AC changing flights at check-in, how common is this?
 

Hi. Recently, we were at YYZ checking in flying Y to LHR via layover at EWR (AC first leg, then UA codeshare). I enquired about the connection time and what to do at EWR if misconnection, because we only had 50min at EWR. The desk staff offered to change our tickets to YYZ-LHR direct on AC, departing a couple hours later instead. Obviously we took the itinerary change and went to the lounge because it's 7hrs of travel vs 11 hrs.

My question: is this a rare occurrence? I'm only 25k Aeroplan elite status, but I don't think our flight was changed bc of status...We booked YYZ-EWR-LHR (booked via UA website) bc it was significantly cheaper than YYZ-LHR AC direct, yet it seemed like the AC staff wanted us to take their direct flight when we showed up to check in. Is it always worth asking at the checkin desk at Pearson to swap to an AC direct flight if you're flying from YYZ to say EWR, IAD, or ORD for a layover before going to the final destination?

I think with current issues with AC and YYZ, it's not as surprising as it normally would be.

But in general, without a posted delay, no, that is not something that "ever" happens.

are you sure one of the flight times didn’t change at some point after booking? I suspect the switch was offered because the connection doesn’t meet MCT at EWR (much less the term I’ve seen another poster use - SCT or ‘sensible connection time’). the UA EWR connection thread seems to indicate D-I has an MCT of 1 hour, 15 minutes.

My personal rule is never to book a connection through EWR of less than 2 hours unless there is no other way - I’ve seen too many ‘the wind blew 1 extra MPH and causes a ground stop/delay of hours’ (ok…perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but the point is, I’ve seen many minor items that don’t seem to cause huge backups anywhere else cause major ground delays at the NYC-area airports - probably also because of the constrained airspace in that area). My preference is to avoid EWR completely (although these days, don’t think YYZ is any better).

if the MCT is correct, the agent should have rebooked you (although I think UA was back to about 5 or 6 flights to LHR, so chances are you could have been rebooked pretty easily on a later flight if you got to EWR and missed it). Also, the AC-UA connection process is a PITA - I don’t think you can get from the pier at A AC uses to UA terminal C at EWR airside - the part of A that UA uses is different, and unless things have changed, the airside shuttle bus only runs from the UA pier of A to term. C. So you would have had to exit the secure area at A, take AirTran to C, then re-clear security. Even assuming everything is on time, that’s really tight, UA can also offload you if not at the gate ready to board at T-30 for international flights - so that turns your 50 minute connection into 20. There’s no way I would ever have agreed to that kind of short connection at EWR.

I’d guess most travelers wouldn’t make that connection on a good day.

Take the win and enjoy Sure you have to wear a mask, but you go direct and don't have to pay US fees and taxes. Did they refund this to you?

I wasn't aware of flight time changes or departure delay.
Our ticket stated 52 minutes layover at EWR. So it doesn't meet the MCT and the agent knew to rebook?
I guess I am naive for thinking that a 52m connections at EWR is enough. I've 40m AC/LH connections through FRA and the airport had staff + car waiting to make the connection. At other airports they have staff and a golf cart or something.
But if you explicitly book an itinerary that has a connection that doesn't meet the MCT, such as YYZ-EWR (52m stop)-LHR or something like EWR-YUL (45m stop)-LHR, can you bring up the MCT at check-in and rely on the agent rebooking you onto a direct flight instead?

Flights from Canada are generally treated as DD or DI in the US, not II, due to preclearance.

So that might have still been valid. And likely was, if it was bookable.

No. I was not refunded. I am looking at my ticket receipt now and seeing several US fees. Should I have demanded a refund at check-in? Or is this something I bring up to UA customer service?

Do you mind explaining to me the difference between these MCT Status categories (DD,DI,ID,II)?
TIA.

the ticket was purchased through AC so it's AC that should refund. But you got a better flight is it worth it?

The original tickets were purchased through UA.
Yes, the flight change was a lovely surprise. But in the instance of not traveling thru the US as expected, are customers in this situation entitled to refunds on the US airport taxes?

DD - Domestic to Domestic connection
DI - Domestic to International
ID - International to Domestic
II - International to International

From ExpertFlyer:

If you wanted a reprice, you should have made a voluntary change through reservations. It probably would have cost you four figures.

Reroutes due to IRROPS (or expected IRROPS) do not collect or refund anything.

Generally speaking, a domestic to domestic connection requires a shorter time, because you just get off, walk to the next gate, and get on. International to domestic have higher thresholds due to immigration (and often security) formalities. In the US, there's no sterile transit, so anything coming in from abroad is basically international to domestic. Unless you come from a pre-clearance airport, where you don't need to do immigration or security on arrival, which allows a shorter time.

That being said, it looks like the lowest MCT at EWR is 60 minutes, so I suppose it is possible it wasn't legal.

It already happened to me once at YUL airport, they gave me the YUL-LHR flight instead of my short connection in YYZ.

That's:
1. Very different, because it was all AC metal
2. Very much in line with their "avoid YYZ connections" waiver

Thanks for clarifying. The nature of my question wasn't due to my desire for a refund. Just curious whether a refund would even occur in that situation.

So UA or any other airline is technically (legally) not allowed to sell flights connecting through EWR that have a connection time lower than 60 minutes?