What is United's policy for missed connections due to mechanical delay?
 

Leaving next Tuesday to BKK from SFO, with a 2 hour layover in NRT. Been tracking the flight every day this week just for fun and noticed that today's flight from SFO to NRT (UA827) has been delayed almost 6 hours due to mechanical issues. That got me thinking... what would United do for a missed connection in NRT?

For my case that would be codeshare ANA flight 807. if there is a small delay there is another ANA flight leaving an hour later, but then thats it for *A flights on that route for the day. Would they rebook passengers on a flight the next day?

Had this happen a couple of years ago going DEN-NRT-BKK. Mechanical delay leaving Denver and missed the connections that night in Narita. We (quite a few people) were put on a Thai flight that went from Haneda to Bangkok that left very early in the morning. (Bused from Narita to Haneda in the middle of the night.) I thought the UA staff in Narita did an excellent job handling a tough situation. So, technically rebooked the next day. I also think there are ANA flights from Haneda to BKK in the very early morning hours. As many have said on this board, best thing to do is be aware of all the options that are available to you.

The IATA requires the carrier the creates the misconnect to resolve the issue and get the passenger to the original destination.

So the general advice to go to the responsible carrier's service desk (UA on this case) and let them handle the issue.

If there is a alternative late flight on the same carrier then some will go to that carrier and see if there is a simple fixed. This usually will not work on award tickets but may on many paid tickets. If that carrier declines, then you need to fall back to the standard advice -- the operating carrier that created the problem.

There are no special UA policies on this, this is standard industry practice.

kaskade916 - The above discussion assumes your trip, SFO-NRT-BKK is on one ticket, in which case with a missed connection, United will rebook you to BKK. :)

Yep, all on the same ticket.

Will United always rebook on a star alliance carrier, or do they ever attempt to rebook on any available flights?

At NRT, they will put you on NH or TG to BKK.

In other circumstances, yes, they will rebook on non-partners though it is generally not their preference.

*A policy is to book within the alliance first, but can book on other carriers if desired (that is...if the carrier desires, and if no availability on partners).