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MAJOR Change coming {delayed} to GPU redemption on Lufthansa

MAJOR Change coming {delayed} to GPU redemption on Lufthansa

Old Aug 29, 2014, 10:18 am
  #31  
 
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Good and Bad to this one.

Nice to have it electronic but I have had two occasions where my flight was cancelled or missed a flight due to delay and I was able to use my SWU on the next flight I took. That would not happen now.

Do like the ability to know you have the upgrade in advance though. No sweating at the airport.
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Old Aug 29, 2014, 10:26 am
  #32  
 
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Originally Posted by mgcsinc
I look forward to the thread full of people talking about sitting on the website clicking submit again and again for days. Seems a bit resource-intensive...
now that's FUNNY!
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Old Aug 29, 2014, 10:27 am
  #33  
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For those of us who haven't tried to use the paper certs the jury is still out on whether this is a change we will like. I will definitely be happy if upgrade inventory for F is added <30 days before flight though I suspect that quite a few seats are freed up within the <10 hours mark. The lack of waitlist and resulting hassle of checking inventory every day is idiotic

Originally Posted by LeviFlight
This looks to be an improvement for me as I've not been bothered with what seems like hassle of paper GPUs. Some operational issues seem likely but at least I might get to use one or two. Lets see.
+1 This would incentivize me to book LH if in practice F seats are made available. I never bothered with paper GPUs fka SWUs as I would not want to wait until checkin to find out if I will be stuck with the horrid old C seat - was just easier to book UA.

In some ways this is less of a big deal as LH rolls out the new horizontal lie flat seats in C.

Originally Posted by sammybk
I see one big downside to this. LH F award space will likely be gone for good now. Any F award space will now be snapped up by GPU
Doubtful, most GPU users are not booking paid C months in advance, but rather are business travelers. I don't know when LH normally releases F space but if it is available 6+ months I don't think this will much affect that advance inventory. To be fair, I can see seats filling <30 days before travel so last minute F inventory may disappear except for people redeeming miles <10 hours.
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Old Aug 29, 2014, 12:30 pm
  #34  
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Originally Posted by Boghopper
The fact that they are removing the ability to waitlist is a sure sign that they are looking to restrict availability IMO.
Just CO redux.

Dave
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Old Aug 29, 2014, 12:42 pm
  #35  
 
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Originally Posted by IAH-OIL-TRASH
Pessimist. I view it as 2 steps forward, 1 step back.

Maybe we'll get a "Friday Announcement" from UA Insider.
It's a fair statement; I'm more pessimistic than I am optimistic about this development.

I have been fortunate in the past to get the LH upgrade simply because there were a couple of seats left over; and as annoying as the paper certificates were, it at least allowed me to get up front.

I really do not believe that having the 10 hour cutoff is going to result in a better outcome for those of us who play the LH GPU roulette. I do not know how tightly LH's IM controls those upgrade seats, but I prefer to have a fighting chance all the way till the door closes before giving up (yes, I know you have to be at least 90+ minutes or so technically). This simply prevents that from happening.

I guess part of the pessimism is driven by overall experience from the industry where most of the stuff we have encountered have been cutbacks or marginalization of the benefits.

The 10 hour cutoff just appears to be another way to prevent the upgrade certificate from being used fully. It's like the recent update they did where it required name and specific flight to be printed on the LH certificate, just more restrictions one after another.

It wouldn't be as bad, and in fact, a vast improvement, if they somehow allowed the upgrade to be applicable up to the time of departure. If they can allow you to access the web to apply the upgrade, why not allow a print out of the certificate so that it's deducted from your account, and you have direct control over the certificate to present at the airport. Allow it to expire within x days/hours. It's still highly antiquated considering the available real-time inventory.

Last edited by luv2ctheworld; Aug 29, 2014 at 12:48 pm
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Old Aug 29, 2014, 12:50 pm
  #36  
 
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There are some pro's to this alleged change. But, this 10-hour cutoff is really unfortunate. I've had paper certs and at t-24, it was J0 for segment 2. When I arrived at connecting airport, seats opened up (presumably misconnects) and I was able to use the paper cert and board. Under this new system, this scenario would not work out.

Devils devils advocate though, the reverse would be advantageous to have a confirmed J seat booked weeks in advance, only to find it is booked 100% or over on day of departure - where the paper cert wouldn't have a chance of clearing on day of.

What did the market research the UA did (interviews with flyers, focus groups and such) have to say about this proposed change?
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Old Aug 29, 2014, 2:51 pm
  #37  
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May I point out that this is a RUMOR backed up by supposedly ONE UA phone-agent!


I know theses phone agents are very reliable and we should believe All they tell us but come on......
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Old Aug 29, 2014, 2:52 pm
  #38  
 
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Originally Posted by Wickersley
The current system requires 3 weeks notice of your flight to apply for the upgrade, which means that I'm unable to use the functionality
Originally Posted by Lack
Ask and they'll fedex the certs to you, cutting the lead time to less then a week even.
In my experience you only need 3 business days to get a cert if you're in the US. If your flight is close in, they will ship using FedEx Overnight the same or next business day, so at the latest you'll get it on the third business day.

Having said that, this is a big improvement for me. I'm not willing to fly in long-haul economy, so I won't book economy unless I feel confident I'll clear well in advance of the flight. Consequently, I've never booked Lufthansa with the intent of using a GPU for myself (but have lots of experience ordering paper upgrades for friends).
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Old Aug 29, 2014, 3:09 pm
  #39  
 
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Hmmm... I know its a rumor, but what is the word on the street about those of us unlucky saps who already have the paper GPU lined up for a flight after the 3rd? Grandfathered in? Will the GA's understand the difference? Will chaos ensue...
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Old Aug 29, 2014, 5:57 pm
  #40  
 
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In general this will be better for me, as i never bothered with paper certificate... but of course i still may not get upgraded this way either...of course my success with United upgrades has been miserable this year...
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Old Aug 29, 2014, 7:16 pm
  #41  
 
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If a GPU is confirmed on LH, the main concern will be the handling of any irrops. So long as the confirmed GPU is honored under these circumstances for an alternative flight, then this can be a very successful and customer friendly policy. What also needs to be clarified is out of which inventory class UA GPUs book into under LH's inventory.
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Old Aug 29, 2014, 8:11 pm
  #42  
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Originally Posted by Germanfflyer
May I point out that this is a RUMOR backed up by supposedly ONE UA phone-agent!


I know theses phone agents are very reliable and we should believe All they tell us but come on......
Putting your 'supposed' strange skepticism aside, UA had previously announced the switch for August 1, but a tech issue between UA and LH prevented the rollout.

Somehow I don't think a UA supervisor would volunteer the information and basically read through the internal bullet point memo to me. I was helping a reader redeem his SWUs and the agent suggested to wait til Sept 3 vs. requesting a paper cert since the odds of electronically clearing a SWU are far greater than waiting to clear at the gate. He did indicate it may be delayed a day or 2, but internally are being told a live date of Sept 3.
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Old Aug 29, 2014, 8:12 pm
  #43  
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Originally Posted by river_rower
Hmmm... I know its a rumor, but what is the word on the street about those of us unlucky saps who already have the paper GPU lined up for a flight after the 3rd? Grandfathered in? Will the GA's understand the difference? Will chaos ensue...
I suspect that there will be a grandfather period and I would 'assume' that paper certs will be a thing of the past within a few days of the announcements. Fingers crossed that UAs Commodore Vic-20 doesn't crash.
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Old Aug 30, 2014, 12:26 am
  #44  
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Originally Posted by LufthansaFlyer
Putting your 'supposed' strange skepticism aside, UA had previously announced the switch for August 1, but a tech issue between UA and LH prevented the rollout.
Where did UA announce the switch for August 1st?
Please point me to the announcement!

Thank you!

I still seriously doubt that the info given is correct and complete - there might be a change coming but it is most likely different than what you were told.....
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Old Aug 30, 2014, 12:31 am
  #45  
 
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As many have said, it is a really positive change (if correct). It makes the process much easier and I hope J to F upgrades in LH will not be that difficult based.

The only element of the proposed setup that I do not like is the inability to wait list. That would make it an unfair system wherein the chance of an upgrade would depend on the coincidence of clicking at the right time.
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