High fare difference charged when uncomfortable with connection time
 

My wife and I are booked in paid C to Antigua in November. After a disastrous experience on the ground in TLV last week (we can walk but not for long distances and UA did not have wheelchairs for us there), my wife was worried that we might not make a connecting flight from EWR to AG in November. I called and was told that last week the flight from IAD-EWR arrived at 7:53 while the flight to AG from EWR left from a different terminal at 8:30. It is virtually impossible to get to the EWR-IAD in time if the IAD-EWR flight arrives at 7:53. So I rebooked us for the previous evening to get to EWR and stay over night so that we could get up and get on the EWR-AG flight. We were thus charged $3600 for a "voluntary" change fee. I have sent an email to the executive office demanding credit (not mileage or coupons). Does anyone have any other ideas to get United to accept the fact that this was not a "purely voluntary" change that I have to pay?

That's not a change fee, it's a fare difference, due to the way that you constructed your trip. It would have been much cheaper to buy the first DC-EWR leg as a separate flight.

I don't understand how you're claiming it's not voluntary, unless there was a schedule change involved? You didn't mention any.

Sounds like a voluntary change and subject to change in fare. Not sure what basis you can demand money back.

If UA can't make the connection, they need to change the flights.

I must say I find it intriguing that you called UA to ask for a better connection, they quoted you a $3600 fare difference ... you accept ... and then you write to the executive office 'demanding credit'?
Unless there is more to this story I find it hard to believe you will hear a favorable response from UA on this.

If the flights booked and still scheduled meet the MCT (regardless of what a flight last week did), and there has been no significant schedule change, this is a voluntary change in airline terms. Understand you may be having concerns on the connection, but it is what was booked and to change is voluntary. It is important to make arrangements with UA in EWR to have the assistance you need. What happened in TLV, understanding it happened to you, is not a reason to get a waiver of the fare difference.

As mentioned, this is not a "change fee" but a fare difference due to a close in change.

What are the presently scheduled times and does it meet the MCT (Minimum Connect Time). What was it when you booked?
Again what happened for a particular flight in the past is of no bearing.

If UA is late in arriving, they own the responsibility of getting you to you destination.

Past performance does not guarantee future results. One flight that was delayed in the past will mean that your flight in November will be delayed.

Also, no one forced you to make a change, hence why it's voluntary.

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.

So, you had a bad situation, tangentially related to UA. (Wheelchairs are operated by locally-staffed vendors). That's unfortunate, and stressful, certainly. But I don't understand why it created an urgency to make a change to a flight five months hence, or why you agreed to the $3600 fare difference.

If you'd come to FT before you made any changes, people would have had quite a few suggestions that might have helped. As it is, I can't think of anything that's likely to get you a refund, unless the fare itself happens to be refundable: in which case, cancel and refund it, and start over. Book EWR-ANU / ANU-EWR-IAD on one ticket, and IAD-EWR on another (or take the train).

Not trying to add insult to the injury, but for the future, here are few additional options:

• wait for a schedule change to happen - very likely for November travel. That allows you to make changes w/o paying a fare difference
• as mentioned already, you could have considered a separate ticket to EWR with a much longer layover - although that brings its own risks
• did you explore if flying whY in the DC-EWR segment would have been an even exchange? Short enough flight to slum it in coach
• SDC is always an option, but that is of course subject to availability

Of course you also realize that UA doesn't have any wheelchairs, not in TLV or anywhere. They request them from local providers and at times there are issues with that; limited # of folks doing this and stuff is getting backed up. If your expectation for continuing to fly UA is reliant on non-UA services, so be it, but no other airline will be able to meet your requirements.

While I agree with pretty much everything else here, I'd argue that it is 100% on UA rather than tangentially related. While it's true that they outsource wheelchair services at most (all?) stations, ultimately United is still the entity legally responsible for "promptly" providing wheelchair assistance. Excusing them because a vendor failed to provide timely wheelchair assistance would be the same as excusing them because Gate Gourmet provided terrible meals or their below-the-wing outsourcer mishandled baggage.

To the OP: While I agree with the others that you made a number of missteps here and you may not get the satisfaction you're looking for, if your wheelchair-related experience at TLV was indeed disastrous then I'd recommend that you make an ACAA complaint to the DOT about that specifically: https://www.transportation.gov/airco...umer-complaint

So if UA’s vendor can’t get you a wheelchair in Tel Aviv in time on one trip, UA is supposed to remember on the next trip that you should get a $3000 credit to make a voluntary change? It’s probably best to ask for compensation (or $3000 cash) immediately after the incident in Tel Aviv while it’s fresh in UA’s mind. I really don’t think other airlines are going to help you in the same sort of situation.

Sure, that's fair; my point is pretty much the same as cfischer's; it's not clear to me that the experience would have been any different with another carrier. At least with Gate Gourmet, you know that UA had input into the menu. :)

Now, you could certainly blame UA ground staff for not being proactive enough about tracking down the wheelchair, or if their systems lost the wheelchair request, or something like that. But if the issue was that the contractor failed to show up, it may be UA's responsibility, but it doesn't necessarily mean any other airline would have done any better.

Fair enough, although I will note that most airports have multiple wheelchair service vendors so a different airline may provide a different experience. I don't know what it's like in TLV, but SFO and OAK each have at least 3 that I know of. (In fact, WN changed their vendor at OAK a few years ago because they were unsatisfied with the service passengers were receiving.)

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.