Originally Posted by
BigFlyer
So, my question - was the changing of the fare basis and fare amount of the already flown outbound flight correct?
Normally I would say yes. In this particular case, I'm leaning toward no.
Originally Posted by
BigFlyer
If United was correct, what rule is it that allows them to do that?
The flight change that you made. The reason would normally be that the new itinerary didn't qualify for one of the restrictions of the S fare -- but the S fare and W fare both appear to have the same minimum stay restrictions, and both appear to be combinable with any fare. The T fare
also appears to be combinable with any fare. And, in fact, I can compute a multi-city trip on ITA Matrix using the S/T combination; no W fare is required.
Originally Posted by
BigFlyer
One more thing - as a test I started an online change of the inbound back to the original flight but stopped before actually making the change. United was not going to refund me not the $109.10 that was paid to switch, but only $34.10, which meant that it was going to keep the higher fare basis for the outbound flight. The original flight was showing S9 so there was no availability issue.
This is definitely normal. UA won't recalculate a fare that has already been flown unless necessary, and then, barring something extraordinary, always to a higher fare basis (because fares are normally less restrictive as you walk up the fare table).
OK, so, I'm not really sure how to proceed. It appears to be a pricing error, and they didn't offer you the lowest possible fare. However, you also agreed to the price that they quoted, so I'm not sure that you have grounds for, e.g., a chargeback.
I think I'd start by contacting UA and asking why your already-flown flight was re-fared. If you don't get satisfaction, you might consider a DOT complaint. I'm not sure whether or not they're legally required to offer you the lowest possible fare for your route (
ethically required, absolutely). However, there's a good chance that a DOT complaint would lead to an ETC for the difference, if not a full refund.