WineCountryUA

If within the timeframe, yes - space available

whitethunder

was wondering why there was so much PZ space yesterday when I looked now it makes sense

Ari

And plenty of people might want to change their leisure plans to visit HKG right now. I'd go there right now in a heartbeat for business, but I don't think I'd go there for leisure right now. UA's being stingy here. The waiver should be a little more generous.

malgudi

Have they cancelled the incoming flights? If not, will these aircrafts not start to pile up (if they can't fly out)?

I know HKG is a big airport, but still

WineCountryUA

Believe (today) flights are operating in both directions

jsloan

They needn't offer a waiver at all. I don't see any reason to look a gift horse in the mouth.

People who want flexibility can purchase flexible tickets. Otherwise, you're getting a pretty massive discount from the flexible-fare price in order to accept restrictions, including the possibility that you might no longer want to go, for whatever reason.

The best way to judge UA is by comparison to their competition:
AA: flight purchased by 8/12, for travel 8/12-8/15, can reschedule to 8/12-8/25, no change of airport
DL: oh, wait, they don't serve HKG. No waiver.
CX: flight purchased by 8/14, for travel 8/15-8/16, can reschedule through 11/30, rebooking/rerouting allowed, reissuance only allowed if the ticket would otherwise expire. I can't tell if it includes a change in destination, but it doesn't actually seem to.
SQ: No waiver posted
OZ: If they have a waiver, I can't find it on their website

UA's current wavier is: flight purchased by 8/11, for travel 8/12-8/15, can reschedule through 8/20, no change of airport

It doesn't really seem all that out of line to me.

wilp888

UA 869 went out with 33 empty business class seats today.

bocastephen

I don't see any reason to change travel unless your flight is actually canceled. The airport protests are generally very much under control with a few scuffles here and there - pretty much like JFK on a normal day. If you're planning leisure or business travel, there is no reason to make changes either. Don't pay too much attention to the media, and for God's sake, never pay any attention to Chinese controlled or influenced media. There are plenty of 'boot-on-the-ground' reports right here on FT and no one is seeing any of the "chaos" being displayed by the media.

Just be prepared for delays here and there and try to use Airport Express from/to the airport instead of taxis or buses. As long as you don't actually join a protest in progress, your travel experience should be generally the same as it would have been 6 months ago. You're at more risk from the heat than anything else.

sincx

This month's Hemispheres magazine did not age well.

Ari

Clearly 33 high-revenue travelers disagree with bocastephen and appreciated UA's travel waiver; will travelers on the 16th really feel that differently?

FlyngSvyr

Having just recently flown into & out of HKG this week. (see post 26 above). I really think UA has got it right with the waiver. It really is not as bad there (in the airport & the city) as the media clips are showing. I am not trying to downplay the significance of the situation, but Hong Kong is HUGE and these disturbances are not widespread. The airport became a focal point for a few days, but I don't think the government is going to allow it to happen there again to the same degree.

I think a huge reason that UA flights were not affected during the 2-3 days of airport tension this week was due to the timing of their flights. All departures for UA flights (minus HKG-GUM) left by 1130 in the morning. For whatever reason, the protesters were scheduling their demonstrations to start @ 1 pm, so all departing pax really had no problems checking in & getting thru security. It appears many of the protesters are having late nights & need to sleep in

On the arrival side of the UA flights, the other airlines evening outgoing flights had already been cancelled several hours before UA flights were landing. If anything, the arrivals process was a breeze. The only real interaction we had with the demonstrators was exiting immigration and they were vocal, but peaceful to the passengers. In looking at the melees that erupted on the evening of the 13th, they were very late and would have appeared to happen after most of the arriving passengers departed the terminal. Additionally, they appeared to happen on the departures level, so away from the arriving passengers route of travel.

Now, the authorities are being more rigid & not letting the protesters mass at the airport until the situation gets out of hand again. Probably the best thing to do in the interest of International travel thru such an important Asia Hub. IMHO, the "danger" level of being swept up in demonstrations at the airport is relatively low. The rest of the territory? It was fine where we were staying, that is all I can attest to.

MostlyUA

I travel to "iffy" countries all the time, so I was surprised to be told that Corporate Security would not let me go to HKG this week.

GoSh4rks

I just booked a trip into HKG. Arriving on a weeknight so I'm betting on things being fairly quiet after they sorted things out this week. Either way, I plan on taking a ferry to the mainland and not entering HK at all. Normally I would go via ground.

Not risking the weekend return flight though - taking a flight from SZX and connecting.

Ari

. . . and cancels peoples' nonstop ORDHKG flights; United doesn't pay them a change fee for adding hours to their plans.

But no travel waiver for customers who don't want to go to Hong Kong (which might be offset by the cost savings of the network efficiency gained by canceling the ORDHKG flight anyway). Nice.

https://onemileatatime.com/united-ai...-kong-flights/

jsloan

Except, I suppose, where anyone who's affected can get a full refund.

What? That makes no sense.

Look, most Economy fares to HKG are refundable for $120. If it's not worth $120 to somebody to cancel, then I suspect they're not really all that worried about going to Hong Kong.