Kacee

The discussion of two pax PNR is a red herring. If this was a CPU, you were afforded the option at check-in either to split the PNR in order to chase the upgrade, or to remain on a single PNR and forego the upgrade. If this was a PP upgrade, you were auto-split at check-in because the system assumes you want the upgrade.

rbakker

It was CPU and no option was afforded to me at check-in. I did notice later that we suddenly had two different reference numbers.

I'm curious what happens when the PNRs are split, where would the other person (my wife, United Silver) go on the upgrade list? She was listed at No 2 before this all happened.

WineCountryUA

If auto-split by UA at check-in, the companion should maintain the priority of the higher elite.

benewr

My friend was in flight when her connection was cancelled and asked me if I could look into it.
I managed to get her rebooked on the next flight through the app and her reservation ended up showing two legs, one in economy (Y fare) one in First class (D fare) for the same segment.
I had the ticket reissued and she had a FC boarding pass, while still showing her #3 on the upgrade list as checked in.
A bit later, it showed her as upgraded on the upgrade list.

One could believe it was a shenanigan !

rbakker

Final update on my case (guy in #3 upgraded ahead of me + wife until I intervened and got it reversed):
"Thank you for contacting United Customer Care. Regrettably, we're unable to determine why the upgrade didn't process in the correct order. However, I've sent these details on to our airport team to ensure we're following proper processing."

They did give us 5000 miles each for our inconvenience. Apology accepted! But I wish they could just stop these things from happening instead.

bocastephen

Easy - take upgrade processing authority away from gate agents and make it automated, and ensure it runs at least 10 minutes before boarding is scheduled to begin. Block gate agents from modifying upgrades after clearing without calling for support from a supervisor and providing a written exception statement for the change and if a customer complaint conflicts with the exception statement, ie shenanigans, then first offense, suspension, second offense, termination.

Problem Solved.

Repooc17

5K miles is a normal amount for you to go away and stop bothering them. I used to get those amounts on numerous occasions when upgrades never processed, and front of the plane went out empty. Would just get a templated we apologize but don't really care email.

​​​​​With some help from fellow FT members, I have been buying BE tickets exclusively on UA as of late. So refreshing not having to look at the upgrade list or refresh the list even once life has improved without stressing over your upgrade position.

rbakker

BE tickets? Pardon my ignorance but what are they? Although, I prefer my upgrades to be free.

United can throw 5000 miles at me anytime they want, I'll accept gladly. I should complain more often.

Jaysonb22

BE = Basic Economy

rbakker

Ah, I get it!

iluv2fly

Yesterday I was on ORD-LAS and I was first on the upgrade list since I was able to see it three days prior. When I arrived at the airport, there was one seat left for sale. When I was in the UC, I see that it had now checked in full. But the person who was number two on the list (for the same amount of time as I was) had received the upgrade. Was there shenanigans taking place? How did he jump over me? Well, I called the manager of GS at ORD and asked him about it. He said that he would look into it and let me know. Before we took off, I received a text from him. He said that number two purchased the seat for $399. I was curious that it was shown as an upgrade since I didn't think purchases showed in the upgrade cleared list on the flight status page.

It was a lousy three plus hours since the window seat I was at (11A) had no window (737-900). Who would have thunk?

bmwe92fan

I know exactly who you spoke with -- I don't fly through ORD much these days but they still are a great team there! Maybe I'll route via ORD for my GS challenge flight and catch up with them! UA has gotten VERY good at monetizing those upgrades -- we might all hate it but they've gotten it down to a science I think...

iluv2fly

Yes, he is an awesome guy. I texted him back to thank him and I said that UA was the clear winner in this transaction.

bmwe92fan

I was flying a few years back via ORD to BAH (backtracking to get more sleep) and I hadn't seen him or the team in at least 3 years -- when I walked in to the PL with someone from my team the front desk crew screamed out my name and came around for a hug and to catch up! While we we eating our lunch before the flight he came up to us and we spoke for 10 minutes and he remembered that I have 6 adopted kids and all of the details you would NOT expect from someone you haven't seen in years -- it made my day and the person that I was flying with just looked at me and said "you definitely make an impression on people".... I walked out of the PL like John Travolta in SNF....

jsloan

The cleared list is worthless. It omits some that have been upgraded; it includes others that were not. It's not common for a buy-up to appear in that list, but this is definitely not the first time it's happened.