Shoredreamer

Hope its ok to put this here but have a question maybe somewhat similar topic…

When booking a Non-UA ticket (not 016) that includes code share on UA metal, is there any way to easily obtain the UA confirm #/reference locator (so I can directly access on UA’s website?) IME, w/opposite scenario (on an 016 ticket) UA has always provided the codeshare’s confirm #/reference locator for access on the other airline’s website, but short of phoning in, is there any way I can easily access this info when not an 016 ticket? TIA

jsloan

If your MileagePlus number is on the ticket, it may (should) appear automatically in your account.

Otherwise, you'll need to call one airline or the other. UA doesn't provide the ability to look up a reservation by ticket number on its website.

serpens

Thank you for this extremely useful (if confusing to this inexperienced traveler) discussion. Please help me with some novice questions.

I would almost always rather deal with a web page than a phone call. If I have a ticket number, can I usually enter that somewhere on the operating carrier's web site and see what it shows? Or do I generally need a PNR?

Is the PNR for the operating carrier generally different from the PNR for the ticketing carrier? (The one time I had a ticket from one airline to fly on a different airline, it was.) If so, how do I get the operating carrier's PNR? Once I have it, can I generally use it at the operating carrier's web site to find the ticket numbers? Thanks.

Same here.

findark

Some carriers will let you pull up a booking by ticket number, but some will not. A PNR should always work.

I swear UA used to let you search by ticket number, but this no longer seems to be the case.

The PNR code (six-character thing) is unique to each carrier, and the same reservation will have a different PNR code for different carriers. (Some carriers may share a PNR code because they share a backend, like LH and LX.)

Often, the ticketing carrier has access to the other PNRs for the reservation. For example, this is available from UA when you book with them - it will show you all other carriers' PNRs in your UA reservation.

Without this, you generally have to call and ask either the ticketing carrier or the operating carrier, and use the ticket number as a reference where needed. This assumes, of course, you weren't able to use the operating carrier's website and the ticket number to locate the reservation.


The bottom line is that a lot of this varies based on who the carriers are, so it can indeed be a little convoluted.

canadiancow

Not on UA, but I have had a 2 pax PNR where mine got reissued fine and my friend's did not, and we didn't realize until he was refused transport. And that was ticketed by the only operating airline on the PNR, so it was about as "simple" as you can get.

Lux Flyer

Others have already mentioned that the PNR is different depending on carrier. However, it never hurts to try the ticketing carriers PNR on the operating carriers website. Occasionally their system will recognize the other carrier's PNR and then pull up your reservation in their system with the correct PNR (similar to how united.com can show you the other airlines PNR, but in reverse lookup).

Years ago when I was flying DL they rebooked me on UA in IRROPs. When I went to a UA agent to get my boarding pass they actually sent me to a kiosk and told me to put the DL PNR in, lo-and-behold their system was able to use that information to find my now UA reservation (under a different UA confirmation number). It definitely doesn't work all the time and I'm not sure what actually triggers it to be able to recognize the other carriers confirmation number (I'm guessing someway that it gets entered into the UA record), but it never hurts to try if you're looking for an option to avoid a phone call

Shoredreamer

Thank you for your reply and no, unfortunately UA’s PNR is not showing in my UA account, (the whole booking does not) and why I was asking if there is possibly anywhere or any way else, other than calling in for me to get it. I was just really hoping to avoid having to phone in to either. Regardless of which mileage account I list, it still doesn’t show up there (or on my original (017) booking) just the ticketing carrier’s PNR (SAS)

Thanks again though!.

flyme2

Got a cryptic email to call United about an award itinerary booked for January 2023 flying UA, TK and SQ. Called the number provided, and the call was picked up within a minute. The agent went over the 8 segment flight itinerary and confirmed with me that everything seemed okay. Just as she was midway through a double check, she realized I was a 1K and thought it best to connect me to that desk. The 1K agent also thought everything seemed alright, asking me to read verbatim what my email stated. There had been a couple of minor schedule changes which I'd approved, and she saw those. As a precaution, she forwarded my itinerary to the support desk, and after a few minutes came back to tell me they were reissuing the tickets. Apparently one of the schedule changes had triggered a segment that was no longer ticketed. A cautionary note to others that has been mentioned before. A reservation may be intact, but that does not mean it has been ticketed until an agent verifies them as such. That 1K agent certainly saved me unnecessary grief down the road.

WineCountryUA

Except for sticked upgrades, the reissue is important. Next step is to check to see if all the v=carriers have the same ticket number.

Multi-carrier awards not adays are high risk, due to schedule changes (even a single partner segment needs to be watch closely.

dkc192

I'm flying UA LAX-EWR-CPT out and LX JNB-ZRH-LAX back on a 016 ticket. LX had a minor schedule change which eventually got reissued. Since then, UA has made several minor schedule changes on LAX-EWR: moving the departure time up and back by 5 minutes, and in some cases changing the flight number without changing the times.

Out of an abundance of caution, does my ticket need to be reissued to reflect all the minor UA changes since the last reissue? My hunch is no, especially as I'm starting the trip on UA, but I want to be safe.

jsloan

UA will revalidate, not reissue, for schedule changes on its own metal, especially when the routing isn't changed. You should be fine.