Originally Posted by
ijgordon
I'll bet someone 3:1 that there are non-revs on the upgrade standby list and all elites will be accommodated.
Well, I guess nobody wanted to put their money where their mouth is.
(To be fair, I acknowledge Shannon's quick response did not allow much time for wagering...)
Originally Posted by
channa
From a customer perspective, ideally Jeff's co-workers wouldn't show on lists visible to customers (employees could have their own interface, likely with more detailed load data not available to customers).
I agree with this.
I know my buddy who can go nonrev on UA does have a website to see somewhat detailed load information so he knows what flights to list for. There may not be a mobile version, but still, I really don't see any reason why nonrevs should show on these lists.
In addition to the perception issue in this situation, having upgrade lists longer than they need to be also creates a negative perception and ties up real estate on gate displays.
Not so sure about the negative perception, at least for elites who are actually on the flight and see themselves much higher up on the list (relatively speaking) than they would if the non-revs weren't on there. If you're tracking a specific flight/route for future booking, then, yes, the upgrade standby lists as displayed are misleading. But anyone who reads FT regularly should know that.
I guess one other learning from UA Insider's post is that there can be a lot of employees traveling in confirmed coach on a given flight. Some of us have historically suggested that names on both the upgrade standby list and flight standby list were most likely employees. This is true, but I think it's clearer now that this may not come close to revealing the full picture of employees/nonrevs on a given flight, and that a meaningful proportion of names on the upgrade standby list can be employees.