that might be it, maybe my situation really was different from these. also i assumed it was the PNR that's being merged. i essentially just told them "i'm not sure of the details, i just want my friend here to sit in ELR with me." they respond with "well they need to be on the same reservation as you to do that." i respond with "well can you fix what it is that needs to be changed to make that happen?" and they did. that was usually the net of the conversation.

and if it makes a difference (and it might, i'm not an expert on the inner workings of all this hence my questions) it wasn't the same form of payment but it was the same flights. for example, my friends wanted to go to a vegas trip. they bought tickets on CO metal. a few days later i have a "me too!" moment and get on the same flights and buying my own tickets. wanted my friends up at the bulkhead with me so once i called and once i did it at the desk to see if they could move up with me. whatever they did, it worked. i will admit though sometimes it did seem like an instance of "i may have got a benefit i wasn't supposed to so i'll just smile and stop asking questions" so i'm not 100% sure either.

of course again that was in the ELR world where it was really only 3-4 rows. E+ is a different beast and the current management is known for figuring out how to monetize that. so again if that was former CO policy and it's changed to this in light of E+, that wouldn't entirely surprise me either.