Does this warrant a refund?
 

My husband and I will be traveling to London in late September and then flying back to Albuquerque from Edinburgh. I booked with United because they had a direct flight from London to Denver and then on to Albuquerque and I absolutely didn't want to have to go through Chicago. This weekend a representative from United called me and said our flight home had been changed to go through Chicago. The flights times are similar and we arrive home about the same time but I guess I'm letting one horrible experience at Chicago O'hare color my thinking on this. If I found a better flight on another airline would United refund my money and cancel my reservation or should I just let well enough alone? The rep who called was not sympethic in any way and said he could not help me. I did call United and they told me they had no other flights except one going through Dulles and it would make our trip about 3 hours longer. Does anyone have any thoughts on this or is United not obligated to refund my money for this one change? Thanks.

As I understand it, you're no longer flying into DEN but now going through ORD; this is not just an additional stop in ORD on your way to DEN.(?).

Usually, when schedules are changed you have the right to accept them or cancel and get a refund. At which point you're free to make whatever reservations you want to with any airline. And usually this change is fairly or very significant.

In your case, it doesn't sound like it is (if I'm understanding your question). If you want to change, I'd call and tell them new changes aren't acceptable and see what they say. Can't hurt. We've never had a problem with this, but haven't had insignificant changes to deal with - they're always been BIG changes.

FWIW, I've gone through ORD on overseas trips and haven't had any real problems, although I have other airports I certainly prefer. I don't think I'd let one experience totally dictate my reaction - which can happen in the best airports.

I don't think you have grounds for a refund - they are getting you home at about the same time. But you can always ask . . .

My understanding is that ANY routing or time changes entitle you to a REFUND from United. What they DON'T have to do is reroute you.

So it's your call whether ot get a refund or not and want to rebook but if they've dropped the DEN-LHR flight you may not get any better routing.
And ABSOLUTELY take ORD vs IAD especially in September where you likely won't have ORD snow to worry about.

Thanks for the replies. If I can't find a better flight on another airline, I'll just grin and bear it, I'm sure there are much worse things than going through ORD. I did have another question. We'll be leaving Edinburgh on a Wednesday morning and I was wondering if the airport shuttle is operating early enough to get us to the airport by 7:00 am or would we need to take a taxi? And where does one catch a bus to the airport? We're staying at a B&B on Tantallon street. I'm sure the B&B owners will be able to help us with these questions but it's just so much fun talking to all of you, it makes me even more excited about our trip. Thanks for all your help.

Yes you are entitled to a full refund but before you do that check the fares and routings with other airlines. It may turn out to be no better than what you have now and possibly more expensive.

Routing changes on their own even without time changes will get you a refund if that's what you want.

ORD is my first choice for connections, winter, spring, summer or fall. With ~50 connections I may have had 1 or 2 weather related delays. Personally I would not have any problem going through ORD.

Airlink departs from Waverley Bridge just off Princes Street. I don't know if that's close to your hotel. It's 3.50BP per person and up to about 6 am it leave every 20 minutes all night long. After 6 am it's every 10 minutes or so. I believe it takes about 20-30 minutes.

I don't think you're going to have to worry about snow at ORD in Sept.

assuming you mean Tantallon Place - it is a fair bit south of the Old Town, not really in the centre. The Airlink doesn't go near there so a pre-booked cab will probably be your best bet.

Having flown in and out of ORD hundreds of times, I have had relatively few problems. I agree that you may not be able to find anything better at a comparable price.

Just curious, what sort of bad experience did you have? Was it a weather delay? Poor customer service? Problems getting between terminals or making a connection? And how long ago? If you give some details, perhaps other posters can address those issues and allay your concerns.

Citylights -

My two sisters and I were going to Scotland and went through ORD on the way out from Albuquerque. We were in the terminal for hours and finally boarded the plane. We sat on the tarmac for over an hour and then were herded off the plane and told the flight was cancelled due to weather. The next flight would be in 24 hours and it was quite late at night by that time. One sister was in a wheelchair due to a foot injury and we were given a discount voucher for a hotel and sent on our way. We finally reached our hotel and were stuck there until the next evening when our flight left. We missed one whole day of our holiday and since we only had a week, it was quite disappointing. I'm sure it doesn't sound as desparate as I felt at the time, but it just left a bad taste in my mouth for ORD. Only one person was even remotely helpful to us and we felt kind of abandoned. It was our first trip out of the US so that made it even worse. But your experiences with ORD have made me feel much better and I know everything will be fine.

janisj -
It is Tantallon Place not street. I was under the impression that it was quite close to city center and not too far to walk to the castle, etc. But we can definately arrange for a taxi or have the B&B host drop us off at the bus. They have offered to pick us up from Waverly station when we arrive on the train so I'm hoping it won't be too much of a problem for them to take us to the bus. I don't want to impose on them so I may just ask for their help in arranging for the taxi. Thanks for all the good information.

Oh don't get me wrong -- it isn't far out. But it is south of the Old Town and I'd guess about a mile south of the Castle and 1.25 miles south of Princes Street

I'm with you starla, I avoid ORD whenever possible.

Having said that, delays and cancellations can happen anywhere.

It's not ORD that's much of a problem in your travel plans; it's United Airlines that stinks. They've cut back on personnel more than most other carriers, so you're likely to wait way longer for check-in and baggage delivery. And unless you're an elite, you'll deal with their hopelessly ineffective overseas call center if you have to telephone them.

I'm sure your experience was maddening at the time but as the above posts say, it's not ORD, it's United.

I'm always willing to write-off one bad experience as a fluke. If you can't find a better alternative, I hope you're pleasantly surprised with your experience.

If something untoward does happen, I'm not that far from O'Hare and I'm told by the friends who have slept there that the sofabed in the den is very comfortable. ;)

CityLights - Thank you so much for your kind offer but I hope never to have to take you up on it. I think the weather played a big part in my ORD experience as I was flying on Continental that time. I think I just need to take my husband's advice and just stop obsessing over it. Only 11 more weeks until we leave, Hurrah!

Despite what I've read/heard about connections at ORD, I've had no problems whatsoever there, even with what seemed like less than generous time, and even the time the departure terminal was changed between the time we arrived and the time the flight took off, even the time my connecting flight was delayed two hours, then another two hours - one of the nicest airports I've even had to spend excessive time.

A horrible experience, especially due to weather, can happen anywhere.