Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Airlines and Mileage Programs > United Airlines | MileagePlus
Reload this Page >

UA-coded Brussels flight...or is it Eurowings? And fare class? (PQM accrual question)

UA-coded Brussels flight...or is it Eurowings? And fare class? (PQM accrual question)

Old Feb 23, 2019, 3:40 pm
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: CLE, DCA, and 30k feet
Programs: Honors LT Diamond; United 1K; Hertz PC
Posts: 4,134
UA-coded Brussels flight...or is it Eurowings? And fare class? (PQM accrual question)

Booked a trip to Madrid connecting via BRU both ways because I could try UA's premium plus product on the outbound (assuming the GPU doesn't clear) for a <$100 premium and could confirm Polaris on the return at booking.

At the booking stage UA.com indicated that the flights (UA9975 BRU-MAD and UA9956 MAD-BRU) were operated by Brussels Airlines; the receipt indicates that it's "Brussels Airlines doing business as Eurowings GmbH"

So for MileagePlus purposes who is actually operating the flight? And is there a way to confirm the underlying fare class for the prime flight (Brussels' site shows it as K but with the UA flight number)

Normally I wouldn't care but assuming that UA K maps to K on the prime flight it appears if it's credited as a "Brussels Airlines" flight it (may?) earn 0% PQM [K is not listed in the table on United.com]; if it's a "Eurowings" flight it earns 100% PQM. I wouldn't particularly care except that K doesn't show up on ua.com for PQM accrual for Brussels Airlines, but shows as crediting 100% for Eurowings
lincolnjkc is online now  
Old Feb 23, 2019, 4:11 pm
  #2  
Moderator: United Airlines
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.99MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,577
Originally Posted by lincolnjkc
....
At the booking stage UA.com indicated that the flights (UA9975 BRU-MAD and UA9956 MAD-BRU) were operated by Brussels Airlines; the receipt indicates that it's "Brussels Airlines doing business as Eurowings GmbH"

So for MileagePlus purposes who is actually operating the flight? And is there a way to confirm the underlying fare class for the prime flight (Brussels' site shows it as K but with the UA flight number) ...
This can get tricky with wet leases vs normal codeshares, but based on other posts on the SN/EW relationship (both a part of LH Group), this is a standard codeshare and the operator is EW, not SN.

LH Group fare classes tend to match UA fare classes
WineCountryUA is offline  
Old Feb 23, 2019, 4:28 pm
  #3  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: CLE, DCA, and 30k feet
Programs: Honors LT Diamond; United 1K; Hertz PC
Posts: 4,134
Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
This can get tricky with wet leases vs normal codeshares, but based on other posts on the SN/EW relationship (both a part of LH Group), this is a standard codeshare and the operator is EW, not SN.

LH Group fare classes tend to match UA fare classes
Cool, so if I'm understanding you correctly as a UA codeshare of a SN codeshare of an EW flight for MileagePlus I should expect the Eurowings MP PQM accrual rules/rates to apply?
lincolnjkc is online now  
Old Feb 23, 2019, 4:38 pm
  #4  
Moderator: United Airlines
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.99MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,577
Originally Posted by lincolnjkc
Cool, so if I'm understanding you correctly as a UA codeshare of a SN codeshare of an EW flight for MileagePlus I should expect the Eurowings MP PQM accrual rules/rates to apply?
That would be my expectation but it isn't all good news. On EW flights there are no elite benefits -- specifically bag allowances and the carry on policy is miniscule. But you do still have LH lounge access
WineCountryUA is offline  
Old Feb 24, 2019, 12:17 am
  #5  
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: TXL
Programs: MileagePlus 1k
Posts: 19
Unfortunately, Brussels airport has no LH lounge. So if your flight will be a EW flight, you will not get lounge access to *A or Brussels airlines lounge, since your elite status benefits will be based on the EW + UA agreement rather than the *A rules.

Been there several times....
TopFlyer12 is offline  
Old Feb 24, 2019, 5:10 am
  #6  
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: MUC
Programs: A3*G, HH Gold
Posts: 74
Its definitely not an Eurowings flight, the only EW flights ex BRU at the moment are to secondary German and Austrian cities IIRC, all other EU flights are true SN, i.e. no miles for you but lounge access. Maybe the note in your receipt is due to the fact that SN is nowadays a subsidiary of Eurowings GmbH or just a common interface issue between the LH IT and UA, who knows.

You can also check the SN flight numbers (SN3271 and SN3732) on Flightradar24 and see that they are operated by SN aircraft.

On another note though, you can expect that at some point short-haul SN gets completely absorbed into EW, eliminating *A benefits completely ex BRU, unfortunately.

Last edited by Bavariair; Feb 24, 2019 at 9:24 am Reason: Corrected typo
Bavariair is offline  
Old Feb 24, 2019, 9:19 am
  #7  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: CLE, DCA, and 30k feet
Programs: Honors LT Diamond; United 1K; Hertz PC
Posts: 4,134
Originally Posted by Bavariair
Its definitely not an Eurowings flight, the only EW flights ex BRU at the moment are to secondary German and Austrian cities IIRC, all other EU flights are true SN, i.e. no miles for you but lounge access. Maybe the note in your receipt is due to the fact that SN is nowadays a subsidiary of Eurowings GmbH or just a common interface issue between the LH IT and UA, who knows.

You can also check the SN flight numbers (SN3271 and SN3732) on Flightradar24 and see that they are operated by SN aircraft.

On another note though, you can expect that at some point short-haul SN gets completely absorbed into EW, eliminating *A bebenfits completely ex BRU, unfortunately.
Hmmm... I'm not sure if I should be slightly disappointed or not -- on one hand I'd like every PQM I can get my hands on and not sure how relevant lounge access is on this trip (barely 2 hours in BRU each way), on the other hand the 150% for B/R on all of the other segments more than makes up for what I'll be missing out on for the BRU-MAD segment.

Out of curiosity, on the lounge access front, does the fact that I'm arriving/departing BRU in PE or J or that I have a 'paid' UC membership change that trajectory at all if I wind up on an actual Eurowings intra-EU flight in the future? Or just out of luck for lounge access period.

[These flights are actually late May...anyone want to wager on them being flipped to EU by then? Can't really get a sense of how quickly the transition is happening]
lincolnjkc is online now  
Old Feb 24, 2019, 6:02 pm
  #8  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 31,839
This should not be a EW flight ... it is crediting as SN. All this wet lease across the LH group is nonsense.
cfischer is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.