exerda

Could be worse. We've heard many reports of pax not getting the u/g (and the seats either going out empty or filled incorrectly) and the miles + $$$ not getting automatically refunded.


To be blunt, because UA's IT systems suck.


Only if there is R inventory will it be useful to call an agent. Without R, the upgrade should not clear. We can debate whether or not IM should have released that R inventory, but the fact of the matter is that if they have not, unless you can manage to convince IM to release a seat and are able to snag it potentially ahead of others waiting for the same, you won't get the seat just by calling repeatedly.


While this policy absolutely sucks, it is indeed the policy, and the agents were correct. If it hasn't cleared by T-24, you then are supposed to be added to the "standby" upgrade list which is processed at the airport when checking in. There have been many, many reports of that process failing and of pax struggling to get any agent (phone, airport, or otherwise) to add them to the list (insisting the pax was already on it, that the pas can't upgrade within 24 hours, etc.). This is terrible policy, but unfortunately it is the way things are done right now.


I have had success many times calling in to get them to process an upgrade which didn't happen automatically when there was R inventory available. The fact that the automatic processing was broken and didn't happen is a big problem for UA and their IT systems.

However, that R inventory still has to be there. It's not clear from your post, but it sounded like the agent thought that even with R = 0, they could force through an upgrade for a waitlisted 1K. I do not believe that was correct.


Yes, always good advice.

star_world

I used the mobile site to see the current booked load on the two flights, and can see the availability there. This, combined with the fact that the poster is using a GPU from a 1K member is what led me to believe that the chances are good.

NgatesSEA

What if there isn't even a "placeholder" for R inventory? For an international longhaul flight on a 2-cabin PMCO 777, my flight is showing the following (on united.com):

Available Cabins: J9, JN9, C9, D9, Z4, ZN4, Y9, YN9, B9, M9, E9, U9, H9, HN9, Q9, V9, W9, S9, T9, L9, K9

Is one of these classes equivalent to "R"? What should I be watching?

Thanks.

Thanks.

star_world

It won't show on an existing reservation if R=0. If you do a new revenue flight search that shows the flight you're on, you'll see R listed there, even if it's 0.

NgatesSEA

Thanks. Appears that I asked a stupid question - apologies for that. Thanks again.

star_world

No not at all - it makes no sense at all that they show it in one place but not the other!

JudyBlueEyes

This is my first year as a United 1K. (Already have over 80,000 miles in 2012.) I have 6 Global Premier Upgrades but have never used any. I need to fly ORD-CDG-ORD Oct. 1-6. Before I decide about buying a coach class ticket (in a GPU-qualifying coach class rate) versus a business class ticket, is there any way to guess/estimate how likely it is that an upgrade to business class will come through? For example, based on how full business class looks on the nonstop flights at this point, about 3 weeks out? My company authorizes business class purchases but since I have a limited travel budget, I can take more trips if I can pay for coach on this trip and get upgraded.

If I understand correctly, I can get waitlisted on both outbound and return, and one or the other or none might come through. Since I wouldn't mind flying coach en route home during the day, but I'd really prefer to be in business for the overnight flight to Paris, is it worth considering purchasing business outbound and coach (with waitlisted upgrade) en route home?

Thanks to all you experts, I love this message board. Also apologies if this question about how to estimate likelihood is on the board, I searched but couldn't find it. Judy

sbm12

The only way to know for certain is to see if you can confirm at booking. Other than that it is a gamble. Currently the dates in question do not have any upgrade inventory available, either on the non-stop or with connections.

Getting coach one way and biz the other may prove to be quite expensive; it may defeat the goal of saving some money and using the upgrade.

Good luck.

SFOPhD

It's really hard to estimate and depends on variable issues like day of the week and special events.

I and others like to book GPU-eligible fares only is upgrades can be confirmed upon booking (because the difference between that and a normal economy fare is often non-negligible). So, just check for R space while booking. United has made that a little more difficult now, so just check for Mileage Plus Upgrade space while booking.

FlyWorld

- Generally, better to travel on Tue and Thu for upgrades.

- Look at how many seats are open in business and coach to get an idea of load factors, also look at fare buckets (use ExpertFlyer) to see how many seats are open in each class (you'll have to study up on fare buckets).

- Others say the "seat map" idea is not a good idea, but it's served me fairly well before 3/3.

sbm12

When you say it served you well do you mean you know that flights you didn't choose would not have cleared? Because otherwise you don't have nearly enough data to claim that just looking at the limited data you had was sufficient to reliably inform the decision IMO.

cochinjew

I have used all my 6 for this year.. the last one used was yesterday
LHR -ORD, which cleared on the day I booked it. The others cleared closer to the time of the flight, about two weeks earlier iad-ord-iad
iah-nrt cleared quickly but nrt-sin did not . lax-hnl-gum also cleared.
on the 19th i have a Y flight IAD LHR, if someone wants to donate one of their systemwide upgrade, it would be gratefully acknowledged. will bring you a box of havana cigars! he he ...
Yesterdays flight from LHR as there are three flights lhr ord alone let alone to iah ewr etc... cdg is a bit dificult to get even though there are three daily cdg ewr flights
good luck

FlyWorld

Nobody on this forum has "nearly enough data" to tell someone else whether or not they are going to get upgraded. Especially in the post 3/3 environment of smoke and mirrors.

When I say it served me well, I mean exactly what I said. It served me well.

By that, I mean that I had a very high success rate on upgrades, and I attribute that to choosing flights wisely.

Of course, I don't know what would have happened if I had flown on flights that I didn't take. Hard to even take that question seriously. If that shatters my credibility, then so be it. I doubt anyone else on this board can produce iron-clad statistics to describe everything that would have happened if they had taken flights that they didn't take.

[Personalized text edited by Moderator.] I'm sharing my experience, along with everyone else. OP can read it, take it in, and make a decision.

JudyBlueEyes

Thanks to those of you who responded (and to the moderators for putting my question in the correct thread). As I started to research fare buckets, I found this link http://boardingarea.com/blogs/freque...mation-online/ about how United is taking info on fares out of the websites that the public can view. Are you already aware of this, and will it affect everyone who's trying to check for upgrade likelihood? Judy

alamire

United recently messed up an award redemption from Europe in Mid July. My partner's reservation was never ticketed, and the award is no longer available. Our original flight—and the one I am still on—is a partner flight one stop, but United put him on an alternate flight with two stops. They put us on a "priority waiting list" for a nonstop flight on UA metal. The waitlist shows on both of our reservations, indicating that we are waiting for an I class fare to open up. What are the chances of that happening? There are still about 22 unbooked seats in united first on the flight.

This matters, not only because of convenience, but because the waitlisted flight leaves from a different city than we are currently booked from. Are there any further steps I can take with United to ensure this clears? Thanks!