SFOrunner

On Monday I was ticketed from ORD-DEN-SAN at 6:00 AM. Due to some uncontrollable circumstances I was late getting to the airport and arrived at 5:45 AM. Obviously I was unable to check in and could not make my scheduled flight. The ticket agent put be on standby for a later direct flight (ORD-SAN). My standby cleared and I was charged the $50.00 fee. Shouldn't this fee have been waived per the proverbial 'flat tire rule'? Is there anything I can say or any rules I can reference while I attempt to get this fee refunded?

LRME

SEA1K4EVR

The "flat tire" rule really just prevents you from losing the value of a non-refundable ticket. The terms of the ticket say that if you miss your flight without cancelling the entire ticket has no value. So by having the flat tire rule they offer you a grace period.. they don't make you buy a new ticket however you have to pay the standby fee.

They were correct in interpeting the rules..however I'm sure it gets waived a lot in these circumstances..your agent was a stickler. Generally speaking I think it's BS for UA to charge elites for stand bys and I really hope that gets changed with the merger. In this case the CO way is better.

emcampbe

Stanby costs money now. You are charged, as you should have been.

Who's fault was missing the flight? If it was UA's, then you're right, they should not have charged you. But you clearly state this was not their fault.

Just curious, what were the uncontrollable circumstances?

SFOrunner

emcampbe, you're totally right, rules are rules. I'm not asking for them to bend or break them for me...I just wasn't sure the provisions surrounding the 'flat-tire' rule. I suppose this evens out though, as I just flew standby two weeks ago and the GA didn't charge me. I'm hoping to pop my 1K cherry by September (all via domestic EQMs) so this shouldn't be a huge problem in the future.

My "uncontrollable circumstances" stemmed from an alarm clock malfunction

hellyea

I believe they used to have a flat tire rule, but no longer do. I believe it went away when they eliminated no-cost standby, as it pretty much is the same thing.

garykung

You just got yourself an by-the-book agent. Usually, you meet the right person, they will not charge you.

getdev

I arrived at the airport late last Thursday for my flight. So I asked the ticket counter to put me on the next available flight for Dallas. She informed me that the next direct flight there would be Saturday. But if I went through Denver she could re-route me for $175.00 bucks.

This is something I'm not familiar with. Her reasoning was that since it wasn't a direct flight there had to be a fee. I thought the airline as a courtesy would get you to your destination if they could the same day. They also said if I waited until Saturday there would also be a $175 fee; because it wasn't the same day.

I was wondering if there is a way to get credit towards another flight purchase?

These tickets were purchased from Priceline. Did the UA rep inform me correctly or am I just simply out of luck?

~Dev

mahasamatman

I don't see anywhere in your post where you say if you even had a ticket and what/when it was for.

Airlines don't do anything as a courtesy. It's all about the cash. Standby and same-day changes are only free for 1Ks. Everyone has to pay to changing the date.

SingTel001

If you missed for your confirmed flight, minimum fee is $50, anyway.
(GS/1K, companions and some fares exempted)

Just to clarify first, which route did you try to take? LAX-DFW?
Since she told you that there was no direct flight on Friday.

Unclear point is she meant first direct flght or first direct flight with available space to confirm.

cordelli

They will get you to where you are going if they can on the same day, it just won't be for free.

If you purchased through the name your own section of priceline, they probably won't do anything for free for you.

fastair

Call up your travel agent (priceline) and ask them what the rules on your ticket say for a reissue/exchange. That figure does not seem out of the realm, plus any change of fare. (150 plus fare difference on most domestic.)

SingTel001

Same, NO chance for refund.
For tickets issued on or after 4/10/2010, all domestic standbys are charged $50 fee (some passengers/fares exempted). Same-day standby was absolutely free before that, so there was no flat-tire waiver in the past and current.