gene2632

Last October I booked two tickets in F, EWR to YVR one way. Had to do separate PRNs because I was booking with credit from an old flight we had to cancel due to a death in the family. All new routing but I found a good deal going EWR-SFO-YVR with about a 2 hour connection in SFO. At the time I booked the only non-stop offered was on AC and the price was high so I opted for the connection. The other day doing routine checks I saw that the connect time has gone to over 4 hours at SFO and UA now has two daily non-stops from EWR to YVR so I called the Premier line and with in 15 minutes it was all fixed, including fixing the PRN on wife's res because they had put in wrong when they linked them...It was kind of nice to get some quick and easy help for a change. Moral to the story, always check your reservations for changes and you don't like the change, make that call and be nice.

goodeats21

Agree. I have a special sub-folder for my emails where I park all the confirmations from United. I have to look there to figure out the original schedules each time.

channa

I wish they marked the itin as Schedule Change in the itin list, like the old UA did.

That way you could see what's impacted without having to click each reservation.

mahasamatman

Even if they did, I wouldn't trust it. I keep my own records so I know exactly what's happening.

RNE

There are two things that make FlyerTalk great. One is spreading the word about lesser-known boons to customers like this. The other is me.

channa

On high frequency domestic itineraries, sure.

But in small markets with limited service, or larger markets with 1 or 2 flights a day, a schedule change can ruin an entire trip.

I've had Caribbean tickets completely destroyed by schedule changes, where there were no single-day options to fly without a forced overnight somewhere. Sure, I could probably get UA to pay for the hotel in that circumstance, but if I don't have the time, it doesn't matter.

Sometimes your choices are: 1) take an extra vacation day and spend the night in some dumpy EWR hotel (if you can get the extra day off); OR 2) refund it and buy a ticket on AA for whatever they're asking; OR 3) refund it and cancel the trip, hoping you don't lose much on hotel.

Or sometimes they'll change the days of the week they serve a destination, so your Friday flight is now a Saturday flight. If you don't like that, you can go Thursday.

Those are the nasty ones. Not your run of the mill domestic flight between major cities.

EnvoyBoy

Check your April flights. Just found two schedule changes. Both were totally screwy (almost five hour connection in ORD), with much better options. Thankfully I was able to get moved into those better flights but would be nice if UA would have done so in the first place. As Global Services, a little frustrating they'd re-route me to arrive over three hours late (and after midnight), with a 5 hour connection at ORD.

So important to stay on top of all your rez and your seat assignments.

goodeats21

Just checked itineraries again and the same red schedule change message appeared again even thought I accepted the changes yesterday.

Is it groundhog day?

goalie

I've had that happen if there was a cert used in the purchase process and I had to call in to get it cleared. If that's the case with your schedule change, call in and speak to an agent to accept it

mahasamatman

Never trust anything you see or do on united.com on the weekend.

goodeats21

No cert used for purchase. Simple one way trip to LAX in business on a 3 cabin 777. I did apply an RPU to move up to First, which is wait listed.

Not a big deal. Will check it again tomorrow. Just funny to me all the blips with United's system.

transportprof

Why limit this good advice to only the weekend?

mahasamatman

Personal experience. I find reliability on weekdays to be around 80-90%, dropping to 20-30% on weekends.

transportprof

Me too. But it's the 90% reliability that one needs to be even more vigilant about. When there is only a 10% error rate, the problems can slip through if one lets one's guard down during weekday booking (and other) transactions.

I apply the Reagan Doctrine to all my dealings with United, namely: "Trust, but verify."

RNE

Winner of the coveted RNE's Pick for Post of the Week!

RNE, congratulating you.