I've been lucky. Of all the segments I've flown down to Australia and back up on UA, I've only had to sit in economy for 3 segments. All 3 were when I was a peon with no status years ago. Ever since then, I've always upgraded myself or got op upped. I'm crossing my fingers for op ups again or upgrades for sale at the gate!

The UA fares have jumped by $300 since Jan 18.