Flight was rescheduled, now I can't make connection (flights have been booked together, same airline)
A couple of months ago I booked a flight from Managua (Nicaragua) via Houston, Texas to Munich (Germany) on United Airlines. The date of the flight is more than four weeks ahead.
Today I received an email notification that the first flight has been rescheduled. The flight from Managua arrives in Houston at 5.20 pm while the connecting flight from Houston to Munich is leaving at 2.30 pm, the same day. Therefore I will obviously miss the flight.
In the email it is written:
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Rest assured that your reservation remains valid, and if you do not wish to make additional changes, no action is needed based on this email
This seems ridiculous, as I have to make additional changes:
So my questions are:
- Is this standard procedure? Just sending an email notification without call to action even though the flight plan became inapplicable?
- What are my options here?
- Can I step back from the flight?
- If they offer me another itinerary which is inconvenient for me (e.g. more layovers) and I book a flight with another airline, will they refund the cost?
Update(04.06.2018):
I researched alternative flights and found one flight from Liberia (North of Costa Rica) which suited me as well. (I guess Nicaragua is right now not the best place to be anyway)
Then I called United Airlines about the issue. Their first offer was to take the plane in Houston one day later and providing an hotel voucher. When I proposed to fly from Liberia they first claimed the additional costs. But after some discussion the flight was changed free of charge.
Pictures about "Flight was rescheduled, now I can't make connection (flights have been booked together, same airline)"
Can you link two separate flights with the same airline?
A: It depends, but the general rule is NO. Some airlines will through check baggage onto separately ticketed flights, but some won't (even if both tickets are with the same airline). Some airlines will take pity if your delay is due to them, but others don't.Does a connecting flight have to be with the same airline?
Fly on a single ticket when you need to connect flightsTypically, any connecting itinerary you arrange on a single ticket conforms with whatever connecting times apply. That's true even on tickets that involve two airlines, as long as those airlines have interline agreements.What to do if connecting flight is rescheduled?
In case of delay or cancellation of the connecting flight at the point of origin which leads to the possibility of a missed connection at the point of transit, the passenger shall have right to choose a refund, or a credit for future travel on IndiGo, or re-booking onto an alternative IndiGo flight at no additional ...Flights: Cancelled \u0026 Delayed - How to Survive Flying This Summer
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: JESHOOTS.com, Gustavo Fring, ArtHouse Studio, ArtHouse Studio