creampiggy

Hi, I am going to do my first MR in 2 weeks. I have a question and would appreciate any opinions.

On my return leg (CGK-NRT-LAX-EWR-SNA), I will arrive at LAX at 11:30 am on Monday. It turned out that I will have some obligation in LA that I cannot skip Tuesday morning. Moreover, the connection LAX-EWR is only 70 minutes, so due to immigration, I could easily "misconnect" if I want.

I would hope to either skip the last two legs but STILL get the miles, or have the agent book me on LAX-EWR-SNA leaving on Tuesday afternoon or, even better, evening.

BTW, I will be Gold with UA before these flights.

So what are my options and how should I proceed in the following situations?

1. If the plane does arriving at LAX late and it's UA's fault that I misconnect;

2. If the plane arrive on time, but I manage to "misconnect"?

WineCountryUA

not going to happen unless INVOL irrops
there will be a change fee and fare change unless you can do a SDC (unlikely given your itin).
same likely outcome -- next available reroute LXA-SNA. If UA fault, you might be able to get ORC but only if the agent marks the reroute as INVOL

jmanirish

Two points of experience that might help you.

1. I have successfully SDC'd such that that a layover at BBB on an AAA-BBB-CCC itinerary turned into a stopover (however did not involve an international itinerary). The problem I see here is assuming the app gives you the option, I find it highly unlikely that LAX-EWR-SNA would be an option. It'll probably offer up much more direct routings. It's doubtful any agent would help you with this (at least IME, the agents wont let you turn a layover into a stopover with SDC).

2. I flew YEG-ORD-LAX this year and YEG-ORD was delayed (wasn't going to even missconnect because my connection time in ORD was already booked much longer than I wanted). The app let me change my ORD-LAX for 2 days in advance with no fees or fare difference.
But again, it's doubtful the app will give you that MR routing. I'd say if you missconnect you have a decent shot getting an agent to help you.

chicaloca453

Actually I'd use the SDC to create an even better routing. Once you land in LA try SDC for the latest possible change regardless of routinb because you will need to do it again the next day anyway. Then when you are ready to travel try to get your best routing. OP is not clear if EWR was a destination in the original ticket. If so, it seems to me that he'd have to be able to get there. In that case why not SDC via IAH for more miles? If the ticket is priced as a through fare, things might not be so simple of course. Before I "misconnected" I'd check SDC options to see what pops up. Worst case is no options are given and you have to decide if whatever LA obligation you have is worth losing the miles. Best case is you manage to use SDC to your benefit.

creampiggy

Thanks for all the replies. It is really helpful!

Now for more details:

1. There is one more possible option for me, that is to skip the second half of the obligation in LA, so that I can use a connection in LA for around 22 to 24 hours, if I can get such a connection via SDC of course. Is a connection for around 22 to 24 hours much easier to get than a stopover for over a day?

2. When I experiment with change flights, I do see that CGK-NRT-LAX-EWR and EWR-SNA are grouped separately, i.e., I can choose to change flight for either CGK-NRT-LAX-EWR or EWR-SNA without changing the other. Does it make it easier to SDC?

Thanks again in advance for further inputs!

Often1

If the UA inbound is ontime or early, OP won't have misconnected due to late delivery by UA. His rebook, if any, is purely a courtesy by UA and will likely be on the next available routing to his destination.

Matching SDC rules may be a mess this late in the game.

creampiggy

Problem solved!

I called United and someone from India changed my flight with all the fees waived!

I will now fly LAX-EWR on Tue. evening and EWR-SNA on Wed.

Thanks for everyone who left remarks!