Originally Posted by SAT Lawyer

Do you have some special UA schedule change crystal ball that the rest of us don't? Otherwise, should a passenger really be charged with the knowledge that a disruptive schedule change is inevitable at the time of purchase? I don't think so.

UA has been very accommodating with me when their schedule changes disrupted my itinerary. For example, my wife and I have an upcoming Star Alliance business class award, which had a scheduled SYD-SFO-SAT return. UA changed the SFO-SAT departure time making our connection illegal, resulting in a proposed domestic reaccommodation from SFO-DEN-SAT, which wasn't very attractive to me. When I expressed my dissatisfaction with the change, the agent (after consulting with a supervisor) switched us to a SYD-LAX-SAT routing even though there was no award inventory in business class on the transpacific segment and no first class inventory on the domestic segment at the time we made the change.

The general rules -- and especially a putative rule that there must be inventory in an exact bucket -- should go out the window in the event of an involuntary schedule change. They usually do if you politely, but firmly push for a reasonable reaccommodation.

Given the vast number of mainland-Hawaii and LAX-NYC nonstops, I cannot imagine why UA cannot reaccomodate Mr. S to remedy the collateral damage caused by its unilateral schedule change.