ctbarron

I need some expert help.

I was on UA 914 CDG-IAD today, 8/22/2014. This was the return leg on an award ticket. The flight was cancelled due to mechanical. During the 5 hours it took UA to cancel, I went ahead and booked a backup, meaning second, award ticket on UA 914 CDG-IAD tomorrow, 8/23/2014.

UA then scheduled UA 2087 CDG-IAD for 8/23/2014 as a replacement and apparently put me on it, despite me telling them otherwise (bit of a language barrier on my end).

So, I now have the original, rescheduled reservation (flight 2087) AND the new one I made on flight 914. I did not discover this until I left CDG unfortunately - I thought it was clear, but whatever.

Is this a major problem, having two reservations leaving on hour apart on the same routing? Will UA notice and cancel both? I am apparently checked in on both. Can I just cancel one online, or do I need to call?

Any advice appreciated!

aacharya

Cancel the one you made.

PV_Premier

just cancel the new award rezzy on 914 tomorrow. if you fear you cannot do it without a free redeposit, call UA to work it out. IME, it's usually better to let the system work things out in these cases rather than try to jump the gun and book a separate reservation for one's self. or at least if you are booking it for yourself, know the caveats of what you are doing.

Bonehead

I've done the exact same thing as the OP when rebooking availability is limited or I'm at risk of an overnight. With flights so full these days it's better to shoot first and ask questions later in many cases. The fact that UA allows such overlapping bookings is a major advantage versus some other airlines...try that trick on AA, for example.

ctbarron

Thanks for the replies. Better to cancel #2 now or can I wait and try to "read the tea leaves" on possible issues in the AM and then cancel?

I also appreciate the process thoughts for the future. I only travel internationally a couple times a year and it didn't even occur to me they would have a second flight.

Often1

Just cancel the new reservation. If there are fees and the like, you can sort those out after the fact. Do not leave "impossible" reservations standing as the system will sometimes auto-cancel one or both. Given the flight cancellation from today, it may be hard to get yourself reinstated if both are cancelled.

exerda

With loads high and little margin for absorbing issues in the system right now, though, often it's necessary to be very proactive instead of letting the computers do the work. The auto-rebooking usually is significantly worse IME than what I can find on my own.


Agree on the sentiment; however, the UA systems can and do still cancel overlapping/impossible bookings (though with unpredictable aggresiveness...).


So long as you cancel within 24 hours (if you face a redeposit fee), you're fine, aside from any potential issues with the system cancelling one as "impossible." If you're Plat or above, just cancel before departure.

Replacement sections are IME uncommon, but possible. I've had a couple on international flights that went MX myself.


Yes, the system may indeed cancel one or both if it catches the bookings...

Bonehead

I don't let such reservations stick around very long; it's usually in response to a mechanical/weather delay of unknown length; as soon as it's resolved I cancel one or the other.

PV_Premier

agreed, i'm not saying don't do it, i'm saying -- know what you might end up with (eg, a case exactly like the OP has). without any status it's harder to cancel a backup award reservation for free. can be done, but have to know which strings to pull.

i had something like this at ORD a few months ago. i misconnected to LGA so on the plane while we taxied in, i saw a flight to EWR leaving in 30 minutes that was XN1/Y9. i grabbed it for 12.5K, then went to the gate and asked to be accommodated on the same flight in my revenue fare class. as the agent was working on that, i canceled the award seat so as not to set off flags for holding two seats on the same plane. it was a nice insurance policy to know i had a seat available even if the agent wanted to be a jackalope about putting me on the plane as a distressed revenue pax.