MattNZ

Sorry for the miscommunication, yes, there is a stop over in Canada for a week. I should have been more clear! The issue only concerns the AKL-SFO-YYC part of the trip, but I added the rest of it in case that changed things.

The ticket is:

AKL->YYC with SFO connection
stopover for 1 week
YYC->LGA with ORD connection (as you rightly say, no direct flight)
stopover for 1 week
CUN-AKL with stopover in IAH.

& a Separate ticket for LGA-CUN connecting at IAH.

If I can push for the AC flight then I think that's by far the best option

jsloan

This should eliminate any concerns about cabotage, then. So, yes, I'd ask to be put on the AC flight. Note that you will need to go through US customs and immigration at SFO. It looks like there's about a four-hour layover in that scenario, though, which should be plenty.

In fact, the way I'd ask is, "I see flight 8045 on the website; is there space available on that?" It's possible that the agent will feel more comfortable putting you on a UA-coded flight than an AC-coded flight, even if it's the very same plane.

findark

Indeed, naively citing it like it's just another United flight makes it super effective in getting agents to do it.

MattNZ

Just spoke with reservations - who had to put me through to their 'web team' as they couldn't 'see' UA8045.

After being transferred I quoted that number again and the agent told me that she could see it but as it was an AC flight (Operated by Jazz) that she could only make the change within 24hrs of departure.

Asked if there was any other way? "No sorry". She was sympathetic, but didn't budge.

jsloan

That's really disappointing. I've heard the 24-hour thing before, but never in the context of a codeshare. It usually comes up with UA cancels a flight and people ask to be re-ticketed on some random partner airline well in advance of travel. I'd suggest hanging up and calling again, although I understand that's a hassle, especially without UA status. If you do decide to call back, you might also try giving the time instead of / in addition to the flight number. "It looks like there's a 10:40 AM* flight? Do you see that one?" (Also, what's your date of travel? I'd like to check and see if there are seats available on the codeshare before I advise you to call again. ).

If the flights you want are still available in P and Z class, you could try to cite 27-3 for a refund as you originally suggested, and then rebook everything. That's also a hassle, but it should work; I've been able to price out AKL-SFO-YYC on a P fare using UA8045, so it doesn't appear to be prohibited by the fare rules. It's amazing to me that UA would rather risk offering you a refund than put you on a codeshare for the short leg.

You could also look at the schedule for SFO-DEN-YYC. Some DEN-YYC flights are on two-class planes; I'm not sure if you'd prefer an extra stop over the CRJ-200 or not.

Good luck.

* for the date I checked. I don't know if it's the same time every day.

MattNZ

Yeah I can't quite understand the logic either. You're correct, If I booked now I can grab that codeshare flight for the same price as my current routing! The date is Dec 21. It looks like AC are selling that flight under a biz saver fare, so a P class should be available. Frustrating!

Unfortunately some of the other legs on the ticket aren't available in P class now, so re-booking the whole thing would cost around $1k more, even if this leg isn't any more expensive!

These kinds of seemingly illogical problems are very frustrating... on the bright side I guess FT wouldn't be the community it is without it!

I may try my luck again and see if playing agent roulette helps

Thanks very much for your help jsloan - much appreciated!

jsloan

Yep, that's exactly what i wanted to check. If I search AKL-SFO-YYC on ExpertFlyer, one of the options is UA916 - UA8045, showing F8 A8 Z6 P6. So, there's no reason I can think of that they couldn't issue the ticket that way except their refusal to do so.

I was hoping there'd be some luck there, especially with you being on a Z fare already. Of course, things fill up over the holidays.

Happy to help, and good luck if you do decide to call again. :-) I'm surprised to see that United's local NZ 0800# isn't 24/7; they must have a local call center I suppose. You can get 24/7 access via the US# at +1-800-864-8331, which is a free call via Skype or Google Voice. I'm not sure if either approach is likely to get you a better answer, though.

(BTW, I note with sadness that the NZ number is 0800 747-400. Clever... if they weren't a month away from the final retirement of the 747 )

villox

I'm a GS flying tomorrow on a flight in which I was upgraded via an RPU. There was an aircraft swap (A320 to A319) and I am now without a seat assignment (not downgraded yet, still PN class). There are 3 people who have been upgraded (1 of them is a companion on a separate reservation who was upgraded with my RPU and still has a seat assignment).

- What can I expect in terms of downgrades? Will they simply downgrade those without a seat assignment (i.e. me), or will they prioritize the list of people who have been upgraded by status and downgrade those at the bottom?
- Is it correct to assume that if there are more paid-F than upgraders, they will downgrade the upgraders even if they don't have a seat assignment?

When the swap first occurred, I was assigned a seat but my no-status companion was left without one, so I called in to request we swap seat assignments. I did this because I figured a GS would be more likely to be taken care of at the airport.

It's a short flight, so this is more curiosity. I realize the risk I and my companion may both be left with E- middles.

findark

They "should" first solicit volunteers at the gate for a voluntary downgrade (similar to a normal oversale). After that, I believe they will downgrade the upgrades first, and then paid fares by status and fare class; however there may be special treatment for GS I don't know.

A lazy GA may just attempt to downgrade those with no seat assignment.


In any case, downgraded pax should be eligible for GG OVS DOWNGRADE.

villox

So an update as to what actually happened. To recap: companion and I (2 different PNRs), upgraded with RPUs, swap from A320 to 319 and one of us was left without a seat assignment. I put my companion into the seat and left me unassigned.

- I got to the GS lounge at EWR and explained that I didn’t have a seat. They said F was overbooked by 3.
- They were puzzled as to why a GS was booted during the downgauge. I explained that I originally had the seat but asked GS to swap us
- They said that my companion would be first on the list for a downgrade if they needed it. They also asked if I’d be willing to be downgraded but do it at the gate, where they would have a GS agent meet us to handle it.
- They called to have 2 seats together in E+ blocked in case we both decided to take the downgrade (at the time they did this there was only one pair together left and 2 other E+ middles
- At the gate the GS agent came over and explained that they could downgrade my companion and put me into the seat as original and give my companion compensation. OR, if we were both willing to take the downgrade we would get $1,000 ETC each. I suspect that one person canceled so by us both taking the downgrade we avoided them having to have a difficult conversation with someone else.
- We accepted what i thought was very generous compensation for a downgrade on a 2 hour flight.
- I didn’t hear any announcements asking for other volunteers so not sure what happened to the 3rd person, and 2 people still showed as having been upgraded

Our reservation still shows as PN class with a confirmed upgrade so hopefully will still get the RPUs back since we’re seated in Economy.

Global321

You should get the cert back.

For $1k each on a 2 hour flight, I would have even taken the middles!

In the end, I think a great deal! Congrats!

findark

I would guess there was another no-show in F. That's a very generous resolution - definitely helps to be GS in these circumstances!

jjmoore

An interesting situation may be coming into play on UA1 this Thursday (12/7) ... J is oversold by 2 at this point. With $1500 being the standard compensation for a 5000+ mile flight, I think it would be a tough sell to downgrade someone for that long of a flight for only that compensation. Does UA up the offer for J downgrades if they cannot secure someone to do it willingly, or will they just opt to involuntarily downgrade someone?

747FC

Is that $1500 plus the difference in a J fare and discount economy fare?

jsloan

It would be $1500 plus the difference between the fare you paid and whatever UA decided the economy fare was for your flight. Historically, UA has been known, on occasion, to attempt to use full-fare walk-up Y for the comparison, which often ends up in little or no fare difference. I don't know if they're still doing that or not.

Ed: I believe Kacee is correct, and it's the walk-up fare they've traditionally used, not full fare. Still, if you're the type of person who would volunteer for a downgrade voucher, or who wants to plan for the worst, it might not be a bad idea to take a screenshot of the Y offer when purchasing a J seat.