Originally Posted by
UA_Throwaway900
UA 900 on September 23 2023 from LHR to SFO was diverted to IAD due to crew scheduling (presumably timed out after being initially delayed) then continued IAD to SFO under the same flight number. Anyone with a firsthand account on why and what happened? As someone who sometimes fly international, I was wondering in a situation exactly like this (presumably there was no plane change but parked at gate) or similar to this (esp when there is no crew change), would passengers have to get off and clear customs before reboarding, or would passengers stay on the plane and clear customs at the destinations, such as San Francisco in this case? Or would this depend case by case/vary by airline/whatever else? For international flights (especially into the US) that continue using the same flight number/aircraft, do they typically park at a gate and/or offload and do CBP at the diversion airport before continuing, or do passengers stay on board? Who/what would decide this?
You posted the reason, crew scheduling. Likely timeout due to the delay.
I once had to stop at SFO going HKG-EWR. Same reason. For long flights there is less flexibility.
For these type of "diversions"/"extra stop", they almost never take everyone off the plane. You just sit there for an hour or so while they refuel and change crew. This is usually the case to avoid needlessly processing everyone.
Sometimes on domestic flights, you might land really close to your airport. (ie diversion to LAX for a flight to SAN) and they may opt to bus you over. In that case, it's usually a mess as they scramble to find enough buses.
Interestingly, whenever this happens unexpectedly (ie. during flight) going to Europe, the crew seems clueless. The FA tells everyone to get ready to deplane as they'll be sending a bus over which ofcourse is never the case. So everyone takes their bag down from the overheads. This is when I usually get on twitter or UA chat, change my flight, then take a nap. Then when they realize we're eventually flying to our final destination (afterall, the plane needs to be there for the next flight), people start asking about missed connections. Then, the FA will say that GAs will be coming to the plane to assist. That will never happen either. The pilot and FA's are clueless. Eventually you make it to your final destination and they say to talk to the GA at the gate. Usually there is no one there either because they drop you at some random place in the terminal. You are expected to find the gates that UA usually uses or wherever the staff is usually at (assuming there are any). You're often on your own in this case. UA should really improve their handling of these types of situations.
Originally Posted by
lotemblizej
Can passengers seek EU261 compensation for flights not originating in the EU?
No but I believe there is now "UK261"