Originally Posted by
flyr16
Have airlines stopped automatically rebooking passengers they know will not make a connection?
Not all, but many. United, for the most part, has indeed stopped. Also, they had no definitive way of knowing that you would not make your connection.
Originally Posted by
flyr16
He again said "they know you are coming for your connections."
Did he also say that they will hold your connecting flight for you?
Originally Posted by
flyr16
We arrived at the EWR bound gate at just about the departure time (not after) and while the plane was still there, the supervisor said "no go." "We are not and will not hold the plane, no one told us to do so. There must have been a miscommunication."
That wasn't nice, but there wasn't necessarily a miscommunication as the gate agent certainly knew who was outstanding / connecting; here is what that looks like:
Originally Posted by
flyr16
More than 15 of us pleaded to let us on but she would not budge. She showed no empathy, expressed no sympathy and said we should all head to the rebooking desk to "see what they can do for you." Meanwhile, we later saw our EWR bound plane sit at the gate for at least another 20 minutes before departing.
Again, not nice, but there are a variety of factors that go into determining whether a flight can be held for connecting passengers. For more detailed information on the "rules" about when and how long a gate agent is allowed to hold a flight past departure time, take a look here:
https://crankyflier.com/2019/06/20/a...nnectionsaver/
It may very well have been that the NOC would have authorized a delayed departure for that flight under other circumstances, but . . .
Also, there is a reason (crew time-out) to close the door urgently, but that then pushing back the aircraft for another 20 minutes wouldn't really make a difference.
Originally Posted by
flyr16
It was a near 24 hour trip home from Kona.
Sorry.
Originally Posted by
flyr16
To sum it all up: we and everyone else that night felt terribly treated by United.
I can understand why you feel that way; after the misconnection, things went south rather quickly.
Originally Posted by
flyr16
Would other carriers have done a better job?
No, United actually is better than others for the most part in this area in my experience.