United Problem Checking In - Lost Husband
 

While checking in on line at United.com for our trip to France, the oddest thing happened.
I got a notice that I couldn't print my boarding passes because my documentation (passports, I assume) needed to be verified by a United representative. OK, so that's not the end of the world. I'll make sure to get to the airport in plenty of time.
Anyway, my computer screen froze and when I tried to get back on the United site to click that last button and finish check-in, by husband disappeared from my confirmation. No amount of clicking that back arrow found him. I was finally able to check in for him using his ff number, but when I printed his confirmation, it was different from mine.
So I have a couple questions for anyone who might know -- Is it a bad sign (as in "bumped") that I cannot print my boarding passes at home? That's never happened before, even when we traveled overseas and had to submit passport information. Also, why would DH be under a different confirmation number, and does that mean anything? It looks like we still have the original seat assignments.
If it makes a difference, I have the Mileage Plus card and my husband does not.
Thanks for any ideas.

Call the United Help Desk for an explanation. Beg, plea and always be nice.

If the booking was made as one, try to get it back to one.

If you wanted to change seats, for example, you would have to do it twice, and so on. It will just confuse things everywhere down the line.

To make sure you like your seats, www.seatguru.com

No idea why the PNR is split, but once that is done, it can't be reversed. But really no big deal, and I won't worry about it.

The airlines have lost my luggage many, many times but they have never lost my husband. :-S

I think luggage is easier to get back. And if you don't get it back at least you get $400. :-D

P_M - A vision of a lost husband forelornly sitting on an empty carousel, going around and around.

On our recent trip to Peru, the exact same thing happened to my husband. I was not able to print his boarding pass due to some thing about his documentation. I was very worried, but once we got to the airport, we had to show his passport, then got the passes and the same seats as planned.

if there is any difference in your FF status, the system will split the reservation.

mztery - Actually, that's not true.

I've been an AA premium person for years. Reservations made in my name for my wife and I always are on one reservations, and vice versa.

The only time we are split is when one reservation is using FF miles from me, and the other is using FF miles from my wife.

Rastaguytoday, mztery is talking about United's system (which is the former Continental SHARES system), not AA, and it most definitely will split reservations at check-in where the pax have different status levels--unless you are careful to select the "do not upgrade" option for each passenger--presumably because the system can't handle upgrading two people separately. It's taken a lot of former UA flyers by surprise, including me. But...I'm not sure if that was the issue or not for the OP (it sounds more like something due to documentation, but hard to tell).

ms_go - Sounded pretty generic to me.

AA allows me to request upgrades for myself even if my wife is on the same locator #.

If only one upgrade is available, I put her in the upgraded class. I've traveled so much, that I think she would be more 'thrilled' to be upgraded than me.

Last time it happened, it was a SFO-JFK leg of a South American destination. She told the FA in Biz class and they proceeded to comp me for everything the entire flight.

I'm back to let you know that I had no trouble checking in, and both boarding passes have "priority boarding" so yet again my husband gets a perk for marrying me.
It's interesting to read about the upgrades. We also are wait listed (miles and $) for an upgrade on the second leg to CDG. We'll see how that goes...
Thanks all.

Rastaguy - I was responding to the OP who said she was on UNITED. And ms_go is correct, as was I- the new UA system (old CO system, SHARES) ) now splits PNR's of two people who have different status levels at the 24 hour mark. Maybe next time you could ASK before you assume a UA expert is incorrect about United.

PS to Rastaguy - if you werre a UA flyer you would know that calling them right now can be a wait of anywhere from 10 min to 2 hours....

mztery - Fortunately, Elite FF folks have their own numbers to call, depending on their status.

Once you verify your FF number for status check, a rep picks right up.

I have taken some godawful airlines that are linked to AA just to keep churning out the miles. The absolute worst has to be EVA air to Taiwan.

lcuy, I know you are a savvy traveler but am just wondering if your DH's secure flight info wasn't in the reservation. Or maybe he, or someone with the same name, has a redress number?

rastaguy - since hte merger this is NOT true - GS and 1K folks get the same waits than general members do in many cases, as the phones can't handle all the calls w/ changes, problems etc. There is also just one "premier" like that even UGS folks get transferred to. Please don't talk about matters you know NOTHING about as an AA flyer.

mrwunrfl- Someone at the airport told us it was because they hadn't seen his passport on United before, which might have been true...recent trips with that pp were on Continental or other partners. Who knows??

mztery is right. United lines are getting better, but a week ago, I was on hold for over 45 minutes on the Elite status (platinum) telephone line. A few weeks before that, I was on hold about two hours!!

I can't say for sure now, but with the old CO system that the combined UA is using, PNR are not split at check-ins with different elite levels, and we actually had to deliberately ask for it to be split so that there was better chance for the higher elite to get his/her upgrade. Otherwise, upgrade priority would be based on the lower elite's status.

rkkwan, my first experience with the splitting at check-in was with pre-integration CO, back in December. I had to call in because it was the only way to find my daughter's new PNR when she was split off from mine (she didn't have a OP number). The agent with whom I spoke told me it was a "relatively new practice" in response to people wanting the ability to improve upgrade chances. Not sure if that was true, but that's what I was told at the time. I posted about it on FT and was told that was the way it was supposed to work and that I could have prevented it by checking (or unchecking??) the boxes about wanting upgrades on the check-in screen--which I obviously didn't read closely enough at the time. My only domestic flights since then have been solo, so I haven't encountered it again.

mztery - I queried a person who has been a friend of mine for about the last 30+ years and asked him about UA's help desk.

He was a 1K for years, but was dropped down to the next level due to a change in job (no more it'l flights).

He's a million miler with UA. He told me that he does not have any problems getting what he needs at the help desk, and told me that he doesn't see significant delays. He has back and knee issues, so he has to call the help desk frequently on specific seat allocations and upgrades.

mztery - I don't consider that shooting my mouth off. I talked to someone who has been with UA for over 25 years.

I try to validate my comments, using personal connections. What do you do?