fortwrestler

My final destination is LHR (London), so there may be other options(ie. connection through IAD). I will look at alternative flights and reach out if it makes sense. Thank you for this idea.

Update : There is a very similar flight that is routed through EWR. Any recommendations on how to approach the phone call?

findark

"My travel was impacted by a schedule change, and my booked class of service is no longer available... would it be possible to change to a different itinerary?" (if positive noises, continue, if not "oh, I see... I need to think about it" and HUCA)

"Actually, I had an idea for an alternative.. could we go via EWR on UAxxx and UAxxx?"

fortwrestler

I tried the "My travel was impacted by a schedule change, and my booked class of service is no longer available... would it be possible to change to a different itinerary?" approach and was told "The schedule change happened on the Air Canada flight. We can change it but fare difference will apply." I booked the entire trip through United.

Sounds like HUCA

fortwrestler

I never replied to this post, so I wanted to update incase anyone else comes looking.

I spoke with United and they were very quick to offer alternative routes free of charge. Since there was a schedule change, United waives the fees.

st3

Currently scheduled to fly R/T TPA-ABQ (via IAH) in February. When the Feb schedule was loaded the IAH-ABQ (and return ABQ-IAH) leg was downgauged from an E175 to E145. The flight times were changed as well. I can route through DEN instead with the ABQ-DEN leg on a CR2.

The "issue" at hand isn't the schedule change or the flight times. Rather that when I initially booked the ticket I booked F the whole way (P class) and now whether I stay on my current itinerary or choose to go through DEN I will not have an F cabin. I booked F mainly to take advantage of the PQP promotion not the current service levels.

Maybe this is more of a question for the "consolidated compensation" thread but being that I am no longer going to be in F, can I get some sort of compensation? The pricing for the mixed cabin route has actually increased by about $15USD over what I paid.

jsloan

You can likely get a refund for the downgraded leg(s), but you will likely not earn any PQP (or bonus) for the amount you get refunded.

st3

The overall fare has increased keeping in mind that the original flights no longer exist so I wonder how they would even be able to derive a refund amount?

jsloan

The refund would based on a prorated amount of the general fare difference between economy and first class on the TPA-ABQ route, which appears to be $209 each way. The fact that the current price is higher shouldn't have an impact. IAH is roughly halfway between TPA and ABQ, so I'd expect to be able to get a refund of about half of the route's difference, or roughly $100 each way. (UA's actual calculation is rather opaque, so this is just a rough guide).

st3

Gotcha. Without the breakdown of each leg I won't know the cost difference until I call them up. Guess I will give them a buzz to see what I can possibly extract, I will need to move the flights anyway.

redondo821

Hi all,

We booked EWR-TVC round trip 7/24-7/31 and paid for Z and chose seats in the first two rows. Today we received an email that our itinerary had been changed (by about 45 minutes in each direction, no problem) but that our ticket class is now Economy (Y) and our seats have been moved back to the middle of the plane. Do we have any recourse?

One complicating factor is that the new flights are all Economy Plus/Economy, there is no First Class section. We paid for first class to have more space because we are nervous about flying for the first time during COVID.

Thanks!

fumje

I imagine your aircraft was changed to a regional jet with a single cabin , i.e. no First.

Do you mind connecting? There are options through ORD with First all the way. You can ask to be changed to one of those.

redondo821

We have young kids so we'd prefer to just fly Economy rather than have to connect. But do we have recourse for all the extra $ we spent on First?

fumje

You can request a refund for the difference. I'm not sure how they'll calculate it, but it might be less than you'd hope. Alternatively, you can look at the cheapest economy fare available now, and if that's satisfactory, request a full refund and rebook.

redondo821

Thanks! Yep, we just requested a full refund (and they didn't give us any trouble, probably because they can charge more for the new reservation now). But it is very sneaky that they don't voluntarily offer anything after downgrading the class.

Kmxu

Of course, the refund is the best option.
You cannot accuse computer to be sneaky. At least, you had been notified for the change of aircraft type. Otherwise, you would be surprised at airport if you did not babysit your reservation.