channa

Should not come as a surprise to anyone. Many of these issues plagued CO for years before the merger, and nothing was done about them.

apgrizzwald

Hoping to get advice - should I call?

Just breached 24 hrs for a revenue purchase on UA metal. Web status is still "promptly notify you once internal processing is complete..." So I think I'm stuck in ticketing purgatory. Purchase was confirmed via call center. I had an agent and several supervisors force some fare class combinations for a multi-city itinerary. After an hour of them addressing several errors, everything booked out okay. CC charged, web updated to confirmed. Now no ticket though.

Is there any risk if I call in to inquire that perhaps the original agent messed up the fare classes/basis and they would now deny ticketing? Hope that makes sense

buhuffer

happened to me before, called them the second day and got it fixed

o mikros

+1

I usually don't even wait until the full 24-hour mark, because I did that once (where it was stuck in purgatory for 36+ hours) and then the agent refused to honor the original price that had since increased. Now I have them force it through right away if it acts like it's going to need manual intervention.

Kacee

There was a post reporting exactly that scenario just yesterday in another thread.

Definitely a good idea to call before the 24 hours has expired, and not accept lazy agents telling you nothing can be done.

apgrizzwald

Hi all, thanks for the replies. Fortunately the phone-in worked and I'm ticketed. Turns out this ticketing purgatory wasn't about odd fare class/basis but about processing TravelBank funds.

fumje

I got stuck in ticketing purgatory (with all UA/UAX-metal itinerary ). Just got off the phone: called after 18hrs, waited for 25 minutes while agent contacted support, and finally got the ticket issued.

One thing I notice is that fare rules always say, 'TICKETING MUST BE COMPLETED WITHIN 1 DAY AFTER RESERVATIONS'. So I wonder, is that a clause just meant to indemnify UA if a partner closes inventory but their computers didn't figure out what to do beforehand? Or would they ever refuse to honour the fare for even UA-operated flights if I call later than 24hrs after reserving? I thought about leaving it and seeing if I could break the record for longest time to ticketing (41 days?), but my flights are too soon to have a chance at that.

markraby

This happened to me recently and the phone agent canceled the reservation without my permission, and forced me to re-purchase. So I was double charged (though of course one charge -- eventually -- dropped off). Really terrible practice from United.

fumje

Terrible indeed. That would have really been a pain for me, as I'd then have just missed the advance purchase requirement.

RobOnLI

What was UA's excuse for why the ticket wasn't issued after 18 hours for a UA/UAx itinerary?

Yes, United *could* technically not honor the fare after 24 hours if the ticket isn't considered purchased, even due to a technical fault on their end. Would they? Most likely not but they would have ground to stand on and the passenger (you) would be SOL with no recourse but to buy a new ticket at then-current fares.

-RM

fumje

They didn't offer an excuse, and I didn't press. Something said gave me the impression that they thought I hadn't completed the purchase, but I used the same card I always use, and the charge was already shown before calling. Perhaps even they don't know what went wrong.

cfischer

I am sure the DOT would make them honor the original fare.

transportprof

I'm trying to coordinate next year's holiday on Kauai with other family members, and have hit a stumbling block with my reservation not ticketing after more than an hour.

Could this be because of a code-share with Island Air, HNL-LIH? Or is just the usual weekend vagaries of SHARES updates?

How long do sages recommend before I should call in?
There's R space at stake.

emcampbe

A segment on a partner carrier is always subject to verification of inventory from the partner carrier. If its *A, the Alliance has a stricter measure - airlines have 24 hours to confirm, though some carriers do it pretty much immediately (AC, for example, IME). IATA rules allow for up to 72 hours.

I've never booked with Island Air, but a segment with them is very likely the reason for the delay.

transportprof

Update: It took around four hours for my reservation to ticket overnight. Whether it was due to a WP code share or the usual Friday night IT updates, we'll never know.