Upset with United flight change

[Scotch]

I got an email from UA today about changing our flight home at the end of next month. I bought this ticket way back when the seats were first released (and the price was awesome). I always expect flight time changes when I buy my tickets super early, but this time they bumped us off the flight # we bought -- that # is still in the system with a one hour later time change -- and moved us to a different and later flight that makes the total layover almost 6 hours! I immediately called to ask for a switch back to our original flight #. The agent moved us back, but we've lost all of our seat assignments. Of course the more expensive economy plus seats were available for an upgrade $. The fact that travelling with kids would give us priority when the gate does seat assignments don't make me feel better. All the advance planning can't make up for one single switch. I want to know who took over our seats.

I hope this doesn't happen too often to other DIS members.

 

[MillauFr]

So they moved you off of your original flight even though it wasn't canceled???

 

[Scotch]

Yup.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Call back to United. Ask for a supervisor. Nicely explain the situation. Nicely ask for advance seat assignments together, "under these circumstances" -- either in regular economy or in Economy Plus (with the addtional fee waived).

United and the other legacy airlines have a tradition of taking good care of customers when there's a schedule change or they've done something to inconvenience a passenger.

You might be successful. You might not be. But it's worth a try.

Yes, there have been a number of cases when people on this forum have complained about not being able to get free advance seat assignments together on legacy airlines. But, in such cases, it's usually when somebody waited to buy tickets until most (or all) regular economy seats were gone.

If you are unsuccessful with a supervisor, get to the airport extra early. In addition to releasing unassigned Economy Plus seats that you can see online, the airline will release seats held back for elite frequent flyers (that appear online to be assigned but really aren't), and the airline will have some seats that are only under airport control.

Good luck!

 

[DebbieB]

It's possible the plane size was downgraded on your original flight, that's how you got bumped. I would do as Horace said, ask for a supervisor to see if you can get seats together for no charge.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We had a flight in July on United that was cancelled. We were originally scheduled to leave at 9:50 a.m. on a direct flight. They switched us to a 6:03 a.m. flight with a 3-hour layover. I tried to change to a flight at 8:00 a.m. and the online system wanted to charge us $50 more per person.

I called and asked to get on the 8:00 a.m. flight for no extra charge, which the agent happily did. She said seat assignments would be done at the airport. I asked if I could please get advanced seat assignments since DS18 has Asperger's and really needs to sit with at least one parent. The agent said she could seat us all together in the last row, which was fine with me. I just wanted to make sure one of us could be next to DS.

I still wasn't happy with the time change and the fact that we lost our direct flight. But, I was able to fix things a little by speaking directly to an agent, and nicely requesting her to waive the fee and pre-assign our seats. It's worth a try.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Call back to United. Ask for a supervisor. Nicely explain the situation. Nicely ask for advance seat assignments together, "under these circumstances" -- either in regular economy or in Economy Plus (with the addtional fee waived).

United and the other legacy airlines have a tradition of taking good care of customers when there's a schedule change or they've done something to inconvenience a passenger.

You might be successful. You might not be. But it's worth a try.

Yes, there have been a number of cases when people on this forum have complained about not being able to get free advance seat assignments together on legacy airlines. But, in such cases, it's usually when somebody waited to buy tickets until most (or all) regular economy seats were gone.

If you are unsuccessful with a supervisor, get to the airport extra early. In addition to releasing unassigned Economy Plus seats that you can see online, the airline will release seats held back for elite frequent flyers (that appear online to be assigned but really aren't), and the airline will have some seats that are only under airport control.

Good luck!

I am a UA 1K and the chances of getting free E+ seats if you aren't an elite FF or pay for them are slim to none. I have been on many UA flights where regular economy (or E-) is packed, and E+ has plenty of room. They do not allow E- passengers to move up for free.

OP, traveling with kids does not give you priority in seat assignments, at least not on UA. You need to keep checking your flight every day. Seat assignments may open up and you can move your current seats.

 

[TinkFan74]

I would call and ask a supervisor, my daughter and I flew United in August and this same situation happened to us. We ended up in economy + seats for every leg of our flight and I am far too cheap to pay for extra leg room. It is also legislated that if your booked flight is changed by more than two hours and you don't like the change the airline has to work with you to accomodate your needs.

 

[Gracie09]

I would call and ask a supervisor, my daughter and I flew United in August and this same situation happened to us. We ended up in economy + seats for every leg of our flight and I am far too cheap to pay for extra leg room. It is also legislated that if your booked flight is changed by more than two hours and you don't like the change the airline has to work with you to accomodate your needs.

I just wanted to point out that that last bit is just simply not true. There is no legislation about airlines changing flight times. In the terms of carriage for individual airlines it will tell you their rules, which they and you have to abide by. But they can vary from airline to airline

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

?.... It is also legislated that if your booked flight is changed by more than two hours and you don't like the change the airline has to work with you to accomodate your needs.

Maybe this is true in Canada; it sure isn't true in the US. As the poster above noted, airlines set their own rules for reticketing when there is a flight change.

 

[jsilvers]

I just wanted to point out that that last bit is just simply not true. There is no legislation about airlines changing flight times.

You are correct that there is no legislation about airlines changing flight times, but the U.S. Department of Transportation has made clear that as a matter of policy/interpretation, consumers are entitled to request a refund if an airline makes a "significant" change:

carriers should not be applying nonrefundability/penalty provisions in situations in which a change in travel date or a significant change in scheduled departure or arrival time has been necessitated by carrier action. The same is true of a change in carriers or airports used, even without a significant schedule change, or a change from direct to connecting service or from nonstop service to a flight with a stop. We believe that imposing monetary penalties on passengers in these kind of situations or maintaining any contract of carriage or tariff provision mandating such a result would be grossly unfair and violate 49 U.S.C. 41712.​

See http://airconsumer.dot.gov/rules/20010925.htm. Thus, if an airline made the changes discussed, the consumer should be able to ask for their money back if the airline isn't willing to make adjustments.

 

[Gracie09]

You are correct that there is no legislation about airlines changing flight times, but the U.S. Department of Transportation has made clear that as a matter of policy/interpretation, consumers are entitled to request a refund if an airline makes a "significant" change: carriers should not be applying nonrefundability/penalty provisions in situations in which a change in travel date or a significant change in scheduled departure or arrival time has been necessitated by carrier action. The same is true of a change in carriers or airports used, even without a significant schedule change, or a change from direct to connecting service or from nonstop service to a flight with a stop. We believe that imposing monetary penalties on passengers in these kind of situations or maintaining any contract of carriage or tariff provision mandating such a result would be grossly unfair and violate 49 U.S.C. 41712. See http://airconsumer.dot.gov/rules/20010925.htm. Thus, if an airline made the changes discussed, the consumer should be able to ask for their money back if the airline isn't willing to make adjustments.

The op hasn't asked for a refund and may not want one depending on the current cost of flights. So this doesn't apply to her. I have been in a situation a couple times where significant time changes have been made and have never had an issue getting a refund. I just have to make sure the cost of a new ticket isn't much more expensive than the refund or it usually not worth it.

 

[seashoreCM]

With your original flight numbers, now with changed times, what is the connection time like?

While the airline should switch you back to your original flights with no charge, there is no assurance that seat selections will be available. We might notice that Delta has been known to lose your seat assignments when a time change, no matter how slight, occurred and you kept the same flights.

While the contract of carriage typically allows the airline to "add or omit stops or modify departure and/or arrival times," the CoC also typically states that the airline "will endeavor to transport the passenger according to the tickets purchased." It can be reasonably understood that if flights comparable to the passenger's cancelled flights or more convenient to the passenger exist and tickets perhaps at a higher price can still be purchased, a passenger whose itinerary was changed should be able to get such comparable flights at no extra chage.

 

[dis_guy]

We had a similar experience with UAL a while ago. Ours was a schedule change that cancelled our flight but added one that I actually preferred. Unfortunately that was not the one we were put on. To top it off our return flight had a spectacular 20 minute connection time at IAH. I made a few notes about what I wanted and phoned. I got exactly what I needed without a fuss. I find that being prepared with flight numbers and times at my fingertips makes things easier for me and the phone agent.

 

[mikek]

if your kids are young gently remind them of that. When these sorts of things happened on Continental they were always happy to find us seats together when our kids were young.

One time they even gave us a first class upgrade to be sure we got together (BUT my kids were really young then- like 3 and 5)

I think they are so afraid the flight will push back late when the Flight attendants have to ask for volunteers so a family can sit together that they'll do whatever they can to get you seated in advance.

My kids are older now so havent had it arise with it officially being united and the plus seats certainly complicates things. And lost*in*cyberspace seems to indicate that's a big deal. But it's worth gently reminding them to see what they can do. Maybe you get lucky.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I am a UA 1K and the chances of getting free E+ seats if you aren't an elite FF or pay for them are slim to none. I have been on many UA flights where regular economy (or E-) is packed, and E+ has plenty of room. They do not allow E- passengers to move up for free.

I would call and ask a supervisor, my daughter and I flew United in August and this same situation happened to us. We ended up in economy + seats for every leg of our flight and I am far too cheap to pay for extra leg room.

I've flown Economy Plus several times without paying the upcharge. And my elite status on United expired long before United introduced Economy Plus.

The OP is not trying "to move up for free." The OP had regular Economy seat assignments together. United "broke" those seat assignments. Now some of us suggesting that the OP should nicely ask a United reservations supervisor to "fix" what United somehow "broke." It's likely that the only way to fix the situation is for the supervisor to use Economy Plus inventory.

On leisure routes, plenty of passengers who did not pay for Economy Plus end up in Economy Plus anyway. Usually, that doesn't happen until the day of the flight, when passengers without seat assignments are put into available seats, including Economy Plus seats after regular Economy seats run out. A supervisor should be able to accommodate an inconvenienced customer in advance.

I know that seat assignments are not guaranteed. I also know that supervisors can't add more seats to full flights. But supervisors at legacy airlines (United, American, Delta, US Airways) have a tradition of making reasonable alternate accommodations when customers have been inconvenienced by the airline.

I would suggest to the OP not to wait. As more seats are assigned, it's only going to get harder. And please let us know how United handles this situation.

 

[Toy Story Fan]

I got an email from UA today about changing our flight home at the end of next month. I bought this ticket way back when the seats were first released (and the price was awesome). I always expect flight time changes when I buy my tickets super early, but this time they bumped us off the flight # we bought -- that # is still in the system with a one hour later time change -- and moved us to a different and later flight that makes the total layover almost 6 hours! I immediately called to ask for a switch back to our original flight #. The agent moved us back, but we've lost all of our seat assignments. Of course the more expensive economy plus seats were available for an upgrade $. The fact that travelling with kids would give us priority when the gate does seat assignments don't make me feel better. All the advance planning can't make up for one single switch. I want to know who took over our seats.

I hope this doesn't happen too often to other DIS members.

This happened to us too! I booked with UA in February (going next month) and they cancelled one of our flights, and didn't even email me or nothing! I just by chance decided to check, and our first leg of the flight (2 planes) was cancelled. With this change, we are now staying overnight in Houston and paying for hotel and have to pay baggage fees twice. I was not impressed! Not only did this happen, but they also changed the size of plane 4 times and we were seated all over the plane! I have had to call every time and get it fixed. We too are travelling with children, (one visually impaired), and I feel since I booked early, had my seat assignments, they should honor that. When I booked, all the seats were open. Maybe it's not such a good idea to book so early.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I always expect flight time changes when I buy my tickets super early, but this time they bumped us off the flight # we bought -- that # is still in the system with a one hour later time change -- and moved us to a different and later flight that makes the total layover almost 6 hours! I immediately called to ask for a switch back to our original flight #. The agent moved us back, but we've lost all of our seat assignments.

How much time do you have at your connecting airport now that you've been moved back to your original flight number (but that flight now departs an hour later)?

I would be concerned about a tight connection at any United hub (Chicago-O'Hare, Houston, Washington-Dulles, Denver, Cleveland, San Francisco). Could the reason for that you were rescheduled be that your connection became an issue when the departure time changed?

 

[Scotch]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try and call UA back this weekend and see if I can get seats now.

How much time do you have at your connecting airport now that you've been moved back to your original flight number (but that flight now departs an hour later)?

I would be concerned about a tight connection at any United hub (Chicago-O'Hare, Houston, Washington-Dulles, Denver, Cleveland, San Francisco). Could the reason for that you were rescheduled be that your connection became an issue when the departure time changed?

My original/current layover is ~ 2 1/2 hours.

 

[monty]

You are correct that there is no legislation about airlines changing flight times, but the U.S. Department of Transportation has made clear that as a matter of policy/interpretation, consumers are entitled to request a refund if an airline makes a "significant" change:

carriers should not be applying nonrefundability/penalty provisions in situations in which a change in travel date or a significant change in scheduled departure or arrival time has been necessitated by carrier action. The same is true of a change in carriers or airports used, even without a significant schedule change, or a change from direct to connecting service or from nonstop service to a flight with a stop. We believe that imposing monetary penalties on passengers in these kind of situations or maintaining any contract of carriage or tariff provision mandating such a result would be grossly unfair and violate 49 U.S.C. 41712.​

See http://airconsumer.dot.gov/rules/20010925.htm. Thus, if an airline made the changes discussed, the consumer should be able to ask for their money back if the airline isn't willing to make adjustments.

The link refers to "flights that were cancelled or significantly delayed as a result of the tragic events of September 11".

I have been been fighting AA for a refund over a flight change that will mean we would miss our next flight (tickets purchased separately) as the change falls short of their refund policy by 10mins.and they will only give me a credit that is useless to me in Australia.