Originally Posted by
SS255
CO doesn't have flight status monitors in the gate area. They have a pda site, which is only transparent to those who know about it and check it. UA has gate monitors, which I presume keep the agents VERY honest. That said, I did personally witness a UA GA clear a member of the military (not traveling in uniform) off the standby list of a VERY oversold flight. The guy never would have cleared on his own. I presume that standby clearance procedures are a bit more flexible than upgrade clearance procedures, but everybody else (including myself) cleared in the order posted on the monitor.
Even with the monitors, there's still the potential for funny business; the only problem there is that you have visual confirmation of when it happens. A few months ago I was waiting for a UA flight with my significant other. There were two FC seats open, and the waiting list on the monitor showed something like 11 people in line; my s/o and I were the first two in line.
All of a sudden, the waiting list drops down to 10 and the number of FC seats goes to 1 (right around the time someone had gone up to talk to the GA). We had previously spoken to the guy working the computer at the podium where they scan tickets, so he knew that we were traveling together, but this guy had apparently gone to talk to the GA at the regular counter. I commented to my s/o that I thought something screwy had just happened.
So yeah, while the timing of events could have just been coincidence, it's a little too coincidental for me. I'm not actually a UA elite -- my s/o is, and I'd ended up on the upgrade list from her -- else I might have gone up and had a chat with the GA.
OM