Jan 20, 2021, 12:13 am

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Welcome to this thread to ask your basic, simple questions about United Airlines, its operations, or the MileagePlus program. We know that the airline is complex and we’ve created this thread for new and veteran members to ask those basic questions about United Airlines that you think must have an easy answer but just can’t find it or aren’t sure where to look.

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Dec 3, 2021, 1:37 pm

#586

jamesinclair

Join Date: May 2015

Posts: 674

Quote:

Originally Posted by findark

That's tough. At equal mileage I would avoid the Devil's Chariot for sure, the PE seat on the 777 is roughly equivalent to a domestic F seat at SFO-FAT isn't exactly a long flight...

I would say they are probably fairly comparable including the difference in mileage, and you might get varying opinions here. The E75 is a nice ride up front, especially if you can get the A side.

There was an empty seat in the A row, but I decided to go with the SFO option because if there are any flight delays or other issues, its easier to get to Fresno from SFO than via Chicago which has just one flight a day. That being said, being on (what I believe is) the longest E175 flight was an interesting item to check off. If the pricing was reversed, I would have gone for it however

4h 51m + 2 tiny bathrooms + day flight = fun times for all

Dec 3, 2021, 1:53 pm

#587

findark

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Nov 2014

Location: MSP

Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found

Posts: 14,410

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesinclair

That being said, being on (what I believe is) the longest E175 flight was an interesting item to check off.

A bit off the longest in recent memory, might be the longest operating: Longest Embraer 175 routes?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesinclair

4h 51m + 2 tiny bathrooms + day flight = fun times for all

It's 12F for one lav, which is better than average. I used to take the E75 between SFO and MSP all the time, and other than the lack of hot food and propensity for UAX to get screwed by SFO slot assignment, I found it preferable to mainline.

Dec 3, 2021, 2:22 pm

#588

jamesinclair

Join Date: May 2015

Posts: 674

Quote:

Originally Posted by findark

A bit off the longest in recent memory, might be the longest operating: Longest Embraer 175 routes?

It's 12F for one lav, which is better than average. I used to take the E75 between SFO and MSP all the time, and other than the lack of hot food and propensity for UAX to get screwed by SFO slot assignment, I found it preferable to mainline.

I just flew EWR-DFW in an 175 in the back (also around 4 hours) and it was fine, aside from the fact that the seat in front of me did not have a recline limit because the guy went further back than id ever seen before. As the seat next to me was empty, I didnt say anything.

The website says the recline should be 2" but this dude was like a full 6" deep

Dec 3, 2021, 4:59 pm

#589

Repooc17

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Aug 2017

Programs: AS 75K, DL Silver, UA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Platinum + LT Gold

Posts: 10,498

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesinclair

I realize this is an opinion, but what would be a more comfortable trip/better use of miles?

1)
52.4k miles
business class on both
flight 1: A320 ewr-ord 2h 45m
flight 2: E175 ord-fat 4h 51m

2)
42.1k miles
premium economy
flight 1: 777-200 ewr-sfo 6h 21m
flight 2: Canadair Regional Jet sfo-fat 1h economy

I guess basically is 4h 51m on an E175 in business better than 6h 21m in a premium economy seat on a 777 (or a 787 on another day)

What are the corresponding cash fares?

I think they are both poor use of miles, but that's kinda expected with UA miles now dynamic.

There are still good values, but difficult to find. Recently flew SFO to ORD (772) and ORD to DTW (75L) in J/F for 25K miles.

I know this is not useful, but I have redeemed a bunch of AA transcon flights (between JFK and LAX/SFO) this years for 27.5K in J and 49K in F both three-class lie flat in J and F via its web specials. AA miles are more or less freebie to me just by having a linked bank account.

Dec 5, 2021, 9:14 am

#590

boerne

Join Date: Jun 2011

Location: I 35 south bound, finally stopped

Programs: LT Plt, 4mm, *A GLD, burned out medical provider, executing our estate plan

Posts: 1,665

Looking at our flight on 12-25, on the LH website, this gave me pause. Should I be concerned? I used to own 2 condos on the land that once was the Mueller Airport in AUS.

Sat. 25 December 2021: Washington – Austin

17:42 h Washington Washington Dulles Intl (IAD)

20:30 h Austin Robert Mueller Municipal Arpt (AUS)

UA 1858 operated by:
United Airlines

Dec 5, 2021, 5:50 pm

#591

Repooc17

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Aug 2017

Programs: AS 75K, DL Silver, UA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Platinum + LT Gold

Posts: 10,498

Quote:

Originally Posted by boerne

UA 1858 operated by:
United Airlines

What's the concern? Probably never updated by LH.

It's not like there are runways to land there.

Dec 5, 2021, 6:01 pm

#592

vasantn

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Jan 2001

Location: NYC

Programs: AA EXP / LT PLT / 3MM, Marriott LT Gold

Posts: 35,386

PQP on UA-operated LH flight

I hope this is a "simple question". 😊

My daughter is flying EWR-FRA and back in PE, on a UA-operated flight with an LH flight number. The RT fare is ~$1,100 and the RT distance is ~7,800 miles. The booking class is N.

Am I correct in calculating that she would get 7,800 ÷ 5 = 1,560 PQP for the round trip while with a UA flight no. she would get only 1,100 PQP? I'm ignoring the effects of taxes and fees to keep the calculation simple. If so, she could obtain bottom-level UA status with 2 RTs plus a little CC spend.

Dec 5, 2021, 7:51 pm

#593

jamesinclair

Join Date: May 2015

Posts: 674

Quote:

Originally Posted by Repooc17

What are the corresponding cash fares?

I think they are both poor use of miles, but that's kinda expected with UA miles now dynamic.
.

I didnt price them out in cash, but I had booked an all-economy round-trip for $755, and then saw that I could fly back on the same day I wanted for $180 cash.

So basically, I was paying $555 for an economy flight from EWR-FAT. I decided it was better to use miles and then go up a notch as it wasnt a huge difference (I think economy miles were 37k). So miles going, cash to come back.

Dec 6, 2021, 2:28 am

#594

leoo

Join Date: Jun 2014

Location: YYC

Programs: UA 1K, Accor Platinum, Marriott Gold, Delta Silver, Hilton Gold

Posts: 361

Quote:

Originally Posted by vasantn

She'll get less than 1,100 PQP. It's going to be the actual dollar spending excluding taxes, fees and charges.

In order to earn RDM ÷ 5, the segment needs to be ticketed and operated by a preferred partner airline.
If the flight was operated by Lufthansa, she'd get 1,500 PQP total because there's a cap of 750 PQP per segment.

vasantn and SPN Lifer like this.

Dec 6, 2021, 6:53 am

#595

vasantn

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Jan 2001

Location: NYC

Programs: AA EXP / LT PLT / 3MM, Marriott LT Gold

Posts: 35,386

Quote:

Originally Posted by leoo

Thank you.

Dec 7, 2021, 4:13 pm

#596

RememberTheConcord

Join Date: Nov 2019

Posts: 153

I have a partially used ticket with fare basis PNA86SNC. I flew the outbound (US to Europe), but had to cancel the return (Europe to US). I would like to rebook this ticket and use the residual value (~$800) at some point, as I often fly this route.

I thought it was the case that if there was a flight leg with availability in the P bucket, I could rebook with that leg and not have to pay a fare difference. When I just called into the Premier Desk, I was told that that’s not always the case, and that in fact to rebook this ticket with a particular date that has a flight available in the P bucket, I would have to pay a fare difference of ~$3,000.

I (unfortunately) don’t have the full fare rules and the United website does not seem to have them available. The agent did not seem to know much more about what conditions triggers re-pricing. Does anyone here have any hunches for how to find a use for this residual credit? Ideally, I’d be able to use the remainder of the ticket at the original fare, because that was a great deal, but as I don’t have the fare rules, I’m not sure what conditions I’d be able to do that under.

Dec 7, 2021, 4:41 pm

#597

findark

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Nov 2014

Location: MSP

Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found

Posts: 14,410

Quote:

Originally Posted by RememberTheConcord

I (unfortunately) don’t have the full fare rules and the United website does not seem to have them available. The agent did not seem to know much more about what conditions triggers re-pricing. Does anyone here have any hunches for how to find a use for this residual credit? Ideally, I’d be able to use the remainder of the ticket at the original fare, because that was a great deal, but as I don’t have the fare rules, I’m not sure what conditions I’d be able to do that under.

We can look up the exact fare rules if you state the date of ticketing, fare basis (PNA86SNC), and citypair.

In most cases, you can keep the original fare if P space is available and the new flights satisfy the fare rules of the original fare, measuring advance purchase from the original ticketing date to the new travel date.

A -NA86- fare should require a 28-day AP and Sunday or 7-day stay, with no day or seasonality restrictions. The fare may, however, have a promotional period.

RememberTheConcord likes this.

Dec 7, 2021, 4:54 pm

#598

RememberTheConcord

Join Date: Nov 2019

Posts: 153

Quote:

Originally Posted by findark

Aha, thanks for that response! Putting that information into ExpertFlyer was actually the trick to getting it to give me the fare rules. (I had tried before, but I had not entered all that information at once.)

This was a fare ticketed on Jul 14 2021 for travel between BOS and ZRH.

I think in the fare rules I see (at least) two problems for doing what I want to do:

- I see this restriction that “TICKETS MUST BE ISSUED ON/BEFORE 14JUL21.” I’m guessing this also applies to ticket re-issues, so no matter what I do, we cannot re-issue tickets with this fare.
- There is a maximum stay requirement, in particular that “TRAVEL FROM LAST STOPOVER MUST COMMENCE NO LATER THAN
3 MONTHS AFTER DEPARTURE FROM FARE ORIGIN.” I flew my outbound in August, so we’re already past that, so even if the above restriction does not apply to re-ticketing, we still cannot construct a valid fare under this rule.

So I’m guessing this means that whenever I rebook, I will end up needing to reprice under current fare rules. They’ll apply the amount I already paid to that new ticket, but I won’t be able to get the same sale fare I had, so it will be pretty expensive.

Dec 7, 2021, 6:11 pm

#599

dogcatdogcatdogcat

Join Date: Dec 2021

Posts: 2

Can you enter United Club lounges in ORD (Chicago O'Hare International) with one-time pass currently?
Several months ago I was denied to enter with one-time pass.

Dec 7, 2021, 7:09 pm

#600

findark

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Nov 2014

Location: MSP

Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found

Posts: 14,410

Quote:

Originally Posted by RememberTheConcord

I see this restriction that “TICKETS MUST BE ISSUED ON/BEFORE 14JUL21.” I’m guessing this also applies to ticket re-issues, so no matter what I do, we cannot re-issue tickets with this fare.

This shouldn't be an issue; this section is generally waived for repricing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RememberTheConcord

There is a maximum stay requirement, in particular that “TRAVEL FROM LAST STOPOVER MUST COMMENCE NO LATER THAN
3 MONTHS AFTER DEPARTURE FROM FARE ORIGIN.” I flew my outbound in August, so we’re already past that, so even if the above restriction does not apply to re-ticketing, we still cannot construct a valid fare under this rule.

This is going to be an issue.

You should still have the ability to change using historical fares with the following tag:

Code:

   OR -
   AFTER DEPARTURE OF JOURNEY AND WITHIN TICKET VALIDITY
   CERTAIN DOMESTIC REISSUE PROVISIONS MAY BE OVERRIDDEN
   BY THOSE OF UA INTERNATIONAL FARES
   NO CHARGE CHARGE HIGHEST FEE OF ALL CHANGED FARE
   COMPONENTS - CATEGORY 19 DISCOUNTS APPLY AND
     REPRICE USING FARES IN EFFECT WHEN TKT WAS ISSUED
     PROVIDED ALL OF THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS ARE MET-
     1. NO CHANGE TO 1ST FLIGHT COUPON
     2. WHEN NO INTL COUPONS REMAIN - ALL NEW TRAVEL
     MUST BE DOMESTIC
     3. FULLY FLOWN FARE NOT REPRICED TO FURTHER POINT
     4. AC/LH/LX/OS/SN/UA FARES ARE USED
     5. UA ANY FARE TYPE EXCEPT EOU/ERU ARE USED
     6. PUBLIC FARES ARE USED IF TICKETED FARE IS IN
     PUBLIC TARIFF. PRIVATE FARES ARE USED IF TICKETED
     FARE IS IN PRIVATE TARIFF
     7. NEW TKT HAS EQUAL OR HIGHER VALUE THAN PREVIOUS
     TKT
     8. ALL RULE AND BOOKING CODE PROVISIONS ARE MET
     9. ADV RES IS MEASURED FROM ORIGINAL TKT DATE TO
     DEPARTURE OF PRICING UNIT
     OR -
     REPRICE USING FARES IN EFFECT WHEN TKT WAS ISSUED
     PROVIDED ALL OF THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS ARE MET-
     1. NO CHANGE TO 1ST FLIGHT COUPON
     2. WHEN NO INTL COUPONS REMAIN - ALL NEW TRAVEL
     MUST BE DOMESTIC
     3. FULLY FLOWN FARE NOT REPRICED TO FURTHER POINT
     4. ANY CARRIER FARES ARE USED
     5. ANY FARE TYPE EXCEPT EOU/ERU ARE USED
     6. PUBLIC FARES ARE USED IF TICKETED FARE IS IN
     PUBLIC TARIFF. PRIVATE FARES ARE USED IF TICKETED
     FARE IS IN PRIVATE TARIFF
     7. NEW TKT HAS EQUAL OR HIGHER VALUE THAN PREVIOUS
     TKT
     8. ALL RULE AND BOOKING CODE PROVISIONS ARE MET
     9. ADV RES IS MEASURED FROM ORIGINAL TKT DATE TO
     DEPARTURE OF PRICING UNIT
   WHEN CHANGE RESULTS IN LOWER FARE IGNORE RESIDUAL THEN
   ADD-COLLECT - REFUND VIA MCO
   ENDORSEMENT BOX - HIGHER NON-REF AMT AND NEW
   ENDORSEMENTS.

Unfortunately this is not very helpful. Advance purchase is going to apply between ticketing and the departure of your outbound, which is rough because if that is less than 50 days, the next higher pricing fare (under 50-day AP, longer than 3 month maximum stay) is ZNX49ENC for an extra $2,949 which is probably where the add/collect is coming from (I believe the outbound reprices as well because the maximum stay is getting violated).