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Emergency help...changes to first flight

I have just been informed that UAL has canceled my CHC-'SYD-SFO' flight tomorrow. My UAL ticket was part of the fare error last year.

This means I am unable to get to my first segment of my DONE4 SFO-ORD ticket on time (UAL is routing us CHC-SYD-LAX-SFO).

The way I read the rules changes to the first flight are not allowed.

More info: my first international flight on the DONE4 out of the USA happens 10+ days later.

My first concern is to protect all the segments I have reserved on this handwritten DONE4. Because I had a lot of problems AA RTW might be able to do me the favor of a change...but I do not know if tariffs, etc. allow it.

Any suggestions on what to do? Multiple suggestions appreciated.

I'd say that with the rule book in hand you are up for a cancellation with penalty followed by a repriced new issue. But, some recent posts indicate AA can be persuaded to make exceptions. The only advice I can give is to talk to AA and plead your case.

I guess you checked out the xONEx rules here:

oneworld Explorer rule sheet

Code:

16. VOLUNTARY CHANGES/REROUTING/PENALTIES



    (a) Rebooking/Rerouting

    (1) Prior to departure

        (a) Origin TC1

            (1) Before ticket issuance - Permitted without penalty.

            (2) After ticket issuance - Changes to the first international 

                flight and preceding flights are not permitted less than 

                seven days prior to the date of the first ticketed flight. 

                Date/time changes to other flights permitted at no charge.

                Date/Time/oneworld Carrier changes are permitted without 

                reissue provided origin/destination/connecting points and 

                inventory remain the same.

                Changes other than to Date/Time/oneworld carrier permitted 

                at a charge of USD125.00 per transaction.

...



    (b) Cancellations and Refunds

        (1) Prior to departure

            (a) Origin TC1

                (1) Before ticket issuance - full refund

                (2) After ticket issuance - 10 percent of ticketed amount

...

    (c) Upgrading

           (1) An Economy oneworld Explorer fare may be upgraded to a First/

               Business class oneworld Explorer fare without penalty.

           (2) A Business oneworld Explorer fare may be upgraded to a First 

               class oneworld Explorer fare without penalty.

           (3) Upgrading by sector to Business/First class is not permitted.

           (4) At any time the oneworld Explorer fare may be used as credit 

               towards a full mileage fare or a Global Explorer fare (provided 

               the conditions of Global Explorer have been met). No penalty 

               will apply. Reissued tickets must be endorsed 

               --NON REF/XXX--//XXX equals oneworld Explorer fare basis 

               code//and the original non-refundable amount remains non-

               refundable. If the upgraded ticket is subsequently cancelled 

               the original penalty will apply.

By the rules:

16.(a)(1)(a)(2) prevents changes in the OP's case as it's less than 7 days before departure if the first flight from TC1,
16.(C) is probably out of the question (DONE4->AONE4 upgrade is USD3,100 more).
As Viajero indicated, by the rules, 16.(b)(1)(a)(2) would be your best solution incurring a 10% penalty

Note that it is not relevant that your first international flight is 10+ days away:

Quote:

... Changes to the first international flight and preceding flights are not permitted less than seven days prior to the date of the first ticketed flight ...

Ok, what do you think would happen if we show up late in SFO and miss our first DONE4 flight [and I can show them it was because UAL canceled SYD-SFO].

Do you think SFO would let us go standby on the handwritten DONE4 tickets?

Do you think the rest of our DONE4 reservation would be 'safe'?

Normally I would risk this at then end of a cheap trip, but at the beginning of an expensive trip?

I changed my NZ tickets to arrive on time for my first DONE4 flight....however, now we are flying coach versus business class across the Pacific ):

So as long as we have 2 hours to connect in SFO, we should be all right in starting the first flight of the DONE4 flights.

Nevertheless, I do wonder if any one had any real experience changing the first segment for a RTW ticket 'for good reason'

Quote:

Originally Posted by AAaLot (Post 9466982)

...Nevertheless, I do wonder if any one had any real experience changing the first segment for a RTW ticket 'for good reason'

Not with a RTW, but with normal AA tickets I have called before departure and been placed on standby, and I even used the 'flat tire' rule once. The key, however, is to call. Another 'good reason' I have had to make use of is the illness clause but that's covered in the rules.

If you still have time, now that you have a plan B in place, why not call AA? They could come through for you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AAaLot (Post 9466982)

Nevertheless, I do wonder if any one had any real experience changing the first segment for a RTW ticket 'for good reason'

I had an ex-IST DONE4 booked through BA. Arrived in IST on Thurs and picked up 20 segment ticket at airport office. First int'l departure was IST-LHR-PVG on Saturday morning. Passport was stolen Friday night.

I missed the first int'l departure. After getting a new passport I went back to the airport on Monday. I told the agent my story and he issued a new ticket with a new IST-LHR-HKG routing (China visa in stolen passport). I was never charged a cent for a reissue or for the change!

I have nothing but wonderful things to say about the IST BA staff. Same goes for the US consulate staff that issued a new passport in under two hours on a Monday morning.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wingzing (Post 9492645)

I had an ex-IST DONE4 booked through BA. ...

Not super relevant in this case; the rules are a lot more liberal when starting in TC2/TC3 rather than TC1.

The OP started in TC1, IST is in TC2.

Code:

16. VOLUNTARY CHANGES/REROUTING/PENALTIES

    (a) Rebooking/Rerouting

        (1) Prior to departure

            (a) Origin TC1

...

            (b) Origin TC2/3

                Unlimited changes permitted without charge.

                Date/Time/oneworld carrier changes are permitted without 

                reissue provided Origin/destination/connecting points and 

                inventory remain the same.

            -------------

            Local service fees may apply

...

Quote:

Originally Posted by serfty (Post 9492703)

Not super relevant in this case; the rules are a lot more liberal when starting in TC2/TC3 rather than TC1.

The OP started in TC1, IST is in TC2.

Code:

16. VOLUNTARY CHANGES/REROUTING/PENALTIES

    (a) Rebooking/Rerouting

        (1) Prior to departure

            (a) Origin TC1

...

            (b) Origin TC2/3

                Unlimited changes permitted without charge.

                Date/Time/oneworld carrier changes are permitted without 

                reissue provided Origin/destination/connecting points and 

                inventory remain the same.

            -------------

            Local service fees may apply

...

I wonder if this rule is regulatory (i.e. government) or AA (i.e. some sort of passenger abuse possible).