What's my MR cover story?
Jul 4, 2012, 11:11 am
#16
In Memoriam
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: dallas texas usa
Programs: aa plt 4.9MM LTAC
Posts: 14,828
i've had a lot more ?s from the feds on intl mr's....like
a 3 day trip to tpe for vacation?
flying intl w/just a small carry on?.....
a few ?s from gate agents when at the gate getting a bp to get back on the same plane...only a few times because usually had the bp...
a 3 day trip to tpe for vacation?
flying intl w/just a small carry on?.....
a few ?s from gate agents when at the gate getting a bp to get back on the same plane...only a few times because usually had the bp...
Jul 4, 2012, 11:36 am
#17
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Idaho
Programs: US Airways, Silver United, Gold Hilton, Platinum Marriott, Gold SPG
Posts: 749
Update from ORD: I got to the LAS gate at SFO (big 
to T1) 30 minutes before departure, and at T-20 they posted a 1 hour delay due to late inbound crew. (They were coming from ORD -- you'd think they could have figured it out a little sooner.) I was going to misconnect, but as SunLover suggested, I saw an opportunity.
I talked to a gate agent and tried to explain my situation (misconnect in LAS on separate PNRs) and requested to be put on a nonstop SFO-IAD. The agent seemed willing, but both redeyes were F1 Y0 so she couldn't confirm me. She claimed to put me on the standby list and told me to go to the T3 ticketing desk where they could help me.
While taking the shuttle to T3, I got on the 1K line to explore other options. I had done some ExpertFlyer research, but every redeye from SFO to anywhere was sold out, so they couldn't help me. I got the phone agent to refund my SFO-LAS award ticket and cancel out the LAS-IAD flight, so the system wouldn't cancel my itinerary for missing that flight. At this point my plan was to try for standby on both SFO-IAD redeyes, and if both fail call a trip-in-vain and go home.
At the IAD gate the screen showed 5 pax on standby, none of which were me. The gate agent looked up my record, seemed confused, typed a while, printed out a BP-like slip which he kept, and told me he'd call me if a seat opened up. Apparently I was waitlisted for the flight, which is somehow different from standby -- neither the gate agent nor the 1K desk were able to explain the distinction to me.
Boarding starts and I stand near the podium to see what happens. There is one F seat open, and they upgrade SEA/S to 1A. Since Y is exactly at capacity, this should leave one seat -- except I now learn that seat 30A is broken, so the Y cabin is full.
More waiting. 10 minutes to go and one pax to board: it's SEA/S in 1A. The gate agent remarks, "He's a 1K, you'd think he'd know what he's doing." I smile. They page him on the plane, and when he doesn't answer they offload him, upgrade the next pax on the list, and hand me a BP for 21B.
(I don't know what happened to the other 5 on the standby list -- I'm guessing they were employees who found other flights.)
So in the end I was able to get the routing I wanted, refund my positioning flight, and get rebooked in full Y on a transcon. Not a bad haul!
Oh, and Mr. SEA/S: whatever shenanigans you were pulling, thank you.
A final note: I felt safe with a 40-minute turn in JAX because (a) it was on one itinerary, and (b) I had looked at UA's schedule in JAX and concluded that the inbound and outbound were extremely likely to be the same aircraft; this was in fact the case.
to T1) 30 minutes before departure, and at T-20 they posted a 1 hour delay due to late inbound crew. (They were coming from ORD -- you'd think they could have figured it out a little sooner.) I was going to misconnect, but as SunLover suggested, I saw an opportunity.I talked to a gate agent and tried to explain my situation (misconnect in LAS on separate PNRs) and requested to be put on a nonstop SFO-IAD. The agent seemed willing, but both redeyes were F1 Y0 so she couldn't confirm me. She claimed to put me on the standby list and told me to go to the T3 ticketing desk where they could help me.
While taking the shuttle to T3, I got on the 1K line to explore other options. I had done some ExpertFlyer research, but every redeye from SFO to anywhere was sold out, so they couldn't help me. I got the phone agent to refund my SFO-LAS award ticket and cancel out the LAS-IAD flight, so the system wouldn't cancel my itinerary for missing that flight. At this point my plan was to try for standby on both SFO-IAD redeyes, and if both fail call a trip-in-vain and go home.
At the IAD gate the screen showed 5 pax on standby, none of which were me. The gate agent looked up my record, seemed confused, typed a while, printed out a BP-like slip which he kept, and told me he'd call me if a seat opened up. Apparently I was waitlisted for the flight, which is somehow different from standby -- neither the gate agent nor the 1K desk were able to explain the distinction to me.
Boarding starts and I stand near the podium to see what happens. There is one F seat open, and they upgrade SEA/S to 1A. Since Y is exactly at capacity, this should leave one seat -- except I now learn that seat 30A is broken, so the Y cabin is full.
More waiting. 10 minutes to go and one pax to board: it's SEA/S in 1A. The gate agent remarks, "He's a 1K, you'd think he'd know what he's doing." I smile. They page him on the plane, and when he doesn't answer they offload him, upgrade the next pax on the list, and hand me a BP for 21B.
(I don't know what happened to the other 5 on the standby list -- I'm guessing they were employees who found other flights.)
So in the end I was able to get the routing I wanted, refund my positioning flight, and get rebooked in full Y on a transcon. Not a bad haul!
Oh, and Mr. SEA/S: whatever shenanigans you were pulling, thank you.
A final note: I felt safe with a 40-minute turn in JAX because (a) it was on one itinerary, and (b) I had looked at UA's schedule in JAX and concluded that the inbound and outbound were extremely likely to be the same aircraft; this was in fact the case.
Jul 4, 2012, 2:55 pm
#18
Join Date: May 2005
Location: BWI/DCA/IAD
Programs: IHG About to Be Demoted, AA Demoted to Nothingness
Posts: 252
I grabbed a super-cheap fare LAS-JAX leaving tonight and returning tomorrow, with only 40 minutes in JAX. To get to LAS I booked a 10K saver award. Yesterday SFO was fogged in all day and ground holds were 3+ hours, and I'm concerned that the same could happen today. I'm confident that UA will reaccommodate me in case of irrops, but I'm not sure what I should be asking for. Some possibilities:
- I'm making a delivery to someone in JAX so I need to be there by 10.30 am tomorrow?
- I'm accompanying a family member to/from JAX? (Probably not wise since they could call my bluff and try to look up the other pax.)
- I just need to get somewhere in Florida by tomorrow am?
Or if it looks like I'm not going to make it to JAX, should I just declare trip in vain and try to get my money back? This is my first cross-country MR so I'd like some tips from the pros!
- I'm making a delivery to someone in JAX so I need to be there by 10.30 am tomorrow?
- I'm accompanying a family member to/from JAX? (Probably not wise since they could call my bluff and try to look up the other pax.)
- I just need to get somewhere in Florida by tomorrow am?
Or if it looks like I'm not going to make it to JAX, should I just declare trip in vain and try to get my money back? This is my first cross-country MR so I'd like some tips from the pros!
Jul 4, 2012, 4:37 pm
#19
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Chicagoland, IL, USA
Programs: WN CP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 14,189
Advice not to lie to the cops/Feds/whatever is the key. Any airline employee with half a brain knows what a mileage run is. They've seen it hundreds of times. You are not doing anything wrong, so no need to weasel around. Just say "for the miles."
Some comments reminds me of that FRASIER episode where they are crossing the Canadian border in violation of Daphne's visa and they get worried. Martin tells them sternly to keep answers short and to the point.
Border agent asks Niles the purpose of his trip.
Response: "Fun."
Some comments reminds me of that FRASIER episode where they are crossing the Canadian border in violation of Daphne's visa and they get worried. Martin tells them sternly to keep answers short and to the point.
Border agent asks Niles the purpose of his trip.
Response: "Fun."
Jul 4, 2012, 4:58 pm
#20
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Anywhere I need to be.
Programs: OW Emerald, *A Gold, NEXUS, GE, ABTC/APEC, South Korea SES, eIACS, PP, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 16,046
Update from ORD: I got to the LAS gate at SFO (big to T1) 30 minutes before departure, and at T-20 they posted a 1 hour delay due to late inbound crew. (They were coming from ORD -- you'd think they could have figured it out a little sooner.) I was going to misconnect, but as SunLover suggested, I saw an opportunity.
I talked to a gate agent and tried to explain my situation (misconnect in LAS on separate PNRs) and requested to be put on a nonstop SFO-IAD. The agent seemed willing, but both redeyes were F1 Y0 so she couldn't confirm me. She claimed to put me on the standby list and told me to go to the T3 ticketing desk where they could help me.
While taking the shuttle to T3, I got on the 1K line to explore other options. I had done some ExpertFlyer research, but every redeye from SFO to anywhere was sold out, so they couldn't help me. I got the phone agent to refund my SFO-LAS award ticket and cancel out the LAS-IAD flight, so the system wouldn't cancel my itinerary for missing that flight. At this point my plan was to try for standby on both SFO-IAD redeyes, and if both fail call a trip-in-vain and go home.
At the IAD gate the screen showed 5 pax on standby, none of which were me. The gate agent looked up my record, seemed confused, typed a while, printed out a BP-like slip which he kept, and told me he'd call me if a seat opened up. Apparently I was waitlisted for the flight, which is somehow different from standby -- neither the gate agent nor the 1K desk were able to explain the distinction to me.
Boarding starts and I stand near the podium to see what happens. There is one F seat open, and they upgrade SEA/S to 1A. Since Y is exactly at capacity, this should leave one seat -- except I now learn that seat 30A is broken, so the Y cabin is full.
More waiting. 10 minutes to go and one pax to board: it's SEA/S in 1A. The gate agent remarks, "He's a 1K, you'd think he'd know what he's doing." I smile. They page him on the plane, and when he doesn't answer they offload him, upgrade the next pax on the list, and hand me a BP for 21B.
(I don't know what happened to the other 5 on the standby list -- I'm guessing they were employees who found other flights.)
So in the end I was able to get the routing I wanted, refund my positioning flight, and get rebooked in full Y on a transcon. Not a bad haul!
Oh, and Mr. SEA/S: whatever shenanigans you were pulling, thank you.
A final note: I felt safe with a 40-minute turn in JAX because (a) it was on one itinerary, and (b) I had looked at UA's schedule in JAX and concluded that the inbound and outbound were extremely likely to be the same aircraft; this was in fact the case.
to T1) 30 minutes before departure, and at T-20 they posted a 1 hour delay due to late inbound crew. (They were coming from ORD -- you'd think they could have figured it out a little sooner.) I was going to misconnect, but as SunLover suggested, I saw an opportunity.I talked to a gate agent and tried to explain my situation (misconnect in LAS on separate PNRs) and requested to be put on a nonstop SFO-IAD. The agent seemed willing, but both redeyes were F1 Y0 so she couldn't confirm me. She claimed to put me on the standby list and told me to go to the T3 ticketing desk where they could help me.
While taking the shuttle to T3, I got on the 1K line to explore other options. I had done some ExpertFlyer research, but every redeye from SFO to anywhere was sold out, so they couldn't help me. I got the phone agent to refund my SFO-LAS award ticket and cancel out the LAS-IAD flight, so the system wouldn't cancel my itinerary for missing that flight. At this point my plan was to try for standby on both SFO-IAD redeyes, and if both fail call a trip-in-vain and go home.
At the IAD gate the screen showed 5 pax on standby, none of which were me. The gate agent looked up my record, seemed confused, typed a while, printed out a BP-like slip which he kept, and told me he'd call me if a seat opened up. Apparently I was waitlisted for the flight, which is somehow different from standby -- neither the gate agent nor the 1K desk were able to explain the distinction to me.
Boarding starts and I stand near the podium to see what happens. There is one F seat open, and they upgrade SEA/S to 1A. Since Y is exactly at capacity, this should leave one seat -- except I now learn that seat 30A is broken, so the Y cabin is full.
More waiting. 10 minutes to go and one pax to board: it's SEA/S in 1A. The gate agent remarks, "He's a 1K, you'd think he'd know what he's doing." I smile. They page him on the plane, and when he doesn't answer they offload him, upgrade the next pax on the list, and hand me a BP for 21B.
(I don't know what happened to the other 5 on the standby list -- I'm guessing they were employees who found other flights.)
So in the end I was able to get the routing I wanted, refund my positioning flight, and get rebooked in full Y on a transcon. Not a bad haul!
Oh, and Mr. SEA/S: whatever shenanigans you were pulling, thank you.
A final note: I felt safe with a 40-minute turn in JAX because (a) it was on one itinerary, and (b) I had looked at UA's schedule in JAX and concluded that the inbound and outbound were extremely likely to be the same aircraft; this was in fact the case.
Jul 4, 2012, 5:03 pm
#21
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2006
Programs: AAdvantage PP
Posts: 13,913
Its not the airline's business to "judge" the purpose of a flight. The airline offered a fare for a certain routing which you purchased. Do you feel obligated to tell the clerk at the grocery store why you are buying the tiolet paper that is on sale for 50 cents?
Now to avoid lots of explaining you can always do the little white lie of I have to meet an attorney at the airport to sign papers. I've used that one myself when I just wanted to get rerouted asap.
Now to avoid lots of explaining you can always do the little white lie of I have to meet an attorney at the airport to sign papers. I've used that one myself when I just wanted to get rerouted asap.
Jul 4, 2012, 7:15 pm
#22
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: WAS-ish
Programs: UA 1K-MM + UC, Marriott Plat, National Exec
Posts: 1,341
+1!
Nice haul. Horse has sort of left the barn now, but I agree heartily with the previous poster who said "View irrops as an opportunity!" Which you clearly did.
That said... in the pre-merger era, I felt more confident about that sort of thing. Now, I feel a lot less love for me as a customer, and a lot less confident relying on UA doing more or less the right thing (by which I mean something that will leave me satisfied in the end). When I said "40 minute turn... you're responsible for the consequences," it wasn't intended as a specific "UA will leave you stranded in JAX." Rather, you never know what's going to happen -- and if you book a tight connection / turnaround and miss it, there's no guarantee you'll end up with a convenient rebook.
All of which is water under the bridge. Congrats!
Nice haul. Horse has sort of left the barn now, but I agree heartily with the previous poster who said "View irrops as an opportunity!" Which you clearly did.
That said... in the pre-merger era, I felt more confident about that sort of thing. Now, I feel a lot less love for me as a customer, and a lot less confident relying on UA doing more or less the right thing (by which I mean something that will leave me satisfied in the end). When I said "40 minute turn... you're responsible for the consequences," it wasn't intended as a specific "UA will leave you stranded in JAX." Rather, you never know what's going to happen -- and if you book a tight connection / turnaround and miss it, there's no guarantee you'll end up with a convenient rebook.
All of which is water under the bridge. Congrats!
Jul 4, 2012, 11:56 pm
#23
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: UA 1K, NW forever
Posts: 1,390
I did have my passport, just in case I needed to make a sudden change of plans and book an F award ORD-LHR
But there are no nonstops YYZ-JAX, so that would have been a tough sell.
That said... in the pre-merger era, I felt more confident about that sort of thing. Now, I feel a lot less love for me as a customer, and a lot less confident relying on UA doing more or less the right thing (by which I mean something that will leave me satisfied in the end).
All in all it was a fun experience, but I think in the future I'm going to try to avoid MRs that start with a red-eye in Y or domestic F. I'm not as young as I used to be...