Freebird

My friend tells me that on his SFO - BKK runs UAL fills up available Biz seats with PremExs (and 1Ks I assume) booked in coach.

Can anyone else confirm this?
Does this happen on other routes too?
Does this also happen on other airlines?

ontherun

Freebird,
During Mondays during the summer here in Baltimore they usually were oversold in coach on the 757 6:05AM flight to ORD and for a few weeks some of the 1ks and Premex's would get operational upgrades to FC. I've also had it happen on ORD->BWI Friday afternoon oversold flights.

QuietLion

My brother, regular Premier, reported 50% comp upgrades to Business Class without asking on the SEA-NRT-BKK-NRT-SEA run. This was on the 747, which has an extremely high Business/Coach ratio. It will not be the same on the 777.

astro

When this sort of operational upgrade happens, do they still ask for certificates if you were on the original upgrade list? Or do they let you go without asking for them?

upupaway

In my experience, I've found that if you are upgraded from the list, you do surrender certs. If you are operationally upgraded, you do not surrender certs. So one way to maximize your potential for "free" upgrade is to verify that coach is oversold before requesting upgrade...

1K

I have encountered more operational upgrades from both SIN and BKK eastbound than in prior years (rarely westbound). Yes it seems to be targeted at 1K's, Prem-Exs's, and Full Fare pax's. I dont know of any Prem's getting upgraded though. UA seems to have been over booking Econ heavily in the Flying Lounge configuration lately. I think the triple 7 being used on the SEA-NRT-BKK run will cause these upgrades to slowly disappear. No certs are asked for, in fact most ground staff dont even advise you. You only learn after noticing you seat # has been changed, then that little smile appears once you realize which cabin they put you in

jet

Operational upgrades are a thing of beauty. I received them as a Premier on a couple of occasions, not just on international flights. As a PremEx, I recieved them a little more frequently, especially on the Asia runs. Never, ever got one to Europe though. Having just made 1K, I'm hoping for better luck... It does help to hold a full fare ticket, and the higher your status, the better your chances.

Oh, and the policy is not to upgrade you just because you have status or hold a full fare ticket... it's only when they overbook and there are standbys waiting to get on the flight. They bump up the high status folks so they can accomodate more standbys, thus filling up the flight. It's sort of a win-win-win... but if you thought they gave free upgrades just because they loved you... well...

[This message has been edited by jet (edited 10-24-1999).]