Originally Posted by
ualboston1k
Hi folks:
I know SHARES can be a bit difficult when a reservation no longer matches a ticket.
So my question is...when does a reservation need to be "synced"? I've heard this is required, for example, if a GPU clears before the 24 hour mark. Is this true?
And also..what exactly happens during the sync? Is the ticket actually re-issued? Or is it just syncronized with the reservation? Can someone explain what actually happens?
I'm concerned because I have an upcoming itinerary where I"ve managed to get an upgrade on Lufthansa on my return flight using a Star Alliance upgrade.
I have initial segments on UA on this same itinerary that I'm also trying to upgrade with a GPU. The ticket is a UA ticket.
I don't want to lose my Star Alliance Upgrade on LH and that will absolutely happen if the ticket has to get reissued.
Thoughts?
As you may know there are two separate components that together allow you to travel; your reservation and your ticket. The reservation hold space on a particular flight in a specific cabin. Your ticket is what you get in exchange for the money you pay the airline and is proof that you've paid for travel between two points. These two components are only loosely related. Back when time began, it was common to make a reservation and not have a ticket issued until much later (and a paper ticket at that). Over time airlines have started to require ticketing much closer to when reservations are made (to reduce cancelations) but all the legacy airline systems are built on separate reservations and ticket systems.
The airline has an interest in making sure that every passenger is properly ticketed (i.e. paid) for the reservation they've made prior to departure. With UA, a reservation is "synced" with the ticket when the computer can properly match all the segments in the reservation with a unique coupon from the ticket. When it gets confused it flags the reservation as out of sync and prohibits check-in, boarding, and other such things. As others have mentioned, there is a long list of reasons that trigger the out of sync message (some being real deal problems and other being nothing).
As for fixing an out of sync ticket, there is no one magic fix. If there is an actual problem (i.e. an add/collect is required or there are more/less flight segments than coupons, or something similar) either the reservation or the ticket has to be fixed (most often the ticket is what needs correcting).
My strategy is usually to just wait for things to resolve themselves (which they often seem to do) or just wait and resolve at the airport. IME, the airport agents have a lot more willingness or ability to make things work (usually with an INVOL designation). Others have reported bad experiences but I have yet to encounter. Also, IME, its
Given what the OP describes, I think calling would be fine. Why do you think you'd lose your upgraded *A flight if the ticket is reissued? It should be fine as tickets are reissued all the time for all sorts of reasons. LH shouldn't care as long as there are coupons attached to each segment in your reservation. In the end, you won't be able to board your first flight without a synced reservation.