Buddy pass LAX to Germany

Old Apr 19, 2014, 9:22 pm
  #16  
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Originally Posted by mgcsinc
I'm not seeing where it says anything that implies that the OP shouldn't try to find out some info on the internet from his/her internet friends. The idea that the "primary contact" is the employee is completely, utterly unrelated to asking a question here.
In fact, that memo discourages buddies from distracting DL reservations agents from their primary task of selling tix to revenue pax. So to the extent info can be obtained here, rather than through DL reservations, that would seem to be fully in keeping with the spirit of the rules.

But I would assume OP is going to get much more useful info from a UA employee about flight loads (and related matters) than he can get here.
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Old Apr 19, 2014, 9:45 pm
  #17  
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OP here:

1 - my UA buddy flies domestic so he is not really up to date on intl flights

2 - in the past, his wife would handle buddy passes and unfortunately she is unavailable to hand hold me

3 _ they never had to deal with flight routes with multiple legs and many options at each leg of flight. United does not fly direct togermany from lax, so it both makes it more complex but also gives me many more options between muc and fra which should help avoid me getting stuck.

Thanks for the replies and sorry if I had upset any etiquette rules
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Old Apr 19, 2014, 9:48 pm
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Originally Posted by mgcsinc
I'm not seeing where it says anything that implies that the OP shouldn't try to find out some info on the internet from his/her internet friends. The idea that the "primary contact" is the employee is completely, utterly unrelated to asking a question here.

My primary contact for my tickets to XYZ event may be some customer relations person named Bob, but that doesn't mean I can't ask someone else what seats I should pick. I'm just not seeing the problem here...
The buddy pass I received a few years ago was on DL. I am sure UA is very similar. I was given a list of rules concerning buddy passes. One of those rules was do not discuss buddy passes in a public forum. Another was do not release seat availability, do not discuss it on the plane, do not argue with FA or GA, Don't drink too much, etc.

I no longer have that booklet, but I made all my contact with the employee , and he/she gave me the info I needed. The booklet I received was from DL and I can not find it on the internet. Again, I will never use a buddy pass, unless I was retired or was a student. S4 is low on the totem pole. UA may be different.
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Old Apr 19, 2014, 9:50 pm
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Wouldn't think you'd have much of an issue, given your flexibility on dates and the number of different routing options. Price wise wont vary much between the different cities. Way too soon to be able to tell anything about flight loads on specific dates, but a week or two out your buddy can give you a better idea of how things look. Given that you'll likely end up in Y I'd probably avoid the 747 out of SFO, and also break up the trip a little better. But if you don't care too much, just go with whatever looks like the safest bet.

Last edited by DENviaLAX; Apr 19, 2014 at 9:57 pm
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Old Apr 19, 2014, 9:52 pm
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Originally Posted by kettle1
The buddy pass I received a few years ago was on DL. I am sure UA is very similar. I was given a list of rules concerning buddy passes. One of those rules was do not discuss buddy passes in a public forum. Another was do not release seat availability, do not discuss it on the plane, do not argue with FA or GA, Don't drink too much, etc.

I no longer have that booklet, but I made all my contact with the employee , and he/she gave me the info I needed. The booklet I received was from DL and I can not find it on the internet. Again, I will never use a buddy pass, unless I was retired or was a student. S4 is low on the totem pole. UA may be different.
The current DL booklet is linked above. Nothing about not discussing it publicly that I saw.
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Old Apr 19, 2014, 9:56 pm
  #21  
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Originally Posted by DENviaLAX
Wouldn't think you'd have much of an issue, given your flexibility on dates and the number of different routing options. Price wise wont very much between the different cities. Way too soon to be able to tell anything about flight loads on specific dates, but a week or two out your buddy can give you a better idea of how things look. Given that you'll likely end up in Y I'd probably avoid the 747 out of SFO, and also break up the trip a little better. But if you don't care too much, just go with whatever looks like the safest bet.
ORD-MUC has the reputation for easiest upgrade to business class. A decent ride in Y (sUA 772), too.
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Old Apr 19, 2014, 10:04 pm
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Originally Posted by mgcsinc
The current DL booklet is linked above. Nothing about not discussing it publicly that I saw.
Like I said, this was a few years ago, perhaps they changed the policy. I do know they do not want flt loads being released to the public and other carriers. I believe other carriers only receive info such as F7 C2 Y7. Please correct me if I am wrong.

If UA knows loads on DL, AA, etc. I could see a huge problem for the airlines. The employee I received the buddy pass from gave me exact numbers.

Again, perhaps UA is different.
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Old Apr 19, 2014, 10:10 pm
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Originally Posted by mgcsinc
The current DL booklet is linked above. Nothing about not discussing it publicly that I saw.
Sorry, I misread this post. The link I provided is not the booklet I received when I got my buddy passes. This is a generic terms of flying non-rev on DL. The booklet was paper and was issued by DL to give to the buddy pass holder. It had very strict rules.

I know this is UA. I have never flown buddy pass on UA.

Good luck to the OP. Again, talk with the employee that gave you the buddy pass. ^
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Old Apr 19, 2014, 10:30 pm
  #24  
 
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Originally Posted by kettle1
Sorry, I misread this post. The link I provided is not the booklet I received when I got my buddy passes. This is a generic terms of flying non-rev on DL. The booklet was paper and was issued by DL to give to the buddy pass holder. It had very strict rules.

I know this is UA. I have never flown buddy pass on UA.

Good luck to the OP. Again, talk with the employee that gave you the buddy pass. ^
The link above is not a generic non-rev guide. It's specific to buddy passes. My guess is that it has replaced the paper booklet you got.
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Old Apr 20, 2014, 12:05 am
  #25  
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I did my share of nonrev travel in a previous life when capacity was better and domestic first class upgrades still happened...

Anyway, I thought the purpose of the "not discussing" rule was to not upset the passenger next to you that they paid lots of money and you paid nothing - especially in premium cabins? Back then, there was no Flyertalk

It is a whole new game now with the limited capacity but also the availabiltiy of information on places like FT and at our fingertips when we travel.
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Old Apr 20, 2014, 7:08 am
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Originally Posted by username
I did my share of nonrev travel in a previous life when capacity was better and domestic first class upgrades still happened...

Anyway, I thought the purpose of the "not discussing" rule was to not upset the passenger next to you that they paid lots of money and you paid nothing - especially in premium cabins? Back then, there was no Flyertalk

It is a whole new game now with the limited capacity but also the availabiltiy of information on places like FT and at our fingertips when we travel.
As someone who has traveled non-rev in the past, all of the above is true. But, many employees have access to inventory and load information that would be considered proprietary information. Therefore, employees should not be providing that sort of information in a public forum. Strategies, etc., I think are fair game for discussion.

And for the OP, your travel sponsor is the best source of information because he or she probably does have access to far better load information than anyone here can provide.

Speaking of upsetting other pax, one time I was on a plane as a non-rev, a pax sat down next to me and did start bragging about how little he paid. I finally had to tell him STFU.
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Old Apr 20, 2014, 7:25 am
  #27  
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Originally Posted by mduell
There's plenty of UA staff on this board who can answer his questions about how buddy passes work.
And plenty of UA employees who are telling him what he should do, which is not to discuss this issue on a public forum. His friend who gave him the pass should provide the answers, if he cannot he needs to ask his fellow employees to get the answers.

Originally Posted by Deltahater
What is the rationale for not discussing it here?
There is no upside to violating company policy. Many do not care about employee travel, but many do, some to the point of not wanting even a single employee to travel non-rev, as if it will somehow degrade their experience. Why participate in something in which there is no upside?
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Old Apr 20, 2014, 7:47 am
  #28  
 
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Originally Posted by pkowalski
OP here:

1 - my UA buddy flies domestic so he is not really up to date on intl flights

2 - in the past, his wife would handle buddy passes and unfortunately she is unavailable to hand hold me

3 _ they never had to deal with flight routes with multiple legs and many options at each leg of flight. United does not fly direct togermany from lax, so it both makes it more complex but also gives me many more options between muc and fra which should help avoid me getting stuck.

Thanks for the replies and sorry if I had upset any etiquette rules
The UA employee doesn't have to fly international to know the loads. He can pull them up right now in EmployeeRes and tell you what the flights look like, both direct and connections. It's kind of useless information right now though since things change so quickly around here.

I usually give buddy pass info the week prior and then the week of and then the day prior so those trying to travel have all the info they need to make an educated GUESS whether they might make it or not.

From my experience, getting over to FRA on a buddy pass from somewhere is usually not a problem. Coming back on a buddy pass can be a hassle, and I see many folks getting stuck for days. So be ready to purchase a short notice ticket to get home, or purchase a refundable one ahead of time on another carrier (not United) and use it if needed.

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Old Apr 20, 2014, 9:43 am
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by kettle1
I believe buddy passes given by a UA employee can only be used on UA metal or connection carriers. Again, as I stated above I used them once and being S4 is not fun. It is a gamble. That's why I moved to LAS, my odds are better.

To the OP, talk to the UA employee that gave you the buddy passes.
Given the complexity of the trip, I think it makes most sense for Op to stay in close contact with his/her friend, as the employee has access to United's proprietary data: Passenger loads. It'd be useful for the Op's friend to take the day off so that if it proves a difficult travel day, you can be in touch with each other.

I know that LAX-FRA seems pretty straightforward, but such a trip will require that you connect in San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Newark or DC, depending on seat availability. Seat availability, of course, is subject to a whole host of unknown variables, including weather, misconnects, mechanicals and even employees listing themselves for flights on a last-minute basis. Passenger loads and thus seat availability can fluctuate on an hour-to-hour basis. It's impossible being so far out from May 20th to know whether getting on the flights will be a challenge.

Getting to Frankfurt can be tough for a buddy pass traveler, as the priority level is quite low. My best advice would be to use Newark as a connecting point (based on seat availability of course as you near departure date), since Newark has the most flights to Europe. Have your friend list you for a number of flights to different European cities. For instance, United flies to Stuttgart, Hamburg and Berlin, in addition to Frankfurt and Munich, from its Newark hub. And Amsterdam, Paris CDG and London might be good alternatives (although to a lesser extent as travel time by train and busses is longer and more expensive). In any case, Stuttgart, Hamburg and Stuttgart are only a short train trip away from Frankfurt. Stuttgart is even closer to Frankfurt than Munich.

Also, your friend will have to make reservations for you and let you know what your odds of getting on certain flights are. S/He should provide updates one week out, the day before and the same day of departure so that you have information at your disposal. If you need to change plans/flights, you need your friend to make those changes. Gate agents can't switch flights for you. So if your friend is unavailable to make a change, you need to wait until s/he becomes available.

Originally Posted by planemechanic
And plenty of UA employees who are telling him what he should do, which is not to discuss this issue on a public forum. His friend who gave him the pass should provide the answers, if he cannot he needs to ask his fellow employees to get the answers.

There is no upside to violating company policy. Many do not care about employee travel, but many do, some to the point of not wanting even a single employee to travel non-rev, as if it will somehow degrade their experience. Why participate in something in which there is no upside?
I'm not a United employee, but I don't see how the Op is violating company policy when asking for common strategies. Discussing specific passenger loads or costs associated with buddy pass travel is one thing (not what the Op is asking for or entertaining), but asking for strategic advice, such as days to avoid and other anecdotal information, is well within bounds. Heck, as a non-employee/1K, I suggested he consider Newark as an option, as Hamburg, Berlin and Stuttgart become viable options. Is this harming United or violating policy?

Last edited by FlyinHawaiian; Apr 23, 2014 at 8:31 pm Reason: multi-quote
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Old Apr 20, 2014, 10:48 am
  #30  
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Originally Posted by planemechanic
And plenty of UA employees who are telling him what he should do, which is not to discuss this issue on a public forum. His friend who gave him the pass should provide the answers, if he cannot he needs to ask his fellow employees to get the answers.
This is like if most threads said "You should consult united.com or Untied reservations for your answer" to frequent flier/airline seating/policy questions. Technically correct but pointlessly hostile. The forum exists to share information about travel on United.

Last edited by mduell; Apr 20, 2014 at 10:55 am Reason: meh was going off topic
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