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High fare difference charged when uncomfortable with connection time

High fare difference charged when uncomfortable with connection time

Old Jun 15, 2022, 2:38 pm
  #16  
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Originally Posted by Starbase 1K
Also, for the future, United sells “departure/connection/arrival” services branded as “Signature Service”. Similar to AA’s Five Star service, United’s connection service would assign you a team to manage your flights, grab you and transport you to your next gate, etc. Helpful for those that need extra dedicated help at the airport but that don’t want to rely on the airport’s special needs services.
I don’t think that’s available at most airports, but yeah - should be available at EWR.
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Old Jun 15, 2022, 2:55 pm
  #17  
 
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I recently faced a similar situation with an AA ticket from LAX to DFW (519) and DFW to SCL (945) - The scheduled gap between the arrival at DFW and departure was 1.15 hours and closer to the journey I saw on flightaware three consecutive days of 20 minute delays that would have placed me in a 50-55 minute window (effectively 30 mins not counting for deboarding/boarding). I brought this to the attention of AA who categorically refused to move me up to one of their many earlier flights to DFW - refuting my requests with a qualification that they would look after me if I missed my SCL flight. In desperation I tried my luck with the gate agent for an earlier flight who acquiesced. As luck would have it the 519 flight that particular day landed a few minutes early, even so the 945 to Chile was full and everyone's documents were being double checked manually at the gate so by arriving on the original flight I would have been setting myself up for a world of pain.
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Old Jun 15, 2022, 3:51 pm
  #18  
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Originally Posted by Starbase 1K
Also, for the future, United sells “departure/connection/arrival” services branded as “Signature Service”. Similar to AA’s Five Star service, United’s connection service would assign you a team to manage your flights, grab you and transport you to your next gate, etc. Helpful for those that need extra dedicated help at the airport but that don’t want to rely on the airport’s special needs services.
Introducing United Exclusive Assistance "United Signature Service" [Q&A-Experiences]

UA link

Available at 20+ major airports -- including all UA hubs (such as EWR except DEN) and TLV, and a number of international airports
A United Signature Service concierge will be there to help throughout your time at the airport. Your concierge will monitor your flight, guide you to or from your gate, assist with check-in and arrange any travel changes or airport accommodations that you might need. If you want to relax before your flight, you will have access to one of our United Club℠ locations. We can also arrange for special services such as language assistance, if requested in advance.
But UA is still obligated to provide wheelchair service -- IME, it is best to booked extra long connection times (my responsibility to book) if needing wheelchair services -- delays are common as they are staff for normal needs but if an unusually high number of requests occur those can fall behind.

Originally Posted by Kumar2013
.... As luck would have it the 519 flight that particular day landed a few minutes early, even so the 945 to Chile was full and everyone's documents were being double checked manually at the gate so by arriving on the original flight I would have been setting myself up for a world of pain.
No there would have been no problems if you are at the gate waiting document check, the plane will be held.
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Old Jun 15, 2022, 5:10 pm
  #19  
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Much better ways to resolve this than agreeing to pay for a change and then demanding a refund for it.
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Old Jun 15, 2022, 8:01 pm
  #20  
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Originally Posted by mduell
Much better ways to resolve this than agreeing to pay for a change and then demanding a refund for it.
Premise for a monty python sketch if I ever saw one!
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Old Jun 15, 2022, 11:21 pm
  #21  
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Originally Posted by euslaner
Checking availability, the other flights require being in the air for over 24 hours. They can charge me what they want. Doesn;'t mean I have to fly them in the future. When you pay top dollar for a seat up front, if they can't be flexible after a mess-up last week, they don;t deserve my continued business.
Well, I guess there's your answer. You agree to the CoC when purchasing your ticket, and it does not allow you the right to ask for a refund when another trip went awry.

Did you file a complaint regarding your issue in TLV?
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Old Jun 16, 2022, 6:44 am
  #22  
 
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Originally Posted by euslaner
My wife and I are booked in paid C to Antigua in November.
if your flights are not till November, you should not have done this. You will almost certainly see a schedule change (or 2 or 3) between now and then which either a) could alleviate the problem or b) allow you to make the change for free.

if within 24 hours of the change maybe MAYBE you can get a friendly agent to revert back.

I think the TLV experience really made you mad (which may be completely understandable) and clouded judgment here.
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Old Jun 16, 2022, 7:19 am
  #23  
 
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You voluntarily rebooked for a "more comfortable" connection. AND paid the premium. Yeah you shouldn't see a cent back.
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Old Jun 16, 2022, 7:56 am
  #24  
 
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I will just add points I don't see raised in the thread:

* Under the Air Carrier Access Act the operating airline is responsible for the provision of wheelchair services. They can contract it out but UA is ultimately responsible for the service or lack thereof

* If OP had misconnected due to a failure in the wheelchair service UA would have been responsible to get OP to the final destination at no extra cost.


Unfortunately when the connection meets the MCT just because it may not be comfortable doesn't entitle OP to a free change just because something "may" go wrong. UA should treat the change as a voluntary change, otherwise the exceptions would swallow the rule.
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Old Jun 16, 2022, 8:35 am
  #25  
 
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Not sure I fully understand - is 7:53 the scheduled arrival into EWR, or just when a specific flight arrived one day last week?
If the latter, what is the scheduled arrival time?
If the former, I'm surprised that MCT at EWR is less than the 37 minutes available.
FT'ers - is current D-I MCT available somewhere on UA's website? If it is, they don't make it easy to find.
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Old Jun 16, 2022, 8:44 am
  #26  
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Originally Posted by Maxwell Smart
FT'ers - is current D-I MCT available somewhere on UA's website? If it is, they don't make it easy to find.
No; it's only available via a GDS.

UA MCT for D-I at EWR is 40 minutes for terminal C, or 50 minutes from terminal A-C, plus five minutes if the inbound flight is a widebody or 753, or an hour if the destination is TLV. (Or 50 minutes if the inbound is a bus).

It's that level of complexity which explains why it's not on the website.

I suspect OP was looking at a flight time this week and assuming that the future flight would arrive at the same time.
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Old Jun 16, 2022, 9:21 am
  #27  
 
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Originally Posted by Maxwell Smart
Not sure I fully understand - is 7:53 the scheduled arrival into EWR, or just when a specific flight arrived one day last week?
If the latter, what is the scheduled arrival time?
If the former, I'm surprised that MCT at EWR is less than the 37 minutes available.
FT'ers - is current D-I MCT available somewhere on UA's website? If it is, they don't make it easy to find.
I just looked, scheduled arrival appears to be 7:36 am.
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Old Jun 17, 2022, 9:32 am
  #28  
 
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Originally Posted by Starbase 1K
Also, for the future, United sells “departure/connection/arrival” services branded as “Signature Service”. Similar to AA’s Five Star service, United’s connection service would assign you a team to manage your flights, grab you and transport you to your next gate, etc. Helpful for those that need extra dedicated help at the airport but that don’t want to rely on the airport’s special needs services.
THIS! Onmygosh, why aren't agents trained to suggest this as an option? I'm guessing it's way cheaper than the $3000+ fare difference! Excellent suggestion.
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Old Jun 18, 2022, 6:24 pm
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by euslaner
When you pay top dollar for a seat up front, if they can't be flexible after a mess-up last week, they don;t deserve my continued business.
Sorry it's a hostile crowd here sometimes. Yours isn't a difficult or unreasonable request. United should and could have done better. Your business should have been more important that the money and they should have proposed a better solution.

Originally Posted by Mike Jacoubowsky
THIS! Onmygosh, why aren't agents trained to suggest this as an option? I'm guessing it's way cheaper than the $3000+ fare difference! Excellent suggestion.
There are probably also more considerate options I am sure. Shame on United for taking 3600 dollars from a couple with physical difficulty navigating an airport concerned about making a connection...
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Old Jun 19, 2022, 4:44 am
  #30  
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Originally Posted by ani90
Sorry it's a hostile crowd here sometimes. Yours isn't a difficult or unreasonable request. United should and could have done better. Your business should have been more important that the money and they should have proposed a better solution.


There are probably also more considerate options I am sure. Shame on United for taking 3600 dollars from a couple with physical difficulty navigating an airport concerned about making a connection...
I think a lot of people are confusing two issues. The wheelchair situation the OP experienced in TLV has absolutely zero to do with an upcoming connection in EWR. OP agreed the connection they scheduled was good enough by actually purchasing it. If they changed their mind about it, they are welcome to make a voluntary change for the fare difference (which seems to have been done), or they could have waited out for a schedule change, or canceled altogether and tried a different routing via UA or other carrier - agreeing to a fare difference and then ‘demanding’ it be refunded is disingenuous at absolute best. It’s also not going to survive a card dispute if they think that’s the next option. I’m genuinely sorry it took a long time for a wheelchair in TLV - that’s something they should address with UA, but demanding a refund for a fare difference they voluntarily agreed to pay for an upcoming trip where there is no problem as of now is not a way to do that.

That said, maybe the agent could have suggested the signature service or whatever it’s called, but even that might not help. It’s not going to help the flight be held if they arrive too late to make the connection, though may help them get from gate A to B faster.

my personal rule for connecting at EWR, if I must do it (I try to avoid EWR for multiple reasons) is a MCT of 2 hours - I will not book anything shorter. A small gust of wind can generate plenty of delays. I say this as a relatively healthy, relatively quick walking middle-aged person. If the OP knows they can not get between gates fast, they need to take this into consideration, no matter what the connection point, and book accordingly. Theoretically, ORD connection time (D-D/I) is as little as 35 minutes - I’ve booked and made those before, but wouldn’t recommend to most - only to those who can walk quickly, know the airport layout really well and also only to those destinations with multiple daily flights to avoid getting stuck, and even with this, has failed me before on some trips. OP really has to evaluate the connections offered to see if they make sense - just because UA allows you to connect with 45 minutes between arrival and next departure, doesn’t mean it’s something you should book. If you know it takes longer to get between gates - book a longer connection. If you are not sure, book a longer connection time. If you absolutely need to be at the destination at the time the plane is scheduled to land - book the flight before. It’s really not that difficult to think about your personal situation and figure out if the schedule they are offering makes sense - if it doesn’t, there are other you can pick from - even if it’s on a different carrier.
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