Originally Posted by
cfischer
Excuse me but that is b.s. W-class is priced as W-class irrespective whether R is open or not.
W-class is anywhere from $200 to $1000 more on most routes than cheaptest coach; on some routes (BOS-SYD comes to mind) W-class might be the cheapest fare thus no upcharge.
I often book tickets without being able to confirm R; so far so good; SDC is your friend.
Well, technically there are multiple W-based fares on many routes, and they may be priced widely. But yeah, I don't believe UA typically offers different W-based fares depending on the availability of R space--unless, of course, the reason there's R is that it's close-in (in which case a 21-day advance purchase W fare won't show up, but the more expensive 14- or 7-day AP fare will, assuming there is such a W fare in that market and IM deems it worthwhile to release it...).