Hi All,

I have flown using miles a number of times (including two round-the-world trips), but this was the first time I was in a pickle on a mileage ticket. Here is the summary:

I was on the returning portion of the United-issued award flight in business ADL-HND/NRT-ADL. The segments were NRT-ICN & ICN-SIN on Asiana and SIN-ADL on Singapore Airlines. OZ stayed on the tarmac in ICN for 2 hours allegedly due to weather and I missed my connecting flight on SQ in SIN. OZ ground crew told me to go to SQ counter and SQ counter said that I have to call United to reissue the ticket. Both airlines said they could not do anything.

I called UA and after 1.5 hours on hold the rep said that the next available award space to ADL is three days away and that he can't do anything else - sorry. I asked for a supervisor who told me the same thing. I asked to check flights SIN-MEL or SIN-SYD and finally the supervisor said that there is availability to fly SIN-MEL but he had to call SQ to book the ticket since it was some 7 hours before the departure and placed me on another 45-min hold. My cell phone battery ran out (and I had no SIN adapter and it was 2 am and no travel shops were open) but he apparently did complete the booking because SQ counter saw my reservation and gave me a boarding pass. I bought a 1-way ticket MEL-ADL and finally got to ADL some 12 hours and $150 later.

My questions:
1. Is it legal for UA to not re-issue the ticket on the next flight on the partner airline and claim that only award space can be used? If so, this is troublesome because in any connection involving partners passengers on award tickets are at risk of losing their continuing tickets (what if there were no award flights to Australia in my case?). Imagine the first leg on long award itinerary, JFK-FRA on LH, LH is late and you are in FRA without any more flights because of no award availability. It seems to go further: following this logic in any revenue ticket the rebooking on the next flight on a partner-operated segment will be possible only if a certain booking category is available. E.g. if you change from OS to LH in FRA but OS is late, and there is no L to continue on LH, United can say sorry, you have to wait in FRA until L becomes available on LH, about a month. This just doesn't seem right. Are there any legal experts on the ticket rules and the contract of carriage who can clarify if UA can indeed have you stranded when flying on partner airlines?

2. Both OZ and SQ said that if they were continuing carriers through SIN then they would have put me on the next flight but because I would have been in their "custody." But because I was in between the carriers on a UA-issued ticket, they both washed their hands off. From a ticketing rules/legal standpoint can they both walk away and have no obligation to have me continue the travel?

3. I guess the main question is: If there is a ticket that has been issued and was not cancelled by anyone, whose obligation is it to fulfill the terms of the carriage contract and deliver the passenger to the destination? So far it seems no one has any specific obligation.

4. For me it luckily resulted in being able to get to the destination with minimal expenses, but still, can I claim anything from UA? I know it is a long shot as it seems it is no one's fault, but this was really an awful experience and I don't think it was right. Were there no availability to fly to MEL I would have been on a hook to pay some $1300 (economy) to fly SIN-ADL on a few hours' notice.

Thanks a lot for all input!