greene

Hello Flyertalkers!

I would really appreciate any help as I have a flight tomorrow. I have a legal connection (1h6), but I am worried that I will miss the second flight due to the tight connection.
There is another flight an hour later (so total connection time is 2h) - there are very few flights as I am going to the Caribbean (SXM) that was battered by Hurricane Irma.

1 If I miss the connection will United rebook me on the later flight automatically?
2 I was thinking of purchasing with miles the hour later flight and then if I do make the earlier flight I could cancel according to the 24h rule OR does cancelling an hour ahead of the flight supercede the 24h rule and I would be considered a no show (and forfeit the miles)?
3 I have no status. Do you find calling better than standing in a customer service line at the airport?

(It's even more complicated because from SXM I am flying to SBH on a prop plane unconnected to my United reservation and the SBH airport closes at 6pm.)
Thank you for any help you can give me!

Ania

jsloan

1. Yes
2. If UA detects this, they reserve the right to cancel either reservation; this is specifically against the rules.
3. Do both simultaneously; whichever gets you through first is your winner.

StuckinITH

I think that if you have two flights booked on the same airline you have very high chances that United will cancel both reservations.

If there's space on the next flight, United will try to accommodate you on that flight. If there's no space it might be the next day.

What I usually do (even when I had no status) is to call while standing in the customer service line. Sometimes the call was faster, sometimes the customer service line.

mahasamatman

Or both.

greene

Thank you ALL so much!
So my plan is:
1 Run
2 If I miss the flight, try my hardest to get the 10:17
3 If I miss the 10:17 or it is booked, I am looking at an overnight with another non-direct flight leaving in the morning

It is a ridiculously expensive ticket (the 2nd one) so the fact it is against the rules leaves it out of my hands :-)

A little bit shocked that 1h6 is a legal connection given that boarding closes 15m prior.

For those of you who are thinking of coming to the Caribbean, but are hesitant because of Irma, the islands are back!
( I should mention that the newly remodeled SXM airport initially turned into a FEMA tent, but we go every year to St. Bart's and it was fine.)

Has rule 240 helped anyone? I used it for my father and United booked him on another airline, but I heard that it can work or not work.
Ania

nismo240ssx

In very rare situations where I have to be somewhere between limited service points, I set an EF alert for the backup flight on UA or other and as inventory drops below to 2 or less I'll pull the trigger and buy the backup.(at 2+ seats I feel there is enough inventory for airport rebooking)

Generally this is close in to departure and doesn't get flagged prior to departure.

WineCountryUA

Rule 240 went away with deregulation but many airlines (including UA) will still consider doing this at their discretion (generally only for airline caused issues)..

Best to use different airlines otherwise cancellations do happen -- see [Consolidated] - Duplicated / double / impossible reservations -- What will UA do? for multiple examples of people caught doing this. Not every time, but it does happen.

FlyerTalker70

First off an hour is plenty of time to make many connections in the US, I wouldn't sweat it. Whether you make a connection or not is really the roll of a dice, I have yet to see any conclusive evidence that establishes a link between length connection time and successful connection. Anecdotally, my experiences are the exact opposite. Whenever I have a long connection (i.e. 3 hours) is precisely the time my outbound flight gets mucked up and I end up misconnecting. That being said, you should be prepared to connect at the airport, knowing beforehand where you need to go. I find the FAs can get you that information but failing that the gate agent at the connecting airport will help you.

One of the biggest determinants of whether you make your connection is your outbound flight that feeds you into the connecting airport. If that sucker gets delayed by more than a couple of minutes, there is a real risk that you'll miss you're connecting flight. At that point what I would do is speak to the agent at the outbound airport, explaining your situation and seeing if they can have you protected and booked onto the next available flight (possibly as standby) just in case the connection is blown!

If UA sold you the ticket with that connection time it means that they've tried that connection before and are certain it can be done. Airlines are not in the business of stranding passengers. It's an expensive proposition for them, particularly when they have to pay for hotels and other compensation that could easily negate any revenue they made from selling the ticket in the first place.

Should you unfortunately misconnect I would avoid the gate area altogether and head straight for the customer service centre. How polite and reasonable you are to agents has a direct impact on the level of service you receive from them. If you are respectful and state your case clearly they will be empowered to do the right thing. In addition, calling UA at the same time whilst queueing can also be effective. My general rule with airlines is, if you don't get the solution you want don't argue hang up and call again. If the customer service agent isn't giving you the flexibility you need to get to your final destination on time, head to another customer service agent, head to a United Club or worse case head to ticketing at the airport. AFAIK all UA customers have access to the agents in the UC for the purposes of rebooking/IRROPs. Someone will have the sympathy and be an angel, the key is finding that one gem in the rough!

Hope that provides some guidance and wish you all the success in making the connection!

Safe Travels,

James

jsloan

You'd be surprised how short some legal connections are. Different people have different risk tolerances; the minimum connection time is the smallest where the airline is willing to assume part of the risk (by agreeing to rebook you). In fact, the minimum connection time at EWR for a domestic to an international flight, both narrowbody UA flights in Terminal C, is 40 minutes.

That said:

1. Your seat is subject to being given away if you're not at the gate 30 minutes prior to departure for an international flight, although they'll generally try to hold it for connecting passengers
2. Something doesn't add up with your travel plans. There's only one UA flight to SXM tomorrow; an 8:30 AM departure from EWR. There's actually no scheduled flight departing tomorrow at 10:17 to SXM from anywhere (on an airline big enough to be in the Global Distribution Systems, anyway).
3. I also couldn't tell what your backup flight was; I was going to look to see how much inventory they still had. Generally, if there are award seats available, that's a pretty good indication that there are at least a few seats free if you were to misconnect.

blitzen

to 2) that won't work because the 24h free cancellation isn't applicable
United's 24-hour flexible booking policy allows the flexibility to make changes to select reservations within 24 hours of purchasing your ticket, without incurring change fees if you made your purchase one week or more prior to the original scheduled departure flight.

GUM_elite

Download the app, and make sure you are signed in. I've found the app gives real-time IRROPS rebooking options sans the need to wait in a phone / physical queue.

VWang1111

JimInOhio

Beyond the good advice you're received on policies, I think you'll get more good advice if you list your specific itinerary and flights.

LarryJ

How about flying to the hub airport (EWR?) the night before?

emcampbe