United removed my mobile boarding pass and ruined my trip
#151
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 11,446
I didn't intend for that to be taken as if and only if. They definitely get overly generous with compensation when you have status, bought an expensive fare -- or in seemingly random other circumstances as well.
#152
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: San Juan Capistrano, CA USA
Posts: 9
I concur (and am frequently ridiculed when traveling with my family for stopping and getting a paper copy). But here's the funny part; flying last month from Nice to Madrid my boarding pass refused to scan, but my mobile pass did! Who would believe! Had I not had it, I could already see I would have been pulled aside and "dealt with" as a packed flight filled - probably forcing me to check my carry-on bag. So it IS really good to have both at hand!
#154
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: United
Posts: 2
Another reason - to get into the airport
I was flying home from Bangalore, India. They don't even let you in the airport building unless you can show them a boarding pass. I was having a hard time getting any data connectivity outside the building, either WiFi or SIM card. I thought I wasn't going to be able to get home. Now I print boarding passes.
#155
Join Date: Dec 2009
Programs: Northwest
Posts: 5
Domestic - Mobile boarding pass only - I never print paper. I have had my phone brick while standing in line to board and the GA just asks for my drivers license and printed my BP on the spot.
International - Mobile boarding pass is primary and paper is my secondary.
This strategy hasn't failed me.........yet.
International - Mobile boarding pass is primary and paper is my secondary.
This strategy hasn't failed me.........yet.
#156
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA EXP - 1 Million Miler, Marriott - LT Titanium Elite, United Premier Silver
Posts: 14
But I'm a road warrior....I even have a portable power pack for my laptop...(thanks to being burned by American Airlines old USAir 321's that don't have power!)
#157
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Sydney AUS
Posts: 40
#158
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: OMA
Programs: UA
Posts: 322
OP here .
1. You Should Have Called
There are some good pointers and tips on this thread, but this one is not. I had no idea how long the call time would take (5 mins or 10 mins or 20 mins). Remember, I was playing a game of minutes at this point. Also, I had no idea if they could help. Maybe the agent says, "Sir, we have no way of pushing some new boarding pass to your phone, are you insane? Go to gate agents." I have a feeling if I wrote this post but told everyone I stood in front of security waiting on hold with United and then missed my flight, I would be equally pilloried. And deservedly so.
1. You Should Have Called
There are some good pointers and tips on this thread, but this one is not. I had no idea how long the call time would take (5 mins or 10 mins or 20 mins). Remember, I was playing a game of minutes at this point. Also, I had no idea if they could help. Maybe the agent says, "Sir, we have no way of pushing some new boarding pass to your phone, are you insane? Go to gate agents." I have a feeling if I wrote this post but told everyone I stood in front of security waiting on hold with United and then missed my flight, I would be equally pilloried. And deservedly so.
Last edited by Mr.Nuke; Jan 14, 2020 at 9:06 pm Reason: corrected a typo
#159
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 10
One from unfortunately been dropped, smashing the screen and rendering the keyboard completely inoperable.
Two died by shutting down mid-use while fully charged and were never able to be resuscitated.
Yes, I always carry multiple chargers and a battery pack, and now a 2nd phone!
And yes I *always* make sure that I am carry a pepper BP, no matter where in the world my flight is.
#160
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
The good news, it was only a 1 hour 50 minute inconvenience - and steps to avoid this are easy:
1) Check in on the app.
2) Click - email my boarding pass as the last step during mobile check in
You will still have the mobile boarding pass. You will also have an electronic backup that can only be deleted by you.
#161
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,350
I'm seeing a lot of comments mentioning phones running out of juice. That still happens to folks? I have 1 of those little phone power packs in my backpack at all times. This exact boarding pass scenario has happened to me in the past so now I too screenshot my boarding pass as well as place it in the wallet (yes redundancy redundancy). I haven't had a dead cell phone in years because I have the backup power pack.
But I'm a road warrior....I even have a portable power pack for my laptop...(thanks to being burned by American Airlines old USAir 321's that don't have power!)
But I'm a road warrior....I even have a portable power pack for my laptop...(thanks to being burned by American Airlines old USAir 321's that don't have power!)
The moral of the story is, I see very little upside to the mobile boarding passes, and an awful lot of downside.
#162
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA MileagePlus (Premier Gold); Hilton HHonors (Gold); Chase Ultimate Rewards; Amex Plat
Posts: 6,642
There's little downside to using mobile passes. They're incredibly convenient, since you typically are on your phone while you are near the gate. What has very little upside and an awful lot of downside is failing to print a paper BP, even when you plan to use a mobile BP. Like with anything else, it's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
#163
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 2,531
UA's policy is not to show boarding passes for people who aren't checked in. You weren't checked in, because your ticket was out of sync. Your ticket was out of sync because UA tried to help you by giving you a protection flight.
Whichever software engineer wrote the app thought to themselves "passenger shouldn't be able to board with an out-of-sync reservation, we'll make the app not display anything". That was a bad programming decision, and cost OP the connection.
It could instead, for example, display the last valid BP and also an out-of-sync warning saying "your reservation is out of sync, please see an agent to fix your reservation." This would be more analogous to how paper BPs work, where you generally get to keep the old BP until you are handed a new one. It is bad UX to have a BP disappear without warning.
And to everyone who is saying "your phone could run out of juice!": If that had happened, OP wouldn't be blaming United. OP would say "hey my phone ran out of juice! My bad, should have charged my phone or printed a BP". In point of fact, OP's phone did not fail -- United has a piece of software that behaves poorly and in a particularly unexpected and surprising way.
You can give advice about flying defensively but don't lose sight of the fact that it's United's decisions -- bad decisions -- that led to the problem.
#164
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,115
Yes, the gate scanner would prevent the pax from boarding in that scenario anyway, so the app doesn't need to make that call.
#165
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
It is either - the way it works is UA's policy, a bug, or consequences of instructing the app to only display valid boarding passes.
Certainly, UA knows about this by the response by Customer Care. I lean on it is UA's policy to only display valid boarding passes within the app and whether that is bad policy or not is up for debate - they may have their reasons, for instance, don't let an invalid boarding make it all the way to scanner, reject it, tell passenger to go back to gate agent and sort it out - all while the boarding process has started.