Originally Posted by
findark
I would be shocked of an agent is incapable of rebooking an N class ticket while the coupon is still attached to a non-canceled flight. But I would be interested as to whether they have received special IRROPS guidance. It seems to cause a lot more trouble than it's worth not to offer standard rebooking..
Based on the Agency Rebooking Paramaters for travel agents on Jetstream (
https://jetstream.united.com/#/sub-l...6000006V2vZEAS), it appears the only guidance -- both for proactive/waiver-based reaccom (weather events and the like) and IRRPOS is that if the agency may only rebook into N and if N isn't available the agency cannot rebook themselves but must contact UA.
Specifically the table describing IRROPS handling ("Reactive, involuntary changes after irregular operation impact.") breaks down the permissible changes and doesn't seem to discriminate against BE except for the requirement for N inventory
United Basic Economy fares booked in "N" class must remain in "N" class when eligible for self-service rebooking due to unacceptable schedule changes or irregular operations. If "N" class is unavailable, please contact United’s Customer Contact Centers for assistance. Rebooking into an ineligible booking class may result in the issuance of a debit memo. For non-Basic Economy fares, do not rebook into "N" class.
I would be shocked if UA's own agents had less flexibility/discretion than external travel agents... but I also won't be surprised that they've had "BE=No Changes. Never." beaten into their heads to the point where they will only make changes if forced, e.g. an outright cancel, which seems to be the reports in this thread.