my 3 hour EUA experience...
 

Like most things upgrade-related, I didn't hold much hope for this "3 hour dump rule". I had a phone agent tell me that this was a new thing, and it would happen, but call me skeptical.

Anyway, I had a connecting itinerary through IAH, and my first flight was delayed such that I would misconnect. Sometime while I was in the air en route to IAH, the CO staff worked to rebook all misconnecting pax. I claimed my "new" boarding pass in IAH (coach seat), expecting to ride in the back of the bus for this trip. Oh well.

At the IAH Prez Club, I inquired about the (often-fictitious and sometimes arbitrary) "wait list", not really expecting much. She typed a bit and handed me a new boarding pass (note: this flight was F0 for the past 2 weeks, even the morning of departure). Hmm, an upgrade - this Plat is very happy!

Imagine my surprise when I got home and upon checking my email, found an EUA email from CO, informing me of my upgrade on this flight! The timestamp indicated that the EUA ran at almost exactly 3 hours before departure - about 10 min after I had collected my coach boarding pass at the top of the jetway. Sometime during my walk from the jetway to the PC, EUA ran, and ran CORRECTLY, upgrading me on this rebooked flight.

So, in summary, thanks CO! - a potentially aggravating situation (upgrade notwithstanding) was made smooth and seamless. I have faith in the 3 hour EUA and I am glad that now I don't have to worry about losing out on an upgrade on the 2nd segment of my trip - in the past this had been a BIG problem.

Same thing happened to me this weekend ANC-SEA-IAH. I missed my original ANC-SEA flight, but when I arrived in SEA, I was issued a FC boarding pass at the ticket counter. In my inbox at home was an EUA email timestamped about 3 hours before my SEA-IAH flight.

Same for me Sunday. While on route to IAH from DTW, my EUA for LAX ran. The other three segments came through at the five day window.

Great to hear that something is happening right these days... but WHY does CO make it so hard and have everyone worry? I had 16 segments in the past 2 weeks on NW and every one of them were upgraded at the Plat window. I have a flight next week, had to buy a Y26 fare and got upgraded on the spot! I'd go back to flying CO if they would treat me the way NW does, but not until I see some changes.

I'm most amazed that the EUA ran for the rebooking. It would be much more CO's style to send you an EUA notice for a flight you didn't take! (You know, a nice twist of irony - roughly the equivalent of "it's our fault you missed the flight you had an upgrade for.... and you sat in coach for the rebooking!!! HAHAHA!") http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

PS - exit row coach in the 753 is actually (dare I say) quite comfortable (relatively speaking).

PPS - a plane less than 6 months old should not have entire rows of seats that are loose from the floor!




[This message has been edited by jetsetter777 (edited 04-22-2002).]

I got EUA email confirming my upgrades on my YYZ-IAH-ATL flights for TUESDAY. Too bad I'm flying WEDNESDAY and changed the flights last week.

This is all automatically done by the operations systems in Houston. It will rebook you in the same class of service that you were originally booked in and even book you in A if you were in F and that isn't available on your new flight.

I either see a redcoat waiting for me with my new boarding pass as I get off my first flight, or I have it printed at the Presidents Club after checking to see when the next flight is since I assume that I've been confirmed on it.

It's really some incredible service and you can't ask for anything better. It sucks when you miss a connection, but it's so great to walk off and see "BAKER" written in red marker on the back of a boarding pass that's held up in the air with a handful of others as I deplane.



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daniel baker -- [email protected]
Reliable, fast, and unmoderated forums at ITYT.

Redcoat waiting for you? Huh? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

There were probably about 40 people who had misconnected, representing about a dozen destinations. We didn't get the white-glove treatment, more like a folding table set up at the end of the jetway. Regardless, I was very impressed though I wasn't booked in the same class of service.

I'm just a lowly Silver with Continental. I had to fly NW from SJC to TPA through DTW this past February. Even with my silver status, they upgraded me all the way. (Unlike CO, NW doesn't automatically assign your FC seats, you have to call them to obtain one.) However, I was totally unimpressed with the inflight service and the lack of inflight entertainment on all of their flights. The food service in FC was quite dismal. What they served me in FC for breakfast on NW was less than what we got in Coach on Continental. The lack of movies also drove me nuts. For a flight over 4 hours I would expect at least a short feature or a movie to keep me preoccupied. Their old hub in DTW had the WORST bathrooms I've ever seen. They were dirty and unsanitary.

Sad to say, even though they upgraded me for my whole trip, I'd rather stick with Continental.

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SFnFlaGuy

NW DOES have a EUA system that works at the same time frame as CO's....but if for some reason you're not automatically upgraded I've heard most NW elite's say they can call and ask for the upgrade...haven't tried it myself yet as a CO silver though but then I've always had EUA take care of me on NW

I actually had the opposite experience this past Sunday flying from DCA-EWR-IAH. As a Plat, bought my ticket 30 days prior, and checked in at DCA 3.75 hrs prior to the IAH flight. Put on the "wait list," checked at EWR and wasn't on it. Talked with another Plat who was upgraded at check-in 2.5 hrs prior. Took my seat, F/A came back and told Captain behind me he could move up front because "coach was overbooked." And let me tell you, it was- http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif Probably atoning for some past indiscretion as I was sitting next to Cardinal someone from DCA who was connecting on Alitalia later in the day. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

I did get upgraded automatically for all my NW segments. What I meant was that, when they automatically upgraded me within the time frame, they didn't automatically assign me a seat in FC. They just left me unassigned until I call in to request a specific seat.



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SFnFlaGuy

[QUOTE]Originally posted by SFnFlaGuy:
[B]
I'm just a lowly Silver with Continental. I had to fly NW from SJC to TPA through DTW this past February. Even with my silver status, they upgraded me all the way. (Unlike CO, NW doesn't automatically assign your FC seats, you have to call them to obtain one.)

I suspect that for some reason your CO OnePass number was missing from your NW itinerary. This used to happen to me as well - I would expect to get my 5 day out upgrade and know that NW has F9 and it still wouldn't go through ( I knew that the TA had added the number). I called CO a few times and they assured me that my OnePass was on the ticket. However, when I called NW, they said that it wasn't. In that case they had to call CO, verify my status and manually put it in. Happened to me at least 3 times this year, but lately the system appears to be working much better. Now I always call NW directly if I didn't get my upgrade when I expected it. BTW, this happened on both codeshare and on regular NW flights.

As for the lack of entertainment on NW - I consider that a benefit, given the choices offered on CO. I refuse to close my window shade all the way down when flying over the gorgeous Rockies in favour of that utterly vapid Glitter movie.

Hmm...I've never had it not assign me a seat...I've always been able to pull up a seat assignment on NWA.com after the upgrade window

seemed like a good thread topic to re-surface...

In the past two days, I have successfully cleared the u/g list via 3-hr EUA. I had fully expected to land and be told, "oh, sorry all the seats are gone." But, finally for me it worked like it should.

The problem of being checked-in already seem to be gone too, each of these were connecting flights.

So, at least that is beginning to look up http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif