hobo13

I'm considering:

4/30 DEN-MCI-ORD (10AM-3PM)
5/1 ORD-NRT-SIN (12:15pm-)

Will a 4/30 SWU cover this itin? The trip departs on 4/30, has a <24 hour connection in ORD before continuing onto SIN.

I think it should be OK. But I'm not an expert.

gary_nj

Anything over a 12-hour connection breaks a SWU. So even though it is a legal connection from a booking perspective, the SWU requires connection times of less than 12 hours.

hobo13

Thanks.

But when does the 24 hour rule take effect?

UAX_Brasilia

I believe it is what constitutes a stopover.

gary_nj

On most international itineraries from the US, a "connection" can be up to 23:59 in length. It is the SWU rule that limits it to 11:59. And this SWU rule was only started a few years ago.

One thing you might consider if your plans (and the routing rules of the fare) would allow it... book a later flight into ORD (arriving say 7pm)... then take a 6am flight the next morning to someplace like SFO, and continue on to Asia from there. As long as each connection is less than 12 hours, the SWU should work. Assuming it is all on the same itinerary.

Before someone asks... I do not know what would happen if you booked the later flight and then went standby on an earlier flight into ORD.

hobo13

I'm trying that but it jacks up the cost.

aau

What happens if its two separate itns, but less than 12 hours between each flight? Would one SWU cover the whole trip? That's my situation next month.

fone

I apologize for jacking the post, but I have a similar question.
Will a 04/09 SWU cover for a LAX - NRT - SIN trip starting on 30 April? The terms says that the flight must begin before or on the SWU expiry, and the NRT - SIN leg is effectively taking off on 1 May. Does it take into consideration the actual start of the trip or the start of each individual leg?

So by the above replies, I think the 2 legs is SWU-able with a 04/09 SWU?

mahasamatman

One SWU can never cross PNRs.

As long as you check on in April and get both BPs, it will work.

SEA1K4EVR

I can speak with absolute certainty about this as I am doing a LAX-NRT-SIN trip leaving LAX 4/30 and the flights are already upgraded using a SWU expiring on 4/30. So yes, it will work.

hobo13

Glad this thread was helpful to you.

I gave up, and booked the May 1 itin. They don't call it .bomb just because it rhymes....

gary_nj

hobo13, just a thought... I didn't try this because I don't know what fare basis you are looking for, but the following flights seem to have pretty good availability in all fares for the 4/30 to 5/1 connection:

4/30
UA 938 DEN-ORD 3:35pm - 7:01pm (777)
5/1
UA 12 ORD-LAX 6:30am - 8:52am
followed by LAX-SIN

At least part of the problem is that the 5/2 NRT-SIN segment is sold out of low fare buckets, at least if booked separately. So you will need to marry that segment with something else to get a low, but upgradeable, fare. It might require a routing from LAX-SFO-HKG-SIN, for example. If you try to book the above on .bomb, you would want to make sure to use the multi-city option and show segment-by-segment until the LAX-SIN portion.

There is some chance the MCI connection may be causing a problem if the fare limits the number of connections - that MCI connection really only gives you about 160 miles beyond the nonstop DEN-ORD anyway, so you might consider getting rid of that.

If, after trying this, you don't like the itinerary you booked today, you have 24 hours to cancel without penalty.