What's Up With Limited "U" Availability?
Sep 29, 2018, 4:12 pm
#31
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Yellow Springs
Programs: AS 75k
Posts: 1,523
Maybe, maybe not. How are you SURE that at 24 hours, if they haven't sold the F seats at full price, they aren't preferring to sell them (or some of them) at a discount to non-elites rather than upgrade elites for free? If it shows no U space available, you really don't know what they are doing. It happens enough to him that it can't be just luck.
missydarlin has stated otherwise in the past as far as AS policy. Of course, subject to change.
OLCI offers require U space to be open. Once the flight is under airport control, it's possible for the GA (maybe the counter agent, not sure) to sell upgrades (or clear the upgrade list and standbys) without U opening if there are actual F seats available. Again, stated policy in the past is that upgrades are supposed to be cleared first before offering upgrades for sale.
OLCI offers require U space to be open. Once the flight is under airport control, it's possible for the GA (maybe the counter agent, not sure) to sell upgrades (or clear the upgrade list and standbys) without U opening if there are actual F seats available. Again, stated policy in the past is that upgrades are supposed to be cleared first before offering upgrades for sale.
When I put in a complaint to Customer Care, I was told "When upgradeable seats are released within the check-in window, the automatic upgrade process is no longer active. This can result in non-elites having the opportunity to pay for an upgrade to first class." I believe they are mistaken and that the automatic upgrade process still normally runs within the check-in window since I have gotten a number of upgrades (along with the upgrade email) after checking in. But I know in the past, the automatic upgrade process sometimes malfunctioned and didn't work both before and after the check-in window. My guess is that GAs are told that if their system shows that U space is available, they should offer upgrades for sale, not knowing that the upgrade process wasn't working.
Oct 2, 2018, 9:05 pm
#33
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Preferably waiting for takeoff
Programs: AA EXP, MVPG, DL Silver, United Silver, Accor Platinum, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 458
Are you saying last minute open up, or further out flights. I've been looking from LAX/SFO for the next year out and I see nothing.
Oct 5, 2018, 8:47 am
#35
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: SJC / DPS
Programs: AS G75K, UA Silver
Posts: 1,758
I find U very very sparse when looking far out (>6 months). Within 2-3 months is the sweet spot for U to open up in my experience.
Oct 6, 2018, 1:00 am
#36
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: British Columbia
Programs: AS MVPG100K, Marriott Marriott Titanium Elite, Hilton Gold
Posts: 7,263
I just changed a reservation for the return portion of my itinerary; outbound alreadt flown. Changed from SEA-SFO-LAX to SEA-LAX direct a day prior and found U available to apply a GGU for November 1st.
Closer in, there seems to be better U availability for international flights to Mexico & Costa Rica. I also saw some SJC-OGG flights with U this week.
James
Closer in, there seems to be better U availability for international flights to Mexico & Costa Rica. I also saw some SJC-OGG flights with U this week.
James
Oct 6, 2018, 6:14 am
#37
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: SEA
Programs: AS MVP Gold 75K, Marriott Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 200
This has been my experience with immediate upgrades as well. Book them too far out and you waitlist even if FC is completely open. When I do this I almost always get upgraded in the window.
Oct 6, 2018, 3:32 pm
#38
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: AS MVP Gold / Marriott Bonvoy(age) Titanium Elite, IHG Platinum, WN A+/CP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 337
Agreed - 2-3 months is the sweet spot.....or usually like very last minute (i.e. 5 days or so) if F is wide open still. They try to get instruments to be used before they process free 75k upgrades in the 5 day window.....I have got great gold upgrade values to LIH and OGG this year.
Oct 7, 2018, 6:00 pm
#39
Join Date: May 2012
Location: HNL
Programs: AS MVPG, HA Plat
Posts: 1,268
Availability does seem to have gone off a cliff on routes I use within the last month or so. I hope that turns around again. I was afraid U would go away when they shrank the 738s to 12F and expanded the elite ranks with the merger, but it held up much better than I expected. If that’s over now, a mix of HA and UA starts to look like pretty good alternative to taking suboptimal routings to hold onto MVPG.
Oct 9, 2018, 9:05 am
#40
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Dallas
Programs: AA PLT/5MM; AS MVP GLD 75K; DL DM; EK SLV; HHonors DIAM; Marriott GLD
Posts: 4,092
I have been commuting weekly between DAL & LGA, and have noticed substantially all U class inventory has been pulled from my flights (I typically book 1 - 2 weeks out) over the last few days.
Oct 9, 2018, 9:24 am
#41
Join Date: Apr 2003
Programs: B6 Mosaic, Bonvoy LT Titanium (x SPG LT), IHG Spire, UA Silver
Posts: 5,849
Oct 9, 2018, 9:28 am
#42
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Dallas
Programs: AA PLT/5MM; AS MVP GLD 75K; DL DM; EK SLV; HHonors DIAM; Marriott GLD
Posts: 4,092
Oct 10, 2018, 9:03 am
#43
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: USA
Programs: AA-EXP; UA-Silver; Bonvoy-Titanium
Posts: 474
I noticed this today myself, so it's still the case. Planes with F wide open (and Y barely booked) have no U space, either 2-3 months out or 1 year out. So it looks like my 2018 upgrade certs are worthless. This might sound crazy, but maybe they should at least let us use our Guest Upgrades to upgrade friends to Premium Class (which can be pretty expensive on a transcon at $159) -- make Premium the new F for the guests lol *sigh*
Oct 11, 2018, 2:33 pm
#44
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Dallas
Programs: AA PLT/5MM; AS MVP GLD 75K; DL DM; EK SLV; HHonors DIAM; Marriott GLD
Posts: 4,092
Additional data points. I’ve been analyzing the new system on the DAL-LGA route (which is going away at the end of the month). Virtually all U inventory has been zeroed out on all flights... As a 75K, I am clearing into F via U class roughly 32 hours prior to flight time.
So... you basically have to gamble now: pay up for a first class upgradeable fare, without any assurance you will actually get cleared into first (and that lower fares will be gone by the time you learn that you won’t be upgraded).
At the same time, however, I am noticing significantly more situations in which the confirmed first class fare is lower than the first class upgrade fare.
So... you basically have to gamble now: pay up for a first class upgradeable fare, without any assurance you will actually get cleared into first (and that lower fares will be gone by the time you learn that you won’t be upgraded).
At the same time, however, I am noticing significantly more situations in which the confirmed first class fare is lower than the first class upgrade fare.
Last edited by HKG_Flyer1; Oct 11, 2018 at 2:42 pm
Oct 11, 2018, 4:15 pm
#45
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: SEA
Programs: Hilton/Marriott Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 2,036
As a 75K on an aircraft with 12 F and 64 Y seats, is that really a gamble in any way? As a lowly MVP, I've never even missed an E175 upgrade out of SEA or PDX on bottom-barrel fares.