United MileagePlus (Consolidated) - What happens when flt diverted to another country?

Typhoon slamming PVG today... EWR, SFO, and LAX inbounds all diverted. EWR to PEK, SFO to ICN, and LAX to Osaka.

Wife +4 kids on ORD-PVG right now, due to MX delay they are 8 hours late and 4 hours from arrival. Diversion seems likely.

What happens to the pax in those situations? Does UA pay for hotel? PAX bunk down in the terminal? Should I be arranging hotel myself once the diversion announcement is made?

Typhoon slamming PVG today... EWR, SFO, and LAX inbounds all diverted. EWR to PEK, SFO to ICN, and LAX to Osaka.

Wife +4 kids on ORD-PVG right now, due to MX delay they are 8 hours late and 4 hours from arrival. Diversion seems likely.

What happens to the pax in those situations? Does UA pay for hotel? PAX bunk down in the terminal? Should I be arranging hotel myself once the diversion announcement is made?

It depends on what country & what airline. If they are lucky enough to be diverted to an airport where UA has a presence, they should be o.k. But if not, it can turn into a mess. Visas are also an issue. I was on an EK flight that was diverted to Vladivostok last year. After 4 hours on board, we were allowed into the airport in a controlled room. The only people who could leave we're those w Russian visas (not tourist visas). Took 30 hours to get a new part from DXB & install it. Chances are they will try to divert somewhere where it is easiest for UA to get service. If they are 4 hours from arrival, they already have a plan so all you can do is wait

FLIGHTAWARE shows that flight still arriving in PVG (in 3hrs31min)

It depends on what country & what airline. If they are lucky enough to be diverted to an airport where UA has a presence, they should be o.k. But if not, it can turn into a mess. Visas are also an issue. I was on an EK flight that was diverted to Vladivostok last year. After 4 hours on board, we were allowed into the airport in a controlled room. The only people who could leave we're those w Russian visas (not tourist visas). Took 30 hours to get a new part from DXB & install it. Chances are they will try to divert somewhere where it is easiest for UA to get service. If they are 4 hours from arrival, they already have a plan so all you can do is wait

FLIGHTAWARE shows that flight still arriving in PVG (in 3hrs31min)

Thanks. They are US citizens with multiple entry China tourist visas so they should be ok with any of the likely diversion points from that standpoint. Just have to wait and see.... and find my way to PVG to meet them if the flight gets within 2 hours of here.

Thanks. They are US citizens with multiple entry China tourist visas so they should be ok with any of the likely diversion points from that standpoint. Just have to wait and see.... and find my way to PVG to meet them if the flight gets within 2 hours of here.

Well, I see that the flight landed in PVG 35 min ago. Hope you made it to the airport :)

Well, I see that the flight landed in PVG 35 min ago. Hope you made it to the airport :)

Thanks... all's well that ends well. And they reported good service.

In case anyone is still wondering, I was on the SFO-PVG flight that was diverted to ICN. With the exception of them not telling us about the diversion until 2 hours before we were supposed to arrive, was very impressed how everything was handled. They were very efficient in getting us offloaded, and the bus was waiting for us when we cleared customs. We didn't have to take our checked luggage out, and they put us up in the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Seoul. They had all our rooms ready when we got off the bus, so no fuss and quick check in. Since we had only our carry-on luggage, a toiletry kit was included, and the contents quite decent as well. Steak dinner, breakfast buffet, and lunch, all at the hotel, was included. Boarding pass was waiting for us in the lobby the next morning, and bus left promptly for the airport when they said. We didn't have to pay a cent for anything.

Overall, they handled this very well. ^

In case anyone is still wondering, I was on the SFO-PVG flight that was diverted to ICN. With the exception of them not telling us about the diversion until 2 hours before we were supposed to arrive, was very impressed how everything was handled. They were very efficient in getting us offloaded, and the bus was waiting for us when we cleared customs. We didn't have to take our checked luggage out, and they put us up in the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Seoul. They had all our rooms ready when we got off the bus, so no fuss and quick check in. Since we had only our carry-on luggage, a toiletry kit was included, and the contents quite decent as well. Steak dinner, breakfast buffet, and lunch, all at the hotel, was included. Boarding pass was waiting for us in the lobby the next morning, and bus left promptly for the airport when they said. We didn't have to pay a cent for anything.

Overall, they handled this very well. ^

A sign of a well informed and proactive ground staff in ICN. If only all incidents like this were handled at this level, UA might actually do well in customer service metrics.

In case anyone is still wondering, I was on the SFO-PVG flight that was diverted to ICN. With the exception of them not telling us about the diversion until 2 hours before we were supposed to arrive, was very impressed how everything was handled. They were very efficient in getting us offloaded, and the bus was waiting for us when we cleared customs. We didn't have to take our checked luggage out, and they put us up in the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Seoul. They had all our rooms ready when we got off the bus, so no fuss and quick check in. Since we had only our carry-on luggage, a toiletry kit was included, and the contents quite decent as well. Steak dinner, breakfast buffet, and lunch, all at the hotel, was included. Boarding pass was waiting for us in the lobby the next morning, and bus left promptly for the airport when they said. We didn't have to pay a cent for anything.

Overall, they handled this very well. ^

To contrast, my friend was flying back from Italy to PVG on Air China, and they were diverted to PEK. They had to take their checked bags out, then lug them back to the airport the next day. They were put up in a crappy local hotel, and were told that they had to share a room with a fellow passenger unless they paid an extra 150RMB (about US$24). Food quality was awful as well.

One thing I am wondering though, is what happens to the people who are from a country that requires a visa to get into the country that you are diverted to, but don't have a valid visa for that country.

One thing I am wondering though, is what happens to the people who are from a country that requires a visa to get into the country that you are diverted to, but don't have a valid visa for that country.

I'd suppose they'd have to tough it out at the airport!

I'd suppose they'd have to tough it out at the airport!

It could've been worse. They could've landed at a warzone and then asked to pool together cash to get gas for the plane.

A sign of a well informed and proactive ground staff in ICN. If only all incidents like this were handled at this level, UA might actually do well in customer service metrics.

Indeed. Here's hoping that heads were banged together following the PVG debacle to ensure it doesn't happen again!

In case anyone is still wondering, I was on the SFO-PVG flight that was diverted to ICN. With the exception of them not telling us about the diversion until 2 hours before we were supposed to arrive, was very impressed how everything was handled. They were very efficient in getting us offloaded, and the bus was waiting for us when we cleared customs. We didn't have to take our checked luggage out, and they put us up in the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Seoul. They had all our rooms ready when we got off the bus, so no fuss and quick check in. Since we had only our carry-on luggage, a toiletry kit was included, and the contents quite decent as well. Steak dinner, breakfast buffet, and lunch, all at the hotel, was included. Boarding pass was waiting for us in the lobby the next morning, and bus left promptly for the airport when they said. We didn't have to pay a cent for anything.

Overall, they handled this very well. ^

United put all the pax onto buses for the 1.5 hour ride to downtown Seoul instead of putting them up closer to ICN? Also, I can't believe the Intercontinental had so many available rooms!! Must be over 200 pax.

United put all the pax onto buses for the 1.5 hour ride to downtown Seoul instead of putting them up closer to ICN? Also, I can't believe the Intercontinental had so many available rooms!! Must be over 200 pax.

To me, that makes it even more impressive, given that the flight was leaving after lunch the next day. Who would like to spend all that time in Incheon? The hotel in question has 644 rooms, so I for one don't see any reason to doubt Ben777's account. We give UA a lot of flak these days on these pages, but they really do deserve our praise when they're going the extra mile for their passengers.

To me, that makes it even more impressive, given that the flight was leaving after lunch the next day. Who would like to spend all that time in Incheon? The hotel in question has 644 rooms, so I for one don't see any reason to doubt Ben777's account. We give UA a lot of flak these days on these pages, but they really do deserve our praise when they're going the extra mile for their passengers.

Gangnam is definitely much better than Incheon. Intercontinental in Seoul is not cheap. United definitely went out of its way in this case.

I'd suppose they'd have to tough it out at the airport!

That's if you're lucky.

Quite a few years ago I met someone in Kigoma, Tanzania, who had been turfed off the supposedly through ferry on lake Tanganyika from Bujumbura to somewhere (forgot the name) in Zambia. Apparently without warning in mid-voyage the ferry company announced that the boat (the MV Liemba, which BTW has an interesting history...) was being taken out of service for a week for maintenance at Kigoma which was a scheduled intermediate stop. This chap was Israeli and apparently therefore inadmissable to Tanzania. He ended up being banged up in the local nick.

(I should add that I met him in a bar in the town not the police station. After a few days of incarceration, the local authorities relented and allowed him out into the the town.)

United put all the pax onto buses for the 1.5 hour ride to downtown Seoul instead of putting them up closer to ICN? Also, I can't believe the Intercontinental had so many available rooms!! Must be over 200 pax.

Yup, a fully loaded B747-400, 374 passengers + crew. UA857 SFO-
PVG is the only nonstop flight available from SFO to PVG, so the flight is always full.

The 1.5 hour bus ride both ways was probably the worst part of the whole thing, so I'd say UA did quite well. I'm glad we got to be in Seoul than stay in Incheon, much more to explore/see in the day that we had.

The Intercontinental was absolutely huge. It was the one in the Coex complex, which I understand is a convention center with a casino inside of it, so it makes sense that they would have that many rooms in the hotel, although I was surprised that they could have that many open rooms on such short notice..

United put all the pax onto buses for the 1.5 hour ride to downtown Seoul instead of putting them up closer to ICN? Also, I can't believe the Intercontinental had so many available rooms!! Must be over 200 pax.

AFAIK, the only "western" hotels at ICN (near the airport/on the island, not the city on the mainland) at the Hyatt and the Best Western. The Hyatt is certainly not cheap and often filled with KE pax in-transit for various reasons. There are a bunch of Korean style hotels in Incheon village (again, near the airport) that would offer a substantially different comfort level than the Intercontinental. IMHO. ;)

Also, UA most likely has a much lower negotiated rate than most pax could get themselves. (Although I think that UA crew stay at a Hilton, IIRC.)

AFAIK, the only "western" hotels at ICN (near the airport/on the island, not the city on the mainland) at the Hyatt and the Best Western. The Hyatt is certainly not cheap and often filled with KE pax in-transit for various reasons. There are a bunch of Korean style hotels in Incheon village (again, near the airport) that would offer a substantially different comfort level than the Intercontinental. IMHO. ;)

Also, UA most likely has a much lower negotiated rate than most pax could get themselves. (Although I think that UA crew stay at a Hilton, IIRC.)

No matter what rate UA gets, I'd say that the cost of the Intercontinental, meals, transportation, etc., are built into the price of the ticket. Since UA has no competition for nonstop SFO-PVG, they can overcharge for the tickets compared to, say LAX-PVG, which is/was also served by MU and AA. The average fare difference more than covers a night in Seoul. UA lost no money but gained a lot of good will and satisfied customers, which you can't put a dollar value on.

AFAIK, the only "western" hotels at ICN (near the airport/on the island, not the city on the mainland) at the Hyatt and the Best Western. The Hyatt is certainly not cheap and often filled with KE pax in-transit for various reasons. There are a bunch of Korean style hotels in Incheon village (again, near the airport) that would offer a substantially different comfort level than the Intercontinental. IMHO. ;)

Also, UA most likely has a much lower negotiated rate than most pax could get themselves. (Although I think that UA crew stay at a Hilton, IIRC.)

Sorry for the OT thought, but I just imagined William Shatner asking Intercontinental for a special rate to fill 300+ rooms for 1 night. :)

It was the one in the Coex complex
Fantastic hotel, but brutal commute. Personally, after the long flight, I'd probably have preferred to stay somewhere closer even if it's not as nice, but all things being equal, good job United!

I'd be interested to hear how the people who were on LAX-PVG and EWR-PVG that day fared at KIX and PEK.