Originally Posted by
pk12
So the bad news is that my flight was booked under my First Name, Last Name and my FF# is under my First Name, Middle Initial, Last Name. The great people at United said that they can't do anything for me until AFTER I get back and I have to submit ticket stubs for reimburstment.
The worst news, is that my CEO/VP are flying out earlier in the day so can they still give me their status so I get bumped to Ecomomy+? By doing this, do they lose miles? How much is the fee usually? Are even the 747's uncomfortable?
Thanks for all the help guys.
That's the infamous Indian Call Center (ICC). Hang up and call again. They should be able to put your UA FF# into the reservation. If they still can't, hang up and call again, rinse and repeat. Or ask your 1K boss to call the 1K line on your behalf. I've had no problem with my MP FF# getting into the reservation whether I purchased at united.com, United on the phone, Orbitz, or my corporate travel service even though all sorts of variations on first/middle/last and title appeared in the reservation. First and last name are the same, should be enough for a properly trained and caring agent to get right. Of course that's asking something. Hang up and call again...
Since you're not in the same PNR (Passenger Name Record) as the CEO/VP, and not even on the same flight, you can't sit in E+ with them by virtue of their status.
If either of them have a 3P or 2P "Gift" available (they might have used it up for someone else) and they are willing, then they could grant you that status. Then you could get into E+ by virtue of your own status. Note that it takes a few days for your new status to become effective, and you'd still need to call UA to have them add (or remove and re-add) your MP# to the record after the status became effective. At that point you could select E+ seats either on the phone or the website.
Failing that, your only choices are to hope that E+ access is sold at check-in for the flight, at probably $70 or more for the flight (and it might be an E+ middle seat at that point), or buy E+ access for a year for $299. Again, you'll still need to get your UA MP# into the record for purchased year-long E+ Access to be effective on that record.
Without either status nor E+ Access, you absolutely are not entitled to an exit row. Best you can hope for is an E- 31" seat pitch aisle in the back. At minimum I'd call United again to change into one of those from the horrible seat you have now, just to minimize your downside while you work these other options.