misterfuss

Am I asking too much to get rebooked on a decent connection AND get seats assigned after an unacceptable schedule change?

I booked a standard award for my spouse during Thanksgiving SFO-CLE non-stop round trip. Unfortunately, the return flight went from being super early at 7am to ungodly early at 5:43am. So, I logged onto the United website to research alternatives before calling the Premier desk since my spouse is a Gold.

I was immediately offered a connection via ORD, but I countered with a first choice of a connection via DEN since I think DEN can handle IRROPS better than ORD (IMHO.) I was then offered my preferred CLE-DEN flight but a 2.5 hour connection to the DEN-SFO flight. I again countered with my preferred connection which was a 1.5 hour connection. The agent said she didn't see that connection at which point I said that it's showing available on united.com. She then "found" that connection.

After booking the requested flights, she advised that the changes were done. I asked her if she confirmed him in E+ window seats while I did a refresh on the united.com Manage Reservations. There were no seats currently requested. The agent then said "Let me see what we seats we assigned him. Yes, he has seat #, and seat #, E+ windows." I did a refresh again and saw these seats.

My frustration stems from having to "steer" the agent to a decent flight connection but also that she didn't "finish" the reservation by requesting seat assignments until I asked about them.

Two Bee

(Bolding mine - above)

You did very good finding and getting your flights changed.

My opinion --- I never let res assign my seats, as it only take about a min to do it myself, after the changes have been made.

Have fun on your trip!^

Flying Machine

Sounds to me you knew exactly what you wanted and could of selected seats yourself. How is 1 hour 17 minutes un godly? I think the agent handled it well..

Yunnnn

I have a one-way flight BOS-DEN-ANC in late January 2018 that was rescheduled very slightly, by like 29 minutes. UA emailed and asked me to approve the change or call the reservations team.

While this usually isn't a huge deal given that its only 30 minutes, truth be told, I did actually book the wrong date and would actually have preferred to fly in early January instead. What are the chances that they'll let me reschedule without a fee?

N104UA

I don't think it would hurt to call and ask but don't be surprised if they say no, for changing by a few weeks they might not allow it.

goodeats21

Before you call, take a look at what the preferred flight would cost now to purchase. If they will not re-schedule the date as part of the schedule change, you may be able to get a refund instead.

If the preferred dates are the same price, it might be an option worth looking at.

But with only a 30 minute change, not sure they will offer a refund either.

RNE

Call and try. I was able to get a fee-free rescheduling when there was a change notification but no actual change. I suspect it was a change and then a change back to the original. But the reservation remained flagged as having been changed. The rep went along with my request.

Yunnnn

Yeah, I called in; they were fine with +/- 1 week but 2 weeks was a no-no

Joepirate

Hi,
I just got manhandled by United airlines customer service, imagine that. I have a question. If there is a flight time change (regardless of how long the change is) are they required to offer a credit or refund for that flight? I was just chuckled at by a rep. I got mad and ended that conversation. After I hung up I decided to call back later to get an explanation. When I asked for a manager I was bluntly told "No" with no explanation. He was not friendly at all and told me the fare was not refundable. When I asked "Even if I have to cancel due to a flight time change" he didn't even reply. The best part is that I paid for the trip with a voucher I received due to...wait for it...bad customer service. Now I am just out nearly $300, no explanation.
I use to be Platinum yearly with UAL, but due to flying on other airlines that offered up their status match, I am now only gold on UAL. I will pick up another status match with SWA for local flights and I am considering not flying UAL at all after that last transaction, but I still have over 600k miles to burn through. The overall question is, if you have to hit the "accept flight change" button does it ( should it) matter if it is for 10 minutes or 2 hours) If not then why the legal disclaimer???

wrp96

In general, it depends on the airline's contract of carriage. Most will offer the ability for a full refund if it is a significant schedule change, or if the change creates an illegal connection. So basically a 6 hour difference in arrival times, yes you should expect to be able to cancel and get a full refund. A 15 minute delay? No chance of a refund. Generally you start seeing refunds in the 1.5 to 2 hour range, but it depends on the airline and the general circumstances.

chgoeditor

Since this is a United specific question, I'll move this to that forum.

chgoeditor
co-moderator, Info Desk

Often1

OP - Why call and get in a fight when you entered a contract with UA and could simply have looked at the contract. It took 30 seconds to find the provision and it is copied & pasted at the end of the email.

If the schedule change is 30+ minutes at origin or destination and you do not elect a reroute or a credit, you may request a full refund to your original form of payment.

Sounds as though the first agent flagged your PNR notes with something nasty, so don't expect this or future dealings to be quite so friendly.


Schedule Change- When a Passenger’s Ticketed flight is affected because of a Schedule Change that modifies the original departure and/or arrival time by 30 minutes or more, UA will, at its election, arrange one of the following:
Provided that the dates of departure and arrival must be within 7 days of the originally scheduled dates of departure and arrival, respectively, transport the Passenger on its own flights, subject to availability, to the Destination, next Stopover point, or transfer point shown on its portion of the Ticket, without Stopover in the same class of service, at no additional cost to the Passenger;
When a Schedule Change results in the cancellation of all UA service between two cities, at UA’s sole discretion, UA may reroute Passengers over the lines of one or more carriers in an equivalent class of service;
Advise the Passenger that the value of his or her Ticket may be applied toward future travel on United within one year from the date of issue without a change or reissue fee; or
If the Passenger is not transported as provided in C) 1) or 2) above and does not choose to apply the value of his or her Ticket toward future travel as provided in C) 3) above, the Passenger will be eligible for a refund upon request. See Rule 27 A).

findark

Huh. I could have sworn it was 2 hours for a refund; did that change recently?

WineCountryUA

Welcome to FT!, Joepirate

The agent was merely following the contract you agreed to on booking -- no manhandling. The duration of the schedule change does matter..

As UA states
30 minutes to 2 hours is just a no fee change, no refund mentioned (except in the cancellation case). Refunds on > 2 hours. Sometimes an agent will provide a refund in a less than 2 hour case but that is discretionary.

RNE

With all due respect to those whose opinions differ from mine, any change at all can be leveraged to get a full refund. I've done it for minuscule changes more than once. Be polite and honest, but insistent that the change doesn't work for you based on your schedule. Insist on a refund. Talk to a supervisor if necessary.

RNE, reminding you that your daily schedule is just as important as United's. If they see some terrible urgency for their plane to depart a mere 15 minutes different from the planned time, your urgency that it does not is equally valid. Insist on the refund. HUCA if necessary.