This is an unbelievably bad change, the worst since the merger.

It already takes me hours to plan a trip to Europe when I want to use a GPU because of: (1) extremely limited R inventory released in advance; (2) the W-fare minimum, meaning I can't just search for the cheapest and/or shortest flights, which is what most online search engines are optimized for; and (3) the need to avoid a substandard product (i.e. the unconverted 777s). I'm dreading all the extra time and frustration next time when I have to speak to an agent to check each of UA's 40+ transatlantic routes for R availability. I'm glad I've already used all my GPUs for the year. The online availability was invaluable to me just 2 days ago when, due to the LH strike, I had to find an alternate routing that preserved the upgrades for both me and my companion.

I am so jealous of all the people who can just switch to AA's more generous SWU system. Unfortunately, I live in a city where only *A makes sense (for example, we get just 3 American Eagle E145s to ORD per day, and that's it for oneworld)