United-Lufthansa codeshare flights

[MHF]

I am sailing Seabourn in May but know that SS uses United too and wanted to warn you:  if you have a codeshare, use your Lufthansa confirmation number to check your flight on the Lufthansa website.  My flights were both listed on the United site but only the first one was listed on the Lufthansa site.  A quick email to my TA and the answer was Lufthansa and United are in some sort of codeshare argument and my seat on the second flight got dropped.  Lufthansa didn't tell anyone.  I'm now on United metal to Zurich and then changing to Swiss air.  It pays to "garden" your travel!

 

And yes, I checked SS for a similar cruise but their solo price was 175% whereas SB was 125%.  Am back on SS in 2021.

 

Missy in Maryland (who is looking forward to seeing Terry's pix from NZ!)

[milepig]

Yep. This can happen with codeshares when the inventory doesn’t synch up. On a UA board it’s called “phantom inventory”. Most often with award flights. Were you using miles?  The UA system shows availability but the LH system rejects it. The only solution is to watch like a hawk and be sure to check the LH site for their flight and to call the ticketing airline or your TA if there are issues ASAP. 
 

What happens is UA shows availability that isn’t real and then LH rejects the booking, with no notice to the passenger. You should watch for not only the booking notice but also a final confirmation email. That comes within a few minutes to up to a day, and if it doesn’t it’s time to call to get it rectified. Booking through a TA, which in my experience only causes problems, means they “own” the booking so they need to fix it. This is why I always book my flights with the airline. Not even Experia, etc. always with the airline. 

Edited February 13, 2020 by milepig

[MHF]

These were tickets SB had booked for me last spring when I booked the cruise.  

 

MHF

[Covepointcruiser]

We have almost always experienced changes on United and their code share partners especially when booking a year or almost a year ahead.   Flights are constantly being changed, routes dropped, flights cancelled etc.   At least booking through SS or Seabourn they take care of all changes and keep you in the correct class.   I hope they change my Lufthansa flight to Swissair.   I would love to try them again.