Originally Posted by
jsloan
No, you’re looking at the airport’s generic MCT. findark is correct; UA has overrides for online connections.
I see. I was mis-interpreting the output of ExpertFlyer. I had assumed the information at the top was specific to the search criteria I had used, which was UA-UA domestic. I now see that it still displays the airport generic information first and then you have to look lower for the airline-specific information. I learn something new every day.
If OP’s friend actually has a 30m connection, and that wasn’t an approximation, then there must have been a schedule change, and UA will indeed allow a free change without collecting a fare difference.
We really don't know what the actual situation is. The OP says "about 30 minutes." Does that mean the OP doesn't know what the actual connection time is, or do they know it's 35 minutes and described this as "about 30 minutes?" If the latter, then the OP likely has no recourse. If they booked a ticket with a 35-minute connection at an airport with a 35-minute MCT, then it's a legal itinerary. The fact that there's a different one available with a longer connection and a higher price means that you can buy the longer one by paying the higher price. The fact that you may not be comfortable with a 35-minute connection and/or believe there's a high probability of a misconnect doesn't entitle you to buy a different itinerary at below its published price.