joe_miami

If this is the case, a CSR who isn't sleep-walking through the change is probably going to wonder why two additional segments would be needed/preferred.

As with everything these days, calling back might yield the result you want, but good luck selling a CSR on the need for this change.

Does the proposed change get you to SFO earlier or at the same time? If it got you to SFO earlier before the overnight, at least you could try to use that as the excuse.

cagcag

New itinerary arrival in SFO before overnight would be earlier.

joe_miami

Are the additional segments required to get you to SFO earlier? Given that we're talking about EWR or IAD and SFO, that seems hard to believe, but at least that would be an excuse for the CSR.

cagcag

If unable to change now. I will be left with SDC at time of flights. Thanks again for your help.

cuzzybro

Hi All,

Just received notice from UA that an upcoming flight on UA metal in J from AKL-SFO has had a schedule change (departure time shifted a bit) - coincidentally looks like proper 1-2-1 Polaris config introduction on the 777-200 is the reason (woohoo!).

Anyway. wondering what my rebooking rights are, as I'm keen to now shorten my trip to the states. Specifically, I'm looking to shift my AKL-SFO flight forward a week, and keep the SFO-AKL return as is.

Looking at the award availability for a week after the original departure, things seem a little sparse haha, I originally booked in I class (saver), but can only see ZN class inventory (every day award) for most dates now.

Am I allowed to shift from an I class to ZN class with no further mile payment due to the schedule change? Or do I need to pay an additional uplift in miles, i.e., ~120k extra (80K original + 120K uplift = 200K total oneway uggggh)? If I need to pay more miles for a prospective date change then I'll likely just accept the schedule change as is...

Hoping for some insight from you United pros before I ring up the call centre and inquire about options.

Thanks in advance!

CB

Mwenenzi

How much time did the schedule move?
Any connecting flights?
If say 15minutes you have no hope
If say 4 hrs you may have more of a chance.

But moving the first departure flight by a week for free would seems a little hopeful.

cuzzybro

Direct flights, and think from memory only shifted an hour or so.

Dammit, guess I gotta stick to the original booking!

Anyone else have any data points or experiences worth sharing on this?

raehl311

For a one-hour move on a 13-hour flight, you MIGHT get them to waive fees to redeposit miles.

If you want to move a week at the same price you're going to need availability.

findark

You are not going to be able to move the flight a week for a 1-hour adjustment to a schedule change, although I guess it never hurts to call and ask very politely. I can't find it, but pretty sure the wiki used to give "moving the flight one week due to a minor schedule adjustment" as the definition of "not within reason" when it comes to schedule changes

RNE

There's always hope, but parleying this into a week's change makes it minuscule. Nevertheless, give 'em a call. Have a good reason why their schedule change is unacceptable and why your situation necessitates flying on a different week because of their schedule change. Make the airline own this.

RNE, recommending pleading and/or crying.

cuzzybro

Thanks for the feedback everyone, will give them a call next week and see how it goes!

HoustonConsultant

Flying five people (three kids under 6) IAH-HNL-KOA, and the original layover was a bit less than 90 minutes. Schedule changes on IAH-HNL gets us a 71 minute layover, in violation of the 75-minute window at HNL.

It is reward travel, and Hawaiian Air does not have award availability on the next two flights, so booked on a fight that gets us in 3.5 hours later than planned.

We've made this trip each year with the kids, and a 5 hour layover is less than fun. They are great with 90 minutes to run off some energy going to the other terminal before boarding the next plane, but 5 hours is going to be a bit brutal.

We will miss a wedding anniversary party that evening now, but I knew flying the day of the party would make that a possibility.

It also means we'll have to rent a mini-van because the other family members we were meeting at KOA will have left for the party, and I'm not confident I'll find an Uber with three car seats for kids. In addition to the cost for this, we'd have to spend a half day driving back and forth across the island to return the car unless we kept it for the week.

We are 10 days out, and now there are no other flight options (via LAX, SFO) without splitting up the kids and scattering them in middle seats throughout the cabin.

UA claims that they cannot stick people on planes within the 75-minute window, but there are a couple other HA flights to KOA before the one we are now on. What are the odds that UA would pick up the tab for one of those flights (e.g., $1,000) or give me a $1,000 voucher while I pay for the HA flights?

Or am I just out of luck?

findark

Did you already accept the schedule change or were you involuntarily rebooked on the later HNL-KOA?

Realistically, I would not expect UA to force space on the earlier HA flights, although you can try asking nicely. They will definitely not give you a voucher to pay for HA. The more standard option you would have is positive space reaccommodation on other UA metal flights, and "I need the kids together" could be a reason to make a larger change than normal, if applicable and acceptable to you (such as flying a day earlier).

BBSHOPSINGER

UA is very good at opening up space on their own metal in this kind of case. Take a look to see if there are any KOA-IAH possibilities on UA that would work for you, and ask if they can change to that itinerary. If the only choice is to connect on HA, it will be more difficult.

It looks like there are connections through LAX, DEN, or SFO

764toHI

I think a lot can change with seat assignments before the day of departure, and UA always blocks the bulkhead seats which opens up for selection at T-24 (although I think an agent can select these seats for you prior to T-24). I would call in and see what your IAH-LAX/SFO-KOA options are - they may be better than your original assumption.