Originally Posted by
dkc715
Haven't seen anyone mention what I believe is the most likely reason UA won't open up saver space so close to departure: existing award ticket holders could easily exchange their standard award tickets for essentially half the price.
You're supposing (a) that there are any, and (b) that they'll take the time to search. You could make the same argument about Saver Economy space, and yet the flight was X9.
It's SOP for UA to open saver award space prior to departure if all upgrades have been cleared and space remains. However, it doesn't
always seem to happen, and this isn't the first time I've seen questions about new routes. Whatever the cause, I don't think it's as sophisticated an analysis as all of this. It's more likely that they forgot.