High fare difference charged when uncomfortable with connection time
#16
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
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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.
#17
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: DEL
Programs: SA, JAL, EK
Posts: 80
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.
#18
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
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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.
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.
.... 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.
#21
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: CT/NY
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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.
Did you file a complaint regarding your issue in TLV?
#22
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: TX
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 722
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.
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.
#24
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: CLE, DCA, and 30k feet
Programs: Honors LT Diamond; United 1K; Hertz PC
Posts: 4,134
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.
* 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.
#25
Join Date: Dec 2004
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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.
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.
#26
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Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,186
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.
#27
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Colorado
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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.
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.
#28
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Redwood City, CA USA (SFO/SJC)
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Posts: 8,824
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.
#29
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: NYC, LON
Programs: *
Posts: 2,754
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...
#30
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Join Date: Oct 2006
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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...
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...
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.