United Airlines has eased restrictions on travel agency
partners that are rebooking on behalf of their clients after schedule changes and
irregular operations, bringing their rebooking capabilities more in line with
what United's reservation team is able to do.
Previously, when a flight's schedule changed, agents could
rebook restricted, or nonrefundable, flights only to four booking classes above
the original booking's fare class, United senior manager of sales
communications and policies Brian Miller said. Now, agents can rebook in any
class up to M, which is full-fare refundable economy. Air carriers have dozens
of classes, but the new rule now allows many more scenarios in which an agent can,
for example, rebook a deep discount economy ticket for a discount economy
ticket.
The new policy also makes timing around rebooking less
restrictive. Previously, agents could rebook only when the original flight
moved by an hour or more. Now, the threshold has dropped to 30 minutes. Agents also
can rebook when a schedule change makes a flight leave earlier; previously, they
could rebook only when a flight moved to a later departure time, according to
Miller.
Additionally, agents rebooking after a schedule change previously
could rebook only for one day earlier or two days later; now they can rebook
for seven days earlier or seven days later. That change "better reflects
the network," which offers many routes that fly less than once a day and
high load factors. The new rules enable rebooking without trimming a day or
more from a trip, Miller said.
In addition, agents now can change origins and destinations
within a 100-mile radius. Previously, they were restricted to rebooking at the
original origin and destination, he said.
Also, for flights delayed less than two hours,
United had required agents to have a weather waiver in order to rebook. Agents
now can service any disruption of an hour or longer, even when they are not caused
by weather.