Originally Posted by
whimike
I am glad it all worked out, but really confused about why you think a $500 e-cert to each passenger was appropriate? It is unclear to me what United did wrong, but was clear that they bent over backwards to rectify the issue (was the issue United's to begin with?), including rebooking your Mom. Maybe it is just me, and others will disagree, but it seems petty and unappreciative to ask for compensation (even more so for both passengers) for something that United really went to bat for you on.
This... I have never heard of anything being able to be checked all the way to a final destination past US Customs. (Now, having never heard of it doesn't mean it isn't possible, it just would have triggered my radar to check further and make sure it is correct.)
From my perspective I saw the mix-up in two places. When I called the Premier Desk prior to my sister's flight, the agent confirmed that my sister would *not* be able to access the dog during her layover. Said another way, the dog would be transported to the PetSafe kennel and held there during the layover.
When I spoke with the United representative while they were at SFO (after they had deplaned) the representative confirmed that the original information I received from the Premier Desk was correct, and he even went as far as to say that there was a mistake made somewhere along the line. I hate using the phrase "what they did wrong," but the fact that the in-airport representative specifically asked me "What can we do to make this right?" tells me that they recognized something happened that should not have, and United felt compelled to compensate them for their troubles.
Originally Posted by
CommentatusMaximus
Exactly. Was transiting DXB-KMG-PVG-TPE on MU couple weeks ago and kept asking various employees whether we needed to go through immigration/emigration (yes) or recheck luggage (no). The wife asked why I kept asking even though I already got an answer. Because 1) the answers kept changing, 2) I wanted consensus across multiple knowledgeable appearing employees, and 3) wanted someone I could point at if the luggage didn't make it through in the end!
Great point, and a good example of when to keep digging. I certainly learned a lot from this whole event. I've never traveled with a pet before, and I've never traveled with a per on an international itinerary. I've also relied on the Premier Desk for a multitude of things over the years, and for the most part, they've never led me astray.
Had I had a few more days to research the whole subject I most definitely would have come to FT first!!