UPDATE
 

Update

I just went ahead and listed myself (and checked-in) for a couple of flights scheduled for departure within 50 minutes to an 1 hour from now. 2 for Y and 2 for F. (listing my SO in F :) and yours truly in the back).

On all occasions (looking at the mobile app), my name (and hers) showed up on the Standby list and not on the upgrade list (at least her), even listing for F....I actually was #10 on the standby list and in 5 minutes (50 min to departure), I dropped several spots!!

I would have assumed (on the mobile app) that her name would appear on the Standby list and the upgrade list but it only appeared on the Standby list. Maybe it only shows that on the screens at the gate, but frankly, I never really pay attention to the screens around the boarding area.

Also, as a disclaimer, I did this test on flights where the loads light and would accommodate all listed people (and them some) so the GA didn't have any issues getting all on the particular flight that I went to the point where my name shows up as cleared with a seat assigned. ;)

This was just my test on it. YMMV.....

You're describing how UA does it. But that may be because UA has the ability to waitlist Elite upgrades. Maybe CO is layering a work-around on that by calculating the number of seats available and projected Elite upgrades.

Not sure why your SO would be on the upgrade list if you listed them in F. Standby list makes sense as standby for F. You as standby for Y yes, I can see you being on the upgrade list also.

As far as myself, I would not appear on the UG list since I listed for Y only when listing.

As far as my SO, her name doesn't appear on the mobile app in the UG list category, only as a standby (just like myself in Y would). So, essentially, how this would happen based on this, is you would go from the Standby list, get the seat say in F (with her case), then you would see her on the cleared list with the appropriate seat number in F (if she can clear into it).

To summarize, (based on this experiment with the mobile app), she would go from the standby list, to cleared with her seat in F while not appearing on the UG list during the process...

On another note, maybe the next time I do this is at the airport and see if the screens in the boarding area are different than what is showing on the mobile app (with regards to UG list vs standby list, on both or not).

How is being an elite relevant to this particular case? Were the upgrade priorities from CO so different from UA's?

I was once assured in written by UA management that upgrades requested on instruments always beat paid upgrades. So other than non revs, any person on that waitlist should be offered the ug ahead of a person willing to buy an ug.

Or are more recently the fare buckets narrow down so much close to departure that these ug sells can be justified as a buy up to a higher cabin?

That's true when you list yourself as space available, but Shannon indicated that there were positive space employees who are eligible for the UG and will show up on the UG list.

Did you list for a sUA or sCO flight? UA will display the standby status different than CO. Apollo and the app sometimes have issues.

Please forgive a UA interloper interjecting here, but I am really trying to understand this new (to a UA flyer) system. There is a thread over on the consolidated forum about a questionable upgrade practice and I came over here looking for some background.

From what I gather from UA Insider's postings on this thread, these low cost offers to upgrade should only appear when there are seats available over and above the number of seats needed to clear elites off the upgrade list.

For example, if 2 elites are on the list and 5 seats remaining, 3 cheap upgrades will be offered for sale to non-waitlisted flyers. In other words, the first 2 seats are "protected" so the elites will clear into them at some type of "sweep" time.

What I do not understand: If COs system is sophisticated enough to analyze the wait list and dynamically offer cheap upgrades to other flyers, why don't they just clear the upgrades for those elites on the list? What is the purpose of these upgrade "sweeps".

Can someone that is familiar with both systems / processes explain this to a simple UA flyer :D

Good Question....I listed for 4 flights. 2 by me, 2 by my SO...Since her benefits don't include CO, did UA operated flights for 2. The other 2 flights did on Express by SkyWest, (since they go to the top of the list).

The Express flights, we were both at the top of the Standby list. did them on CR7's so they had F seats as well. The UA operated, I ended up on second to last on the list. Number 16 if I remember right. The BP8A vs BP8C played a role on these. ;)

All flights had F seats left 45 minutes out from departure, anywhere from 2 to 5 (depending on the flight). One flight did not have as many on the UG list for F and it would have been interesting to see if the seat went from standby for Y to a confirmed seat to F. Like I mentioned, it would have been good to do this experiment at the airport (especially in the handful of cities that I know the GA's real well), and look at the mobile app site, vs the boards, vs what my GA friends see.

I have only seen this in a 3-cabin environment. Going C to F. Now, if the policy is what I had when I worked for an airline what we called 3Y-J pass, (or what I was allowed to book being a 3J-F) the 3Y-J means confirmed business space in Y (or in my case book confirm in J upgrade to F if avail), available for upgrade to J (or C around here), those people would go behind regular revenue pax. Not sure what Co policy is on this if employees on company business can go ahead of rev pax or not. Every airline does this differently.

All I did was book the flights as NRSA and went on the mobile app and see what the result was. I have seen many times that my SO got a F seat (after the flight has left) and really not paying attention to if she was on the UG list as well as the Standby list.

The non-elites only get the ToD offers when there are fewer elites than empty seats left.

And that is what was described in this situation.

In some cases the fare differences really are that low, particularly on CO where Y/B/M* fares can upgrade immediately.

* M only for Plat or higher.

So how does this explain late 2009, early 2010 flights for example from CLE-LAX, where I could see a few known Plat's on the list ahead of me as a 1K, I chose to pay the TOD upgrade option. I sat in first, the CO Plat's did not. They were ahead of me, as well they should be on CO metal, yet by my purchase of the upgrade, they lost out.

I don't think it does explain that......

Personally, I am new to the CO way of things and seeing plus/as well of what I am hearing, it is not making me feel all warm and fuzzy in the new UACO land....

Off topic, but what's the s stand for in sUA/sCO?

Subsidiary


The upgrade system is a separate system. You only get upgraded when (if) it runs and sees you as eligible for upgrade.