M60_to_LGA

Hi -

Just wanted to see if this sounds kosher.

I was supposed to fly out from EWR this morning to CLT on US 1925, and then on to MEX.

Last night because of the weather they canceled my EWR flight. Had to call US for rebooking, couldn't get through for the better part of 12 hours. Finally around 8:30 this morning I get an agent - with the exception of a 10am flight that I couldn't make, earliest I can get to MEX is tomorrow.

I asked if she could check availability on AA or other airlines, and she said that no, they're not allowed to put people on other carriers today because everyone is facing the same problems. She also said US isn't accepting reaccommodation requests from other airlines either.

I could be wrong, but isn't it standard practice for airlines to work with each other in precisely this type of situation?

The agent was very helpful, so this isn't a criticism of her. She said it was company policy.

s0ssos

I don't know if US is the best to ask, but many old-timers should know the answer to this. But I have rebooked by UA to AA, and I read somewhere that UA does this, but AA doesn't.
But I don't think it is standard for airlines to work together with each other anymore. But I'm confused about the AA part, as they are merging.

M60_to_LGA

Yeah, very odd.

At any rate, I ended up buying a separate ticket via Expedia on AA, which gets me there around midnight tonight so I don't have to cancel meetings. Amazingly, the same-day fare was under $500 r/t!!

I'll try to get a refund for the ticket from US, seeing as they couldn't get me to MEX on the required day.

Mykle

With other airlines, the other carrier has 24 hours to accept or reject a booking made US...so that's why they require calling directly in irregular ops. Because the reservations agents must call over to the other airline, to secure seats, as opposed to just booking it directly on the computer, the reservations agent would likely be on hold for hours attempting to get the other airline to take you. That's why, in weather scenarios like this, they don't rebook on other carriers. The exception to this is if they are rebooking on AA, as US has "Last seat availability" on AA, meaning they can book AA directly via the computer and know they are getting a confirmed seat. You could always try going to the airport, but they won't do it over the phone.

Flyer78

There have also been many reports that Delta will not accommodate other carriers as much as they used to, in order to protect their own carriers. I think this is the new reality...

M60_to_LGA

Thanks very much for the explanation. I actually asked the agent specifically if she could look at an AA flight, and she said she couldn't. I got a comment that "we're engaged, but not married yet".

At any rate, I foresee a struggle in my future to get a refund for the US flight. There's no button that I can find on the website to cancel it, their call center is taking no more calls, another number I found on the US website says service has been suspended when I call, and I'll be flying to Mexico for the whole evening so I likely won't be able to get this taken care of by 5am, when my rescheduled flight is supposed to take off.

Sigh. At least I've salvaged my meetings tomorrow (barring unexpected EWR glitches, I guess).

EDIT: I have now found a link on the US site to request the cancellation of a ticket, but when I enter my information and attempt to submit it, I get an error message saying I've failed to include all the passengers on the ticket. Which is quite odd, as I'm the only passenger on the ticket. This airline is in total meltdown today, it seems.

sjpmurph01

Maybe while you're at the airport you could stop by the US ticket counter and ask them to cancel your original reservation as a trip in vain, and initiate the refund process. Normally, it'd be easier to just do this over the phone, but it seems their call center is backlogged, and you'll be at the airport anyway.

You definitely want to make sure you address this before tomorrow one way or another, so you don't appear to just no-show for your original flight.

aztimm

I think for international travel (you're going to MEX?) you need to cancel over the phone or in-person. Would be nice if the error told you that, rather than something completely different.

PHL

With regards to IRROPS involving weather, it is not usual to rebook on other carriers since the delays/cancellations are not something within their control and - as mentioned - the weather at your airport of origin is affecting all carriers.

If it were a maintenance issue that affected just your flight and there were no options to get you to your destination in a timely manner (usually within the same day), then they will often look to rebook you on another carrier.

Because of this long delay, you should be able to cancel for full refund. But def call and get a human being before the new departure time. I don't see them reimbursing you for your new ticket (or even the difference in fare of what you paid versus original ticket value).

MrAndy1369

Last summer (2014), I was FIM'ed to UA from US, weather-related.

M60_to_LGA

Thanks to those who replied overnight. I was in the air (on AA) and am just getting around to checking the posts now.

Since the original trip was booked through Expedia, I called them and - wait for it - they took care of getting in touch with US to initiate the refund. And - even more amazing - they called me several times on my cell phone yesterday afternoon as I was rushing to the airport until they finally got through to me, to let me know that they'd reached US and that I'd be getting a full refund for the now-useless flights.

^^^to Expedia on this; I know lots of people say it's a horrible idea to use a third-party travel vendor, but in this case they made my life a great deal easier.

iztok

In past few weeks I had successfully initiated full refund for 3 trips on US due to weather changes. Two times flight was delayed and once canceled. No issues, just called US CP line and it was fixed.

PHL

While that's a good story of Expedia customer service, it's no different than any travel agent handling your reservation in this scenario. You were entitled to a full refund due to the weather issues that forced a cancelation. If you were able to get through to the airline, they'd have done it too. But it was good you had a 3rd party going to bat for you while you dealt with getting yourself to your destination.

airplanegod

If the agent couldn't accommodate you on AA, then either the agent didn't want to do her job or this merger is going to have serious issues.

Often1

1. All of the legacies have interline agreements and are fully capable of rebooking OA. The likelihood of getting any one individual agent on any one carrier to rebook OA is proportional to: how harried they are and other factors which do not amount to policy. Everybody has examples of both yes and no.

2. If a carrier cancels a flight, you are absolutely entitled to a full refund. Not a question of whether they can or will reroute you. For this reason, unless the agent hands you a BP on the spot, it is always worth the research to determine what a new ticket costs. While walk-up fares can be astronomical, they can also be great deals as fare buckets sometimes open when demand plummets (as may happen in massive IROPS).
Here, OP will see a net gain for his hassle.

3. Give a week to see a refund on your CC. If you don't, it's an easy chargeback as the service wasn't provided. No need for all of the details above. All you need say is that US cancelled and was unable to provide the service.