Empty F seats even with CPU [2015 forward]
YEG-ORD went out with 5/6 seats filled and 2 people on the upgrade list. I emailed about this and got the following response:
Thank you for contacting United Airlines Customer Care.
Please accept my apology for your disappointment in our upgrade policy. As a Premier 1K MileagePlus member, you can rightfully expect to an upgrade on the day of departure, provided your fare allows complimentary upgrades and seats in the appropriate fare class are available.
Please understand upgrades are inventory controlled based on available fare classes, one example of an upgrade fare class is the letter R to name just one of several. Flights may depart with an empty seat if an upgrade fare class is not available in the product inventory. The gate agent is the last authority to authorize a complimentary upgrade on travel and bases these decisions on product inventory rather than visual availability.
We recognize customers have a choice and we appreciate you chose United Airlines for your travel.