sgt20

Newbie here. Trying to figure out how to post on the forum. I want to start a new thread, but can't figure out how!

The question is about tickets I booked on UA a few weeks ago. Thanks!

elsenor

Thank you for that. I merely put "ORD to Asia" to show it was more than just 1 route (or 1 particular airline), but your guess was 100% correct, they were not on UA metal.

Smiley90

feel free to just post the question here!

CherylD

I found a business class award that I would like to book - but it originates in a different city from my home airport and also is on a partner airline. How do I add the positioning flight? Do I have to book it first and then call? Or call to book and pay a phone booking fee? Or is it not possible?

I'm familiar with how to do it on AA as you can hold awards...but UA awards can't be held from what I can see.

Thank you!!

findark

Do you have a positioning flight ready? Can you just see and book the whole itinerary online?

If the answers to the questions are 'yes' and 'no', then your best bet is probably to book the long-haul segment and immediately call to change. This should avoid the phone booking fee, but you will have to wrestle with the fact that most agents have a "new system" where they can only price brand new awards, and will only see what you see on the website. More accommodating agents will be able to piece together an award for you, but you should expect a fight ever since the October changes.

CherylD

Thank you! If I search from my home airport - no availability shows. So, I should see if there is an award flight available between home airport and where this itinerary departs from? Then if - yes, book the itinerary I found and hope they can add the positioning flight? It sounds like they may not be able to do this with the changes...is that correct?

findark

Correct. To use an example, maybe you see a saver Business award SFO-ZRH, but no saver options at all on ACV-ZRH. You would then do a search ACV-SFO to see what shows up. If you see a saver option (any cabin) on ACV-SFO, you "should" be able to book ACV-SFO-ZRH on one ticket, and indeed prior to the new system you could just book multi-city and it would post-fix the itinerary to the correct price. In this case, you would have to book one of the segments (usually the long one) to lock it down, and then call within 24 hours to change and add the segment. Again, with the old system this used to be trivial and with the "new" system agents may struggle to do this. General reports are that with patience and HUCA you can succeed.

If, instead, there are no saver options at all ACV-SFO then you are stuck right now. Depending on your tolerances, you can book SFO-ZRH today and pay a change fee to add ACV-SFO if it becomes available at a later date. You could wait to see if an award opens up on ACV-SFO. Or, you could just book a separate paid ticket to position.

CherylD

Thank you for the thorough explanation! I will look and see - but my main goal was to be protected in case my positioning flight(if booked separately) was delayed for some reason. I would of course, allow for a lot of time - but you just never know....
And - why not use same amount of miles for entire trip! :-)

Just checked - no Saver space in econ or business...that's why it wouldn't show up.

sgt20

I am new to the forum and to travel hacking. Please be kind.

I saved $500 by booking two separate tickets -- Ticket A: LEX-EWR; Ticket B: EWR-ZRH-DXB (roundtrip). Both tickets were booked separately on United.com. Ticket B is completely operated by Swiss airways but ticketed as codeshare (i.e. all UA flight numbers).

The layover between tickets A and B is just about 3.5 hours, but the LEX-EWR flight is notorious for being delayed or cancelled (0 out of 5 stars on flightaware), especially during the winter, when I will travel.

If it matters, I used a $100 voucher on Ticket A to reduce the out of pocket cost. I wasn't allowed to use it on Ticket A+B because it was non-UA-operated international flight.

I had the choice to book for the same price via Swiss, but I chose United.com, even though I would only get half the award miles. I called United and had them "link" the tickets (which is nothing more than notes in the system, I understand). I was told that if I check in on time for the first flight, I should be okay, that they will make sure I will reach my destination. So I did not cancel it within the first 24 hours. Now, I am doubting myself and could use the expertise of the FT community.

The question is: Am I out of luck with Ticket B in case of IRROPS/getting involuntarily bumped or will UA re-route me to reach my destination?

Thanks much!
Sgt

sfo789

Technically, yes. The "link" is meaningless, and there's no obligation for UA or LX to help you if your LEX-EWR delays. In practice, I'd be shocked if UA doesn't help you at EWR.

If LEX-EWR posts a delay, you can call in and try to get EWR-DXB preemptively moved; certainly, if you miss EWR-DXB due to late LEX-EWR, most gate agents will help get it fixed up. That said, (1) bear in mind there is no requirement for them to do so; (2) if LEX-EWR gets flat-out cancelled you might be in real trouble; and (3) since I think EWR-ZRH is a 10pm flight, there likely won't be other good options for you to get on that night (i.e. prepare to overnight). So I would be cautious.

Since the flight is a long way out, look out for schedule changes on LEX-EWR, and use them to increase the layover you have at EWR.

AshleyRD

I will be traveling soon with a companion and we had a change in schedule that requires us to stay a few hours longer which means we could possibly be late for our flight home.

I looked into changing our flight home to the next one, but it would cost $360 each. If we try to make our original flight but show up 30 mins after our flight leaves, how much would it cost to get the next flight. We just want to get home with the least fees. Any suggestions on how best to handle this?

Thank you!

sgt20

Thanks sfo

sfo789

What's the ticket arrangement? If your two flights are on the same ticket/reservation, the airline that delivers you late to the connecting airport is obligated to rebook you on the second leg. If the tickets are separate, as per two messages above this, you might run into issues. What's the exact routing, when, and through which airport on which airlines?

WineCountryUA

Welcome to FT!, AshleyRD
Showing up late is risky, there is no guarantee the airline will still honor the tickets (there is a common practice -- called the flat tire rule {no longer a real rule}) that the airline will attempt to accommodate you -- but you will be their last priority and next flight availability will be iffy)
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...si-elites.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ht-policy.html

A better (and cheaper than standard change fee) solution is Same Day Change which allows confirmed changes to an available flight within 24 hours of your original flight. Fee will be $75 per traveler, see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...7-forward.html. Availability has a number rules, so investigate the thread's wiki for the details.

aacharya

Actually, if on the same ticket, and the schedule change is that much, it should be free to change.