Originally Posted by
cfischer
if it is a 5 min schedule change, same flight # etc. ... you should consider reaching out to the DOT to get a resolution.
That would be a waste of time for OP, the DOT agent who got the complaint, and the UA agent who had to respond.
UA had an aircraft swap. It happens. Routing is not guaranteed. UA allows for a refund in this situation, of which OP availed. Even without the aircraft swap, the contract that you sign with UA states that they have the right to make whatever changes they see fit, and your rights are to ask for an alternative or a refund. The only protection comes from an oversold situation, and even that only applies at the gate.
OP: Sorry that you had this happen to you, and I hope you have a good trip on VX. To answer your question -- while one would hope that status would play a factor, that's an extremely elite-heavy route and it wouldn't surprise me if the people that they were able to put onto the 757 were also GS or 1K -- assuming you were in J, anyway. If you were in Y, well -- the reviews for the 10-across 777 are less than stellar, so UA may have done you a big favor. And, as others have pointed out, it's entirely possible that other passengers were going to destinations that don't have service from ORD and so it made the least overall disruption to re-route your party.