Lux Flyer

What shows in the operating carrier's system is what matters, it sounds more like a messaging error that didn't send the confirmed status to UA if it is showing confirmed in the EVA PNR. Next time you call in just have them check the EVA PNR directly with EVA to see that it reflects that segment confirmed/they have most recent ticket number and then their support desk can manually confirm the space in the UA PNR to reflect what is shown in the OA system.

SPN Lifer

OA = Other Airline, e.g., EVA (BR).

vnfilm1

I contact United again 1-800-864-8331, but unable to go further. It seems United agent does not want ( or does not have a power) to contact EVA to confirm my award ticket , then modify it on their system.

United agents go by what it shows on United system and can not update manually . I hang up and call again, and I was told, the system (EVA) must talk to system (United) to confirm an award ticket and in order for for the seat to be valid, no human can interfere it .

They also told me that my confirmation status on EVA web is not valid . The United system still show that I have no award ticket on EVA flight BR18 and nothing United agent can do until EVA release an award seat to United by the system. And no one know when my waitlisted status with United is changed .

I have until 31 days before my departure day to cancel my booking to get a full refund . Not sure what best option to do at this point .

Lux Flyer

Try again because if whoever you are talking to told you the quoted part I kept it is a giant indication they don’t know what they’re talking about. And them saying their system is more correct than the operating carrier’s is never a correct response.

(award deposits can be done up until the time of departure)

jsloan

I’ve had a hard time following this particular thread, so please accept my apologies if this doesn’t answer your specific question.

It sounds like you made a change to a ticketed award reservation and you’re seeing the message saying that your flight is now waitlisted.

The first thing you should do is find both your old and new ticket number. Your old ticket number would be on your original receipt. Your new ticket number would be on your new receipt, but if you didn’t get a new receipt, you can generate one from your itinerary. If your ticket numbers are the same, stop here: you’ve identified the problem, and you need to call UA and ask them to reissue the ticket. If they cannot reissue the ticket, that’s an indication that you do not have a valid reservation and you should ask if they can put you on a UA-operated flight to SFO. (It’s unlikely that they’ll be able to restore your original ticket, but you can ask).

If your two ticket numbers are different, that’s great. Next, go to EVA’s site and look for your ticket number. (If you don’t see your ticket number on EVA’s site, you’ll need to call). Make sure it matches the new ticket number, not the old one. If it matches the new one, and the status in EVA’s system shows confirmed — you’re all set, and it doesn’t matter if UA thinks it’s waitlisted. If the ticket numbers match, but EVA’s system has old information — that’s bad, and you’ll need to try to get UA to fix it (but there’s a good chance they won’t be able to). If they have your old ticket number, you have two choices: (a) try to get UA to re-push the ticket, or (b) call EVA, explain the situation, and ask if they will let you read them the new ticket number so they can pull it from their side.

If EVA does not have the new ticket number, you wil almost certainly not be able to board.

Good luck, and I hope this helps.

emcampbe

let’s make sure you have accurate information here.

UA absolutely can (and should) contact EVA to find out status. If an agent won’t do that, you need to either ask for a supervisor to help, or HUCA (hang up and call again).

it’s hard to know what EVA is showing, but you may want to call them with the EVA (Amadeus) PNR. See what they say. If they show you as confirmed, ask them to read you the ticket number they see. If it’s anything other than the one UA has now (after change), then their system does not have the most current info and you won’t be able to get on. That needs to be rectified.

UA can see availability, but for many (or most?) partners, it is not real-time. When you book any ticket - revenue or award, the operating carrier has time to confirm space. On non-alliance partners, IATA rules allow up to 72 hours for this - but *A rules require it to be within 24 hours. If it’s been longer than that, something has gone wrong.

personally, I’d check space for a new award as. If it’s bookable at a price you like, book it. Clearly, something is wrong within the current reservation and starting fresh is probably your best option. Without fees, this is simple and you should have miles refunded right away (fees take a few days to get back on your card). If you have enough miles, rebook first, then refund existing ticket.

if award space isn’t showing on currrent routing, is there an acceptable alternate routing you can book? Sounds (to me) like working within the current PNR is the least desirable option, given what has happened.

lastly, on a more general note, awards are fully refundable up until departure time worldwide, both miles and fees/taxes. No restriction within 30 days (anymore). So you can always cancel as an option.

vnfilm1

Thanks for information about award deposit . I will contact United again to see if I have any luck. It is very stressfull to deal with the unsure of my EVA award ticket.

I can wait near the day of my departure to see how it goes. I am afraid ,by that time, although I see the confirmation on EVA website, but if United system do not update, it will cancel my EVA flight automatically (and 24 hrs before departure) and I do not have my PTE -SFO flight after arrival in Taipei .

@ jsloan & emcampbe :

Thanks for your guidance

To clarify:
1) I have tried to contact EVA 1 (800) 695-1188 several times and the phone line is busy and does not go thru.

2) I use the new e-ticket number (received from United system, after made the changes), not the old e-ticket # . EVA website show the status "confirmation", and new e-ticket # list below that , matching new e-ticket # showing on the receipe, which United sent to me.

3) I did try to look for a new flight (BKK-SFO), but it cost a lot of more miles now for an award ticket.
when United agent rebook the BKK- TPE segment, I do not know how she did it . But I see the miles deposit back, then deduct from my account .

Can you please confirm if this information is correct
I read online that "any flight (booking with United), if listed as waitlisted status , will automatic cancel 24 hrs before departure .

I travel with an elderly and affraid that my EVA flight will be cancel by United system, if the (TPE- SFO) flight status is on waitlisted on United website . Will there be chances that will happen or I worry too much.

jsloan

If EVA has your updated ticket number, and the segments show as confirmed in EVA’s system, in general you should be OK. Does UA show both the old and new itinerary, or only the new one?

There definitely is no blanket rule that says that any waitlisted segment at T-24 will cause the entire reservation to be canceled. There might be a rule that says if you have no confirmed segments, your reservation will be canceled.

EVA is supposed to contact UA to confirm the change. It sounds like they didn’t do that.

JayhawkCO

Try their Los Angeles ticket office (310-362-6600) which I've successfully reached and/or their Taiwan number (+886-2-2501-1999) which has an English option. I, too, have had a tough time getting a hold of the main U.S. number.

vnfilm1

My original booking BKK ==> HKG ==> TPE ==> SFO and after the change, currently it shows BKK ==> TPE ==> SFO in my United account. I do not see the old itinerary anymore .

The flight segment BKK ==> TPE ( Thai airway is confirmed and has seat number assigned ) , the other flight TPE - SFO ( EVA ) it shows wailisted on United .

However, when I log in EVA website, using new e-ticket # and I select seats myself. I can clearly see Booking Status : Confirmed
with my name and the new e - ticket number listing right below, plus the name of my travel partner and his e-ticket number ( matching which showing in United 's receipt) .
And I am able to choose the seat for him .

By the way, if my two segment flight ( BKK- TPE==> SFO) with 2 different airlines ( Thai and EVA) . Why I see only 1 e-ticket number (per passenger) listed on United's receipt for ( EVA flight ), there is no e-ticket number listing for Thai airway ( BKK-TPE) . I thought I should have a total 2 (e-ticket numbers different), one for Thai airways flight and 1 more for EVA flight . I do not see a PRN for Thai Airway on my booking with United .


@JayhawkCO : Thanks.

I have tried the LA office number and other location like Chicago, Atlanta, Houston ..., when I choose the selection "reservation", my hear a message telling me my call is transferred , but actually the call is ended or is disconnected by EVA system . I will try the Taipei number later but unsure if EVA agent can help to resolve the wailisted status showing on United system .

Lux Flyer

Because an eTicket can contain coupons for up to 4 flights in it, so each of you only has one ticket. The first coupon for the BKK-TPE flight on Thai and the second coupon for TPE-SFO with EVA.

Beyond that, the fact that EVA's system shows the segments confirmed and has the most recent ticket number is extremely reassuring, as the operating carrier's system is what needs to be correct. It's not unheard of that update messaging regarding segment status/changes gets lost between the two airlines systems at times given they are completely different. At this point getting the WL status resolved in the UA PNR is mostly peace of mind, which without being able to see what exactly the issue is (beyond the segment just showing as waitlisted). its hard for anyone except UA to troubleshoot further. Best advice at this point is you just have to keep trying until you eventually get an agent who knows how to manually confirm the space in the PNR after verifying the OA carrier shows the space confirmed. You might try getting connected with web support as those definitely are more experienced agents (and phrase it as a website issue, "on the United website it shows this flight waitlisted but I see it confirmed with EVA and have a ticket reflecting for that flight, so I'm confused why the website isn't updating").

But again, this is mostly about peace of mind at this point. You need a confirmed reservation and current ticket matching that reservation in the operating carrier's system, which based on what you are reporting, you have.

I personally think extremely unlikely. How would UA cancel the flight if they don't even think it is confirmed? Clearly the segment status code for something on the waitlist is different than a flight that is confirmed, so presumably the cancellation codes to cancel a waitlist should be different than cancelling confirmed space.

jsloan

Each e-ticket is good for up to four flight segments. It dates back to the dates of paper tickets, where tickets came in pre-printed books of four flight coupons.

However, that does remind me: you also need to check the Thai website and make sure that they have your updated ticket number too.
Somewhat surprisingly, an EVA representative is actually in the best position to be able to help you with this, if everything is actually confirmed as it seems to be. Tell the agent that United didn’t receive a confirmation message from EVA and ask if they could try re-sending that message. The agent may not be able to do that personally, but their help desk might have a way to get it done.

I’m not sure it’s likely either. However, the way it would happen is that something at UA noticed that the ticketed segments didn’t match the reservation and therefore reissued the ticket to match. That would have the effect of canceling the unconfirmed flight, because when EVA tried to take control fo the ticket so that they could get paid for flying it, it’d be in an Exchanged / Reissued state instead of Open.

vnfilm1

I was told by United agent that my flight ( BKK -TPE) is confirmed and I believe so without verifying further . United agent told me that both airlines ( Thai and EVA) use same PRN number.

Just a moment ago, I try to log in Thai Airway website and unable to pull up the my flight using the same PRN number of EVA. So, I do not know why . After I enter the PRN and my last name, nothing comes up. And the website asking me to enter (PRN + last name ) again. No error message displays on screen to explain why I can not see my flight itinerary on Thai Airway.

vnfilm1

I can not see my flight itinerary listed on Thai Airways . I contact United again, the agent told me that they can see it on Thai Airway website, but I can't . After I enter the PRN and my last name, I click FIND BOOKING, the website flash for a second and it go back the same page, asking to enter PRN and last name again , without going further . Not sure why .

Do you have any idea why Thai airways website prevent me to go further. I have tried with 2 different browser and the result is the same.

jsloan

I’ve had some weirdnesses with Thai in the past. If they do use the same system as EVA, and it shows OK in EVA’s system, it will show OK in Thai’s system also, so I wouldn’t stress over that. (There are a few major systems used by most large airlines, and I couldn’t remember which ones EVA and Thai use).