Originally Posted by
iapetus
So, when I recently called UA because I noticed that PZ = 1 on a flight I'm taking next month and was told by the agent that he couldn't push the upgrade through, was the agent correct? Now that I know how to push it through myself, I'm not that concerned, just curious.
I don't think the agent should push any upgrade through that does not conform to UA's published upgrade rules on the waitlist priority. That being said, the huge (UA's self-inflicted) problem is the occasional appearance of available PN or PZ when a waitlist exists. It allows a new buyer to immediately upgrade. If a new buyer has that opportunity, everyone on the waitlist should be able to grab it for themselves. UA really needs to close that loophole so when PZ/PN is being added to availability it checks for waitlists before becoming available to new customers.
While I have benefited several times from the flaw, I'm pretty sure I have also suffered for it. UA: just fix the issue so #1 on waitlist can expect to get the next PN/PZ seat UA adds to availability. Right now, that is not the case.