Often1

I would call UA to determine whether you got the wrong form response or whether they really think that the segment was flown. As WineCountry notes, when refared, it is entirely possible that the new fare was the same or even higher than the CYS segment.

At the same time, in order to preserve you return trip, the agent would need to have marked the cancelled segment and that might be gumming up the system.

In my experience, online refunds only work (not just on UA, but AA & DL as well) when there is a simple ticket out and back with no refaring to be done.

jsloan

Thanks. :-) That's a valid point, but in this case I don't think that's what's going on. I pulled up my record on Saudia; the full fare construction is here, but I've bolded the relevant part of the fare:

/FC AUS UA X/HOU UA MKE Q AUSMKE9.30 150.70LAA21AKN UA X/DEN UA CYS 239.07VEA21AFN /-SEA UA X/SFO UA AUS 133.02KAA14AQN USD 532.09 END ZP AUS IAH MKE DEN0 SEA SFO XT39.91US20.00ZP16.80AY16.50XF AUS4.5IAH3SEA4.5SFO4.5

I pulled up fare code VEA21AFN for a ticketing date of 2/19 and travel dates of 7/7 - 7/13 (AUS/IAH/MKE was 7/2, MKE/DEN/CYS was 7/7, SEA/SFO/AUS was 7/13). It shows a $514 fare (without surcharges) from MKE to CYS, combinable on a half-round-trip basis for an open jaw; half of $514 is $257, which is $239.07 + 7.5% tax.

Searching MKE/DEN for those dates, I see two fares in V class; VAA14AKN ($276 RT; $138 OW) and VAA07ACN ($502 RT; $251 OW). Both of them allow end-on-end combinations and open jaws on a half-round-trip basis, and I met the advance purchase requirement of either of them. So, I think the refund should be something on the order of $119 per ticket, depending upon differences in taxes and airport fees. (Here I'm operating on the assumption that I should be re-fared into V specifically, without regard to availability at the time of booking).

We'll see what United says after the DOT gets into contact with them.

Thank you for your reply. Incidentally, this is why I waited until after the flight was complete (and my miles posted :-) ) to follow up on the refund. I was really worried about getting to the check-in desk at SEA and finding out that our flight home had been cancelled.

CuseHokie

Hi all, first time poster.

My story is this... I was coming back from Hawaii last Friday afternoon (LIH>SFO). Our plane had mechanical problems on the tarmac at LIH which caused my wife and I (on our honeymoon) to miss our originally scheduled connection out of SFO back into IAD (red eye).

During check in on Thursday, I had paid (on my amex) to upgrade each of us to first class as there were two seats adjacent... and it would be another long flight overnight after our LIH>SFO.


Upon getting into SFO, we were automatically booked on a later flight that evening (last of the night) into economy. No first class was available and wouldn't be until another 24 hours... We chose to get home sooner versus waiting another day. I've formally gone through the refund process (united.com/refund) and after 3 days it still shows as "pending".

Should I be concerned? Will I get a full refund? This was totally on United as the plane from LIH>SFO lost power as we pulled away from the gate... so I should be entitled to getting my full refund.

I read online that some people call their credit card companies to dispute the charge. I feel like I should give it a few more days before going down the path...

Just looking to other experts who may have good advice and experiences in similar matters.

Thanks! Hawaii was great too.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

Give it some time (at least a week). You really don't have to dispute it until just prior your AMEX payment date for the cycle the charge is included. Disputing a charge takes some time/effort, so if UA resolves it in the meantime, that's one less hassle.

Welcome to FT!

transportprof

And do let us know if United provides you with any gesture of goodwill for the fustercluck that you experienced in getting home from LIH.

CuseHokie

Yea, I'm curious to see what happens.

They did happen to put us in an exit row with recline (row 21) at SFO... I wonder if that'll reduce my refund??? I'm almost expecting it to!

As a matter of fact, we had mechanical issues on 3 of the 4 legs of our United flights. From LAX>OGG, LIH>SFO, and a bulb was out on the wing for SFO>IAD. (We took HA from OGG>LIH).

transportprof

You will never see a refund, but you should be eligible for ETC (electronic travel credit) which can be applied against a future trip when they could do the same or worse, or maybe better, to you.

CuseHokie

Well I got an answer - they claim they are refunding me the full upgrade amount back to my credit card.

So for anyone else that's out there, looks like the process to get an answer took less than a week, and in my case, I'm being refunded in full for a first class upgrade that I paid at check-in but was unable to take advantage of due to mechanical issues / missed connection.

transportprof

Congratulations on getting your money back from UA!

The > $1 billion in quarterly profits must have opened the vault at the refund department.

jsloan

Closing the loop here: I emailed the DOT on Sunday, 7/19. A DOT representative responded via email on Monday and indicated that she would forward my complaint to United. On Friday, I received an email from United Customer Care apologizing for the error and promising to refund $97.71 per ticket, which is somewhere in the right ballpark, at least. (As WineCountryUA said, air fare pricing is weird). The refund arrived to my credit card on Sunday.

So, escalating to the DOT definitely worked, and quickly at that.

WineCountryUA

Glad you got a positive resolution and Thanks, closure really helps the next person with a similar issue.

zrs70

Dear all,

A bought a ticket two weeks ago. The ticket dropped in price by $150. I called UA to get a refund voucher, minus the $50 fee. (I believe this is for tickets purchased within a one months period?)

I called UA, and there was a computer problem. Agent told me he would authorize a full cancellation. He then helped me book the new ticket. All was well and good.

But I got an email today saying the refund was denied.

I am now cycling through the great abyss on the phone of agents who are passing me from one department to the next. After 20 minutes on hold, I get to a voice mail asking me to leave info.

I really don't want to leave this hanging, and I would like to get it resolved now. Do I need to go through the system, or is there a magic number that can help? Is this where our resident Insider can help?

Alpha Golf

Did you try 1K Voice?

transportprof

Was this ticket a high coach fare bucket? My typical purchases have a $200 change fee. Sometimes $400. And I've never heard of a fee that changes based on the duration of time after ticketing (after 24 hours, anyway).

WineCountryUA

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...miss-memo.html