FlyWorld

I'm doing some very broad searches on ExpertFlyer to look for RN space where I can fly with GPUs and every search, no matter where I look, no matter when I look, is coming up with RN=0. I've tried hundreds of flights over wide date ranges including such routes as SFO-FRA, EWR-BOM, EWR-TLV, EWR-CPH, and I have yet to find a single flight on any day in any direction that isn't RN=0.

During several searches in the past, every flight I checked on CO out of EWR was 100% RN=0, so this isn't entirely a shock, but what is shocking is that I can't find even a single day when SFO-FRA has RN space, and I've always found it very easy to book that flight if I'm flexible about day of travel.

Not trying to over-react or be sensationalist here, but finding RN space is looking to be completely impossible on any > 10 hour flight and I'm wondering if they've simply cut it off entirely?

I have no doubt that someone will find a flight somewhere and post it here as a counter-example - the point I'd like to make is that it appears to me that RN inventory has been severely cut from levels that existed even a month ago.

My experience post 3/3 was that CO flights had RN=0 for > 10 hours in every instance that I searched but that UA flights still had the same RN availability as they had before 3/3. I've flown for example, SFO-LHR and SFO-FRA with confirmed upgrades into RN space at time of booking, with ease, as long as I was willing to let UA choose my date of travel. This seems to be no longer possible.

Does anyone else have a similar observation?

Air Houston

You need to look for R, not RN. I did some flight searches yesterday and there were plenty of flights with R available, although not on the dates/times I wanted to fly, of course.

cesco.g

Interesting points. However, your title is somewhat misleading. It should rather read something like "has upgrade space (RN) been eliminated/curtailed?"

[Moderator edit: thread title has been edited. Ocn Vw 1K.]

FriendlySkies

SFO-FRA is one of the hardest upgrades in the syst. No surprise that there is no NC, err., R space.

WineCountryUA

yes, SFO-FRA has for years been a very, very tought flight to find upgrade space at booking.

Last month I booked a mid-July trip with SFO-FRA segments. SFO-FRA cleared a few days later albeit on the 777, not 747 flight.

addendum
in some spot checking, lots of R space in July for ORD-FRA, in Aug ORD-LHR (but not July duh!!), LAX or SFO -NRT in July / Aug

unavaca

I picked a random date in January and was able to find a bunch of R space. Not seeing the problem
As your question was about SFO-FRA, there's lots of space out there:

mherdeg

Just for transatlantic travel there are about 40 city pairs served by UA. I've been looking at random dates in June for a while now, and I can generally find R inventory on 2–5 of those city pairs even on busy days. You do have to be willing to visit interesting places like BFS, MAN, EDI, STR… (There are some exceptions. Friday, June 22 is currently R0 for all westbound transatlantic flights.)

FlyWorld

I've heard a lot of people say that in the forum, but since 1999, I've flown almost exclusively SFO-FRA for any destination in Europe and my UG rate is 100%. In most cases, I cleared at booking into RN space, in several cases, I've cleared in the lounge. I've always chosen dates very carefully - watching loads and flying on Tue/Thu where possible, never on Mon/Fri.

What I'm seeing now is definitely different than what I've ever seen before, even in the post 3/3 period.

Interesting. I was looking at Aug-Sep-Oct timeframe.

amartin1979

Yes, I noticed that R availability tightened significantly over the last few weeks.

WineCountryUA

summer vacation going into Oktoberfest. And in late October the seasonal reduction to a single flight occurs.

jserves

I have seen a lot of R and RN going through Guam (HNL-GUM-xxx) to mainland Asia. Not the best aircraft flying out of Guam anymore though.

Continental Micronesia had great crews and aircraft.