I had a one-way TPE-LAX ticket that I had booked on united.com last week. Upon further thought I decided that I wanted to route another trip (to HKG) through TPE in order to get a low fare and confirmed seats in F... rather than biting my nails at the gate waiting for my B->C upgrades to clear... or not.

So I called up the 1K line to see about turning the one-way ticket into a round trip. Chris answered the line and after a brief explanation went to work. She quoted me a new fare (in D) and commented on how amzingly cheap it was. Upgrades confirmed, seats selected, and a little bit of chit-chat. Overall THE BEST experience I've ever had on the 1K line.... I'm writing a letter...

So here's the funny part. I go to "My Itineraries" to verify that everything is a it should be (it is) and click on the E-Ticket receipt link. Up pops the receipt and I get the following:

Base fare: $79,900.00
Taxes: -$77,500.00
Total: $2400.00

The total is the actual fare that I paid (OK, I'm rounding), but I thought that the base fare was interesting.

So, I have a few questions:

1) Which government is subsidising my travel?
2) Since UGS doesn't take taxes into consideration am I safe to assume that I'll be getting the UGS call soon?
3) Should I request extra pillows and milk?