Originally Posted by
salisboss
I recently flew from EWR-MAN and there were 5 open polaris seats 24 hrs out. At the airport two people must have used GPUs and were upgraded but they flew with 3 open seats (not occupied by guests or crew). Would UA ever upgrade people in order by status anymore or are those days long gone? To clarify I am only Silver and would not have ever received an upgrade but this flight is routinely packed with 1k and the like.
International routes are not eligible for complimentary upgrades (CPUs). The only published ways to get upgraded are to use an instrument (GPU) or mileage award. That being said, it is possible to receive an operational upgrade due to overbooking in economy, but as far as I know that is also prioritized by status and thus very unlikely for silver.
Edit: Beaten to the punch. I must type too slow
