emcampbe

Not specific to LH. Anytime you have a partner segment first, you can not check in through UA for UA-operated segments through any channel. I feel like you could on the pre-merger UA site but it's too far back to remember, definitely never on the site since it's been merged

You should be checked in for Your UA flight though it could. E worse, long story short, had a 1:10 CX to UA connection in HKG earlier this year, and CX claimed they had no way to check us (or the 20+ other pax in same connection) in on the onward UA flight. There was a lot of running a save by the transfer desk who checked us all in (pst the cutoff), but definitely not a situation I want to go through again.

This is correct. I believe it should show up when LH closes their flight, and when only UA segments remain, but I don't think I've ever actually had wifi on a partner flight to verify.

Starman

So if you're trying to get an UFC offer, often available only after checking in, you're just out of luck in this scenario?

Presumably LH can still print an interline bag tag to UA even if that segment is not checked in?

TomMM

This has been my experience until this week. Monday I flew CAI-FRA-IAD with CAI-FRA on LH and FRA-IAD on UA with a 16 hour overnight stopover in FRA. I checked in with LH and was only issued a BP for CAI-FRA. When I arrived in FRA the UA app indicated it was time to check in for FRA-IAD. I've had similar itineraries and have always gotten my UA BPs on initial check-in with LH. I thought maybe it was due to my origin being CAI..

Starman

OP here. Seems to work differently from everyone's experience. LH check-in agent at MXP issued both paper boarding passes with no trouble. However they did not populate the app, at least not prior to MXP departure, where I am now.

jmanirish

myself, goalie, and encampe all confirmed this is how it works.

Starman

sorry, i read those posts as stating that it would not be possible to checkin via any channel until reaching FRA. I was able to checkin at the MXP counter. Perhaps I misunderstood the predictions.

iapetus

I'm going through this right now. I'm flying GRZ-FRA, FRA-IAH, IAH-LAX. I have my GRZ-FRA BP, nothing else. And I'm wondering if this is going to affect my standing on the waitlist, as I've put in for an upgrade with an RPU, but I'm not listed now. I'm guessing it won't affect my standing, as I doubt I'll clear.

fumje

You go to the airport at T-23 to check in?

gusd

Once you scan your boarding pass for the LH flight, or sometimes once you land after the first segment, the boarding passes show up in the app.

iapetus

I guess I posted too soon. My IAH-LAX upgrade cleared sometime in the past hour or two without me doing anything. However, I still have no boarding passes in my app or anywhere else. But the fact that the waitlist shows me as having cleared gives me confidence that UA is expecting me.

emcampbe

I don't think anyone said that.

I've had trouble checking in with non-*A partners (interline, but no partnership otherwise). Folks in other thread have reported occasionally not being able to get a BP through a partner, but not necessarily not being checked in.

What I said was you can't check in through UA (any UA channel) when there is a partner segment first. You always need to check in with the airline operating your first flight. Doesn't matter what airline, alliance, etc. Some may let you check in for downline segments operated by them on the itinerary, but you would still have to check in with the operating carrier of the first segment for their flight(s).

I also said that you will not be able to get UA mobile BPs until all partner segments have been closed with you on them. That doesn't mean you can't get paper BPs from the partner - they almost always do that. UA will never give you a mobile BP when there are still partner legs on the itinerary. That is why, once you get to FRA, and only UA segments are left, you'll be able to get them on the app (and also, go into the check in module to manage that (do SDC, etc.)

I'd guess zappa is referring to be able to check in with LH website or app at T-23, and that should allow one to be sent BPs by email to print.

zappa42m

Yes sometimes I stay at the Sheraton one night bofore the flight. It's vacation for me.

Oregonflyer

This last month I had two itineraries returning to the US with the first leg on a foreign carrier (Lufthansa and ANA). In both cases I had to check in at the airport so they could examine my documents, and in both cases I was connecting to a United flight to SFO and then to a domestic flight, for which I wanted a United mobile boarding pass which is (a) convenient and (b) gives me precheck. In both cases, I could not check in on the United app and the BPs did not show there after checking into all flights with the foreign carrier.

The first time, I called the 1K desk and the CSR said she knew a trick, which she explained as re-arranging the reservation so the Lufthansa flight was last. That worked! The second time, I called the 1K desk three times and none of the CSRs know what to do, even after I explained what their colleague had done. Finally, someone at 1K Web support managed to "separate" the reservation and check me into the United segments, which magically appeared in the app.

It would help to have clear, step-by-step instructions to give to CSRs when this happens. Does anyone know exactly what to suggest they try? It is annoying to have to HUCA multiple times before finding someone who knows the system well enough to make BPs appear in the United system, and although it is possible to get he United BPs at a transfer desk or in a UC, sometimes time is short and it would be nice to just get the BP on my phone and avoid any hassles.

PS ... if this has been covered before, please point me there. Thanks!!!

WineCountryUA

This is standard.
You should checkin with the first carrier. UA BP will appear on the app, after you taken the flights prior to the UA flight.

My guess if you had done nothing, everything would have been fine. Worked fine for me just a few weeks ago.

As for the agent's trick, never have heard of it and it wasn't necessary,

warrenw

The foreign carrier should print an UA boarding pass for you, which should get you through, but for precheck you can always reprint the pass once you get to SFO.