Stranded in Singapore due to OZ Irrops on UA Award ticket
Mar 11, 2016, 11:42 am
#31
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
OP - Have you tried calling OZ and simply saying, "help, I've been stranded by your contracted ground staff and nobody will help me. Will you help me get to ADL?"
If that doesn't work, try UA again. UA has no responsibility to you. But, if you can prevail on a UA agent to do a three-way call with OZ, you may get some action.
If that doesn't work, try UA again. UA has no responsibility to you. But, if you can prevail on a UA agent to do a three-way call with OZ, you may get some action.
Mar 11, 2016, 12:58 pm
#32
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Programs: OWEmerald; STARGold; BonvoyPlat; IHGPlat/Amb; HiltonGold; A|ClubPat; AirMilesPlat
Posts: 38,186
Exactly. At this point UA is merely the travel agency that booked the flights and the airline that issued the ticket. STAR tickets are endorse able among member airlines and doesn't matter whose stock they were issued on. As noted, IATA rules denote the responsible airline (OZ) but there is a responsibility of the onward airline to protect you on the next available routing/flight. OZ should have advised SQ of the misconnection and SQ should have proactively rebooked you even if this required a revenue seat to be released. UA/MP was only an intermediary in all this.
As for credit card insurance, not all cover awards unless the miles used were earned with that card so delay/trip interruption may not be available to the OP.
As for credit card insurance, not all cover awards unless the miles used were earned with that card so delay/trip interruption may not be available to the OP.
Mar 11, 2016, 8:36 pm
#34
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 4,645
Here's another take-away that I got from this tale. When transiting a faraway airport late at night, try to ensure that both flights of your connection are on the carrier based at that airport.
A few years ago (when SQ was still ticketing Mileage Plus awards on-line), I was looking at an ICN-SIN-BNE trip. The first itinerary that showed up was OZ to SIN, connecting to SQ to BNE. Buried a bit farther down the page was SQ to SQ flight connection.
I opted for the SQ to SQ connection because I prefer the in-flight entertainment on SQ (and the lobster thermidor). Same number of miles.
Now I'd add the advantage that in the event of a missed connection, I'd be on the same carrier and not as likely to be dumped into the limbo of running back and forth between the two operating carriers and the ticketing carrier due to buck passing. @:-)
A few years ago (when SQ was still ticketing Mileage Plus awards on-line), I was looking at an ICN-SIN-BNE trip. The first itinerary that showed up was OZ to SIN, connecting to SQ to BNE. Buried a bit farther down the page was SQ to SQ flight connection.
I opted for the SQ to SQ connection because I prefer the in-flight entertainment on SQ (and the lobster thermidor). Same number of miles.
Now I'd add the advantage that in the event of a missed connection, I'd be on the same carrier and not as likely to be dumped into the limbo of running back and forth between the two operating carriers and the ticketing carrier due to buck passing. @:-)
Mar 15, 2016, 12:36 am
#35
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 22
OP - Have you tried calling OZ and simply saying, "help, I've been stranded by your contracted ground staff and nobody will help me. Will you help me get to ADL?"
If that doesn't work, try UA again. UA has no responsibility to you. But, if you can prevail on a UA agent to do a three-way call with OZ, you may get some action.
If that doesn't work, try UA again. UA has no responsibility to you. But, if you can prevail on a UA agent to do a three-way call with OZ, you may get some action.
But, a three-way call with OZ would probably be the best idea - that way I would have been routed to ADL. Note to self - carry all weird adapters for transfer airports.
Mar 15, 2016, 2:30 am
#36
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: MRY - CNX - TXL
Programs: UA 1K / *G / Marriott PE / Expedia Gold+ / Hertz PC
Posts: 7,058
Calling OZ would be a good idea, but I imagine all their offices were closed at around 3am in Seoul. The only OZ that would be open at that time would be OZ in US, so it may have been a good idea to cal them. I was so squeezed on time that I did not think about doing this. Also, I had a dying phone on me, did not have the weird SIN adapter and only had 1 hr or so of the battery life. At 2am there were no shops open to buy an adapter. So, I had to place my bet carefully and in retrospect UA was probably the better bet.
But, a three-way call with OZ would probably be the best idea - that way I would have been routed to ADL. Note to self - carry all weird adapters for transfer airports.
But, a three-way call with OZ would probably be the best idea - that way I would have been routed to ADL. Note to self - carry all weird adapters for transfer airports.
Mar 17, 2016, 8:04 am
#37
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 654
Calling OZ would be a good idea, but I imagine all their offices were closed at around 3am in Seoul. The only OZ that would be open at that time would be OZ in US, so it may have been a good idea to cal them. I was so squeezed on time that I did not think about doing this. Also, I had a dying phone on me, did not have the weird SIN adapter and only had 1 hr or so of the battery life. At 2am there were no shops open to buy an adapter. So, I had to place my bet carefully and in retrospect UA was probably the better bet.
But, a three-way call with OZ would probably be the best idea - that way I would have been routed to ADL. Note to self - carry all weird adapters for transfer airports.
But, a three-way call with OZ would probably be the best idea - that way I would have been routed to ADL. Note to self - carry all weird adapters for transfer airports.
There are free charging points, some with USB I believe around the place, they are situated between the seats on way to gates. Hope you receive the compensation you deserve here because you've been truly screwed over by OZ here.
Last edited by Mlee888; Mar 22, 2016 at 12:35 am
Apr 13, 2016, 6:49 pm
#38
Join Date: May 2014
Location: CMH, HNL
Programs: UA, HA
Posts: 583
Do you IRROPs-Award ninjas/FT evangelists* ever quote chapter & verse to service agents in these situations? Does it seem to help? I have a hard time imagining some of you lot getting stymied in this situation, but I'm not sure the moves you use.
*Yep, know they're not necessarily the same
*Yep, know they're not necessarily the same
Apr 13, 2016, 7:12 pm
#39
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Jersey Shore/YYZ
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, Hertz PC
Posts: 12,521
It depends on the country, native language, and situation - as these help determine what will or won't work. I've found it worked best in EU, though in KTM once, I did get $100 pp for delayed bags via TK. That was really interesting - as they'd never actually done it before, and had to get petty cash (in Nepali rupees) to pay out.
Apr 15, 2016, 8:35 pm
#40
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 32,201
Do you IRROPs-Award ninjas/FT evangelists* ever quote chapter & verse to service agents in these situations? Does it seem to help? I have a hard time imagining some of you lot getting stymied in this situation, but I'm not sure the moves you use.
*Yep, know they're not necessarily the same
*Yep, know they're not necessarily the same
Usually not too much pushback from there onwards but sometime I have to pay for things myself and then send in the bills. So far they have all been paid in full ... someone at UA knows what they are supposed to do and when the goof.