AA endorses ticket to UA, UA can't find ticket / won't allow boarding
Feb 21, 2015, 9:15 pm
#46
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Yes, UA agent can confirm that you have a paper ticket to the system and you can board. But you didn't have one. In effect, you are asking UA to fly you first and seek payment later.
Feb 21, 2015, 9:16 pm
#47
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Only a few months ago, I was rebooked from DL to CX with paper FIM. CX issued boarding pass without ET designation and I was asked for paper FIM at the gate. I handed over paper FIM and I was on my way. If CX system prohibits issuing boarding pass without valid eticket, I would have been stranded at CX check in counter. Note UA system prints 13-digit eticket number while CX system only prints ET.
The bottom line is: AA sent you over to UA without eticket, UA refused to transport you without a ticket from AA. Whether it is AA or UA system at fault is something we don't know.
Last edited by TerryK; Feb 21, 2015 at 9:25 pm
Feb 21, 2015, 9:30 pm
#48
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- If the ticket starts with 001 it is AA, 016 - UA. If the ticket was issued on UA stock (i.e., it starts with 016) than it is an unexplainable failure by UA agent. If you have the ticket number it means that it was issued and there is a trace of payment information.
...When [my wife] landed in LAX, she did receive her boarding pass but was not allowed to board by UA "because AA did not pay for the ticket." She called me and I simply gave the gate agent her UA ticket number. She was allowed to board then.
...When [my wife] landed in LAX, she did receive her boarding pass but was not allowed to board by UA "because AA did not pay for the ticket." She called me and I simply gave the gate agent her UA ticket number. She was allowed to board then.
The UA agent kept insisting that my record locator wasn't valid for boarding pass issuance. I repeated for the nth time the UA (016xxxx) ticket number given to me at the Admirals Club, and, finally, she was able to print a boarding card. It took 30 minutes of cajoling/ negotiation.
I am not a great fan of federal interference in commerce, but with the decades of difficulties among the airlines and cross-ticket endorsement, I believe the FAA should declare a simple diktat. Either all airlines operating in the US formulate a seamless, cross-carrier electronic endorsement solution, where ticketed, displaced customers are always allowed seats on other carriers wherever available, or the FAA would begin to levy a fee of $x.xx per boarding and figure out its own method to resolve this loggerhead.
If you cannot operate to schedule, and another carrier can, let them fill to capacity with your refugees. Or else deal with a government resolution.
Feb 21, 2015, 10:13 pm
#49
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I had a similar AA-to-UA incident last summer (2014). ORD-MCI, where the AA last-flight-of-the-night canceled. The AA agents at the H/K club confirmed availability with UA. The ticket endorsement was supposedly all electronic. Headed over to UA -- no club access so I was dealing with customer service in the C concourse.
The UA agent kept insisting that my record locator wasn't valid for boarding pass issuance. I repeated for the nth time the UA (016xxxx) ticket number given to me at the Admirals Club, and, finally, she was able to print a boarding card. It took 30 minutes of cajoling/ negotiation.
I am not a great fan of federal interference in commerce, but with the decades of difficulties among the airlines and cross-ticket endorsement, I believe the FAA should declare a simple diktat. Either all airlines operating in the US formulate a seamless, cross-carrier electronic endorsement solution, where ticketed, displaced customers are always allowed seats on other carriers wherever available, or the FAA would begin to levy a fee of $x.xx per boarding and figure out its own method to resolve this loggerhead.
If you cannot operate to schedule, and another carrier can, let them fill to capacity with your refugees. Or else deal with a government resolution.
The UA agent kept insisting that my record locator wasn't valid for boarding pass issuance. I repeated for the nth time the UA (016xxxx) ticket number given to me at the Admirals Club, and, finally, she was able to print a boarding card. It took 30 minutes of cajoling/ negotiation.
I am not a great fan of federal interference in commerce, but with the decades of difficulties among the airlines and cross-ticket endorsement, I believe the FAA should declare a simple diktat. Either all airlines operating in the US formulate a seamless, cross-carrier electronic endorsement solution, where ticketed, displaced customers are always allowed seats on other carriers wherever available, or the FAA would begin to levy a fee of $x.xx per boarding and figure out its own method to resolve this loggerhead.
If you cannot operate to schedule, and another carrier can, let them fill to capacity with your refugees. Or else deal with a government resolution.
Feb 21, 2015, 10:33 pm
#50
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Seems to be a UA issue - that being said, AAngels mentioned that even if the fare wasn't paid, AA And UA have an agreement in place to move passengers and then settle up later; they were actually horrified that UA would leave people hanging like that especially at that hour. They also reiterated that the boarding pass is the key, as you only can get one with a valid ticket.
Seems like signs are pointing to UA being the main culprit here.
Seems like signs are pointing to UA being the main culprit here.
I bought her a walk up ticket on another airline and made a huge stink.
This is part of the response that I received from AA:
Unfortunately, the situation you’ve reported has been a problem with UA since we implemented e-ticketing with them. Their system does not always attach the electronic ticket to the PNR/itinerary properly. This causes the eTicket to appear the UA agent as a paper ticket. The agent is not necessarily at fault, they are doing what they should do when the system tells them a paper ticket should be collected. The problem is with UA’s system that, again, doesn’t always recognize the electronic ticket correctly. UA is very aware of this problem and are working to correct it. In the meantime, they’ve offered an internal reference page (see below).
Your email has been received.
Please be assured that your complaint is being forwarded to the [XXX airport] General Manager for review and internal handling.
Because of the confidential nature of their investigations, we are unable to share any of the details of their review with you, but we can confirm that it has been received and is being handled by the appropriate departments.
We sincerely apologize this happened to your daughter and thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Please be assured that your complaint is being forwarded to the [XXX airport] General Manager for review and internal handling.
Because of the confidential nature of their investigations, we are unable to share any of the details of their review with you, but we can confirm that it has been received and is being handled by the appropriate departments.
We sincerely apologize this happened to your daughter and thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Feb 21, 2015, 11:02 pm
#51
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OP Could Have Flown if he Knew to Show UA the Passenger Receipt
I don't have the UA boarding pass anymore, as they took it back when it wasn't scanning and I figured they were re-printing it.
What I have is a stapled together two vouchers from AA - one is the new Passenger Itinerary stating the UA flight info and a new ticket number (I assume for the United ticket) that is different from the original ticket number I bought for AA originally. Also, there is a second sheet that is labeled Passenger Receipt, and lays out the fare calculation in detail, the fact that it was an INVOL, and a new ticket number that the AA rep circled when she gave me the docs.
These two documents were used when I got over to UA to generate what i thought was my boarding pass, but I guess was a useless card that sat in my pocket for three hours.
What I have is a stapled together two vouchers from AA - one is the new Passenger Itinerary stating the UA flight info and a new ticket number (I assume for the United ticket) that is different from the original ticket number I bought for AA originally. Also, there is a second sheet that is labeled Passenger Receipt, and lays out the fare calculation in detail, the fact that it was an INVOL, and a new ticket number that the AA rep circled when she gave me the docs.
These two documents were used when I got over to UA to generate what i thought was my boarding pass, but I guess was a useless card that sat in my pocket for three hours.
When the UA gate agent said that "AA did not send payment through" this is basically a dumbed down way to say "AA did not send the e-ticket number over" to a passenger who may not be familiar with airline terminology.
Had you been able to provide the e-ticket number at that point (and assuming the UA gate agent was not lazy and knew what he/she was doing), it could have been entered into the computer (to display the e-ticket and link the flight coupon to the flight) and a new boarding pass with the e-ticket number could be printed so that you can board the flight.
At any point did the UA gate agent asked if you had an e-ticket number (or asked to see a copy of the passenger receipt)?
Feb 21, 2015, 11:08 pm
#52
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Now that it is 3am and I am checked into my hotel room in Torrance (closest available room to LAX on short notice), let's see if I can recap today's event, and ask for opinions.
...
After a few minutes, it gets surreal. Agent says that American reserved us on the flight, but never transferred payment to UA - as such we cant board until they get paid immediately. Now starts a fruitless effort to find anyone over at AA still there (it's now almost 1AM), then the gate agent from United claims to call some "help desk number at AA" and gets no answer.
....
...
After a few minutes, it gets surreal. Agent says that American reserved us on the flight, but never transferred payment to UA - as such we cant board until they get paid immediately. Now starts a fruitless effort to find anyone over at AA still there (it's now almost 1AM), then the gate agent from United claims to call some "help desk number at AA" and gets no answer.
....
Feb 21, 2015, 11:29 pm
#53
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This has been an incredibly interesting thread, as it gives us a peek behind how these ticketing systems work.
The typical consumer doesn't care why companies failed to get their act together. They just know that they were put through the ringer through no fault of their own. How frustrating for the OP. Hopefully, the airlines don't expect the average consumer to sort out this mess. I said hopefully.
The typical consumer doesn't care why companies failed to get their act together. They just know that they were put through the ringer through no fault of their own. How frustrating for the OP. Hopefully, the airlines don't expect the average consumer to sort out this mess. I said hopefully.
Feb 21, 2015, 11:33 pm
#54
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Had you been able to provide the e-ticket number at that point (and assuming the UA gate agent was not lazy and knew what he/she was doing), it could have been entered into the computer (to display the e-ticket and link the flight coupon to the flight) and a new boarding pass with the e-ticket number could be printed so that you can board the flight.
At any point did the UA gate agent asked if you had an e-ticket number (or asked to see a copy of the passenger receipt)?
At any point did the UA gate agent asked if you had an e-ticket number (or asked to see a copy of the passenger receipt)?
Feb 21, 2015, 11:49 pm
#55
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So what's the bottom line here? If one experiences IROPs and is rebooked onto another carrier, should one insist on paper tickets? [I suspect that paper tickets are inconvenient at best if the new flight is delayed/cancelled or if there are further flights on the PNR/ticket.] Should one always check for a ticket number on any baording pass, whether printed during OLCI or issued by an agent at the airport? Is there any way to prevent this drama at the gate when attempting to board in such situations?
Feb 22, 2015, 12:34 am
#56
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There may be grounds for claiming that UA could have done more, but I'm stuck at this:
The AA flight went MX, and AA had the ultimate responsibility to get OP home. They didn't do that. Why vilify UA for GA that followed the rules, called AA, tried to fix it?
Similar thing happened to my wife and me on our honeymoon. HP put us on TWA to HNL via STL. HP didn't assign the tickets to TWA correctly and we almost didn't make the flight. Had to run thru STL out of security, to the ticket counter, and get tickets properly validated. I didn't blame TWA!
The AA flight went MX, and AA had the ultimate responsibility to get OP home. They didn't do that. Why vilify UA for GA that followed the rules, called AA, tried to fix it?
Similar thing happened to my wife and me on our honeymoon. HP put us on TWA to HNL via STL. HP didn't assign the tickets to TWA correctly and we almost didn't make the flight. Had to run thru STL out of security, to the ticket counter, and get tickets properly validated. I didn't blame TWA!
Feb 22, 2015, 12:52 am
#57
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There may be grounds for claiming that UA could have done more, but I'm stuck at this:
The AA flight went MX, and AA had the ultimate responsibility to get OP home. They didn't do that. Why vilify UA for GA that followed the rules, called AA, tried to fix it?
Similar thing happened to my wife and me on our honeymoon. HP put us on TWA to HNL via STL. HP didn't assign the tickets to TWA correctly and we almost didn't make the flight. Had to run thru STL out of security, to the ticket counter, and get tickets properly validated. I didn't blame TWA!
The AA flight went MX, and AA had the ultimate responsibility to get OP home. They didn't do that. Why vilify UA for GA that followed the rules, called AA, tried to fix it?
Similar thing happened to my wife and me on our honeymoon. HP put us on TWA to HNL via STL. HP didn't assign the tickets to TWA correctly and we almost didn't make the flight. Had to run thru STL out of security, to the ticket counter, and get tickets properly validated. I didn't blame TWA!
The problem is with UA’s system that, again, doesn’t always recognize the electronic ticket correctly. UA is very aware of this problem and are working to correct it.
Feb 22, 2015, 2:03 am
#58
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When you have a ticket number, it is possible to display the e-ticket and if the coupon is not already in control of the receiving carrier, the agent can enter a command to take control of the coupon from the issuing carrier. If this fails, a manual override can be done to board the passenger and the "coupon control" issue can be handled later.
Feb 22, 2015, 3:08 am
#59
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Thanks for reminding me yet once again why I despise e-tickets. With a paper ticket, I always knew what I had.
International travel interline e-tickets have caused me plenty of problems over the years.
It is not my fault that an airline computer system does not reflect what my e-ticket receipt says.
International travel interline e-tickets have caused me plenty of problems over the years.
It is not my fault that an airline computer system does not reflect what my e-ticket receipt says.
Feb 22, 2015, 4:12 am
#60
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Thanks OP, I learned a lot of things here.
AA agents and AA elites not fearing UA. I was unaware of that - I was missed my AA connection (grace to the BA feeder) in LHR once and the very friendly agent found that UA was the next connection availble. "Let's see if we can get you something better..", she said before suggesting BA...
I forgot that there is a boarding group beyond 1 and 2 ...
UA mangled my BPs so many times that I always immediately scan or photograph them when I get it. Along with the apologists, UA post factum then invents a law/rule/international treaty that sanctions what they have done. That includes stripping my BP of features such as status, a seat.
And those are the times, I miss EC261 outside of Europe.
Before 261 gained traction, LH pulled such stunts on me on their own ticket stock. UA and LX didn't want to accept BPs that were issued by LH and vice versa. The directive put an end to these games .. not immediately but very effectively.
I hope AA can comfort you after this ugly episode. Even though I have little doubt that nearly all the wrongdoing comes from UA's side.
..I walk over to United, they print me a boarding pass (boarding group 5..
UA mangled my BPs so many times that I always immediately scan or photograph them when I get it. Along with the apologists, UA post factum then invents a law/rule/international treaty that sanctions what they have done. That includes stripping my BP of features such as status, a seat.
Agent says that American reserved us on the flight, but never transferred payment to UA - as such we cant board until they get paid immediately.
Before 261 gained traction, LH pulled such stunts on me on their own ticket stock. UA and LX didn't want to accept BPs that were issued by LH and vice versa. The directive put an end to these games .. not immediately but very effectively.
I hope AA can comfort you after this ugly episode. Even though I have little doubt that nearly all the wrongdoing comes from UA's side.