Aussienarelle

Done this many times, and as others have noted it depends on the airport whether you can make the connection airside. So it would help if you told us which airport.

On a side note, you said to assume you did not have luggage, but I did this with luggage last month where I flew SAN-LAX-LHR on UA then LHR-WAW-KRA on LO. Two separate PNRs and the agent checking me in SAN was able to check my luggage all the way through to KRA. As I had a long layover in LHR (these days allow for UA delays) I asked the GA at LHR for the LO flight to confirm the bag was on the plane - they checked and confirmed it had been loaded. [Note UA and LO are both part of *A.]

EmailKid

Many reports of this being a lot harder if not impossible on UA to UA. Many reports of this being done UA to *A.

Exleftseat

Well, here I am again. I am looking for an award ticket HKG-LAX and find there are eight pages to look through. The first page ( I have set it to display 25 results ) gives me about 20 options in Biz, from then on the Biz Saver shows "not available". My question is this : Do I go through the next seven pages, hoping that another Biz Saver pops up or is the point on page one where it shows "not available" the end and further search will be fruitless? Could save myself lots of time.

jsloan

Click on the "Business Saver" column header and it will sort by that column, so all of the flights with available space will be grouped together.

Exleftseat

That was fast and to the point. Much obliged. So that's what I did, clicked on "Business Saver". Now the arrow points down. Interestingly enough it added one more flight option ( 21 out of 25 on the first page ). That would indicate there was an additional choice hidden somewhere in the 7 pages? Thanks
for giving me some good news despite it being another gloomy day here in Japan.

jsloan

Happy to help. And, yes, that's exactly what it means. UA's default sort seems to be some kind of desirability score -- it's some kind of combination metric of price, duration, and schedule. So there was one flight where Business Saver was available but UA's algorithm didn't like it (too many stops, too far out of the way, etc).

The sad thing is, there could be any number of other awards available, but they may never be returned by United's search engine. The 200 result cap is a hard limit that gets applied before most sorting / filters. So, results #201-210 could all have Business Saver awards and there's no reliable way to find them. So, I'll keep my fingers crossed that one of those 21 works for you. :-)

Exleftseat

The odds have improved, more choices are always better. Domo arigato and thanks a million for your help. Sincerely appreciate it.

eng3

Thanks for the quick responses. I'm flying EWR-SFO-FRA then LHR-SFO-EWR. Yes its a long way and I have to use up RPUs but I wanted to fly the 747 one last time. I'm short on PQM this year anyways. I had to book separate PNRs, otherwise the price would be ridiculous.

I know I can connect airside and dont have to go thru security. I recall one flight maybe 10yrs ago (on AS if I recall) where they scanned my BP and I was half way down the ramp when they called me back telling me I had to go back to security (and I better run because they weren't going to wait for me). That time was very specific though because I had SSSS but it wasnt on my web print BP, only the new one they printed for me at the gate. I wasn't sure if there was anything special for intl flights these days.

Speaking of luggage, a UA agent and UAInsider assured me they'd be able to check it thru. However, for an intl trip, its more important my bag makes it there and if I recall, the less time I spend in FRA the better. I may try this on the return to make re-checking easier. We'll see.

I assume I'll be able to print a BP for my intl flight when I checkin at EWR in the even OLCI fails me? UAInsider also told me that he'd note in my PNR's the linkage between my flights so that the GA would know in the event of IRROPS. I havent seen UAInsider for a month so I guess I'll have to try my luck with customer service or approach an agent in EWR.

jsloan

Yes, that shouldn't be an issue. Given that you're checking luggage, you're going to arrive early, as linking UA PNRs for checking luggage through is apparently an arduous task. Printing BPs for both segments, OTOH, is simply a matter of going into both records and checking you in.

In the event that the GA tells you "just print your boarding pass when you get to SFO" (aka "I don't want to take another 30 seconds to help you," the kiosks can check you in for any PNR that departs in the next 24 hours, whether it leaves from the local airport or not. You could also use one at a customer service desk past security if you needed to.

Motorskills

So..... I live in Houston, I am travelling from there to Indy for a games convention, and then I am booked outbound from Indy to Managua in Nicaragua for a few days' work before returning to Houston


So my itinerary is

IAH - IND

IND - IAH - MGA

MGA - IAH

So the thing is I have arrange a day-long connect in the middle portion, and I would like
a) to go home for a few hours
b) to offload all my gaming luggage at home

But since I am booked on an international itinerary, I am not sure what is possible / legal in this case?

If I can't check my bags to Houston, can I make use of United's baggage delivery service to have my bags delivered from IND to my home near IAH?

mahasamatman

If you have a 24-hour connection, you can most definitely pick up your bags and leave the airport. In fact, you will probably have to do that.

Motorskills

My connection is only 6 hours. Enough to get home and back, but not an overnight.

mahasamatman

I wouldn't call that a "day-long connect", but you might still have luck short-checking. The IND agents are generally pretty understanding about Gencon.

JoeBagodonuts

Can you change your seat assignment without checking when departure is less than 24 hours away?

Wooglin

Not on your own- Once at T-24, UA website and app only allow seat changes via the online check-in process.

Just out of curiosity, why do you ask?