Flight cancelled 3 months prior to departure -Please help me with my specific options
Dec 13, 2011, 6:58 pm
#31
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The notion that UA cannot get your on a CO-operated flight to reaccommodate you following a schedule change on an award ticket is incorrect. I have an award ticket to Asia in February, booked with UA miles. I was originally supposed to fly SAT-LAX on UA to link up with my transpacific Star Alliance flight. Late last month, UA re-timed the SAT-LAX segment, moving it more than three hours earlier.
I called UA, explained that the schedule change was unsatisfactory to me, and suggested, as an alternative, that UA re-book me on CO from SAT-IAH-LAX, although, at the time, there wasn't any saver inventory on either CO segment. The UA agent put me on hold, contacted her counterpart at CO, CO agreed to open up the award inventory to accommodate the change, and my ticket was re-issued. In these sorts of circumstances, with a material schedule change by UA, there's really a lot of latitude for UA and CO to make amends.
If I understand your narrative correctly, miamihoosier, it sounds like the ORD-RSW flight you originally booked flipped from UA to CO metal. If so, it really shouldn't be that difficult to get UA and CO to work together to put you on the now CO-operated flight segment.
I called UA, explained that the schedule change was unsatisfactory to me, and suggested, as an alternative, that UA re-book me on CO from SAT-IAH-LAX, although, at the time, there wasn't any saver inventory on either CO segment. The UA agent put me on hold, contacted her counterpart at CO, CO agreed to open up the award inventory to accommodate the change, and my ticket was re-issued. In these sorts of circumstances, with a material schedule change by UA, there's really a lot of latitude for UA and CO to make amends.
If I understand your narrative correctly, miamihoosier, it sounds like the ORD-RSW flight you originally booked flipped from UA to CO metal. If so, it really shouldn't be that difficult to get UA and CO to work together to put you on the now CO-operated flight segment.
Dec 13, 2011, 7:05 pm
#32
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SAN 1K,
That's exactly what I'm experiencing! As hard as it is for everyone to believe, I can find not a single agent who is able to link or transfer my miles so I can travel on Continental. There is even a note in Apollo, an agent showed it to me, which specifically says that Continental is not accepting any United Mileage Plus mileage tickets at this time. I spent almost two hours talking with several agents in the B consourse under the Dinosaur on Monday night. They all took a shot at fixing my problem. No luck. You all are correct. This is so simple. Put me on the Continental flight and problem solved. It's just not happening. Why am I upset? I purchased four tickets, all seated together, for my family to travel on March 23rd. I want to travel on March 23rd. It's that simple.
That's exactly what I'm experiencing! As hard as it is for everyone to believe, I can find not a single agent who is able to link or transfer my miles so I can travel on Continental. There is even a note in Apollo, an agent showed it to me, which specifically says that Continental is not accepting any United Mileage Plus mileage tickets at this time. I spent almost two hours talking with several agents in the B consourse under the Dinosaur on Monday night. They all took a shot at fixing my problem. No luck. You all are correct. This is so simple. Put me on the Continental flight and problem solved. It's just not happening. Why am I upset? I purchased four tickets, all seated together, for my family to travel on March 23rd. I want to travel on March 23rd. It's that simple.
http://www.continental.com/web/en-US...cust-linkaccts
Dec 13, 2011, 8:20 pm
#33
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 16
SAT Lawyer, I know everyone thinks this can so easily be done. I am VERY GOOD at getting things done. That's why this is so frustrating. I simply can not seem to get this done. If anyone specifically knows a Mileage Plus agent I can specifically call, I would certainly appreciate it.
Often1, Thanks! I will check out that link. Let's see where that takes me. It is so amazing that not one single person at United has been able to put me on that Continental flight! I agree, it seems so easy!!!
Often1,
Thanks again. I've got my accounts linked! It's interesting. I've now been talking to a Mileage Plus supervisor at the support desk for over 30 minutes. While on hold, the advertisements state that Continental now accepts Mileage Plus credits. I ask the supervisor about that. She said she doesn't know what the "on hold music" is saying, but she can not authorize travel on Continental with Mileage Plus credit, even if the accounts are now linked! I can't cancel the reservation, transfer the miles and re-purchase the tickets because the seats are now filled and it would cost many more miles than I originally used. Been on the phone now 41 minutes. Still working on some resolution...
Often1, Thanks! I will check out that link. Let's see where that takes me. It is so amazing that not one single person at United has been able to put me on that Continental flight! I agree, it seems so easy!!!
Often1,
Thanks again. I've got my accounts linked! It's interesting. I've now been talking to a Mileage Plus supervisor at the support desk for over 30 minutes. While on hold, the advertisements state that Continental now accepts Mileage Plus credits. I ask the supervisor about that. She said she doesn't know what the "on hold music" is saying, but she can not authorize travel on Continental with Mileage Plus credit, even if the accounts are now linked! I can't cancel the reservation, transfer the miles and re-purchase the tickets because the seats are now filled and it would cost many more miles than I originally used. Been on the phone now 41 minutes. Still working on some resolution...
Last edited by iluv2fly; Dec 13, 2011 at 9:46 pm Reason: merge
Dec 13, 2011, 9:56 pm
#34
Join Date: Jul 2007
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Not sure with whom you are speaking at UA, but it's MP, not CS which can help you. However, it's also easily done online. Following is a link to the page on UA's website which allows you to link your MP and OP accounts and then transfer miles between them.
http://www.continental.com/web/en-US...cust-linkaccts
http://www.continental.com/web/en-US...cust-linkaccts
It sounds as if people have had various experiences (as I have myself), but last time I tried I hit a stone wall. And this was dealing with GS agents.
The notion that UA cannot get your on a CO-operated flight to reaccommodate you following a schedule change on an award ticket is incorrect. I have an award ticket to Asia in February, booked with UA miles. I was originally supposed to fly SAT-LAX on UA to link up with my transpacific Star Alliance flight. Late last month, UA re-timed the SAT-LAX segment, moving it more than three hours earlier.
I called UA, explained that the schedule change was unsatisfactory to me, and suggested, as an alternative, that UA re-book me on CO from SAT-IAH-LAX, although, at the time, there wasn't any saver inventory on either CO segment. The UA agent put me on hold, contacted her counterpart at CO, CO agreed to open up the award inventory to accommodate the change, and my ticket was re-issued. In these sorts of circumstances, with a material schedule change by UA, there's really a lot of latitude for UA and CO to make amends.
I called UA, explained that the schedule change was unsatisfactory to me, and suggested, as an alternative, that UA re-book me on CO from SAT-IAH-LAX, although, at the time, there wasn't any saver inventory on either CO segment. The UA agent put me on hold, contacted her counterpart at CO, CO agreed to open up the award inventory to accommodate the change, and my ticket was re-issued. In these sorts of circumstances, with a material schedule change by UA, there's really a lot of latitude for UA and CO to make amends.
Last edited by iluv2fly; Dec 13, 2011 at 10:18 pm Reason: merge
Dec 13, 2011, 10:04 pm
#35
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 16
Update: 1 hour and six minutes and talked to 4 "levels" of support desk supervisors. They will not put me on the Continental flight using Mileage Plus tickets. They believe they will be able to do that in February or March when the systems are merged. Bottom line, "We are so sorry sir for you and your family, but there is nothing we can do for you."
Dec 13, 2011, 10:36 pm
#36
Join Date: Sep 2010
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 268
like what others have said, get a refund, xfer miles to CO, then rebook on CO with miles (not money). CO CSRs are much easier to deal with too in my experience.
Dec 14, 2011, 5:35 am
#37
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 16
Unfortunately, at this late date, there are no seats available on any flight. Transfer of miles will not help.
Thanks to everyone for all of their insight. I think it's time for this thread to retire.
At this point, my best option is to call every couple of days and hope for four cancelled or moved reservations so my seats on the 21st can be moved to the 23rd.
There must be someone at this airline who can override the rules and make my situation whole. Thanks again for all the advice.
Thanks to everyone for all of their insight. I think it's time for this thread to retire.
At this point, my best option is to call every couple of days and hope for four cancelled or moved reservations so my seats on the 21st can be moved to the 23rd.
There must be someone at this airline who can override the rules and make my situation whole. Thanks again for all the advice.
Dec 14, 2011, 9:49 am
#38
Used to be 'g_leyser'
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I have one more suggestion for you:
Call UA and have them change your existing ticket to a one-way (since you are happy with the return).
Then make a new one-way reservation for the outbound using CO miles.
Same amount of miles. Problem solved.
Call UA and have them change your existing ticket to a one-way (since you are happy with the return).
Then make a new one-way reservation for the outbound using CO miles.
Same amount of miles. Problem solved.
Dec 14, 2011, 9:53 am
#39
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Dec 14, 2011, 9:58 am
#40
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You can still go nuclear
Unfortunately, at this late date, there are no seats available on any flight. Transfer of miles will not help.
Thanks to everyone for all of their insight. I think it's time for this thread to retire.
At this point, my best option is to call every couple of days and hope for four cancelled or moved reservations so my seats on the 21st can be moved to the 23rd.
There must be someone at this airline who can override the rules and make my situation whole. Thanks again for all the advice.
Thanks to everyone for all of their insight. I think it's time for this thread to retire.
At this point, my best option is to call every couple of days and hope for four cancelled or moved reservations so my seats on the 21st can be moved to the 23rd.
There must be someone at this airline who can override the rules and make my situation whole. Thanks again for all the advice.
- "I didn't realize that a confirmed ticket on an airline doesn't require that they actually try to get you on a plane"
- "Why don't airlines empower employees to handle situations that even they admit shouldn't happen and is their fault?"
Dec 14, 2011, 10:01 am
#41
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 16
g_leyser, Thanks for the suggestion. I just called. No seats available for Mileage travel, UAL or CO on that date. I'll keep working. Interesting idea on the one-way. That might work. I could then buy a one-way on AirTran out of Indy. $308 one-way
SAT lawyer. Thanks. I just sent her a note.
Mike, I really hope to still resolve this in a reasonable manner. I realize at this point that there are no "seats" in the regular reservations available. If someone would of only handled this when the switch to the Continental aircraft was made, problem solved. At least call me personally to resolve the matter.
SAT lawyer. Thanks. I just sent her a note.
Mike, I really hope to still resolve this in a reasonable manner. I realize at this point that there are no "seats" in the regular reservations available. If someone would of only handled this when the switch to the Continental aircraft was made, problem solved. At least call me personally to resolve the matter.
Last edited by iluv2fly; Dec 14, 2011 at 12:30 pm Reason: merge
Dec 14, 2011, 10:18 am
#42
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,353
If it were possible, I'd hope that one of the agents would have made that happen during the many calls OP has made.
UACO really needs to make this right -- they're shuffling flights between the airlines for their own business efficiency; they're still offering the flight, it has seats available, but they're putting an artificial roadblock on honoring an existing reservation. What do they do with tickets purchased with money? Do they tell people they're out of luck, or just transfer them to the new code-shared flight?
Dec 14, 2011, 1:25 pm
#43
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Every CO flight has a UA codeshare with the same flight number. See if they can book you on the UA coded version.
I'm really surprised you're getting so much resistance from various UA agents. I haven't had a problem moving between UA and CO flights when they caused schedule changes.
There is, the CoC says they'll give you a refund.
I'm really surprised you're getting so much resistance from various UA agents. I haven't had a problem moving between UA and CO flights when they caused schedule changes.
There is, the CoC says they'll give you a refund.
Last edited by mduell; Dec 14, 2011 at 1:37 pm
Dec 14, 2011, 1:34 pm
#44
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Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 16
mduell,
You're correct. I can certainly get a refund. That might be what I end up doing. I really consider this similar to a denied boarding. Would that be ok to just get a refund. You're still stranded at the airport? No, the airline is required to get you to your destination in a timely manner and still owes you money or other compensation. Wouldn't that be great for oversold situations. Just refund the money to the people who are denied boarding and go on. That would cause a riot! Here, I purchased tickets 10 months in advance and now they want me to travel on a different day because they changed aircraft without any compensation???
You're correct. I can certainly get a refund. That might be what I end up doing. I really consider this similar to a denied boarding. Would that be ok to just get a refund. You're still stranded at the airport? No, the airline is required to get you to your destination in a timely manner and still owes you money or other compensation. Wouldn't that be great for oversold situations. Just refund the money to the people who are denied boarding and go on. That would cause a riot! Here, I purchased tickets 10 months in advance and now they want me to travel on a different day because they changed aircraft without any compensation???
Dec 15, 2011, 6:55 am
#45
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So, under your theory, carriers could not change aircraft and react to the market? Or, perhaps the other way, knowing that they would have to pay compensation if they disadvantaged someone way down the road, they would simply hold award seats to the last minute.
The CoC is very clear here and you agreed to it when you booked. The carrier, at its option, can resolve this problem by simply refunding your tickets. This has nothing to do with IDB which is a specific set of rules and policies which deal with people presenting themselves for boarding and not being acommodated.
We can all expect this more and more as carriers downsize, meaning fewer flights / smaller aircraft and thus reroutes. I have found UA/CO to be helpful in these situations and just sense that there's something missing here (see., your assertion that all employees are upset about the merger). There exists the possibility that one or all of these assertions, if you made them to UA on one of your calls, were noted in your pax record and that simply means you are being dealt with at arms length because all businesses do that when the CS issues change from help to threatened action.
One more possibility is to have a travel agent (a real physical TA) take over and help to fix this problem. They will charge you a fee, but your time is worth something and sometimes a dispassionate person in the middle can be a problem-solver.
The CoC is very clear here and you agreed to it when you booked. The carrier, at its option, can resolve this problem by simply refunding your tickets. This has nothing to do with IDB which is a specific set of rules and policies which deal with people presenting themselves for boarding and not being acommodated.
We can all expect this more and more as carriers downsize, meaning fewer flights / smaller aircraft and thus reroutes. I have found UA/CO to be helpful in these situations and just sense that there's something missing here (see., your assertion that all employees are upset about the merger). There exists the possibility that one or all of these assertions, if you made them to UA on one of your calls, were noted in your pax record and that simply means you are being dealt with at arms length because all businesses do that when the CS issues change from help to threatened action.
One more possibility is to have a travel agent (a real physical TA) take over and help to fix this problem. They will charge you a fee, but your time is worth something and sometimes a dispassionate person in the middle can be a problem-solver.