FAA1996

UA 1379 is showing as delayed but get two different cryptic reasons from EF and UA. I've attached the screenshots. Maybe someone can help me decipher.

My 17yo nephew is on the flight (flew into IAD from BRU) and trying to be proactive as to what he'll have to do. Right now he's in the Polaris lounge but I think the flight will get canceled, not sure if he'll be entitled to a hotel or what. His parents are freaking out and I'm trying to help. Thanks!

bmwe92fan

Don't see any attachments..... The plane making up his flight just landed -- delay seems pretty normal to me I wouldn't worry that much yet....

sannmann

Sorry, I know this is not what you had asked, but I thought the requirement to access the Polaris lounge if unaccompanied by an adult is minimum age 18.

Yes, it may be problematic to get a hotel in Virginia if your nephew is 17. My understanding is that the Commonwealth’s laws don’t allow hotel check-in by minors under 18.

jsloan

Solo traveler?

UA has, in the past, gotten somewhat persnickety about whether or not purely domestic delays on an international itinerary are covered by EC.261. If your nephew is stuck overnight, he should ask about a hotel voucher but be prepared to be denied.

The bigger problem, though, would be his age. I’m not sure how many, if any, hotels allow unaccompanied 17-year-old guests, even with a prepaid hotel voucher.

What I’m seeing is a crew delay, probably caused by the bad weather on the east coast, with a possibility of further delays if they’re not able to get out before the next wave comes through. I wouldn’t immediately jump to the conclusion that the flight will be canceled, although neither can I rule out the possibility, of course.

WineCountryUA

IAD and most of the rest of NE is a mess, Travel Waiver/Alert: East Coast Severe Weather (July 29, 2023)

What is the ultimate destination, hopefully not an UX flight

mahasamatman

EF is not authoritative and should be ignored.

1379 is IAD-FLL.

jsloan

OP listed UA1379, which is operating IAD-FLL.

EF is not authoritative, but there is often useful information there and it should not be ignored; rather, it should be taken with a grain of salt. In this case, United.com says “unexpected operational issue” and EF says “crew.” Those are compatible.

paperwastage

If nephew was on business class on the transatlantic flight (and connecting to domestic flight) per *alliance rules, any type of delay on the journey including the domestic leg (weather/atc versus carrier-controlled mechanical) entitles nephew to overnight hotel

Likely UA will not offer this proactively (you have to book and struggle to seek reimbursement after) , and whether you can actually physical find a hotel (etc if all nearby hotels are full) , ymmv

See wiki on this thread
Hotels? for 1K irrops (WX, MX, ...)? [Consolidated Q&A 2015-forward]

FAA1996

mahasamatman

But still no guarantee that "crew" is correct. Bad data is worse than no data.

FAA1996

Sorry, posted screenshots. Nephew is traveling alone. Last minute emergency in paid J IST-BRU-IAD-FLL (I had to buy ticket yesterday) . I hadn't thought about the age problem checking into hotel will keep fingers crossed. If not it'll be a night in the terminal. Hasn't had any issues with lounge in IST, BRU, or IAD so far.

WineCountryUA

The EF data in that screen is coming from UA.

jsloan

I tried to invoke that policy once, on behalf of a no-status passenger who faced exactly this same scenario (albeit at IAH). It got me nowhere… and note that the policy manual that had that language is several years old, and the newer versions don’t appear to be readily available.

I mean, if the passenger is delayed overnight, and if he can find a hotel that’s willing to let him check in at age 17, then sure, he should save his receipt. But I wouldn’t go staying at the Ritz, either.

I mean, EF doesn’t make things up. It was entered into the GDS by a UA representative. There’s no particular reason to believe the text on the app and not the text in EF, particularly when they’re in agreement.

IADdelayed

This is correct. And a number of them actually require 21+.

FAA1996

They've made it on the plane, but departure time keeps getting pushed back minutes at a time.