Originally Posted by
flyer4512
It's not too early, I have been booking this route 331 days out for 5 years
Welcome to Year 6. Loads are up and capacity is down. Why would UA give away a seat it can sell for an award, let alone a saver award? If those seats don't sell, then UA can open them up for award travel, perhaps even saver award travel much closer to the date of travel.
The alternative isn't to go back to the good old days, it's bankruptcy.