BenjaminNYC

Need to book 2x EWR-NAS for this Saturday, return Sunday. The flight down is C3, the flight back is C1. I am Plat. Companion is not even OnePass member.

On outbound: Can we both confirm into C with Y fares? I know I can as Plat, but can my companion (non-elite) too?

On return: I know I could confirm b/c it's C1, but when I go to book two tickets, it offers no upgrade (because there is only one C seat, clearly). So if we buy the Y fare, will we both waitlist automatically by CO.com, and will we clear by my priority (Plat on Y fare)?

Thanks,
-BJ

OPFlyer

Only elite members are entitled to the upgrade from a Y fare at ticketing.

BenjaminNYC

Really? It seems CO.com gives the yellow Y, even when choosing 2 travelers. This is different from the return.

OPFlyer

If you look, you will see it says Upgrade Elite Y Fare which means yes its avaliable for two people but both must be Elite members in order to upgrade. If you click the link, you will see more details on this.

BenjaminNYC

OK, what about my second question? For the return, do we waitlist on my status?

sbm12

You should be able to call in and immediately clear your personal upgrade into the one F seat currently available, assuming you don't mind splitting up. Your companion will go on the standby list as a Platinum companion. That will allow them to clear after all platinums on the flight. You have to add them to the standby list at the airport.

S.

BenjaminNYC

CO will allow two people on the same PNR to split up before the airport?? UA won't.

ijgordon

That seems silly. CO will just divide the record (aka split the PNR) and then you can each do whatever you want...separately.

BenjaminNYC

You mean the agent will split my companion into a whole different PNR? Then, how will that companion clear on my status, if we're not in the same PNR?

rkkwan

You add a companion at the airport on the day of travel.

Kinda like what they tell you about using the oxygen mask with a kid. Put yours on first, then worry about the kid.

fly2w

LOL

ijgordon

Yes, rkkwan is correct. You should also be aware that if you do NOT split the PNRs, then NEITHER of you will be upgraded. For multiple passengers on one PNR, upgrades are processed according to the status of the lowest level passenger, which in your case is zilch.

This is clearly a different system from, say AA, where companion upgrades are processed at the advance windows (100/72/24 hours) and can occur whether the pax are on the same PNR or on separate but linked PNRs. And a companion on AA gets the same status as the elite passenger, so could clear an upgrade before another elite member.
CO only processes companion upgrades at the airport within 2 hours of departure, and companion upgrades are processed after all elites at that specific level (i.e., plats, plat companions, golds, gold companions, silver).
The other major difference is that companion upgrades on CO are FREE.

BenjaminNYC

Oh, so there is really no advantage to buying my companion the Y fare, since I'm just going to add them at the airport anyway?

rkkwan

No advantage in terms of upgrades in your scenario. If the companion doesn't need the other benefits of a Y fare, he/she should book a cheaper fare.

ijgordon

Well, I think that if your companion was on a Y fare, s/he'd be at the top of the priority standby upgrade list for Platinum Companions at the airport, since fare class is a key determiner of priority. So s/he'd be the first companion to be upgraded, but again, only after all actual platinums.
But I don't think this would be worth paying the higher fare, YMMV.