Star Alliance - Flight cancelled on awrd ticket (several months out)--suggestions?

Hi all, I'm trying to resolve an issue here and I was hoping for any pointers that others may have.

A few months ago, I went to book a round-trip RNO to TNR in award business. Traveling during the southern summer does not make for an easy time getting to JNB, and there's generally not a lot of availability. What more, the JNB-TNR flight leaves too early to get a valid connection from Europe, and it only operates 4 days a week. In the end, I booked the outbound through to FRA, then FRA-ACC on LH and ACC-JNB on SA.

SA cancelled the ACC-JNB flight on the day I'm traveling, and for the time being, has rebooked me on the next day that flight does operate, which is two days later (thankfully, the JNB-TNR flight operates the day that I get in).

The trouble is, this creates an unexpected 2-day stopover in ACC, which I'd rather avoid. I could postpone leaving the US for two days (which isn't bad), BUT, the LH flight FRA-ACC doesn't have any availability that day, and I am doubtful that LH would do much to accommodate a pax on a scheduling issue caused by another airline.

So, the UA agent called SA and put me on the waitlist (as there was no availability) for the SA 235 LHR-JNB on my original date, which is the only flight from Europe that arrives early enough to make a valid connection with the JNB-TNR flight.

Does anyone have any idea how likely SA is, given the circumstances, to allow me onto the LHR-JNB nonstop? It seems they'd be more obligated to accommodate me than LH, given that their flight cancellation produced an issue that UA, on my behalf, is requesting that THEY fix by putting me on another flight operated by SA. Nonetheless, LHR-JNB is longer and in higher demand than ACC-JNB, so I'm not sure what they'll decide.

Any other suggestions? :confused:

I'd follow up with SA and state the change is not acceptable to you. See what they come up with. It's their schedule change so they are the ones who need to accommodate you (within reason).

Thanks--asking to be put on the only other southbound flight that makes a same-day connection in JNB doesn't seem unreasonable, but I guess I can only hope that they see it the same way.

Oh, and this whole thing is complicated by the fact that the US reservations office apparently has no control over the matter, and it can only be handled by SA in Africa :rolleyes::rolleyes:

SA and UA worked out so that I was waitlisted on the LHR-JNB flight pending SA's inventory management department releasing availability. That never happened... I spoke to a few agents at SA, most of whom thought that they would release the availability because it was the only valid connection on SA. However, after a few days nothing had happened and I was growing increasingly nervous that the LHR-JNB flight would not pan out before other options disappeared.

Finally, I gave up trying to get an SA flight, and am currently reissuing the ticket to get the ONLY remaining *A option that will get me into JNB in time to make a same day conneciton, and that involves going FRA-LIS then LIS-JNB in coach on TP. It's just about empty, though, so, well, it's not really that bad.

I'd follow up with SA and state the change is not acceptable to you. See what they come up with. It's their schedule change so they are the ones who need to accommodate you (within reason).

good luck :rolleyes: not just getting referred back to UA as it is
a UA issued AWARD making it UA's responsibility to reroute/reissue