It is a fairly effective indication of how UA ranks its customers. But, yes, it’s yet another reason that a flight like IAD-SFO is impossible for a 1K to clear even with an instrument.
Originally Posted by
spartacusmcfly
Across the UA route network, do you think there are 1000 domestic PZ seats offered on Tue/Wed/Thu?
On the flights that people want to use them on? (e.g., non-CPU-eligible flights like LAX-EWR and IAH-HNL?) Absolutely not. There might not be ten.
Across the entire ecosystem? Yes; it’s easy to find PZ space if you know where to look. The Caribbean (especially during off season), mid-continent short-hauls, and E175 flights, for example.
I’ve had some success with RPUs clearing at booking, on flights like PAE-SFO, AUS-IAH, AUS-ORD, SEA-IAH on a red-eye, and a couple others. In nearly every case, I would have gotten a CPU easily if I had been willing to wait and take my chances.
Limiting the number of RPUs just means I’ll get CPUs instead.
The only real value of an RPU is finding the unicorn — for example, I was able to find PZ on a Saturday mid-morning SFO-EWR flight once — or in giving them to friends and family who don’t have status.