TerryK

Wow! I didn't realize that VS is a UA partner now.^ You can even have TG and VS on the same award? Would that work for all *A partners? For example, can you have VS and LH on the same award?

cfischer

where do you see this? Last I heard the partnership is terminated.

TerryK

I quoted post #1.@:-) I was shocked too.

cfischer

yeah, I am sure this was an old CO ticket

VS is not a United partner.

TerryK

I got excited for nothing.

nick5000

Yes, booked at continental.com in december 2011. You could have transfered miles from UA to CO then, and booked VS (and any other *A on the same reservation). Too late now, I even can't change anything, even other flights, on this reservation (other treads about that) after the partnership ended.

AK-business-traveler

I had a flight out of BKK on TG (UA award ticket) back in November 2008. Political unrest closed the airport and hundreds of thousands of tourists were stranded.

TG took care of me then, and got me out on their very first flight once they resumed operations through an alternate military airport a couple of hours away.

I also contacted UA, and they didn't help too much at that time - they told me that they could not get me out for something like another 4 or 5 days.

I was pleasantly surprised by the good care shown by Turkish - they definitely exceeded my expectations in this case. And as a side note, it was such a relief to finally get onto that air conditioned airplane after all the uncertainty and stress of the situation - including waiting for about 5 hrs in the heat at the alternate airport, which was definitely NOT designed to handle the amount of passenger traffic that it saw during those couple of weeks. People were so wound up, overcrowded and upset that I saw two fistfights while I was waiting for the flight. No indoor bathrooms were available, though the government had brought in porta-potties (some of which seemed to be leaking, ugh). To the Thai government's credit, they did make a good effort to take care of the passengers' basic needs while we were stuck waiting - giving out food and water, providing medical support, etc. But I don't think I've ever been quite so excited to board a flight in my life - before or since!

dsquared37

You do realize that TG /= Turkish.

daniellam

Last week I was flying UA IAD-ORD-YVR on a first class award ticket (booked in "I" class) issued by AC.

The IAD-ORD flight got cancelled due to mechanical problems, and I was rebooked in "F" class IAD-ORD-YVR the following day.

Since UA caused the IRROPS, they did the rebooking.

As this was due to IRROPS, the fact that I was traveling in "I" class (award inventory) didn't matter anymore. They had to find the next flight available for me in any available booking class (in the same cabin if available). The agent at the United Club tried to rebook me into "Y" class the same day but I refused (since she thought I wanted to get to YVR as soon as possible, but I told her class of service mattered more to me), so she booked me in "F" class the next day and gave me a hotel voucher and some meal vouchers.

Note: If you are traveling in first/business class on an award ticket, and if it is important for you to be traveling in first/business class, you must be proactive and let the agent doing the rebooking know this. Otherwise, by default, they would just put on on whatever flight is next available (even if it is Y class).

A few days later when I check my AC account, the miles for my IAD-ORD-YVR flight in "F" class posted

AK-business-traveler

Ha. No. It is Thai. I did know that but was posting in a rush w/o my usual attention to detail....

solomita

My basic question is, when on a *A award ticket and multiple airlines are involved, and if I miss a connection, what rights do I have? And from which airlines do I have recourse?

My specific question is: I'm flying later this month SFO->FRA on UA/F and FRA->CAI on LH/C. It's a very tight connection, just 55 minutes. If the connection goes wrong, what is my best bet? Do I contact UA or LH? Will the staff in any of the lounges be able to help?

Also the next LH flight to CAI from FRA direct is 12 hours later. But EgyptAir (also *A) has a FRA->CAI flight. Is there any way I can get on that flight, short of paying for a same-day one-way?

Lastly, what happens to my checked bags during this whole process? Will they get to CAI on my missed flight? Do I have to claim them from FRA baggage claim? Do I have to hope that they somehow magically find their way to whatever outbound flight I do get?

Thanks so much!
-- Ethan

eefor jfp

If this is all one ticket SFO-FRA-CAI, then you will be protected in case you miss your connection. You will have to go through security and find your gate but you won't go through passport control.

If the flight is on time, definitely try to make your connection. If you get a remote stand, LH may provide assistance but don't count on it. The fact that you are in F means you should get of the plane first if you get a gate which is a help and you should have fast track security at terminal B which (from looking at the Fraport website) is where the Cairo flights leave from.

If you do miss your flight, generally the lounge agents can help with rebooking if needed and the lines are often shorter than the transit desks, though you do get priority there with a biz class ticket). But as far as getting them to put you on the EgyptAir flight, they may decide that that is up to MileagePlus in which case you'll need Skype or a good calling plan. I would certainly ask.

The Senator Lounge in B isn't too bad for waiting--you have showers, some food, a spa (where you can pay for treatments) and it's pretty spacious.

Your checked bags should be transferred to your new flight (whatever it is) but things sometimes go wrong here, so make sure you have clothes for at least a day or two in your carry-on.

andryas

Since you are connecting in FRA, maybe you will get better help if you missed your connection. I believe UA (if the flight is late) or the ticketing carrier can help you rebook.

I had bad experience connecting from ET to SA at JNB on UA award ticket, when the ET flight was 6-hour delayed due to weather. Initially, SA refuse to help since it was not their fault, and asked me to contact ET or UA (as it was a 016 ticket). Since it was late evening, and I was unable to reach ET or UA, I was stuck at the transit area for the entire night without any help. The next morning, the new SA agent basically told us the same thing, adding that the reason that they are reluctant to help was because it was a zero value ticket. Long story short, after some persuasion finally they relented and booked me on the day's flight (24-hour after my original flight).

UAPremExecflyer

Assuming you are using UA MP miles for this award travel?
If so, UA controls your ticket until your travel starts.
Then when you get to FRA, any changes/re-routes for the FRA-CAI leg are the responsibility of LH.
You have the same rights as other revenue passengers, but you will fall behind any LH elites who need to be re-accommodated.
If you miss your connection at FRA, then you're at the mercy of FRA baggage handlers and hopefully your bags join you on any later flight to CAI.

solomita

Thanks for the advice. It sounds like I need to get the help from LH most likely. If I miss my connection I'll probably head to the Welcome lounge, since I'll have some time to spare at that point, and people here have told me it's worth some effort to visit. Hopefully they can also help with ticketing, although maybe an arrivals lounge won't expect that.

I guess the one particular weird question is: if I decide to pay for the one-way same-day on EgyptAir just to make things easier as a separate ticket, what happens to my bags? I'm guessing that I just can't do this if I ever want to see them again.