jsloan

In this specific instance, when the delay is under UA's control and a competing airline can get you to your destination meaningfully earlier, you may have been able to get UA to fly you on DL rather than refunding your UA ticket and buying a last-minute DL ticket instead.

Just FYI in case it comes up again in the future.

zdcatc12

OK, thanks. I didn't think of that. I just used my Skypesos for the Delta flight, so I wasn't out any cash.

prestonh

None of that is in dispute. The op asked if they were entitled to a refund instead of a flight credit due to the mechanical delay. That is covered by the coc. Nothing really to do with covid in this case. Yes the rules you state give the specific guidance enumerated by the coc. These rules used to be spelled out in the coc.

HNLbasedFlyer

Lets hope if DOT enacts this new rule UA does not adopt 3 hours for flight cancellation domestically and 6 hours international.

Transportation Dept. Proposes New Rule to Ease Air Travel Chaos for Passengers - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

The proposed policy defines “significantly changed” as a three-hour delay for a domestic flight and a six-hour delay for an international flight. The new rule would also entitle passengers to full refunds for any switch in the departure or destination airport, the addition of a layover or a change in aircraft that causes a significant downgrade in seat class.

jsloan

I would wager the odds are nearly 100% that if this rule passes, all domestic airlines will adopt the specific time limits it includes. I intend to file a comment in opposition, but I don't expect to prevail.

I'd prefer a rule that said that they had to disclose the rules in advance and that they couldn't change them after a purchase -- that was the real issue in 2020.

Smiley90

If a flight booked with flight credit has a >2hr schedule change, can it be cancelled for an actual cash refund or only flight credit? (Which would be the same as just cancelling the flight with no schedule change, no?)

HNLbasedFlyer

Flight credit - only the actual cash you paid gets refunded.

Smiley90

Does it reset the flight credit expiration? (Not relevant right now since expiration is Dec 2023, but will be relevant if there's a schedule change after Dec 31 2022). I understand voluntary cancellation doesn't reset the flight credit expiration.

jsloan

Here's a fun one. They cancelled my ASE-DEN flight yesterday. They first re-accommodated me on a flight this morning, and then when I called, agreed to drop the first leg and reinstate my original DEN-AUS flight, which I drove to DEN to meet.

After I landed, I put in a refund request for the ASE-DEN leg. They've already denied it (!). It seems that because I accepted "re-accommodation," I'm not eligible for a refund. Yes, if I'd gotten re-routed from EGE or GJT, sure, that'd be an even exchange. But I didn't, I dropped a leg, and it seems that UA's position is 'oh well, as long as you got to your destination, we're good."

DOT complaint filed, but I'm honestly shocked they'd play hardball over something so trivial as an ASE-DEN leg that'll probably work out to be $60.

Reindeerflame

We are faced with having to cancel a one-way paid UA economy ticket from Queenstown (New Zealand) to Auckland (segment on Air NZ) to SFO and SMF. I know we can get future travel credits on UA but am wondering whether we can make the case for a cash refund. When we booked the trip in May 2022, we were to arrive back in SMF at 929am. Later, this was changed to 154pm, and then to 525pm, as United thinned its SFO-SMF schedule.

We also paid for Economy Plus seats separately. Are those charges refundable?

Thanks for any input.

jsloan

Yes, you should be eligible for a full refund for such a large change of schedule. And, yes, E+ is refundable.

SPN Lifer

Yes, E+ is refundable, for an involuntary cancellation such as this. Would it be refundable for a voluntary cancellation?

Reindeerflame

We were able to cancel the ZQN to SMF (via AKL and SFO) flight and will receive a refund of $2282.14, which covers the airfare and the Economy Plus seat fees, so we are thankful to FT for the helpful advice. The agent was very helpful and did not attempt to offer a lesser option, such as flight credits.

jsloan

Thanks to SPN Lifer, as I tried to find this thread when UA responded to me, but I couldn't find it.

The DOT replied back to me around a month after I submitted my complaint, and UA called me about three weeks after the DOT email came. He offered a refund (although somehow still seemed to say that he didn't think it should have been refundable because the cancelation was due to weather, which simply isn't the way it it works...) or an ETC for about $100 more than the refund amount would have been. I took the ETC and it was in my inbox within minutes.

Yes, E+ charges are refundable if you do not end up sitting in an E+ seat, unless the reason that you didn't get E+ is that you got a CPU. I'm not 100% sure if you can refund just the E+ fee without changing flights, but if you have a voluntary flight cancellation, your E+ fees will be refunded.

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Incidentally, I've had yet another refund denied by UA -- this time, I misconnected at IAH due to a mechanical delay on the inbound, resulting in another unplanned overnight. Rather than taking the rebooked flight to AUS, I rented a car and drove, and then called 1K Voice to have the flight taken off of my record. Somehow the agent pushed through a FFC (?!) based on an INVOL calculation -- but it's one of the old-style FFCs that is going to require rebooking via the existing PNR. I went to the refunds site to ask for a refund instead, and it was denied because they said no schedule change had occurred. I swear, the people in the refunds department don't really read half the stuff they get.

Since it's such a small amount and I do have an FFC, I don't think I'll bother the DOT again, but I admit I was tempted...

zombietooth

By contrast, I booked my intra-NZ flights on NZ's website. They similarly changed the schedule radically, making my itinerary impossible, but will not refund my tix.