This one is something that has always bugged me. When I wait for my upgrade to clear I usually wait until the last few passengers to board the plane. And when it does clear, my name sometimes doesn't appear on their list right away. There have been a couple of times that I've been asked if I was an airline employee or an auditor. I really didn't like that. What difference does that make? It almost seems that I am not worthy of being there given that other passengers paid full fare and therefore deserve a better treatment.

this is normal for standby upgrades at the gate. there frequently isn't time to get an updated onboard list done by departure. super elite status will cure this. "gold" and "platinum" level flyers can generally upgrade several days ahead by phone, eliminating the last minute "gate shuffle". as for the inflight passenger list, most cabin crew seem reluctant to recognize pax by name anyway. don't feel badly. nobody in the front cabin is paying full fare anyway, unless they are brain dead, or lawyers billing the client.

Or are going on their honeymoon and have the means to pay the exorbitant fare and still get treated like s***...

deelmakur is right - nobody in the front cabin is paying full fare. They've already paid it, on the flights that let them "earn" the miles they used to buy the up-front seats. Hey, guys, we don't get nothin' fer nothin'. When you use an upgrade, you've paid for the seat, and you should be treated accordingly. That's true whether you've followed the rules and called 24 hours, or 72 hours, in advance to confirm an upgrade, or whether you're upgraded at the gate (something I've experienced only once in many, many years of flying, and then it was at the gate agent's initiative, not my own).

the whole front cabin thing is an interesting subject. there is tremendous graft. a few weeks ago I overhead a hostess in an airline club at newark giving a guy an upgrade. she walks over to where he is sittng, gives him his new boarding pass...and a hug..then I hear her telling him what kind of cosmetics she wants for her and her kid (evidently the guy sells the stuff). forget upgrades out of DCA on US. between the corporate headquarters and all the government big shots (read: your elected representatives hitting them up), upgrade seats mysteriously evaporate. at the end of the day, you get your upgrade with a seat they couldn't sell. the cost to the airline is zippo..and as earlier said by philforest...you already paid for it with your prior business.

I don't know, deelmakur, I'm not premium status with any airline and the only time I ever got upgraded at the gate was out of DCA on US to BNA. Totally mysterious, the gate agent just called my name, tore up our boarding passes, handed me new ones and shushed me when I wanted to ask why. It can happen.

I've had that happen - once. And they included my wife - asked for one segment upgrade certificate (ATL to DCA)

Sorry, timchen, I know I am only a "junior member" on the board so far, but I have to weigh in for full fare-paying passengers. Looking at it from the perspective of the person paying full coach fare (which is a lot closer to Business/First than an economy fare), shouldn't the full fare passenger get the upgrade first, for the price he/she is paying?
Don't know if this is what the airlines are doing, as I don't upgrade too often (I am of the "save the miles for family vacations" school, not the "get every flight upgraded" school). But, if it is, I don't have a problem with it.

Well djlawman, it's always great to hear everybody's opinion on this, but i think my point is not just getting upgraded all the time. I too save my miles for family and all. The problem is that once upgraded, I believe we should be treated with equal respect. And I refuse to pay full fare.

I like the phrase deelmakur uses when describing passengers paying the full Y fare----"they are either brain dead or lawyers billing their clients". I will add another phrase---"they must be angry at their money".

Another 'junior' member weighing in:

Probably I'm one of the few on this board who pays out of my own pocket to fly first or business domestically four or five times a year. I also use FF miles to upgrade to first or biz on United when I can.

From my viewpoint, I'm significantly less grumpy about not getting my choice of meal when I've upgraded from a discount economy fare than when I've paid (the hefty) full freight.

I understand it makes sense for very frequent flyers to feel entitled and I don't mind. After all, in any given year, very frequent flyers spend on average way more than I do to fly.

It's clear, however, that United gets their quid-pro-quo with me. Their FF program keeps me darn loyal, even when I'm not using miles to upgrade. And, I'm willing to shell out my own bucks to avoid steerage.

Cheers,
KatW

As for paying full fare (Y-Class), I travel quite a bit, and frequently have to change plans with short notice.

It is my understanding that only the Y-Class ticket will allow this. If I am mistaken, and can save some money, I would like to know more...

John

JGill ~ As usual, my experience is only on DL, but I usually buy "fully refundable" tickets, and these offer plenty of flexibility and are usually booked lower than Y class, typically M, H, Q, or sometimes B depending on the advance purchase and route.

As long as they're fully refundable I don't see how you can lose any flexibility, the worst that will happen is you pay Y fare in the end and the old ticket is fully credited against it.

If "some" promotional return-ticket is less than 50% of the Y-fare, than I would rather buy the promotional one (and some times just "forget" about the return-trip).

fully explained: if I am pretty sure about the first trip, not so sure about the return one, and the promotional-ticket is less than 50% of the Y-fare, I would (in the end) if plans for the return-trip change (and the promotional ticket wouldn't allow this change), buy TWO promotional-tickets (for a price under 100% of ONE Y-ticket).