I am on the waitlist for BF from LGW to EWR on a K ticket (Platinum) the end of September. There appear to be only 6 BF seats not sold out of 24 seats on my flight. Having a day or two of flexibility, as well as flexability regarding the departure city I found 18+ seats not sold on flights to EWR leaving from Manchester and Birmingham, and decided to change my return flight to one of these.

I called the "Elite Line" **cough** and got an AWESOME agent in Salt Lake City who helped me in other ways not related to the present subject (she got me a BF seat on my departure flight out of EWR by using her own initiative to help me in a way I would not have attempted after she figured out what I was trying to do-- other agents had just said, in response to my faulty strategy "No, that won't work").

She suggested that I do NOT change from LGW, even if I do not get a BF upgrade at least 3 days prior to departure on my ticketed flight. She stated that Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin, and Shannon were the most difficult cities out of which to get upgraded for two reasons. First, CO only has one flight out of these cities per day, hence low BF seat volume. Second, although many seats may be available for purchase, many never make it into the upgrade bucket, and the planes will actually fly with empty seats (is this TRUE?).

In contrast, about 5 CO or Virgin codeshare flights leave from LGW to EWR daily, and if I don't get the upgrade on my flight, I can stand-by the day of departure for BF on any one of these other flights and get BF for a $200 change fee and a seat will probably be available (is THIS true?).

So, should I change my return to a smaller airport, or stay at LGW per the agent's suggestion? Thank you for your help.

[This message has been edited by Joey (edited 08-31-2002).]

I think the telephone agent may misinformed as to how the at-airport process works. If they will UG you at LGW or LHR into a BF seat on ANY flight day of travel - yours or another flight - this is new. The 72 hour rule specifically precludes this. Under the auspices of the 72 hours rule, within 72 hours the only way to "UG" within 72 hours is to literally purchase a BusinessFirst ticket, not to UG some coach ticket.

thesilb is correct. CO policy prohibits standby for upgrades using miles, even if BF is not full. (But you can upgrade less than 72 hours prior to a flight if you buy a "Y" fare and use "Z" class--not for most wallets.)

The stated reason for not allowing standby upgrades in BF is because we formerly had a problem with fraudulent reservations on some BF flights. Sometimes a passenger who had not yet received an upgrade for his flight would book a reservation in "J" class under multiple fraudulent names. He'd put the record on hold until day of departure (TL30), and know there'd be at least a few empty seats for him.

So no more standby at the airport for BF upgrades. I agree with this policy for that reason. I wish it wasn't necessary.

The rationale for removing "R" class three days prior to a flight is not clear. This policy was instituted at the same time as the no-standby policy. I discussed the rationale with a representative from revenue management, who had come to SLC for a Q&A session over a year ago. He had been in on the discussion before the policy was implemented.

He couldn't make a cogent argument as to why this was a beneficial policy for Continental. I pushed him for a rationale I could understand, and he was unable to satisfactorily answer the question, in my opinion. I'll give the next representative the opportunity next time he comes up (they're mostly guys).

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I am not a sanctioned representative of Continental on these boards, just an interested participant.


[This message has been edited by ResAgent86 (edited 09-02-2002).]

Personally I have travelled heavily this year in and out of Manchester. As a Plat I was never denied an upgrade using miles on this segment. Even though there is only one flight a day there was always plenty of BF availability. I have heard alot more stories of people being denied an upgrade in/out of London. I have never heard of anyone being denied a mileage upgrade in/out of MAN. The 72 hour rule applies but you should have no problems clearing.

I thought the poster must have been mistaken on this point, until I saw who it was from. Could this possibly be true? I don't recall seeing this in any OnePass literature or FlyerTalk posting - this is news indeed. Please note that I'm not endorsing the 72-hour rule. I'm just a rube trying to figure out what my options are.

What I posted is true, but could you be specific about which part is new news?

The part that's news to me is:

I was not aware that an upgrade for Y was available less than 72 hours. Although you're correct in saying that the Y fare is typically very expensive, it's only about half that of the BF fare, so if it came down to either buying a BF fare, or upgrading your coach ticket to Y then using miles to upgrade into Z, the latter would be the way to do it.

ResAgent86 (and any other knowlegable and welcome CO lurkers), this is something I have been wondering about ever since the 72 hour penalty was imposed on mileage upgrades:

How hard would it be to publish (and publicize among FFers) a regulation that unsold BF seats would be available for mileage upgrades until the time of departure EXCEPT seats which have been previously reserved and then cancelled? IOW, a FFer who was considering making a fradulent reservation would know that if s/he did, that seat would not be returned to upgrade inventory, thus lowering the chance for an upgrade at the gate. Could this be managed with CO's res tracking system?

Any empty seats that result from cancelled reservations, as well as seats that are available AFTER all customers paying with money or miles have been accomodated could be given to non-revs and their buddies.

I think this would be a fair solution for everyone and good for the CO bottom line. I am sure that few CO employees would make bogus reservations, knowing their jobs would be at stake if caught, and it just might bring back some of the former CO loyalsts who have taken their (considerable) revenue elsewhere because they are disgruntled with HoKeY and the 72-hour rule.

(Edited for dumb mistakes.)

[This message has been edited by Nightflyer (edited 09-02-2002).]

(ditto)

[This message has been edited by Nightflyer (edited 09-02-2002).]

I think the EWR-MAN segments are slightly easier than EWR-BHX segments because the MAN route is usually equipped with 764 or 762 while BHX has only a 752.

I am still waiting for my upgrade to clear the end of this month for a EWR-BHX leg and today the agent said, "there aren't many seats left"...

Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I haven't lost the hokey lottery more than once, but when it did happen I was pretty steamed...especially since the difference between BV and HKY was about $300.

- HobokenFlyer

Why didn't you just buy a cheap fare and do the $300 per segment thing, which only charges you if the upgrade clears?

That sounds like a good plan. I don't see any holes in it. If you want, you might see if you can get your suggestion to the right people in Houston, and let them know you'd like a reply. Although I certainly enjoy getting BusinessFirst myself, it is does not look good to be upgrading the employees and not those who were expecting an upgrade with miles.

CalPilot is correct on another thread about CO policy and non-revs. Gate agents are not supposed to upgrade non-revs until all eligible revenue passengers have been. If you see this going on, you should report it. Keep in mind at this point BF seats are not upgradeable at the airport, unless you have an existing BF ticket (mileage or revenue). No standbys for upgrades to BF.

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I am not a sanctioned representative of Continental on these boards, just an interested participant.


[This message has been edited by ResAgent86 (edited 09-02-2002).]

Who are the right people to write to? I have suggested this at the'We Care' line (while complaining about being 'left behind' in coach on a HoKeY fare). All I got was a verbal "shrug", and a half-hearted promise to pass the suggestion along.

I have a letter ready to send, but I'm not sure where the best place is to send it.

Because 1) The $300 fee is each way so it would be $600 more not $300, my hokey fare w/taxes was just under 1K, the B fare was $750 w/taxes.

2) Hokey fares are ahead of the queue in front of BV fares in the upgrade queue...

It would be just nice that if you pay Hokey you are guaranteed the upgrade, instead of the lottery thing...

- HobokenFlyer

That's why I was vague ; I'm not sure how to get it to someone who matters. Ideally, you'd want Gordon or Larry to read your letter. I suggest you send a copy to their offices, as well as revenue management (they don't make policy, but maybe you'll get someone who cares about helping to change it), and Onepass marketing. I don't have addresses; I'm home. You could call the corporate switchboard in Houston if you need addresses. Most of these are not available as far as I know in reservations.

Don't mention me--I'm enjoying my anonymity.

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I am not a sanctioned representative of Continental on these boards, just an interested participant.

[This message has been edited by ResAgent86 (edited 09-02-2002).]

FYI - we're enjoying your anonymity as well. Thanks for hanging out for us.

DAW