WineCountryUA

Well, I ticket 90%+ online and I have never had this happen with an online booking.

So this happens to you for every partner booking or every booking including TG, LH, AC, CA, ...???
If only happens sometimes, how does the agent know which times to deffer payment?

Would equally apply for online bookings if this was the reason and would not it happen for all bookings with those partners?

RobOnLI

UA is closely tied to some airline partners like LH who allow instant ticketing due to the JV. I think NH likely allows instant ticketing as well due to the JV there.

However, CA and TK by far have the most issues. I've done AC tickets and had them issued immediately but also had to call back in (granted, other airlines were in that reservation as well).

Maybe it's a case of some agents being more cautious than others. I'm not sure about that. But there is precedent for this happening, and frequently.

BTW, it also happens for SQ and TG. I've purchased UA tickets online with SQ and TG and get the warning that UA will request the inventory from the partner and that the credit card will not be charged until a ticket is issued. Sometimes the ticket is issued within 3 hours, other times it takes 24 hours. I don't bother calling unless I book a ticket for the next day (in the case of SQ earlier this year).

-RM

sokolov

UA phone agent.

nerdbirdsjc

United has seamless availability that enables instant ticketing with the following partners: LH, SN, LX, NH, CM, AV, CA, TK. For these carriers, UA can simply book what it sees availability, and process ticketing/exchanges right away. For all other Star Alliance partners (incl. OS and AC), United's policy is to book the space, then hold it for some time pending confirmation by the other airline.

There's no requirement for United to wait 24 hours -- the airline can ticket anytime after HK status is received from the other airline, and frequently does so. If ticketing with a phone agent, they can contact the OAL's res office directly, or even visit the carrier's website, to confirm right away the space is holding (I've had UA agents do both). A response to a OAL seat assignment sent by UA also provides sufficient verification of HK status as well (in fact, UA's system uses this very approach for certain carriers to confirm space ahead of T+24 ).

To be sure, other airlines DO have a minimum of 24 hours to accept or refuse any bookings made by United on their flights, and UA policy is a derivative of this industry practice with the intention of minimizing booking complications for the passenger.

emcampbe

i believe for any ticket, the charge is only done once it tickets. However, they do always run a pending charge (which is different). Also, since UA flights typically ticket witthin a few minutes, no one knows the difference if the card is charged at booking or ticketing.

RobOnLI

Yes, that's correct. I don't think this contradicts anything I said so maybe you were just clarifying

Interest note...I just booked an all CA-operated/coded itinerary on UA.com. It ticketed immediately and there was no warning online about needing 24 hours to confirm availability. So maybe UA has changed their handling of CA flights and no longer requires 24 hours. Not sure.

Also, someone above posted TK allows instant ticketing. That was not the case two years ago but things could have definitely changed. I had a wholly TK-operated/coded ticket get cancelled less than 8 hours after booking. UA said TK rejected the sale.

-RM

Toronto1970

Slightly off-topic, but during IRROPS it is extremely frustrating that UA does not have this "seamless" link. Often flying out of Toronto on UA if there is a delay, the best/only alternative is on AC metal. While the UA agent can see the space, they have to *call* AC to confirm it before they can book me. AC's phone lines are notoriously clogged (even for UA agents apparently), and I'm usually on hold with UA (who is on hold with AC) for a long time trying to make the change, while the clock is ticking down to make the new flight.

Do we know why this connection isn't as seamless as with other airlines? Is it due to the systems they are on?

nerdbirdsjc

.

To properly handle an Involuntary Reroute governed by IATA rules (e.g., a reroute from UA to AC), the IRROPS impacted airline must obtain a confirmation of space from the Receiving Carrier (i.e., the new airline) prior to re-ticketing/FIM'ing the customer. This is because 1) inventory displays of Other Airline space are often inaccurate within some time before departure, and/or 2) the Receiving Carrier may be experiencing its own irregular operations (e.g., potential oversale). The confirmation of space may be done electronically (e.g., via Telex), or more commonly, by simply calling the Receiving Carrier to confirm seats are available.

emcampbe

My understanding is that it doesn't need to be called in if there is availability as a Ua codeshare. Out of YYZ, going transborder, shouldn't be an issue in most cases as most (though potentially not all) AC flights have a Ua codeshare number. Though I'm not sure if there is a time limitation (i.e., codeshares can only be sold until X hours prior to departure).

nerdbirdsjc

Codeshare flights are not supposed to be used for IRROPS re-protection, for a number of reasons.

Toronto1970

Interesting. Thanks for that. I still wish though that UA and AC would find a way to automate it more (I realize that's probably asking too much when they can't even get IT right for each of their own airlines)

sokolov

What would those reasons be?

nerdbirdsjc

One reason is avoiding problems of phantom availability on the codeshare flight. At some point within T-24 (exact time varies by airline) the inventory data displayed by the marketing carrier may not always correspond to actual availability with the operating airline. Additionally, in some cases, the migration of res and e-ticket data from the marketing carrier to the operating airline is not instantaneous once a flight moves to management in the departure control system.

Therefore, in order to minimize further customer inconvenience, the true code of the operating carrier should be used whenever possible.