Originally Posted by
darwiniandemon
Would his chances be higher if
a) He (status) + family member (assume no status) request the upgrade then make the switcheroo of the bp (2 pax per PNR); or
b) Make his wife + son as his nominees and make the request (2 pax per PNR); or
c) Have 4 separate PNRs, make request for him + 1 nominated family member (though, if R is only 1, only he will get the upgrade)?
a) sure, this works--have done it before a few times
b)/c) a little more complicated...
It all depends. If it were me, I would try leave the status pax +1 on one PNR so that you don't need to use nominee spots if R=2 prior to flight. Having said that, if R=1 prior to flight, I would split off another family member, hoping the status member will get an u/g at the gate, giving us 2 u/g spots (then see response in a);
I would only do the nominee thing if there was a "for sure" R space open and you could get the u/g right away, and this may happen anytime prior to flight.
Regarding situations where there are more than one pax/PNR at the gate... We have been told before I believe that if you're two people on one PNR and only one has status, the GA will ask if you want just the one u/g, but I can envision a situation where a GA may just skip to the next singular pax with status if there is only 1 seat left... I would gauge accordingly, and may go to the Agent and make it clear that 1 u/g would be acceptable.