Originally Posted by
emcampbe
Off-topic to this thread, I suppose, but important to know what 'linking' essentially is. It's basically a note in the notes section specifying your child is traveling with you, and maybe manually referencing your ticket number. Visible to an agent....who bothers to look at that section. Will not result in anything automated happening together (ie, rebooking in the case of a canceled flight, etc.).
Since you mention a child on their own on the their own PNR, even 'linked', I'd expect trouble at check in, as they'll need to verify you are traveling together. Child will almost certainly not be able to check in online, and likely an extra process at the airport. Do yourself a favor and give yourself lots of extra time to check in.
Good luck, but I highly doubt it. I'd never say don't try, that's always an option, but I'd expect it not to work, and be happy with a better result.
Thanks for the tip. I will definitely try to check in sooner than usual as this is the first time we're traveling with a 2 year old.
As an update to my last post:
The UA agent admitted she has never done this type of booking where she applied a FFC + link a non-UA PNR to a ticket issued by UA. She said she fixed his birthdate and it's all good. After calling ANA, it was NOT all good. First, they saw no notes of the ticket being linked to an adult. Probably as you stated, the linking is just notes so I don't see why ANA would see UA's notes. Second, the birthdate is still wrong. ANA took care of it with no questions. This is the second instance where ANA was able to change a vital personal info after a ticket is booked. I was always under the impression airlines cannot make that type of change and the ticket needs to be reissued. Regardless, ANA said they fixed everything on their end and that is all that matters as I would be checking in and flying with them.