Originally Posted by
MIT_SBM
My fiance will be relocating in October. Our plan is for me to meet her in Asia; take a short vacation together in Asia/India and then fly to the United States. Obviously, I will need a return ticket [or two one way tickets] and she could travel on a one way ticket to the United States.
Just a few questions [just to make sure I didn't miss anything]:
- If I book her on a one-way award ticket and I am on a round trip ticket; is there a way to assure that she and I will stay connected on the return legs. Since we would not be on the same "reservation/PNR/whatever is the correct term" the issues that I am concerned about are:
- Seat re-assignments: Obviously, I would select seats in advance. Is it possible that our seat assignments could be split? Is there any way to prevent this happening?
- Immigration Delays: She will have to process through immigration at the Port of Entry [POE]. I plan on having at least 4 hours connecting time at the POE. However, if she is significantly delayed I would not want to move on without her. How would the United handle this?
- IRROPS: We would not want to be separately accommodated on different flights. How would United handle this situation should it arise?
- Are there any other issues with respect to a couple traveling on one award and one paid ticket that I should be thinking about?
Call UA and have them cross reference each PNR to one another. This will not create a true linkage but will help in the case of IRROPs at least. Seat reassignment is always a risk and the only thing to do is monitor it periodically.
Regarding POE, I recommend you book a longer than normal layover if you think this is a real concern. For instance, an award ticket with an international routing will permit you to layover for up to 24hours without using a stopover. So you could fly into your POE in the morning and depart for your onward destination in the evening, for instance, or do a short overnight at the POE.