Really need some advice for transatlantic booking
Nov 27, 2018, 5:09 pm
#31
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Philly, Madrid
Programs: Alaska MVP Gold
Posts: 2,591
Thank you all for the suggestions and advice. A lot of things I wouldn't have thought of myself are now on my radar, and I'm also learning to better navigate the UA search features. I've got a lot of work to do to figure this out, but I'm much ahead of where I was this morning, so I really appreciate all the help.
Nov 27, 2018, 6:05 pm
#32
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Atlanta Metro
Programs: DL , AC, BA, Hhonors Diamond, IH Platinum, Bonvoy Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 2,352
Call me simple minded but given the special situation here, I would be phoning the airlines and asking them to help me. I wouldn't be expecting or asking for a special price or anything but I would be using the '8 magic words' that are most likely to get you help. They are, 'I have a problem, I need your help'. For whatever psychological reason, they really do seem to be 'magical words' most of the time. Using those EXACT words somehow elicits a PERSONAL response from most people.
Nov 27, 2018, 8:04 pm
#33
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: WAS-ish
Programs: UA 1K-MM + UC, Marriott Plat, National Exec
Posts: 1,341
ABQ-based UA flyer here. A few data points:
- New Mexico has two "real" airports. ABQ is by far the largest, but SAF (Santa Fe) generally has a couple puddle-jumpers per day on UA/AA (although this varies from year to year and I haven't checked lately). So ABQ is where the action is.
- As noted above, there are no lie-flat seats in/out of ABQ except via private jet.
- Depending on where the relative needs to go in NM, you might be looking at a bit of a drive from Albuquerque. In which case, consider DEN or PHX, which do have a few lie-flat business seats, and are each only a 7-hour drive from ABQ. If you rent an RV, that drive can be done very, very comfortably (and cheaply compared with lie-flat business class!)
- I believe the only regularly scheduled lie-flats into PHX are on BA (from LHR), and the only regularly scheduled lie-flats into DEN are on BA (also LHR) and LH (from FRA).
- If you do want to fly to ABQ, there's only one way to do it with one stop. It's via JFK. Both DL and TP (TAP Air Portugal) fly LIS-JFK, and JetBlue does JFK-ABQ. But JetBlue doesn't play nice with either of those airlines, so you'd be buying two separate tickets. However... I'm seeing r/t fares in lie-flat business from LIS-JFK for as low as $2,177 per person in December (on DL), which is actually pretty reasonable. Unfortunately, you get a rather long JFK-ABQ in JetBlue economy after that.
- New Mexico has two "real" airports. ABQ is by far the largest, but SAF (Santa Fe) generally has a couple puddle-jumpers per day on UA/AA (although this varies from year to year and I haven't checked lately). So ABQ is where the action is.
- As noted above, there are no lie-flat seats in/out of ABQ except via private jet.
- Depending on where the relative needs to go in NM, you might be looking at a bit of a drive from Albuquerque. In which case, consider DEN or PHX, which do have a few lie-flat business seats, and are each only a 7-hour drive from ABQ. If you rent an RV, that drive can be done very, very comfortably (and cheaply compared with lie-flat business class!)
- I believe the only regularly scheduled lie-flats into PHX are on BA (from LHR), and the only regularly scheduled lie-flats into DEN are on BA (also LHR) and LH (from FRA).
- If you do want to fly to ABQ, there's only one way to do it with one stop. It's via JFK. Both DL and TP (TAP Air Portugal) fly LIS-JFK, and JetBlue does JFK-ABQ. But JetBlue doesn't play nice with either of those airlines, so you'd be buying two separate tickets. However... I'm seeing r/t fares in lie-flat business from LIS-JFK for as low as $2,177 per person in December (on DL), which is actually pretty reasonable. Unfortunately, you get a rather long JFK-ABQ in JetBlue economy after that.
Nov 28, 2018, 10:58 am
#34
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 1,271
Not bad advice, but I think asking for advice here on FT is also a really good idea. People on this thread have brainstormed some suggestions -- EXTRASEAT, Amtrak, etc. -- that an airline call center probably wouldn't have come up with. Plus all the ins and outs of how upgrades work which aren't always explained well by call center reps. Obviously up to the OP / the person travelling with the back condition whether those ideas will work or not.
With my suggestion I am not suggesting talking to a call centre though threeoh. I am suggesting talking with someone who is 'in a position to help' and that to me is not a call centre worker. Some things I would ask a hotel reception agent to help me with while other things I know I would need to ask a hotel manager to help me with. Same idea. You can start at the bottom and work your way up until you get someone that is in a position to help you with a problem, or you can start at the top and have them deal with it from the get go. I've always had better luck starting at the top whenever it was obvious starting at the bottom might mean an obviously longer route to get to someone who could help.
Given this specific situation I would have no hesitation in sending an e-mail asking the CEO of United Airlines for example, for his help. You might or might not get a reply directly from him but I would be very surprised if you did not get a reply from someone who was willing to try and help. In this day and age it is not difficult to make direct contact with almost anyone. Want to know the number for the White House switchboard or for Buckingham Palace? Easy to find. Want to know how to contact the CEO of United? Here:
https://www.ceoemail.com/s.php?id=ceo-10864
That site even gives you good advice on just how to write your e-mail to a CEO. https://www.ceoemail.com/hints.php
I would just add, make sure to include the Eight Magic Words, 'I have a problem, I need your help.'