greenpau

Trying to read between the OP's lines, the wait listing component is part of the confusion.

My partner booked a B-fare seven days out and applied a GPU for the SFO-FRA outbound and a mileage upgrade for the FRA-SFO return. His coworkers had booked many weeks before on a much lower fare basis (all W) and applied GPUs to both legs. In the days prior to the return journey at T-120 and T-48, all of the coworkers on a W basis with GPU applied were cleared. Interestingly, one that ticketed and applied two days after the others cleared first. My partner on a B fare basis with mileage applied did not clear. At T-24 at OLCI, as expected, he was #1 on the list, remained #1 on the list, and cleared into the very final seat at the gate into one of the "sardine" middle seats.

It seems to me based on this and my own situation on a SFO-LHR on an M fare with mileage applied that the waitlisting system does not dynamically re-prioritize as subsequent bookings are made, and in fact people clear the waitlist by bizarre methods that no-one really understands, as the website-reported logic even regarding date of ticketing/adding to wait list does not always ring true.

I sent three messages to UA Insider concerning this (two before, one after); but have not had any responses that I can share. My last one shared a personal perspective that waitlisting and inventory release should prioritize those booking at the last moment, where that is practical. I suspect system limitations mean that it is not practical.

Overall, we've cleared every segment we've taken this year, so I have no general complaints and am one of the few (somewhat) satisfied with UA given a good domestic upgrade rate and reasonable service. However, most have been at the gate on a high fare basis. The system is often broken and remains opaque. We're all hopeful that this continues to be fixed and becomes increasingly transparent (or at least aligned with reported policy) moving forward.