My husband and I used miles to get first class tickets on AA in Aug. Smf to fai. I was put on AL in coach the first 2 legs smf-pdx and pdx-sea.Hubby is in first class on a different flight. We used same amount of miles.
Charged first class miles, put in coach. Coshare
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Were you seated in first class on all flights when you originally booked the tickets? If so, when did you discover you were downgraded? If this is the case you should get some miles refunded. What does AA say about it?
What did United do to compensate? I am having a similar experience with UA. Booked a flight back from Greece business class for the better baggage allowance then learned that the baggage policy is set by the first carrier, in this case Aegean Air. The first flight with AA is an economy cabin so I do not get the better baggage allowance after United charged me business class miles. UA customer care is not lifting a finger to assist or to get Aegean to honor its partnership agreement. Have spent a great deal of time with both UA and AA and it has been a waste. Anyone have a suggestion?
@Boston Robert There is no compensation. You're on a first class itinerary. The UA confirmation and booking process both lay out the class of service you're in for each flight.
That is my issue. There is a statement in the UA confirmation that baggage policy is determined by Aegean (the first carrier) and to contact them. But under that is a chart clearly stating that on the Aegean flight two bags of 70 lbs each are allowed rather than the economy allowance of one 50 lb bag. Why would they have that? Who would see the need to pursue this further unless one is a firm believer in Murphy's law, as I am. there is more - after being on hold forever a United agent in the Philippines told me that she has contacted Aegean in Greece and was told they would honor their partnership agreement and i would be allowed two checked bags. When i asked for written confirmation she said that anyone could see this documented per the record locator number. Well, now United says they do not see this and just refer me back to Aegean. IMO their reservation process is deceptive and customer care couldn't care less.
I'd stay off the phone, Robert, and deal with this in writing. Start with UA's customer service, wait a week or two, then escalate on up using our Company Contacts. Submit to one exec at a time, waiting a week between. I wouldn't get my hopes up for any action ... doubtful that UA will put anything in writing for you to show Aegean but we see miracles here every day. Print a screen shot of the blurb that states two 70# bags are OK and prepare to be super-charming to the Aegean agents. Join their FF program, you never know.
These code share/partners/alliances are just a way for an airline to create more revenue, there's little benefit to the passenger. Good luck and please let us know the outcome.
These code share/partners/alliances are just a way for an airline to create more revenue, there's little benefit to the passenger. Good luck and please let us know the outcome.
Thanks for the advice. I can be super charming (lol), but am concerned about waiting until I get to the gate, like I said, Murphy's Law. Per this site i started the company contacts last week and that just got referred to a staffer. Have filed a complaint with the FAA. Will turn my sights on Aegean now as well and hope for that miracle. Will keep you posted. Thanks again.
Boston Robert how is the flight ticketed? Is the Aegean flight a domestic ticket flight that is only economy class?
Hi The Aegean Air flight (first flight) is from Crete to Lyon, France. I booked the entire trip, Crete to Boston, using United miles on the United MileagePlus website and it was booked as a business flight using business level miles i.e. 70k as opposed to 30k for economy. Looking at the eticket itinerary it does not state that the Aegean flight is economy (which it is), but does state that baggage policy is determined by the first carrier, which is why I followed up. However, as i wrote above, the eticket has a chart showing that the first and second checked bags, Heraklion to Boston, are free. You know, it's not about the miles. It's about what i believe is a deceptive practice and United's complete lack of customer care.
Is this one of those A3 flights that is only economy class? When I have been on one of those and connecting to a two class plane and flying in business it was coded in such a way that I did receive the business class luggage allowance. This was on a paid ticket and no code shares.
Is there a way to change the ticket to a different routing, to one that has the business available? I avoid the "mixed cabin" flights, both paid and award.
Hi Not sure what you mean by an A3 flight. The plane out of Crete is an Airbus A320 if that is what you mean. And yes, it is listed as an economy(X) flight. When I look at either the United or the MileagePlus details for this flight it looks like i do get the two checked bags. But when I contact either Aegean or United for confirmation I am otld that this is an economy flight and I get one checked bag. Obviously I don't want to wait to get to the gate to find what the story is. To answer your second question; I am limited to award flights and what is going out of Crete. The only way i see to reticket would be to ferry back to Athens and fly out from there which doesn't look practical. Not sure what you mean by code shares.
Thanks very much for the input.
Thanks very much for the input.
@Boston Robert Double check your confirmation. I pulled a UA confirmation I had with an Aer Lingus flight and found this statement right above the baggage area
"In compliance with U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, checked baggage policies for your current itinerary have been deferred by the marketing carrier, (United Airlines), to the operating carrier. As a result, your baggage policies will be determined by Aer Lingus. Visit united.com/baggage for more information."
"In compliance with U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, checked baggage policies for your current itinerary have been deferred by the marketing carrier, (United Airlines), to the operating carrier. As a result, your baggage policies will be determined by Aer Lingus. Visit united.com/baggage for more information."
I believe John is correct- the baggage policy is what the operating airline has, not United if they aren’t operating the flight. That’s what a codeshare is - you are buying a ticket through United but the flight is operated by another airline they work with.
Have you used our company contacts to write to
Aegean? If you haven’t, you should. They need the be the ones giving you the definitive answer. You says that your confirmation says that the baggage policy is Aegean’s not United. Your question should be is it there are only economy seats on that plane, what is the allowance?
http://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/aegean-airlines/
Hi Boston Robert A3 is the airline code for Aegean, sorry I was just too lazy to type it. I think the problem with the Crete-Lyon flight is that it is only economy class. I tried to do a test booking all business class and got an option of Heraklion to Paris (CDG) to Copenhagen and Copenhagen to Boston -- there is a forced overnight. One issue you may want to consider is the possibility of issues with the Crete - Lyon flight -- there is only one per day and not every day of the week -- so if there is mechanical issues or delay there could be an issue with the connections. With Athens there would be more options and fewer connections -- but then there is the transit from Crete to Athens.
As Aegean is the first carrier they would be in charge of assessing the fee and I do see why you are concerned.
I'm a practical soul, so I would accept that I have done all the research possible and might have to pay for that extra bag. If they agree to go with UA's bag allowance, I just saved some money. I sincerely don't believe that you will know until you check in at the airport. Don't forget that calling an airline subjects you to the GEOP rule: "get 'em off the phone". An agent will tell you almost anything to get rid of you so she can take another call.
What is far more problematic is the 1xday flight, and not every day. Not good at all. I think that's what you should be concentrating on. What's the plan if you don't make your connection?
What is far more problematic is the 1xday flight, and not every day. Not good at all. I think that's what you should be concentrating on. What's the plan if you don't make your connection?
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I have found that there is Aegean USA and Aegean Greece. Aegean USA closes at 5 PM really. Have spoken to then several times and they just refer me to customer service via the website. Have done that several times and just get the same none answer, ie their baggage policy. It just goes round and round. Maybe i should just call Greece. I understand the comments about Aegean setting the policy and my issue being with them. But United did charge me business miles and should get Aegean to honor their (partnership) agreement. A little humor - i did find a great international (Greek) market here in Mass so maybe i won't need to bring so much stuff back after all.
If the plane doesn’t have business class seats- they don’t have business class seats. They can’t give you seats they don’t have. Did you use miles just for this one flight or was it for the entire itinerary including other flights?
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