Originally Posted by TravelinWilly
I didn't know that LH gives the same mileage benefits as UA for trans-Atlantic and intra-Europe flights (now I know!
). It sounds like there was a mix-up with the FRA-JNB flight, and I got extra miles. I'll suffer through it.
Not for intra-Europe, actually. The same mix-up that got you the extra miles FRA-JNB got you the extra miles for LHR-FRA.
checkin at JNB took <1 minute, fortunately, and I got my boarding passes for JNB-FRA-IAD from the LH counter there.
This kind of confirms my theory that there is a "right" and a "wrong" way to process check-in when ticketed with UA flight numbers for LH flights... The "right" way leads to quick check-ins, "LH" listings in the mileage summary, and no elite bonuses on LH flights that are not transat. The "wrong" way results in a painfully slow check-in, "L#" entries in the mileage summary, and gratuitous elite bonuses. Based on my experiences, I would guess it is an agent issue...
Regarding having the ticket issued with LH flight numbers for the LH portions, I'm not sure I can do/want to do that - I get a substantial corporate discount on UA, and the pricing may be affected if I switch those flight #'s to LH...
I don't know whether or not this is a system issue, station issue, or agent issue (good questions), but I'll pursue it more vigorously if/when it happens again.
You are right, you probably don't want to do that. Let us know what happens in your next trip and see if we can indeed chalk this one up to "agent issue"
Best wishes for your next trip, Will.