Is there a win win position for both United and EF in this matter? I am suggesting one.
I like I am sure everyone else is getting peeved by the loss of the EF system. The lack of access to upgrade/award inventory is aggravated by the apparent reduction or late appearance of these seats.
Are the big players suffering ?
United - There must be an increase in FF use of the UA booking site ( sure not using as much bandwidth as is alleged EF does ) as well as higher utilization of their reservation lines. Nor are they actually having a good time PR wise either.
EF Its losing me - no more renewals . My major reason for subscribing was to access Star Alliance award queries.
So everyone is hurting .
From my understanding, one of the major issues with UA was the ubhappiness created by the delay in allocating upgraded or award seats to waitlisted pax even when in the last 24 hours when they were visibly available on the website search engine and accessible to EF queries. UA may have been embarrassed by this glitch and its frequent fliers were hurt ( though not necessarily those in the know )
Is an option for the parties to consider, and I accept it may be impossible technically to achieve .
UA to block EF access to award and upgrade inventory once the T-24 hour to departure clock starts ticking.
Am I dreaming?