United Airlines - fiasco***UPDATE***

[glewis1123]

We book our trip back in Jan and got fares of $177 RT from SJC to MCO for our Apr 29th trip.

On Easter Sunday - my stepson (who was not going on this trip) was in a very serious car accident and we naturally decided to cancel our plans.

By this time we are at the less than 7 day window for our trip.

Our tix were non-refundable.

I asked to be able to reschedule due to the circumstances and explained what had happened and now that want to ding us $100.00 per ticket to reschedule or lose it all.

We picked a date to travel in July and the United fares are $528 a ticket for the same flight schedule which means another $1280.00 respectively.

I've checked other airlines and I can get fares (within the same schedule time) for about $228/ticket - American, Continental, Northwest and AmericaWest.

I told this to United and they won't do anything about it - well - she says - just cancel us and rebook with them.

Sorry - just had to vent

 

[ducklite]

You booked a non-refundable ticket. You agreed to travel on a certain date. You did not. Why is that United's problem?

IMHO they are being generous letting you rebook at all. They don't have to. They could say tough.

If you aren't happy with what they are offering you can always cut your losses and rebook elsewhere.

Next time you can either book refundable tickets or buy travel insurance.

Anne

 

[prncess674]

I would call again and speak nicely to the agent. Don't raise your voice or rant. Calmly explain that your son was in an accident and will be unable to travel in a week. Let them know that you will gladly provide documentation from his doctor to prove he is unable to travel at this time. You may get them to wave the $100 change fee. I would get online and look for a time that has cheap fares. If I understand correctly you just randomly picked a time frame in July. Maybe there is a convention or something going on those days. Search the United website for days that have better availability. If you have elite status with United call the Elite line and I am sure someone will help you.

 

[glewis1123]

Hi

First off - that you for your responses

When I called and spoke with United I was very polite and did not rant and rave like an idiot - been in business far too many years to know that it doesn't get you anywhere.

I didn't even ask for a refund - all I asked for was to be able to reschedule without such a steep penalty or at least something with the same time schedule close to the same fare rate.

If it wasn't for the extenuating circumstances - I would just cut my losses and grin and bear it.

 

[Eeyore1954]

You voluntarily cancel your trip and now get mad at United when they enforce the terms of your contract with them? Apparently, you knew the tickets were non-refundable. And United has announced the $100 change fee -- in fact, most airlines are charging similar fees for changes -- so that's hardly a surprise.

They are not "dinging" you $100 -- it's a service fee to make a change to your contract (tickets). If you don't want to pay this fee, then purchase refundable tickets. But there's the rub: refundable tickets are much more expensive and people only want CHEAP airline tickets, but not only cheap tickets, but cheap tickets with NO restrictions. I'm afraid the days of this are LONG GONE.

It was your choice to either go or cancel. If you should be mad at anyone, it should be with yourselves (or with the people who caused the car accident). Getting mad because United is sticking to the terms of your contract is absurd.

 

[melissamomof2]

Glewis....I hope you stepson is doing ok, serious accidents are scary and how thoughtful of you to cancel your trip to be there for him. By reading your post , I easily understood you are just "venting". We all need to blow off steam sometimes. I do agree your tickets are a "contract", but airlines make concessions all the time, and it is not like you are asking for a refund. I also see their side of it.....

Either way, I would want to vent too, just for the sake of the loss of $$$. Heck haven't you all bought something and a month later come across it for 1/2 price and vented to a friend? I think telling you to be mad at yourself is harsh.

Blessings,

melissa

 

[dansyr]

glewis1123

I'm so sorry about the accident. I hope your stepson is doing well.
I would call back and ask to speak to a manager if you haven't already and explain the circumstances again. If they can't help ask to speak to their supervisor. Unfortunately, they still may not be able to do anything.....but I hope you get a sympathetic employee who will be able to help you.
We also book the non-refundable tickets because they are usually the most inexpensive. Knock on wood ...up until now we have never had to cancell. I would hope if a serious circumstance arose for us...they would be sympathetic.
Good luck.....I'll hope for the best for you

 

[CarolA]

I hate to say this, but I would not bother calling.

The airlines have cracked WAY down on this. They are not giving the managers much leeway at all. I read a USAToday article where they would not even give the travel writer a break when he tried to intervene. (It was one of those you write the guy and he tries to resolve your travel problem columns.) And it had the same kind of cirumstances.

Basically, the deal now is $100 change fee no matter what and you must rebook PRIOR to your orignal flight departing or the ticket is lost.

While I know I sound un-sympathetic, I am not. This is just the reality we are in now. I don't think a manager is going to do much more for you. This is the risk of non-refundable tickets. Also, even a manager has VERY limited ability to override the fare currently showing in the computer so if they have no cheap seats left he may not be able to do anything about the airfare. You might try going to Travelocity and doing one of the searches and seeing if you can find a cheaper flight on United and calling back and rebooking that. If you can find a cheap flight you can use you would only be out the $100.

 

[Gillian]

I'm sorry to hear about the accident! It must be very upsetting.

I can't believe all of the people "yelling" at you around here! Not everyone travels all the time or knows as much as most of the people on this board. Why can't we try to be helpful instead?

It's true that all the airlines are enforcing these rules now. They do tell you upfront, but most of us don't think we'll have to worry about it. If you book a fully refundable ticket, that $100 will probably be built into the price upfront, so that's not a great option either.

Anyway, I hope that you can find cheaper flights for July! Ask them to check around the dates you gave, or use Orbitz to check for you. A little flexibility goes a long way toward finding cheaper fares!

 

[glewis1123]

Hi all

Thanks for all the responses - positive and negative

I really don't have an issue with the $100 cancellation fee - I guess my main complaint is the cost of the new ticket $500 vs what other carriers such as American, Continental, Northwest. I didn't expect to get what I originally paid - which was a really great deal but at least be comparable with the other carriers. There's a big difference between $258 and $500 for the same flight schedules. That's a $180 difference once you deduct the $100 off what I originally paid and subtract the sum from the $500 that United wants for the new ticket. Brings it to $380.

Oh Well - Corporate America - lol


I've got til Monday to change the tickets so I'm just watching the United website to see if lower fares will come out.

Wish me luck

 

[Jillpie]

Gladly I can completely disagree with everyone here that the airlines are being very strict about cancellation fees. I went through your exact situation LAST week. I had to completely cancel our trip (which was supposed to be this week). I called Delta, we had non refundable tickets. They said because of the war, they are waiving the cancellation fees and we rebooked for July 31, and the flights are actually cheaper!!
So I am very surprised United isn't doing the same. Remember, this cancellation that took place was only a week ago. I would call them back and ask them if they have any considerations on cancellations during the war? Its a thought. Good luck.

 

[flyingcircus]

$177 RT SLC- MCO????? This is so cheap. it is unbelieveable!! Couldn't drive it of bus it for less!!
You could do standby w/o paying more.
I know it's hard to believe, but all the airlines ( especially United) are far mor leniant in changing your travel plans now than they have been in the past. Ask to talk to a supervisor- they have more authority- 1-800-241-6522. Good Luck!!

 

[glewis1123]

thanks flyiing circus - btw the $177 is plus fees/taxes = apx $220 but it was from SJC not SLC - I booked it in January. Paid $180 + fees last year.

Thanks for the info and phone number - I'll try that out

 

[CarolA]

I think the war cancellation period has either ended or is about to end. And of course all the airlines had different policies on that also. I heard USAir and Delta were waiving fees, but I don't know about the others. However, you might try calling and mentioning the war and see what happens. Maybe that will bring up a different rule on the agents PC? I had not thought about that! (Just don't mention your son and see what happens?)

 

[DebbieB]

Did you try different dates in July? I know from Pittsburgh they have fewer flights on Saturdays and the price is much higher. I don't know how you would get around the higher price ticket, the price is probably high because those flights are close to full. You need to find a flight that doesn't have as many seats filled. Expedia.com will list flights in price order so that you can pick the cheapest flights for a date.

I checked United's site and you had to make changes by April 19 to get the war exception. That would only waive the $100 fee, not the problem with new flights being higher.

 

[ls1222]

It seems like you would fit into "uniteds revised travel policy" due to military action. It waves any "fee" and you have to travel by Dec 31. Go to the website and click on "revised travel policies". I hope this helps.

 

[minniecarousel]

I'd keep checking their website - last weekend the price I was quoted for DS's trip to Boston was $436RT - by the time he called on Monday or Tuesday, the price was $360RT! (United - Sacto to Boston)
Every time I book non-refundable fares, I get nervous about having to cancel! (but I still book nonref!!)
Good luck (& I hope your stepson is doing OK)

 

[pnelson]

Well, just writing to sympathize. The airlines seem very strict about some things-unnecessarily so in my opinion. I wanted to book a ticket for our November trip for an extra child-We are trying to adopt and may have a child by then. But since I don't know what the name is, they wouldnt' let me buy the ticket-even in my own name. It didn't matter who I talked to or how nice I was-they were completely inflexible. If the airfare was that high, it seems it would be cheaper to book with another airline that has cheaper fare than to pay $100 change fee! I thought if you paid the $100 change fee than you didn't have to pay the new fare right?

 

[prncess674]

Originally posted by pnelson
Well, just writing to sympathize. The airlines seem very strict about some things-unnecessarily so in my opinion. I wanted to book a ticket for our November trip for an extra child-We are trying to adopt and may have a child by then. But since I don't know what the name is, they wouldnt' let me buy the ticket-even in my own name. It didn't matter who I talked to or how nice I was-they were completely inflexible. If the airfare was that high, it seems it would be cheaper to book with another airline that has cheaper fare than to pay $100 change fee! I thought if you paid the $100 change fee than you didn't have to pay the new fare right?

If you are planning on adopting a child and want to purchase a ticket at the current rate. Go ahead and book it. This is how. Book a ticket under the name Jesse with your last name. The name could be a boy or a girl and you do not need to show identification for children so you should have no problems checking in.

 

[CarolA]

If you pay the $100 fee you must also pay any fare difference. So if your ticket was $200 and the only fares availalbe now are $500 then you would pay the $100 change fee plus a $300 change fee.

I agree with the poster above. How old would your child be? If it is just a little kid, make up a name!