on their flights, and allow extra time at the airport. We apologize for any inconvenience, and we are working to fix the issue.

There's an old joke among computer specialists that "to err is human, but to really fuck things up, you need a computer."

I'm told that among travel agents, the saying is "computers have problems, but to really fuck things up, you need United."

That's unkind, of course, and untrue. United may offer wretched air service, but nobody is worse than Northwest.

And to an old friend Jan "Fontwitch" Shrout, "Aren't you glad you're retired?" Jan used to be a slave for United at Detroit. Jan, if you see this, please give us a phone call.

Other Bloggers On Related Topics:
- computer glitch - Northwest Airlines - O'Hare - Orchard Field - United Airlines - WGN