HobokenFlyer

ditto for you too. You know I always heard that UA's GS/1K's were an arrogant bunch, but this takes the cake! (and of course, I am sure there are down-to-earth GS/1K's).

- HF

UA Insider

Hi belynch, for travel on Continental, travel companions will be added at a priority behind all customers within the respective tier of the Elite member. For example, a Continental Platinum Elite companion will be prioritized behind all Continental Platinum Elite members, but ahead of United Global Services customers on H fares and below. It's important to note, though, that companion upgrades on Continental may only be requested two hours or less before departure, which means this heirarchy only comes into play with the airport upgrade standby list, not our Elite Upgrade Automation (EUA). United's policy for companion upgrades is different, and is outlined on united.com.

Also, worth mentioning, we've posted an FAQ on continental.com.

dan1431

I do, UA is far worse than NW ever was and I imagine UA FF will enjoy CO's better product and credit to their beloved Mileage Plus.

Dan

HobokenFlyer

I read the list Bonehead. But some UA flyers THINK that UA GS/1K's SHOULD be AHEAD of CO Plats on CO METAL flights...and I heartily disagree with them. So, you misunderstood my post.

I am not a "Bonehead" like yourself

rolov

I think both airlines had to agree to keep their own top tier members at the highest priority.

HobokenFlyer

Jeez, did anyone read my post? I was commenting on some UA fliers belief that UA's GS/1K's should be place ahead of CO Plats on CO flights.

It's the assumption that they are being treated unfairly that I object, I KNOW what the reality is....sheesh.

snod08

CO Gold is very unlikely to get EUA's anymore.
Thankfully I will hit Plat this year. But who knows about next year.

Bonehead

I think that you added the quote after your original post...I'm not the only one who "misinterpreted" your comments.

channa

No different than the CO system that seem to run upgrades for the past three weeks now.


Are you kidding? What's part of 31" pitch makes CO's product better?

I would think the opposite would be true, especially for those folks with little to no chance for an upgrade -- would you rather fly in E+ and bring a sandwich, or fly in 31" pitch and get a free sandwich?

bocastephen

I'm with you here, although we're likely in the minority. For some markets like South Florida where UA doesn't even have service, UA Elites who previously flew on US will switch their codeshares to CO and effectively block more CO Golds and many more Silvers from upgrades on their own airline.

I am also strongly against giving access to Exit Rows - with only 4 decent seats in Y and our own Silvers not even getting access until 24h, this puts many of our own Elite customers at a significant disadvantage. If they want to offer this type of benefit, it should be in the form of CO Plats/Golds pre-assigning exit rows at any time, CO Silvers and UA Elites can select at 24h before departure and everyone else can only assign at the airport. In fairness, CO Elites could gain access to E+ at 24h before departure as well.

The only plus on our side is CO Plats will still clear the upgrade list ahead of every UA customer, including UGS - although I'm still concerned that this opens up a new avenue for 'Shenanigans!' if a UA Elite, especially GS, strong-arms a CO GA into giving them a seat that should otherwise go to a CO Plat.

I also agree that this becomes a significant devaluation for Golds and Silvers across the board on many routes, effectively eliminating upgrades for many CO Elites who are barely scoring 1/4 on their itineraries as it is.

I guess we need to wait and see if this becomes a significant problem, or essentially a minor-none issue as it was on most routes with NW folks.

I trust CO has a set of metrics or KPIs in place to track upgrade % for their Gold and Silver members pre and post this arrangement so it can be easily determined if this change is causing a detrimental effect - beyond the angst it might cause some customers.

So that's my story - now I'll poke in over at the UA board and watch the dramatic meltdown until lunch

EWR764

I think EWR-based CO Golds will take the biggest hit here... there are a lot of high-mileage MP elites in the New York area that probably would love to enjoy their benefits on nonstop CO flights in lieu of IAD/ORD connections.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that CO will ultimately move toward the E+ model to bring their product in line with UA... that's a substantial benefit (and revenue opportunity) that may cause more CO>UA migration than the other way around.

SF1K

Although these upgrades are complimentary on UA (as we need to use instruments until the new system launches in Q2 for all other fares) they are not at time of booking but clear in the respective upgrade windows.

COInsider - any word on instant upgrades for UA elites?

belynch

For a moment of levity, I'm going to try and answer this question based on CO's current handling of elite companions:

For travel on Continental, the clearing order will be:

1. Continental Platinum Elite
2. United Global Services
3. United 1K
4. Continental Gold Elite
5. United Premier Executive
6. Continental Silver Elite
7. United Premier
8. General population buy-up to F
9. Pay for play upgrade based on distance of flight
10. AA Ex+ perro
11. Friend of GA
12. People wearing nice sweaters
13. US CP
14. CO Plat. companion at a non-EWR station
15. CO Plat. companion at EWR -- is not possible.

ETA: CO Insider posted the real answer to this question while I was on the phone, before I had a chance to post it. I'm going to leave this up for humor sake -- no sense in telling me how wrong I am.

Renard

You're kidding right? In what universe would that be?

Channa has captured the essence here.

channa

Those are actually Priority #1, because CO's position is that they're not displacing an upgrade, as they're buying up to revenue F.