" . . . the fact that there is no chance of UA 888 operating SFO-PEK on June 14th or 15th."
Why do you say that? Does UA offer phantom bookings? Is this a computer glitch?
UA is purposely and unethically offering bookings on flights they know they won’t operate to get some cash into their business. There is a thread in the UA forum about this. They aren’t the only airline doing this as well.