EWRFlyerAL

I booked an award ticket flying A3 RHO (Rhodes) to GVA (Geneva) with a connection on UA GVA to EWR.

The A3 segment booked in I and the UA segment booked in IN.

The reservation said that it was confirmed and ticketed. 57,500 Miles were deducted from my account and my credit card was charged the taxes and fees.

I looked at the reservation today and noticed that the A3 segment was gone.

I called UA and the first agent was confused. She said it was ticketed but that A3 must be changing equipment because the segment was unconfirmed. She then told me that she sees I space (I also saw this) but that she cannot book it. I asked for a supervisor and she transferred me to a woman in Detroit who started the call angry and almost yelled at me from the first hello.

She said it's up to A3 and that even after it's ticketed that they or any other Star Alliance carrier can change it's mind about award tickets and yank the space at any time. I told her that I did not think that that was right and she said that UA clearly states in its award ticket rules that partner tickets are never guaranteed. She told me to call A3 and to buy a ticket if I wanted one. I thanked her and hung up.

I called back and asked for a supervisor. The guy that answered said that he was a supervisor. He looked at the reservation and said that there is nothing he can do. The other supervisor noted that she explained to me what happened and that I was trying to do something that was not allowed. I asked what that was and he said he did not know. He said to leave the reservation alone and to see if it tickets in the future. I don't feel comfortable about this either. I asked him if he could open I space on the UA ATH-EWR flight as seats are easier to get RHO-ATH and he said no that UA would not do that.

I told him that I thought I might need to contact the DOT since I had a receipt, miles deducted and my credit card charged. He agreed and said "our system, both the old and new is pretty bad" and that I might want to file the complaint.

Any thoughts on what is going on? I've had partner space not confirm in 24 hours but this ticketed quickly, gave me a receipt, charged me, etc.

stevendorechester

If you have a confirmed ticket and ticket number for that segment the airline is legally required to transport you. This is especially true under European law, although it may be hard to get this enforced with an airline based in a country like Greece. You're just going to have to fight for it. An airline simply can't cancel your ticket regardless of COC. If so, what's stopping all airlines from simply cancelling tickets for passengers on oversold flights and leaving them stranded without compensation since with the reply that " you don't have a ticket. Good luck!

EWRFlyerAL

That's what I thought. Even though I was told twice that UA is only responsible for UA flights. I have a ticket number, confirmation email, miles deducted, and cc charged.

jmanirish

What does the ticket look like when you bring it up in the Saudia website? Is there a coupon for RHO-GVA?

Also, what is the date of travel for the missing RHO-GVA. That might help the detectives on here.

transportprof

It all depends on what your goals are: fame on FT; ex post compensation from A3; or getting where you're going without undue hassle.

If it were me, I'd keep calling UA until I got an agent who would open award space on UA metal to ATH - assuming they operate a plane there on the date you're booked to travel. UA will open space on its own metal when partners cancel award space. That is your best bet to get to ATH without hassle.

EWRFlyerAL

I tried requesting I/IN space be opened on the ATH-EWR flight and I was told that they are currently only selling seats in full J and that they are not willing to open the space. The one agent said, "you're traveling in June. Space opens all the time. You're a 1K. Keep checking and making changes. It doesn't cost you anything." Yeah, except my time.

I am not looking for compensation or FT fame (maybe confirmation of policy because it sounds way off that a partner can drop an award ticket at any time for any reason). I'm really just trying to get from RHO-EWR in business class. I thought this was set when I got the email saying that the flights were confirmed but apparently not.

transportprof

The most powerful lesson I've learned from this Forum is HUCA. Hang Up and Call Again. United WILL open space on its aircraft when partners cancel award space. It takes more time and work for an agent to do this, because they have to call another department to open the space. But it can be done, and it will actually get harder the closer you get to June. The more J seats they sell, the fewer there would be to accommodate your booking. Keep trying!

jsloan

The one question nobody seems to have asked is when all of this happened. *A policy gives 24 hours for a partner airline to confirm any flight segment. If the segment dropped off within 24 hours, that may be the reason.

If not, if I space is still available all the way across, cancel and rebook. Among other benefits, this should clear the remarks from the yelling supervisor, which are normally attached to a PNR, not a MP account.

If I space is no longer available into EWR, but you still see it on the A3 flight, check to see if the A3 flight also appears on other *A partners (e.g., ANA). If so, it really should be bookable by UA, and HUCA may suffice. If not; I agree, ask for space to be opened from ATH.

stevendorechester

Others have brought up good poinaat about the 24 hour rule. Most airlines function like that. If that is the case then you may be out of luck. If not, then according to EU law you are entitled to transportation asap under comparable conditions. While there are different interpretations of what that means, none of them involve not transporting you. Problem is that you're also dealing with an airline based in a country that can't even pay it's own civil servants so you won't get any help from the authorities there. Aegean knows this so they can do what they want. Keep trying, see if you can eventually find space on other Star carriers. You will not have problems like this if you manage to get booked on a German, Scandinavian, Swiss or Austrian airline. At least time is on your side.

PVDtoDEL

If you have a valid ticket with a coupon for the A3 segment, then I wouldn't worry too much about it. A3 staff at the airport will probably just create a reservation and sync the coupon to it, as long as there is a seat available. This has happened to me on CA before, and the CA agent fixed it within a few minutes without any problems.

However, in IRROPS or if the flight is sold out, you'll be in trouble. A3 might still rebook you out of courtesy (or fear of EU261), but it would be less of a sure shot.

ICN1K

I've had similar situations where partner flights go missing. I would suggest calling web support. IME they have usually been the most knowledgeable and helpful of all the agents.

Recently I had a YYZ-IST AC flight that went missing for an upcoming trip in June 2017. I called the 1K line and the agent said I had to call AC to get new flights to my destination and that there was nothing that she could do. I said that since it was an award ticket booked through United then she should be able to search for alternative flights on other airlines. She still insisted she couldn't do anything and didn't want to look up my PNR.

I called web support and the first agent I spoke to was able to help right away. She was able to put me on a TK ORD-IST flight that I had found online and opened I space on a UA YYZ-ORD flight despite there being none available at the time.

Fenway1912

Same thing happened to me to my SFO-NRT-CGK flight. SFO-NRT on UA and NRT-CGK on ANA. I can still see my ANA reservation but it's not on united.com's. The web support team was able to help me.

However, just today, it disappeared again. I'm leaving it alone until the day before the flight as long as I can still see my ANA reservation on ANA's site