May 7, 2022, 3:00 pm

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Active thread; UA-Schedule changes; +25% TATL 2022 capacity, Q2 TPAC down 65% vs 2019; June changes

UA publishes a schedule for 330 days in advance (called Beginning of Schedule) and in the past would make tweaks quarterly and things would be fairly settles 3-4 months out. Updates would occur Friday evening / Saturday morning (Chicago time). Routine additions could occur anytime.
20 Oct 2021

Quote:

Originally Posted by EWR764

In the earnings call today, UA noted that has been transitioning back to its 'normal' (pre-pandemic) 90-day schedule load process, which should be complete in the very near future.

Quote:

Originally Posted by UA Insider

The only thing constant is change and at United Airlines, some of the fees associated with changes related to flying are gone for good. The carrier announced today that it is permanently getting rid of change fees on all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S., effective immediately. And starting on January 1, 2021, any United customer can fly standby for free, regardless of fare type, on a flight departing the day of their travel, a first among U.S. carriers, while MileagePlus® Premier® members can confirm a seat on a different flight on the same day with the same departure and arrival cities as their original ticket if a seat in the same ticket fare class is available.

United is also extending its waiver for new tickets issued through December 31, 2020, to permit unlimited changes with no fee. This policy applies to all ticket types issued after March 3, 2020 and is valid for domestic and international travel.

The new change fee policy applies to all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S. 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and customers will not be limited in the number of times they adjust their flights.

Additionally, United is giving customers more flexibility to change their flights on the day of their travel so they can head home if a meeting ends earlier or enjoy a few more hours on vacation. With the ability to list for same-day standby for free, customers will now have an option to take a different flight with the same origin and destination airports as their original itinerary if space is available at departure. This enhanced option will be available to all customers for travel within the U.S. and to and from international destinations beginning on January 1, 2021. Customers who want to switch flights will be able to add themselves to the standby list through United’s award-winning mobile app, on united.com or at the airport no later than 30 minutes prior to departure for domestic flights and one hour before departure on international flights.

The carrier is also improving the travel experience for its MileagePlus members including waiving all redeposit fees on award travel for flights changed or cancelled more than 30 days before departure and allowing all MileagePlus Premier members to confirm a different flight on the day of their travel. As a way to thank MileagePlus Premier members for their loyalty, beginning January 1, 2021, all Premier members will be able to confirm a seat for free on a different flight with the same departure and arrival cities as their original ticket. This expanded option will allow MileagePlus Silver members and above to confirm a new seat in the same ticket fare class if space is available. Earlier this year, United announced that it will extend status for MileagePlus Premier and United Global Services® members through January 2022. United also reduced thresholds for Premier qualification by 50 percent for each status level, to make reaching an even higher status tier easier.

For more information on United’s new flexible travel policies, visit https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/change-fee.html.

Quote:

Change is here. Change fees are gone.We’re permanently getting rid of change fees for most Economy and premium cabin tickets for travel within the United States. This includes Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more

For all other destinations, change fees are waived through December 31, 2020. See terms and conditions

Quote:

We’re extending electronic certificatesTo give you more flexibility when you travel, electronic certificates are now valid for 24 months from the date they were issued. This includes all currently valid electronic certificates and all new ones issued on or after April 1, 2020.

This policy change will automatically appear, but it may not be reflected everywhere right away. We’d appreciate your patience as we work to make that happen.

Quote:

Award flight redeposit fees waived

We’re waiving redeposit fees for award flights issued on or before December 31, 2020, that are canceled at least 30 days before the departure date. You can also change your award flight with no fee. Learn more about changing or canceling your award flight.

International travel advisories and waivers

For more information about international travel:

View our current travel waivers
See our country-specific travel updates
Search by destination for passport, visa and health requirements provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA)
Visit the U.S. Department of State’s website for detailed information on coronavirus by country[/quote]

CARES service exemptions for United
United Exemption 042520 FINAL ISSUED.pdf
United Airlines 2nd Exemption_051220_FINAL ISSUED.pdf
latest (tentative) -2020-5-5 Order to Show Cause

Other Resources and Statistics

COVID19 UA-Schedule {Archive}

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Mar 2, 2020, 12:10 pm

#796

Kmxu

Join Date: May 2012

Location: ORF, RIC

Programs: UA LT 1K, 3 MM; Marriott Titanium; IHG Platinum

Posts: 6,964

Just wait!

Quote:

Originally Posted by yw379

I am on the same boat! 4/29 to FCO and 5/10 return from MXP.

Just wait. You will not travel in 8 weeks. The situation is so fluid. You may be able to get full refund if an updated waiver includes FCO.
My round trip to MXP in late March was changed to middle May on united.com. It was a half-priced XN fare (30K miles round trip, purchased on Cyber Monday). The rebooked flights were on YN fare for outbound, but XN fare on return. The initially quoted price was over 100K miles, but I was not charged to this amount. So, it was an even exchange despite of a different booking class. I was happy that I did not have to make a call to 1K line.
Good luck, everyone.

Mar 2, 2020, 5:08 pm

#797

blueman2

Join Date: Nov 2006

Location: SFO South Bay

Programs: UA 2MM

Posts: 3,052

I am really surprised that UA has not taken any action since all of italy was made Level 3 by State Dept (FCO still not covered by any waiver a full 3 days after State Dept announcement that Rome is included in the Level 3 category), and that UA has not followed AA or B6 is setting aside change fees for new tickets.

Mar 2, 2020, 5:11 pm

#798

fed planner

Join Date: Oct 2001

Location: San Antonio, USA

Programs: UA 1K, HHonors Diamond

Posts: 597

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsloan

Yes, if you're keeping the cities the same and if your dates are covered by a waiver. (So far, yours aren't).

Actually, it looks like Venice is covered through end of June - but not Geneva at this point. I do agree that waiting to make changes is the best approach at the point and see where we're at in two months.

Mar 2, 2020, 6:22 pm

#799

jsloan

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Oct 2001

Location: Austin, TX

Posts: 21,449

Quote:

Originally Posted by fed planner

Actually, it looks like Venice is covered through end of June

No; while you can rebook your flight through June 30 without paying a difference in airfare, only flights through April 30 are currently eligible.

If you were flying into a city with a waiver, but returning from a city without a waiver, the waiver would still apply.

Mar 2, 2020, 6:54 pm

#800

jimdarcy

Join Date: Dec 2015

Location: ORD

Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Ambassador, AA Platinum, Avis Pres Club, Hertz Pres Circle

Posts: 566

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsloan

what if you have a connecting flight through FRA final destination FLR, any guesses on refunds and waivers there?

Mar 2, 2020, 7:02 pm

#801

ATLflyer2017

formerly jackvogt

Join Date: Dec 2015

Location: Atlanta, GA

Programs: Delta SkyMiles,

Posts: 822

I am flying in to Paris on United in May and then returning to the US from Rome. I know the waiver does not include Rome yet, but is there any chance I could call and try to change my departure to be from another European city? Or should I wait. I am not really concerned about the virus but if I guess it could become a problem. Hopefully things get figured out soon!

Mar 2, 2020, 7:03 pm

#802

fed planner

Join Date: Oct 2001

Location: San Antonio, USA

Programs: UA 1K, HHonors Diamond

Posts: 597

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsloan

I stand corrected. Thanks for the clarification. Of course, at this rate, it's inevitable that this gets extended, unfortunately.

Mar 2, 2020, 9:07 pm

#803

jsloan

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Oct 2001

Location: Austin, TX

Posts: 21,449

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimdarcy

what if you have a connecting flight through FRA final destination FLR, any guesses on refunds and waivers there?

There currently isn't a waiver in place for either Frankfurt or Florence, so it's a YMMV situation. If possible, I'd wait.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackvogt

You should wait. Your cities and travel dates are both outside of the current waiver period -- but you have plenty of time. There's no need to call and ask for an agent to make such a big exception. Things should be much clearer in a few weeks.

Mar 2, 2020, 10:28 pm

#804

david_oz

Join Date: Jul 2008

Location: IAH, YYC

Programs: UA 1K

Posts: 753

Looking for some advice on my currently scheduled travel. Original ticket was booked late last year to HK and was meant to take place this weekend. On Feb 7, I rescheduled it to April 8th under the waiver in place at that time.

full itin is YYC-YVR-MUC-HKG-SFO-YYC. Upgrades are confirmed for YVR-MUC-HKG on LH using plus points. I’m hesitant to reschedule because of the magic I had to work to make the change to this routing to enable the upgrades in the first place. Meanwhile, HKG-SFO on UA is now cancelled and so I definitely need to change the ticket one way or another. How do I read the waiver that the original ticket must have been purchased by Feb 12? If I make a change to the HKG-SFO-YYC part, and the ticket is reissued, am I still covered under the waiver for future changes, or have I blown it because my ticket will now be dated after Feb 12?

my current line of thinking is to just leave the ticket as is until a few days before departure and make a game time decision whether to refund it, reschedule it, or go ahead and find a new way home from Hong Kong.

Mar 2, 2020, 10:40 pm

#805

username

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: May 2001

Posts: 10,974

Quote:

Originally Posted by david_oz

...my current line of thinking is to just leave the ticket as is until a few days before departure and make a game time decision whether to refund it, reschedule it, or go ahead and find a new way home from Hong Kong.

I would either cancel the trip or leave it and see what happens. The whole problem is things are so dynamic - who knows what will happen other than this thing will spread further. Then when quarantine rules change or flights are cancelled, you are stuck.

I do think that there is really no need to worry about upgrades - loads are light on many routes and probably will get worse. So, if the flight operates, upgrades or full row in Y might not be a problem. Since your final destination is in Canada, I would try to get on any AC flight to avoid transitting in another place.

There was this interesting story today. A Taiwanese group of 11 people went TPE-IST-TLV on TK for a sightseeing trip. It turned out someone from the Diamond Princess was on their IST-TLV flight. That person had recovered but tested positive again upon arriving TLV. So, Israel asked the group from Taiwan to leave (I think they were there for a day). They actually took a chartered TK 737-900 (sounded like TK took care of it?) from IST to TPE (with a technical landing in Karachi).

Mar 2, 2020, 10:49 pm

#806

econ

Join Date: Oct 2013

Location: SFO

Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP, Hyatt Glob, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Plat, Total Wine & More Reserve

Posts: 4,544

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueman2

and that UA has not followed AA or B6 is setting aside change fees for new tickets.

Or AS, or DL. Still nothing from UA.

Mar 3, 2020, 12:05 am

#807

jsloan

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Oct 2001

Location: Austin, TX

Posts: 21,449

Quote:

Originally Posted by david_oz

How do I read the waiver that the original ticket must have been purchased by Feb 12? If I make a change to the HKG-SFO-YYC part, and the ticket is reissued, am I still covered under the waiver for future changes, or have I blown it because my ticket will now be dated after Feb 12?

The waiver text says "original" purchase date, and so far I haven't heard any reports of UA trying anything different. The point of having an effectivity date on the waiver is to keep people from booking a speculative ticket and then changing it to something more to their liking under the terms of the waiver (e.g., there's a P fare on tomorrow's flight, but the actual travel date they want is only available in J -- buy the P fare and then call to change the date). That's hardly a consideration here.

That said, if you're planning to try to hop around flights to maximize your upgrade chances, I could see an agent refusing to help. But if you're just worried that you'll need to move it from April to May because things still look bad for travel in April, I suspect you'd be fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by econ

Or AS, or DL. Still nothing from UA.

DL's seems like a bad joke. Change fees waived... once... on international trips only? However, I agree that UA will almost certainly follow suit with a general waiver of some kind for new purchases. They're in danger of losing too much business.

Mar 3, 2020, 2:30 am

#808

Antonio8069

Join Date: Mar 2011

Location: Canada

Programs: Star Alliance G*, Marriott Bonvoy Titanium,

Posts: 3,585

coronavirus waiver query

I would appreciate hearing (PM me) from any FTs who have had been successful in getting UA to waive its int'l flight change rule due to CV?
We are in central Europe, and getting worried about the paucity of space from here to North America. The change fees keep going up as the # of cases spreads. First, it was Italy, now Germany and perhaps Austria?
IMO, UA's waivers are backward looking - not forward thinking, As a result, FTs are making their own changes in advance of the increase in no. of cases.

Mar 3, 2020, 4:01 am

#809

RNE

Join Date: Sep 2005

Location: JZRO

Posts: 9,169

Quote:

Originally Posted by yw379

I am on the same boat! 4/29 to FCO and 5/10 return from MXP.

That boat for us is in early May.

I'm not looking for a change waiver, though. I'm waiting for UA to cancel the flight(s) and refund me. TSMRSRNE now refuses to go to Italy anytime this year.