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United - Fee Your to to Oblivian
United - Thieves of Amerca - Complaint
Review by fpreckel on 2012-08-03
Rating: 
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND -- Booked a flight for my vacation. Was denied by United boarding because my passport only had 3+ months left. They have since charged me $450 in change fees and divided the ticket so that every change is now $300. It is now cheaper to walk away from $1,500 in non-refundable money.
Comments:
Posted by Buddy01 on 2012-08-04:
Most countries require at least 6 months remain on your passport. It is not United, all airlines would have denied you boarding. It is too bad that when you purchased your ticket it was not made clear to you about the 6 month rule.
Posted by trmn8r on 2012-08-04:
This is informative to me - I didn't know about this aspect of passport use.
Based on a few minutes of looking, it appears it depends where you are travelling. Sounds like United may have done you a favor, since you likely would not have been allowed entry to whatever country you were headed to. I don't think your complaint is with United here.
Based on a few minutes of looking, it appears it depends where you are travelling. Sounds like United may have done you a favor, since you likely would not have been allowed entry to whatever country you were headed to. I don't think your complaint is with United here.
Posted by Nohandle on 2012-08-04:
That's interesting Buddy. I honestly didn't realize about the 6 month expiration date on a passport before being allowed to board. I attempt to keep mine reasonably current because who wants to start from scratch? I don't know my parents birth years nor the date of their deaths.
I don't expect an airline to inform a passenger of the rules/regulations since they seem to change daily. I think it's our responsibly to check it out beforehand. I just hope I don’t find a surprise the next time I fly.
I don't expect an airline to inform a passenger of the rules/regulations since they seem to change daily. I think it's our responsibly to check it out beforehand. I just hope I don’t find a surprise the next time I fly.
Posted by bob932304 on 2012-08-04:
Good information. Thanks. Sorry the OP lost so much money.
Posted by Ben There on 2012-08-04:
Each country has it's own rules about passport validity and visa requirements that airlines are required to follow. In addition to passport validity, countries can also require proof on onward journey to show that you plan to leave the country. Some countries like South Africa even require that you have an entire page blank in your passport... If you don't, airlines can and will deny you boarding.
If airline's don't comply with these rules, they can get fined heavily by the country. As for "the airline should tell you this when you buy your ticket", they don't and won't. However, one of the "for pay" visa services that Delta touts on their website has a nifty tool to look up details passport validity and visa requirements here:
http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations/plan_flight/international_travel_information/visa_passport_information/#timatic
If airline's don't comply with these rules, they can get fined heavily by the country. As for "the airline should tell you this when you buy your ticket", they don't and won't. However, one of the "for pay" visa services that Delta touts on their website has a nifty tool to look up details passport validity and visa requirements here:
http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations/plan_flight/international_travel_information/visa_passport_information/#timatic
Posted by Travel Agent on 2012-08-04:
This is a reason why booking through a travel agent would save money and heartache.
Agents are required to inform their clients at the time of booking regarding any travel rules for particular countries. They are also there to remind you about booking non-refundable tickets and that airlines are under no obligation to allow changes or refunds on tickets and that changes to tickets will cost money. This is why the non-refundable tickets are sold at a much lower rate than refundable ones. (many times they are half the price)
Because so many people choose the do it yourself route for booking holidays, they do not think about the additional background info that they might need and subsequently, situations such as this will occur.
It costs nothing to use a travel agent, but in the long run you could save yourself time, money and grief.
Agents are required to inform their clients at the time of booking regarding any travel rules for particular countries. They are also there to remind you about booking non-refundable tickets and that airlines are under no obligation to allow changes or refunds on tickets and that changes to tickets will cost money. This is why the non-refundable tickets are sold at a much lower rate than refundable ones. (many times they are half the price)
Because so many people choose the do it yourself route for booking holidays, they do not think about the additional background info that they might need and subsequently, situations such as this will occur.
It costs nothing to use a travel agent, but in the long run you could save yourself time, money and grief.
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