82saint

I recently was ticketed on a direct flight from Newark to San Diego. Five and one-half hours before scheduled departure while I was already at my office with baggage, I got an email notifying my of a "itinerary change" to a flight two days later (thereby killing the major purpose of my trip.) Since the originally scheduled flight did take off just 35 minutes late, was I involuntarily bumped? Phone calls got into endless telephone trees and since I was at the office, I was not at liberty to spend endless time on the phone.

I don't know if this is applicable but the flight on the day before my scheduled departure was cancelled due to a crew timing out.

I never gave my OK to the change and I arrived 2 days late. Is this involuntary bumping, and how should I proceed? Thank you.

escapefromphl

It's just the automatic rebooking engine is not good to say the least. Arrive at airport on your original schedule and have them rebook you on another flight.

Germanfflyer

Did you seriously wait 2 days to go?

82saint

What other option did I have? I don't have time to spend endless hours on the phone. I would of had to leave for the airport within about an hour and a half of the itinerary change notification. I had other things scheduled before leaving for the airport. I have my original ticket (I was supposed to leave at 3:57) and my email notification (10:30 am). The one time I did get through on the phone, it was obvious that the person while pleasant would say anything.

FlyingIsCool

- Head to the airport for your original flight. I'm sure they would have addressed the issue.

- Whenever I call the Premier Line (and I'm only Platinum), I get through in under a minute and usually they are very efficient.

- You could have also tried through twitter. They have been very effective in the past too.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

From your response to this, it looks like this trip wasn't too important. Premier line answering is pretty prompt unless there are some major weather events, which there haven't been lately.

82saint

It was to go to a family wedding. Maybe not important to you. I travel about 6 times a year and do not have status. Still it was VERY important to me. Important travel doesn't just happen to people with status. Does the relative importance if a trip get to decide how poorly the airline can treat you? Now that it is over, do I have any options. I looked at Contract of Coverage and DOT site and it seems that I was involuntarily bumped and delayed WAY over 2 hours.

exerda

You should have dealt with it at the airport on the original day, or else on the phone (yes, the phone can be a time-sink, but in this case, a necessary one).

You do not have a case for it to be an IDB, as you never showed up for the original flight (had you done so, you could have likely insisted on getting on the flight, or IDB compensation). However, you just accepted the 2 day delay. That's on you; you live and learn.

You can contact UA now via phone or e-mail to try to figure out why they moved you to the other flight. Was it an equipment downgauge (e.g. an A320 swapped out to an A319, or a B757 changed to a B737)?

UnitedFlyGuy

You waited for 2 days instead of:

A) Talking to anyone at the airport
B) Calling the customer service line
C) Reaching out via Twitter


If you didn't do anything and instead just sat back and waited two days then what do you expect?

Germanfflyer

I HATE weddings too!^

Wonderful excuse!

channa

That is the reality of flying United these days.

You never know when you're going to spend 20 minutes, 30 minutes, or more on the phone. But that is quite normal, unfortunately.

82saint

All this second guessing for what I should have done and not a comment on what United did, or what I should do.

I did not go to the airport because I received the email and it is a A somewhat difficult journey from my office on the upper west side in Manhattan down to either train or plane with luggage out to the airport, with the potential of no flight and the figuring out how to get to my home in Northern anew a Jersey which is at least a $75 cab rude home, if there was no flight.

I run a small $5 million dollar company. I don't expect our patrons to make impossible decisions and be second guessed in order to deal with us. I make it as easy and transparent as possible. This is impossible for anyone who is not a full time business traveler. I certainly did what I thought was right at the time, and feel that given that information, I would proceed the same again. Why would you automatically assume that I was wrong and a United was correct.?

airplanegod

It obviously was not important. If it was, you (or anyone else for that matter including me) would not only be on the phone with them and reaching out to them on Facebook/Twitter, but I would also be rushing to the airport to see what could be done.

mherdeg

The OP is not wholly alone in this attitude. We have an acquaintance whose transatlantic flight was cancelled due to weather; he was rebooked onto a flight three days later, was left to his own devices in NYC to find his own accommodations and plans, and actually did so. He had a horrible time.

When he complained about it later, we asked whether he had ever bothered showing up to the airport to fly standby on any earlier flights to his destination, or whether he had ever checked if any earlier flights were available. He replied that it had never occurred to him that he could do such a thing and that he had no idea that an airport agent could have gotten him home sooner if he had asked.

People have no clue that counter agents at the airport have a lot of discretion and can get you to your destination if you ask assertively. There are very few cases where I can imagine a 2-day delay EWR-SAN being the best available option.

exerda

I'm a huge critic of UA and what they've become, including how they treat many customers these days and in particular during irrops. UA's rebooking system is terrible, and as for why you got bumped & rebooked at all, that's probably on UA's bad IT, or, as I suggested earlier, some equipment downgauge or other similar situation. Should UA have handled it better? Absolutely.

However, you can't just sit back and take a 2 day delay and not even attempt to do something about it and put all the onus on UA.

As to what you should do, contact UA and express your displeasure with the situation. They will likely throw some miles your way--probably a few thousand--as a token customer service gesture. Honestly, you can't expect much more out of them at this point.